Forward panic and paralysed victim According to Collins, ‘A forward panic starts with tension and fear in a conflict situation. This is the normal condition of violent conflict, but here the tension is prolonged and built up; it has a dramatic shape of increasing tension, striving toward a climax.’ (85) He offers situational examples for the reader to observe what actually happens into people's minds. One of them is a military instance from the Vietnam war (83). The soldier is under pressure, danger is everywhere, there is an atmosphere of tension and rage (85). Indeed, soldiers go through lots of feelings. Then, appears the need to fight in order to cease the danger (85). Courage and fear start making just one (85). There is the urgent need
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Furthermore, the winner makes cruel jokes and is very active when his/her victim is quite passive and emotionally paralysed (103). At that moment, she/he does not fight back because she/he is ‘trapped in a collective emotional atmosphere.’ (103) In the novel, Grace, Marva and Peggy attack the weak Monica, who can't do nothing except wait because she is lonely and defenceless. She even cries and screams in her head (Adisa: 131). At first, Monica believes that the three women are audacious to come into her house, she even laughs. But then, she sees the women's eyes and comprehends that they need to ease off on the pressure with violence: ‘She started to laugh at their boldness, but caught sight of their eyes, and her breath stopped.’ (Adisa: 131) Marva is the one who can't stop attacking Monica, she is mad and angry (Adisa: 217). The situation of forward panic concerns her the most. Another example of forward panic is Althea's beating, where Grace can't stop violence either (Adisa: 159). As concerns the jokes, they might not make jokes during the act but they do laugh while assaulting Monica (Adisa: 131). Later on, Peggy and Marva start recounting the incident and joking about it as if it was a pleasant memory (Adisa: 230). This is called ‘narrative gratification’ (Collins: …show more content…
According to the American sociologist, domestic abuse is often described as an ‘effort to control’ (135) and most of the time, a male control. Collins explains that poverty and discrimination can be related to some types of violence, but many kinds of violence are not especially characteristic of lower classes and discriminated people (135). In fact, Collin claims that the majority of poor people are not robbers or domestic abusers (136). Then, he adds the notion of under-determination, explaining that some people can become violent sometimes but only due to situational circumstances such as stress, life-transitions, etc (136-137). These explanations apply to the novel It Begins With Tears. In fact, Kristoff Village, situated in rural Jamaica (Adisa: back cover), does not mainly consist of robbers or domestic abusers even though some of its inhabitants are poor and discriminated persons. Indeed, a description proves it:
Coming home to Kristoff Village meant not having to close and bolt one's windows and doors, meant not having to have ugly burglar bars to prevent one from sticking one's head out the window to see how the day was shaping up […]. No one would come into someone else's house and take something without asking. (Adisa:
Furthermore, the winner makes cruel jokes and is very active when his/her victim is quite passive and emotionally paralysed (103). At that moment, she/he does not fight back because she/he is ‘trapped in a collective emotional atmosphere.’ (103) In the novel, Grace, Marva and Peggy attack the weak Monica, who can't do nothing except wait because she is lonely and defenceless. She even cries and screams in her head (Adisa: 131). At first, Monica believes that the three women are audacious to come into her house, she even laughs. But then, she sees the women's eyes and comprehends that they need to ease off on the pressure with violence: ‘She started to laugh at their boldness, but caught sight of their eyes, and her breath stopped.’ (Adisa: 131) Marva is the one who can't stop attacking Monica, she is mad and angry (Adisa: 217). The situation of forward panic concerns her the most. Another example of forward panic is Althea's beating, where Grace can't stop violence either (Adisa: 159). As concerns the jokes, they might not make jokes during the act but they do laugh while assaulting Monica (Adisa: 131). Later on, Peggy and Marva start recounting the incident and joking about it as if it was a pleasant memory (Adisa: 230). This is called ‘narrative gratification’ (Collins: …show more content…
According to the American sociologist, domestic abuse is often described as an ‘effort to control’ (135) and most of the time, a male control. Collins explains that poverty and discrimination can be related to some types of violence, but many kinds of violence are not especially characteristic of lower classes and discriminated people (135). In fact, Collin claims that the majority of poor people are not robbers or domestic abusers (136). Then, he adds the notion of under-determination, explaining that some people can become violent sometimes but only due to situational circumstances such as stress, life-transitions, etc (136-137). These explanations apply to the novel It Begins With Tears. In fact, Kristoff Village, situated in rural Jamaica (Adisa: back cover), does not mainly consist of robbers or domestic abusers even though some of its inhabitants are poor and discriminated persons. Indeed, a description proves it:
Coming home to Kristoff Village meant not having to close and bolt one's windows and doors, meant not having to have ugly burglar bars to prevent one from sticking one's head out the window to see how the day was shaping up […]. No one would come into someone else's house and take something without asking. (Adisa: