Readings In Non-Western Lit

Front 1

New Criticism

Back 1

Analyzes literature only through what is in the text

Front 2

Formalism

Back 2

Grammar syntax, syllables

Front 3

Parasyntactic - simple writing (journalism)

Back 3

Hypertactic- use dependent clauses

Front 4

Marxism (socioeconomic) / Classism?

Back 4

tension between power and economic situations (Charles Darwin)

Front 5

Feminist / Gender Theory

Back 5

Does the author change the role of power?

Front 6

Post-Colonialism

Back 6

How does colonialism affect national identity? Who do they feel devotion to?

Front 7

New Historicist

Back 7

Literature is not in a vacuum. Shaped by cultures and everything. (opposite to New Criticism)

Front 8

Psychoanalytic Theory

Back 8

Freudian motivation, mental states of the authors, characters, everything, sexual issues

Front 9

Gilgamesh = oldest lit. piece
Written in 2000 B.C.

Back 9

Epic hero

Front 10

Island of Manhattan - Rene Marques, Puerto Rico

Motifs: churches, light, cross, conquerer
MP: Give up humanity to assimilate
Author Asks – Will Puerto Rico ever be independent from the U.S.?

Puerto Rico = light ; wide / frank spaces
New York = dark ; closed spaces

Back 10

- Gets followed by a man who calls her spik; she calls him “Yankee”; “brute”
- Young man whistles at her
- Past: 1 year- Rio Piedras; 2 in San Juan; 4 in NY
- 2 boys wrestling over a bag: Puerto Rican v. Yankee
o Cheers on the Puerto Rican
- Nico knows about her past: Her 1 year @ university ; radio ; New York
- Nick = Nico = foreman
- Jenny = Juanita = prostitute (met Nico @ school; strike)
- Past: Both expelled for protest; Nico  NY ; followed him later
o Played villainess on radio shows ; went on strike @ radio station too
- Waits for Nico @ bar; supposed to get married
o Rally for 8 black men condemned to death for trying to rape 1 blonde
- Past: Could not find job @ NY b/c of past as striker
o Blonde man took her  Palisades park
o Won caged canary @ wheel of fortune
 Canary didn’t sing (canary = warning sign)
o Drank whiskey; blonde man raped her
 Paid her
o Abortion
- Jenny signs petition even though Nico didn’t want her to
o Communist flag @ rally
o Jenny thought she was doing justice
o Nico said he won’t marry her if she signs
- Nico’s fear drove him to assimilate into NY
- In the end, it is the NY streets that opens up wide and frank
- Clock hands forms the arms of a clock

Front 11

The Doll Queen- Carol Fuentes, Mexico

MP- “Nothing gold can stay” ; “art is long, life is short” ; “ars longa, vita brevis”
Once her beauty was destroyed, her parents pretend that she’s dead
Motifs- gold, youth, gardens, city, flowers, panties, pre-pubescence

Back 11

- Card found in a book that MC had forgotten about
o “Amilania wil not forget her good frend- com see me lik I draw it.”
o Path drawn from park to girl’s house
- MC thought of girl as more grown up than she actually was
o He was 14; she was 7
o MC would meet girl when he was cutting class to read books in the park
o Remembers girl as running down the hill- looking like in height of orgasm
o MC didn’t have relationships with women, only with ones in books
o Stopped seeing each other when they fell into each other
 MC realized that he shouldn’t be feeling that way about a little girl
- MC = grown up
o Unsatisfied w/ sex life
o Kind of hopes that she’s still a little girl
o Tries to visit her; no one answers door but he sees her blue checked apron
- Goes to the Bureau of Records to find out who lives there
o Finds out Valdivia owns / rents the house
- Visits again; pretends to eval house for tax purposes
o Old woman answers the door, clutching rosary
o Sees signs of a child: red scribbling in lipstick / comic book
o Fruit bowl buzzing with flies
- Second visit
o Sees bite mark in a piece of fruit ; bicycle tracks on the floor
o Woman’s husband tells MC that Vald. died 4 yrs ago
o They ask MC what girl was like
o Take her to “royal chamber of death”
 Room w/ porcelain sepulcher of girl
 “Don’t come back, senor. If you truly loved her, don’t come back again.”
- 9 mos – 1 year passes
o MC saves for himself in his head the image of the live Amilania
o Returns to give the parents the card
- Girl opens the door in wheelchair
o “Hump on her chest” = breasts (MC likes ‘em young / undeveloped)
o Father races after her as she closes the door, threatening to beat her

