Civilization

“A Father” by Bharati Mukherjee, “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo and “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada all show how today’s culture can effect peoples’s lifestyles – specifically religion, tradition, values, and behavior. Culture and the developments from it can also alter the natural world of the earth.
“A Father” is a story of an Indian family who comes over to America because of a mother who wants to live somewhere “progressive.” His wife is “a woman of wild progressive ideas – she’d call them her ‘American’ ideas…”(663). The American culture seems to be a place where she “fits in,” implying that Ranchi (in India) was not good enough. However, despite the move, the father (Mr. Bhowmick) seems to keep his Hindu religion living among him even in America – his mornings consist of showers and breakfast, but also persistent prayer. However, the daughter, Babli seems to be the one most affected by the American culture. She reads magazines about what she should look like. The narrator says, “She read hints about dressing in women’s magazines and applied them to her person with seriousness”(662). She also has a high paying job, and drives a sporty, showy car that is red. She is “living the American dream” and being successful financially in life, which is what America ideally stresses. Babli also discredits Hinduism, saying that it is “a series of super graphics”(662). However, the culture of America alters her so much that she decides she does in fact not need a man to get pregnant, for men are lousy. The conflict of views and values erupts in the end of the story, where Mr. Bhowmick is so angered that he beats his daughter’s stomach, probably in attempt to kill this syringe baby. However, the reader must look at this story in a bigger view, and realize that it shows how culture shaped these people so much. The American culture did not really affect Mr. Bhowmick, but it changed the mother and Babli so much to a point where Babli did something shocking. It seems that what his daughter did (which is accepted in America) was completely unacceptable to him, and most likely to his religion which is why he was so angered.
“The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” is also a story of American culture altering lifestyles, but also seems to affect the natural world as well. The poem shows this by utilizing word choice. The poem presents things that are a product of civilization, but then also infers to things in nature. Moreover, these works of humans seem to alter or hinder nature. For example, “we can’t easily see that starry road from the perspective of the crossing of boulevards”(line 14) expresses how we can not see things in space due to developments (perhaps pollution) on earth. Also, “we can buy a map here of the star’s homes…choose from several brands of water” (line 17) describes how humans lifestyle’s are concentrated on celebrities and brand names. What happened to taking hikes? However, the speaker seems to have some site of optimism, for he still tries to find beauty in the “trash of humans.” The speaker says, “But like crow I collect the shine of anything beautiful I can find”(line 27). Despite the distractions, pollutions, and development, the speaker still attempts to find beauty in things in the world, even if it is limited.
“A Bedtime Story” is a story showing that culture can affect people’s lifestyle’s and behaviors, but that nature is what can truly show how to live one’s life. A woman is attempting to find somewhere to sleep for a night, but is turned down by everyone. This just shows how culture can really make people angry but also untrusting because of how many bad people really are in this world. Then, a full moon comes out and the woman experiences something she would not have thought to – almost like an epiphany. She says, “If it had not been for you kindness/in refusing me a bed/for the night/these humble eyes would never/have seen this/memorable sight”(lines 33-39). This image of the natural wonder making this woman see the beauty in her life, and even seeing good in numerous cruel people shows the power that nature can have on someone’s life. What the speaker is really trying to stress is that nature is more powerful than culture, and people can overcome the hysteria and hate in the world.

Appreciation and Understanding

The appreciation and understanding of one’s culture is a common theme found in the short story “A Father,” by Bharati Mukherjee as well as the poems “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada and Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles.” Each piece of literature tells the story of one’s experiences in a place of origin and the scenes and feelings they witness. They are all presently in an American setting and examine the change in scene.

In Mukherjee’s “A Father,” Mr. Bhowmick is a man living in America, but stuck in his Indian ways and culture. His wife, also from the same background and area in India, does not believe in nor support his constant praying and strong beliefs. For this reason it is interesting that when she finds out their daughter is pregnant she is the one who reacts so hastily at first. She cannot believe her daughter is having a child and unmarried. This angers her so much that she threatens to hit her with the rolling pin. “His wife had a rolling pin in one hand. His daughter held up a National Geographic as a shield for her head.” On the other hand, initially when the father first realizes his daughter is pregnant, he seems to be excited. “All the same, he could see a chubby baby boy on the rug, crawling to his granddaddy.” Though he does worry about the shame that this could bring to their family, the thought of him having a grandchild excites him. At the end, however, the father’s belief in his culture comes back into play when his daughter mocks their marriage procedures of being arranged. He winds up the one to be defending his values and punishes his daughter for the mockery.

Mitsuye Yamada’s “Bedtime Story” is a poem that gives a young girl insight to her foreign culture. The story her father tells her focuses on nature and the appreciation one should have for it. The story also means that though sometimes things are not going the way you would like, if you give it a chance and look around, you will find the silver lining. The Japanese woman finds the silver lining in her appreciation for nature and the night sky. In the second to last stanza, she thanks the village people and actually calls them kind for refusing to help her when she thought that all she needed was a bed to sleep in. At the end of the poem, the child does not understand the meaning of the poem and comically says “That’s the end?” In this piece of work the father is trying to teach the child values and admiration for the natural world around her.

The second poem, entitled “The Path to the Milky Way Leads though Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo focuses on the American culture and surroundings. Here, the author focuses on material things rather than spiritual beliefs. She often mentions gold, money and buying objects. At the end, the speaker asks a “Crow” which is “a mythic Native American trickster character” what the point of their presence there. The Crow responds with laughter and tells the speaker to “wait, wait and see.” The Crow is trying to tell the speaker that acknowledging her surroundings, which is what makes America. That is the reason for her being there. To realize that culture does not always focus on spirituality and natural beings; rather it can also describe the hectic lives going on all around you, with everyone just trying to get by and survive and this crazy place.

In each of these pieces of literature, culture is a common theme. Each author focuses on different ethnic backgrounds and values and then connects them to life in America. There is always a character that has a great admiration and love for his or her own culture and is challenged by another who does not understand.

Finding a Place in the World

Often times in literature, authors present conflict as being a character’s struggle for belonging. In Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story, Joy Harjo’s The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles, and Bgaratu Mukherjee’s A Father, the conflict of fitting in is discussed, in the sense of belonging in a new country, a new place, or a changed place. Each character or speaker learns to either adapt to their new surroundings, or is unable to assimilate.
In Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story the speaker tells of an old woman who traveled through many villages seeking room for a night. At every door she knocked at asking to stay the night, the residents refused her. She finally found a clearing on a hill and lay down there, where she had an extraordinary moonlit view of the town. She thanked the people of the town for being kind in refusing her a bed, for otherwise she would not have seen the amazing view. The speaker retells this story after it was told to her by her father in their home in Seattle overlooking a valley. Here the father of the speaker is trying to make it easier for the speaker to adapt to their new home by telling her that a home is whatever you make of it, whether on a hill under the stars, or in a new country. The main character of the poem is able to adapt to her surroundings easily because she values the little things in life such as seeing “a memorable sight,” instead of just harping on the fact that she has no room to stay in.
For the speaker of the poem The Path to the Milky Way by Joy Harjo, a city she is accustomed to becomes stranger and more different because of the gradual build up and industrialization of Los Angeles, and the growing destruction of nature. The speaker remarks, “Everyone knows you can’t buy love but you can still sell your soul for less than a song to a stranger who will sell it to someone else for a profit until you’re owned by a company of strangers in the city of the strange and getting stranger.” Here the speaker is talking about how a place that used to be so familiar to her has become so different because of the growing amount of companies and corporations that take away the natural and familiar. The speaker is finding it hard to adapt to a place she was so used to, but now has become different and strange. All the speaker can do is “wait and see,” and even though she is not seeing anything just yet, she looks for the little good she can find, and that is what gives her hope.
In Bharati Mukherjee’s A Father, the main character of the story Mr. Bhowmick, is finding it difficult to assimilate into the American way of life. For his wife and daughter on the other hand, it is easier for them to be caught up in everything “American,” because they are quick to let go of their Indian traditions. Mr. Bhowmick is stuck in the Indian way of life, acting overly superstitious, spending more than the adequate amount of time praying, and still believing in the customary traditions of the home. Because Mr. Bhowmick is unable to grasp, or even take into consideration the “American way,” it ruins his relationship with his daughter and wife who bask in the new freedom of being in Detroit. Because the wife of Mr. Bhowmick embraces the American way, while her husband refuses to leave his customs in the dark, the couple is bitter to one another, always arguing, and eventually showing their daughter that marriage is a materialistic-loveless act.
One of the hardest things in life is figuring out one’s place in the world. It is hard for people to adjust and adapt to new ideas, while being in a new environment. . In Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story, Joy Harjo’s The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles, and Bgaratu Mukherjee’s A Father, the idea of belonging is presented as a conflict, finding it hard for people to adapt to new settings.

“A Father”, by Bharati Mukherjee, “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles”, by Joy Harjo, and “A Bedtime Story”, by Mitsuye Yamada, are significant because they show the intense inner pressures that are fostered by conflicting ideas or cultures within a person. In “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles”, Harjo shows the speaker’s criticism of bustling, materialistic city life in favor of a quieter life in search of the bigger picture. However, in the end, the speaker falls into a very similar materialistic trap. In “A Bedtime Story”, Yamada’s speaker tells of her frustrations with an old legend that, presumably, is part of her culture. “A Father” tells of the inner concessions that a father must make to resolve the conflict between his Indian roots and his life in America. In the end, he resorts to dramatic means that violently reject American ideas. Each of these works show that sometimes compromises between inner conflicts can only go on for so long before one side wins out in a surprising way.
In “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles”, the speaker has a problem with the materialistic lifestyle of city life. She says that people will sell themselves out until “you’re owned by a company of strangers” (19). This means that people will do anything to get ahead and make extra money to get by in the city. The speaker realizes that there is something bigger going on than what happens in the impersonal life of a city dweller. She says “We must matter to the strange god who imagines us as we revolve together in/ the dark sky on the path to the Milky Way” (11-12). She is showing that there is a reason for people to be here on earth and that there is a god who is looking out for people. This is something that most people do not realize.
However, in the end, the speaker is caught up in materialism in much the same way as many of the city dwellers. She attempts to take a step back and see if she can glean more life from her existence; she wants to escape the conflict between materialism and a higher power by stepping out of the materialistic life. Surprisingly, though, in the last line the reader sees that just the opposite happens. The materialism wins out in the speaker when she says “I collect the shine of anything beautiful I can find” (28). This conflict could have gone only so far without one side pushing the other side away and taking center stage because both sides were so fundamentally different.
In “A Bedtime Story” the reader reads an old Japanese legend that is being told to some young girl before bed. The bedtime story is one of beauty and appreciation that, it seems, the Japanese would have an appreciation for because of their culture. However, the young girl has not been brought up entirely within a Japanese Culture. She lives in Seattle and has, presumably, learned from the culture of fast paced, drama loving Americans. Thus, when she hears the anticlimactic ending of the bedtime story she screams “That’s the end?” (45). It seems that, because of her experience with dramatic American stories that value excitement, the girl has forgotten the Japanese culture’s idea of beauty and, instead, has allowed the excitement of American culture to win out.
In “A Father”, the reader sees a culturally conflicted Indian man named Mr. Bhowmick. He has been forced to compromise his Hindu beliefs with his American life several times. He tells of the entire room devoted to his family’s patron goddess, the goddess of wrath and vengeance, in his childhood home. However, he “couldn’t be that extravagant in Detroit” (659) because of the lack of room in the house and, presumably, the lack of room in American life for an entire bedroom devoted to a Hindu goddess. He compromises and makes one small statue of the goddess and puts it in a small shrine that he built. The reader hears about how the psychology paperbacks were giving his wife the idea that he should be spending more time with his family and about how he had to marry his wife because of the marriage restraints on lower castes in India. Each of these different cultures have created conflict in his life- the American paperbacks, the Indian culture, the Hindu goddess- and Mr. Bhowmick continues to try to compromise between the two and find a happy medium. However, when he is confronted with something so against his Indian culture but something that is, to a small extent, accepted in American life, Mr. Bhowmick reacts in a way that violently sides with his Indian roots. He attacks his daughter and her unborn child for using artificial insemination because of the intense shame that it would bring on the family according to Indian culture.
To a certain extent, it seems, conflicts can be resolved within a person by way of compromise. However, conflicts, especially inner conflicts of culture, often become polarized in an intense way. Compromise can bring someone only so far until the two conflicting sides are so far apart that someone must choose, many times subconsciously, to side with one or the other.

Culture and Perspective: The Path to An Identity

The path to a fulfilling life leads through our attitudes, outlooks, and identities. In Bharati Mukherjee’s “A Father”, Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles”, and Mituye Yamada’s “A Bedtime Story”, these stories all contributed the idea that a perspective can be a very important part of life, and the way you see things may be very different from others. The stories also show attitudes that reflect the way people treat their families, cities, and themselves. While we “wearily climb a hill” to find our lives, it is culture, perspective, and approach to life that dictates whether or not we live contently.
Bharati Mukherjee’s “A Father” is a short story that expresses an apathetic tone throughout much of the story, but has a clear, morbid ending which almost shifts the tone of the rest of the text to one that is possibly depressing and troubling. The portrayal of Mr. Bhowmick is that he is a quiet, religious/superstitious man that does not enjoy America. His attitude towards America dictates the fact that he lives a lonely, depressing existence. He appears very bitter towards his wife and daughter, and while he says he simply does not love them, the majority of his anger seems to stem from the move from India to America. His wife claims that his attitude stays bottled up inside, mainly due to his quiet disposition. However, by the end of the story, we clearly see that he has unleashes his inner emotions as “his wife called the police”.
Mitsuye Yamada’s “A Bedtime Story” shows how one’s outlook can dictate one’s life. In this old Japanese legend, passed down from one’s Papa, it shows an old woman finding the bright side in not being welcomed into any homes in the village. By resting on the hill, she was able to see the beautiful night sky and she found solace and splendor in this sight. While this seemed uneventful to the listener of the story, it is clear that perspective plays a big role in this story.
Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles” paints an excellent picture of the city. This contemporary, 21st century poem also shows that different perspectives can shape the way one sees the city of Los Angeles. Some people can look at the poverty and trash of the city and see conflict and danger; however, others may look beyond the trash, and see the City of Angels, big and beautiful, “revolving in the dark sky on the path to the Milky Way”.

Lack of Appreciation

As I read the three works, “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo, “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada, and “A Father” by Bharati Mukherjee, it crossed my mind that these three pieces of literature tell tales of under appreciation and all put to use heritage. A Bedtime Story tells of a Japanese legend where the narrator doesn’t understand its importance. Joy Harjo’s poem uses Native American language and appreciation of nature and god to portray a unique picture of Los Angeles. A Father tells a story about a father who gets very upset at his daughter for a lack of appreciation of her opportunities.

In A Father, the Bhowmick’s have moved from India to America. The father was very reluctant at first but the mother’s constant persistence made him give in. Once the family arrived, the mother was very quick to leave the culture of India behind, while the father clung very heavily to it. Their daughter, who is in her mid-twenties, has many opportunities that the parents did not have, such as the ability to chose who she wants to marry; the parents’ are part of an arranged marriage. The mother and father in this story seem to be quite distant, probably due to their arranged marriage. When the father finds out that the daughter has been artificially inseminated and is now pregnant without having a husband or even so much as a boyfriend, he lost control of his emotions and got very upset; so upset that he hit her in the stomach in an attempt to kill the baby.