Front 12

Paseo - Jose Donoso, Chile

MP = see quote under bullet #2
Motifs = books, Whiteness / lightness = sheets, dogs v. darkness, death / disappearance, chaos v. order, draw of the city, perfection v. imperfection

Setting = heavy in the story
Family = closed off from the rest of the world
Like the spine of the book?
Symbiotic relationship
Relationship extends beyond fam @ the end of the story
Pat McNees: “in everyone exists the possibility of being both beautiful and monstrous”

Back 12

- Present: Everyone in the (pureblood) family may as well be dead b/c they are frozen into silence
o Main character is older
o Family constructed wall of forgetfulness / indifference to shut out everything
 “So that they would not have to harass themselves with impotent conjecture.”
- Main character lived w/ his father (Pedro), aunt (Mathilda), uncles: Gustav / Armand
o Brothers = maritime lawyers
 Watch from the windows for the white bitch
o After Mathilda left: brothers isolate themselves behind the library door
o “The streets of the city can swallow up a human being, leaving him without life and without death, suspended as it were, in a dimension more dangerous than any dimension with a name?”
- The house was a tall book: “not sad” = emotionless family
o Boy’s mom died when he was 4
o Mathilda + uncles live @ boy’s house
 She focused on uncles instead of boy although she was brought in to care for boy
 All relatives = No love. Rigid affections. Sense of respect.
- Mathilda concentrated on brothers
o Born ugly woman; brothers = handsome
o Physical wellbeing = paramount
o Had a need to remedy problems
o Set up beds for brothers , not the boy
o Aunt set their lives in order, which was rebellion v. chaos
o Billiards; boy blue chalked their sticks
 Mathilda won every game; kept affection in check
- White bitch (mixed blood) got hit by a car
 followed them home after mass
 Aunt defies (1st time?) Pedro’s wish to throw dog out
 Took dog to the vet; boy never saw dog, but saw signs of it
- * Mathilda lost billiards for 1st time; forgot to call brothers’ names
o * Dog followed her to game 2nd time.
 Snatched up blue chalk, caused aunt to laugh
 Dog jumped into lap
 1 uncle left, the others ignored the change
 Aunt petted dog; boy hoped she’d adore him but didn’t
o Dog pees on the floor
 *Mathilda goes outside to walk her
 Aunt goes outside instead of setting beds up for now on
 Walks became longer and longer
 Came back disheveled, covered in mud
• Adventure had happened
o Aunt never came back after 1 walk
 Uncles shut themselves inside library
 Sent PI after her

Front 13

The Proof - Rodrigo Rey Rosa, Guatemala

Motifs: omens, god, devil, bright colors
MP: God is everywhere and so is the Devil. They

Comedic : “Indians and savages”
Passage connects to awakening in the Garden of Eden
Rationalization
When boy sees that the bird is back, he knows that GOD EXISTS!

Back 13

- Miguel (Boy) went to living room, found canary’s cage
o Parents driving back from party
o Turned all lights on
o “God can see you no matter where you are, Miguel told himself, but there are not many places suitable for invoking Him.”
- Killed canary in cellar
o Told God to bring bird back to life
o Bird died: b/c bird wasn’t brought back to life, boy didn’t have to fear punishment
o Wondered if he should ask Satan
o Hid bird under brick
- Parents come back
o Miguel dreams that bird comes back
- Maria Luisa (Maid) discovers missing canary
o Thought it had escaped since she was careless
o Runs to market to try to replace canary before anyone notices
- Dad wakes up; thought Maid hadn’t come back yet
o Went into cellar to get oranges to make OJ
o Discovered bird; put it into his pocket
o Felt as his father/son = accomplices
- Maid / father pass each other
o Father has bird in pocket
o Maid puts new canary (has black foot) into cage
- Boy wakes up
o Before he goes to school, looks for bird under brick
o No bird under brick; bird = in cage
- Maid / Boy go to bus stop
o Boy tells maid of proof of God (bird lives!)
o Maid: “If it has a black foot, it was sent by the Devil.”
- Boy boards the bus
o Calls maid a witch
o Boy hears tires / horn; thinks of Dad’s car
o Bus picks up fat kid. 2 boys talk abt God.

Front 14

Girls at War - Chinua Achebe, Nigeria

Motifs- air raids, women, starvation

MPs- We do what we can to survive, but the powerful get away with more

Narrator = full of contradictions / hypocrite
Has a lot of regulations for other people, not for himself
Makes lots of speeches on everything  narrator’s lofty speeches die in that car
Says a lot but can’t follow through
Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War)

Back 14

- Main: Reginald Nwankwo, Ministry of Justice
- Too many people trying to enlist
- Narrator / girl meet at war prep; checkpoint at Awka
o Approved of searches even though he didn’t think he had to since he had power
- Checkpoint- girl inspected all parts of car
o Man recognizes girl (Gladys) from before
o Girl had left school to join militia
o Searches everyone, even man, who gave her ride before
o “We are doing the work you asked us to do.”
- 18 months later- meet again
o Girls were soldiers, now girls again
o Man went to WCC depot to get food b/c he didn’t like what he had
 Food was supposed to go to the starving masses; stealing food from them
 Tried to make up for it by giving food / money to his driver
 Help the masses by helping immediate neighbors
- Man pulled over to pick Gladys up b/c she was beautiful when others needed help
o Gladys has wig, expensive clothes
o Man offers place to stay in case Gladys’ friend isn’t there
o False alarm for raid; man blows it off as being too early for raid
- Invites girl to a party in town, where men live happy bachelor lives
o Remembers that he hates the parties, but using it so he can take the girl home, just like the man who finances Gladys
o Gladys was apathetic when he came on to her; man claimed he liked that b/c girls = too easy
o Her friend is in embezzlement (brings on hypocritical preaching)
 Man preaches about starving masses while he steals from them himself
 Man claims he wants the girl before she became escort w/o wigs, claims girls are frivolous
 Gladys says she looks this way to survive, as he does
- Red Cross guy says women smell in Nigeria (b/c they sleep around)
o Reginald doesn’t dance w/ Gladys cause she dances w/ someone else, then he lectures her for dancing during wartime
o Wasn’t interested in her after he slept w/ her
- When they were driving to return Gladys, Reginald stopped to give disabled soldier a ride although he hadn’t given starving masses a ride
o Air raid- everyone left car; Gladys went back for disabled soldier
o Gladys and soldier didn’t survive; she was a hero at heart

Front 15

Two Sisters - Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghana

MPs- Different modes of survival, just like Girls at War
Motifs- shoes, oceans, dreams, romance
Switches between POVs

- Mercy = materialistic
- Connie = teacher; sends Mercy to school to become a typist
- Mercy has a need to consume a lot of things
- James has commitment and relationship issues
Connie highly disapproves of Mercy’s behavior (religion, family, reputation, etc.)