A Bedtime Story is a poem without much punctuation, which adds to its purpose as a free-flowing story. The story is of a papa telling his child of an ancient Japanese legend. The legend tells of a woman sleeping outside on a hill outside of the town in which she had just gone door to door looking for some shelter. While on the hill and about to sleep, the woman sees a once in a lifetime natural light show, and the story ends quite abruptly with her thanking the people of the city, for if she had not been turned down by all she would have never seen this sight. After the father tells the narrator the story, the narrator responds with “That’s the end?” (line 45). The narrator doesn’t appreciate the story, which coincidentally tells of a woman’s gained appreciation for nature. The irony lies in the narrator not appreciating the story about appreciation.

The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles looks at the city of Los Angeles differently than most would ever look at it. The author, who is of Native American descent, takes a very spiritual look at an often nonspiritual city. The narrator describes the city as a place of constantly beautiful summer and suggests that the city has a “shimmer of gods.” The narrator in this poem is a newcomer to the city, and is struggling to fit in. Despite this, the narrator has hope and though he does not “see anything, not just yet” he is collecting “the shine of anything beautiful” (lines 26-28). The narrator, being a newcomer and from a different background, sees what the people of Los Angeles often ignore; its beauty.

In all of these works, there are people who do not appreciate either the chances they were given or the guidance and privileges they have received. Also, none of these ignorant characters realize that they are ignorant or unappreciative on their own; there are no great epiphanies present. In all of these works, one’s background plays a role, whether it be acting as an example of what present freedoms you have, a different take on a common thing, or a way to tell a moral filled story.

Wherever You Go, There You Are

Bringing tradition to the progressive customs of a country, foreign and new, can be a difficult process for those who immigrate to the United States. Many times, immigrants find difficulty in maintaining their history and traditions when leading the American kind of lifestyle. Specifically, the author Bharati Mukherjee, exposes the difficulties of adjusting to the American lifestyle within the short story “A Father.” Similarly, the poem “A Bedtime Story” by Mitsuye Yamada helps to progress the idea that we do not need to forget stories from our culture in order to live in a new place. Finally, the poem “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” by Joy Harjo expresses the notion that no matter where you may travel throughout your life, we are all connected through nature despite our differing cultures and lifestyles.
Mr. Bhowmick, a native of India, a husband, a father, and finally, an immigrant to the United States, finds difficulty in keeping his Indian traditions alive while living in Detroit. As the narrator of the poem presents the story, the reader understands that this family’s move to the U.S. has not been an easy one. In fact, it appears that the new lifestyle has caused certain difficulties within his relationships, especially between his wife, his daughter and even his gods. As the story progresses and the narrator reveals more information about the Bhomick family, we can understand the struggle and stress this family must endure as they figuratively are pulled in two opposing directions from two very distinct cultures. Specifically for Mr. Bhomick, “a dozen times a day he [makes] these small trade offs between new-world reasonableness and old world beliefs” (661). Interestingly, however, in spite of his rigorous religious practices, Mr. Bhomick is surprisingly open to the realization of his daughter’s pregnancy. Although it may be hard for him to come to terms with the fact that the child’s father could be an American, he becomes acclimated to the possibility. Unfortunately, however, when he learns that in fact, there is no real father for the unborn child and that his daughter chose to be artificially inseminated the culture shock proves to be too great for Mr. Bhomick.
The essence of preserving culture and tradition is also expressed within the poem “A Bedtime Story,” written by Mitsuye Yamada. As the speaker is tucked into bed by his father, he is told the story of an old Japanese legend in which a beggar woman travels from village to village, in search of shelter for the night. When no one answers her plea, she spends the night under the stars in a valley—appreciating the opportunity to spend a beautiful night under the stars. The father is trying to lead his child to understand that there is good and beauty in every situation and nature. In the setting of their Seattle, hilltop home, a deeper meaning can be understood as the child questions “that’s the end?” (Line 45). Growing up within the urban United States, away from true Japanese culture, the child does not fully understand the implications of his papa’s story.
As the previous pieces expose the need for cultural traditions to be passed throughout the generations, the final piece “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” progresses the idea that despite our cultural differences, we can find beauty and a connection in nature. By connecting past cultural values with the present, one can find that all humans “revolve together in the dark sky on the path to the milky way” (line 11-12).
To know were you are going it is important to know where you have been. This idea is especially important for those who are immigrants to new places across the globe. For many, the differences are distinct between their native culture and the new culture that they are experiencing—making the adjustment to a new way of life very difficult. The story and poems discussed within this selection of literature offer a resolution to the problem of bridging the wide gap between the cultures, new and old. Essentially, they bring attention to the importance of integrating past experiences into new life situations.