Back 15

-
- Mercy (23 yrs) dates Joe, taxi driver / the Big Man, Mensar-Arthur (50 yrs), who she must be discrete with
- New shoes from Big Man ; he gave her a purse
o They sing, “Count, Mercy, count your blessings.”
- Takes the bus home b/c she doesn’t want to be embarrassed by Joe, ask her Boss, or be indiscrete w/ the Big Man
- Connie = 6 yrs older / a teacher; preg w/ 2nd child
o Married to James, who is rumored to be chasing other women
- Mercy wants to move out, get married / preg
o Connie asks her abt the shoes
o Admits to Connie that she’s going to the movies w/ M.A. (Parliament member)
- “But Connie knows that running around with an old and depraved public man would have been considered an abomination by the parents.”
- Mensar-Arthur picks up Mercy in his luxury car / drives to Seaway (been together 1 month)
o “She has often wished she could do what she danced: one thing she fancies. Which is to drive very near to the end of the sands until the tyres of the car touched in the water.”
o Tells M.A. that she told Connie; gets Connie electric sewing machine motor to keep her quiet
o Bought Mercy a government estate house
- The Gulf of Guinea watches them
o The ocean is watching Mercy with the old man playing w/ each other’s bodies
o (Watching humanity. This is just humanity. Happens so often that the ocean is bored)
- James comes home late; Connie is crying
o Told her in the past to sleep turned to the wall so he wouldn’t see her belly
- James defends Mercy b/c all girls have stuff that Mercy doesn’t have
o Encourages Connie to use sis so gov’t won’t move her when she has baby
o “ “ get James a new car
- Few months before the coup
o M.A. bought stuff for Mercy, including the motor & house
o After coup- Mercy leaves before she’s evicted.
o New baby; James didn’t get a car
o Coup came before ppl could find out abt Mercy
o M.A. thrown in jail; James says if he were Mercy he wouldn’t move back
o Mercy is now w/ Capt. Ashley, who has a wife, kids, grandkids

Front 16

A Meeting in the Dark - Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenya

Motifs: irimu story, departure, circumcision, planes
MPs: If a woman is uncircumcised, she’ll be promiscuous
FGM = gateway to adulthood/citizenship
The author believes that FGM is right

Back 16

- Boy (John or Njooni) dreams of girl who follows stranger who visits her home.
o Spoke of faraway land; girl realizes stranger is Irimu
o Runs back, home is not there. Can’t go to beautiful land b/c Irimu is there
- Father (Stanley) = preacher. Mother used to be more tribal, connected to roots. Told him stories.
- Father looks @ John like he’s a sinner, interrogates
- John = abt to leave village in Kenya to go to school in Uganda
o Born before parents = married. Child of sin.
o Men left the village to get education OR wife
- Goes into his personal hut
o Wishes he had rebelled @ early age like other young men
- Goes to girl’s (Wahumu’s) hut
o Diff between John / Wahumu: her tribe circumcises women; his doesn’t
o Girl’s father remembers when everyone was virtuous b/c they were circumcised
o After white men: new religion, news ways, men would leave
 Leave women w/ fatherless children
- Wahumu/John walk
o Wahumu = John’s fall
o Blames Wahumu for her pregnancy (preg for 3 mos)
o Had promised he’d marry her
- John doesn’t want to fail Calvinism, his father, everyone
o Marrying her would cause him to lose scholarship, defy expectations
o She wasn’t educated past 6th grade / circumcised
o Dreamt of ghosts from homeland/foreign fight over him
 Dream was about circumcision; sign of death
- Next day: shops w/ his dad, who he fears
o Dad leads staunch congregation, even though he had fallen to sin
o “ ” was product of tribal disintegration
- John thinks of rebelling . father but doesn’t
- John meets w/ girl; offers to pay her / maybe she can find another husband
o Keeps upping the price
o Strangles her to death when he thinks he is hugging her / had run after her
o Now instead of hiding the preg, the whole village will know anyway

Front 17

The Complete Gentleman - Amos Tutuola, Nigeria

Motifs: cowrie, skull, palm wine
MP: And this is how I got a wife

Back 17

- Girl saw tall but stout, completely beautiful man at the market
o Asked him where he lived
o He didn’t answer; she followed him down a trail
o He told her to go back / not to follow him
o “Do Not Follow Unknown Man’s Beauty”
- Left trail / entered unending forest where demons lived
- “Return the Parts of Body to the Owners; or Hired Parts of the Complete Gentleman’s Body to Be Returned”
o Man returned his body parts from where he returned them/paid them rentage
o Ex.: pulled out each foot / returned to the man he rented them from
o Incomplete creature wouldn’t let girl leave now; he had warned her before
- “A Full-Bodied Gentleman Reduced to Head”
o Returned skin; became nothing but a skull
o Told skull that her father wanted her to marry man
o Girl tried to run away; skull stopped her by turning into a log of wood
- Skull brought her into a hole where other skulls were living
o Put cowrie around girl’s neck / made her sit on a frog as a stool
o Girl tried to run away, caught by skull family
- Cowrie whistles when she tries to leave / makes her silent
- “The Father of the Gods Should Find Out Whereabouts the Daughter of the Head of the Town Was”
o Palm wine drunkard claimed he was “Father of the Gods who could do anything in the world”
o Girl’s dad asked palm wine drunkard to find daughter
o Dad would tell him where the palm wine tapster is
o Drunkard sacrificed to juju, drank
- “The Lady Was Not to Be Blamed for Following the Skull as a Complete Gentleman”
o Drunkard found gentleman; followed him
- “Investigation to the Skull’s Family’s /house”
o Drunkard changed into lizard; followed gentleman same way
- “The Investigator’s Wonderful Work in the Skull’s Family’s Home”
o Drunkard changed into man to talk to woman
o Skulls tried to tie cowrie on him too, but he turned into air to avoid it
o Escaped w/ girl; changed her into kitten / himself into sparrow
 Put her in his pocket
o Brought girl home, but she could not talk, eat, or loose away cowrie on her neck
 Cowrie kept making sounds
- “There Remains Greater Tasks Ahead”
o Dad asked drunkard to fix the cowrie problem
- “Back to the Skull’s Family’s House”
o Drunkard changed into lizard, watched gentleman skull
o Gentleman did a spell w/ leaves
o Brought leaves back, fed them to girl
- For rescuing girl, drunkard got 50 kegs of wine, wife, 2 rooms in the house

Front 18

Nomad & Viper - Amos Oz, Israel

Nomads- herding
Jews- agricultural
Guela – woman:
Female finally experiences power over a male
The woman was not raped; it was a rape fantasy

Back 18

- Nomads settled near kibbutz b/c of the famine
- Blaming nomads for destruction, crime, etc.
o Driving dogs mad, foot and mouth disease that infected the kibbutz cattle, crop damage
- Darkness was the accomplice of the nomads
- Nomad tries to communicate at first in Hebrew
o Where the language is in whichever ballpark = power
o Etkin, the Kibbutz leader, replied in broken Arabic
- Geula (29 yrs) had good qualities, but not a lot of people like her sexually
o Makes good coffee
- Meets nomad in the orchard
o His goat chews on the tree; he throws it to the ground
o Comes on to nomad, breathing heavy, etc.
- Returns to kibbutz; cleans and changes into new clothes
o What happened to Guela was a rape fantasy
- The secretariat met, wondered where Guela was
o MC acknowledges the damage caused by nomads is not that big a deal
o States that there had been no rape or murder
o Venomous snake bites Geula; she dies
o If she had come to the meeting with the coffee, tempers would have been calmed.

Front 19

Half a Day - Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt

MPs= life cycle of growth
Observable v. pnemonic time
Gate = can’t go back in time
Want to rewind everything
Doesn’t like having help crossing the street
Msg to youth: things can change if you want them to

Motifs = war, bell, gate

Back 19

- Boy = going to the first day of school
o New clothes, shoes, etc.
o School = not a punishment; “factory that makes useful men out of boys.”
o To the boy: school = fortress
o “Today you truly begin life. You will find me waiting for you when it’s time to leave.”
- Men sorted the kids into ranks
o School = new home; fulfills needs in knowledge / religion
- Boy fell in love, played games, met new people, sang songs
o “Rivalries could bring about pain / hatred or rise to fighting”
- When boy left school, could not find father
o Found middle aged man who he knew, shook hands
- Returned to street, wasn’t what he left
o More people, trash, vehicles
o Circus, conjurers all over the street
- Could not find his home; there were only skyscrapers
- Scared of crossing the street; fire truck going at slow rate
o “Let the fire take its pleasure in what it consumes”
o Young lad from ironing shop said, “Grandpa, let me take you across.”