The Value of Cultural Identity and Heritage in American Society

Bharati Mukherjee’ “A Father”, Joy Harjo’s “The Path To The Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles” as well as Mitsuye Amada’s “A Bed Time Story” present unique themes that all relate to the idea of heritage, and the influence of cultural identity in American life. Often times individuals in America are too caught up with money, work, or love and lose touch with their roots. Cities, especially in America are stereotyped as “melting pots” where people can live together, work, love and thrive without compromising their unique identities to conform. However, it is in the melding together that people ironically lose these precious roots, values, and ideals that were once part of a unique cultural identity. Each of these pieces explores this theme and presents a struggle that shows the obstacle of maintaining elements of heritage in cities and American society as a whole.
The short story “A Father” by Bharati Mukherjee appears in many ways to be the greatest illustration of this theme. The ending of the story lends it especially dramatic and disturbing qualities that further illuminate the importance of the story’s theme. The crux of the story deals with an Indian family struggling to live in Detroit. While the mother attempts to cast aside the ideals of her heritage and lead an American life, the father, Mr. Bhowmick tries to preserve his cultural identity and continue rituals such as daily prayer and paying homage to his Kali-Mata. In the meantime, both parents, but especially
Mr. Bhowmick observes the growth of his daughter, Babli, into adulthood from an American upbringing. Babli pays little attention to her Hindu roots, drives a flashy red sports car, and chicly dresses up the power suit she wears to her job each day as an engineer. Much of the conflict in this story is related to the great divide between past and present, heritage and conformity in a society where individuals like Babli, disregard their cultural ideals for an “American” identity.
“A Bed Time Story”, a poem by Mitsuye Amada explores a similar aspect of this theme. In this poem, the father is telling a bedtime story to his daughter with a slightly more serious moral. This poem tells the story of an old woman traveling from village to village looking for a place to stay although no one offers her shelter. Perhaps in this poem, the townspeople have lost touch with their ideals and the simple generosity of helping another human in need. Through this struggle the old woman finds a peaceful and comfortable place on a hill above the villages where she is mesmerized by the beauty before her. Overlooking the valley the woman sees goodness in the selfish acts of others. Moreover, the woman recognizes that by denying her a place to stay the townspeople have given her a much greater opportunity, the chance to witness the beauty before her from a hilltop above.
The last piece, Joy Harjo’s poem “The Path To The Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles” provides great insight into the way cultural identity can be lost in a city like Los Angeles where Hollywood blinds people from recognizing the importance of their roots. While the author notes that in Los Angeles one can “buy a map of the stars’ homes, dial a tone for dangerous love, or choose from several brands of water” it is undeniably difficult to distinguish oneself from the masses of people and sea of glitz and glamour that envelops a city like L.A. At the end of the poem, the speaker talks to a mythic crows that squawks at American culture. Essentially the crows symbolizes the idea that individuals shape out culture and thus culture cannot change unless individuals are the propelling force behind that change. In L.A “the city of the strange and getting stranger” people sell their souls for money, material items, and commercial success which further leads to the notion that knowledge of culture and identity is a lost art.
Each of these pieces, “The Path Of The Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles”, “A Father” and “A Bedtime Story” are successful in communicating the importance of heritage and identity in a society where individuals have lost touch of their roots in favor of money, power, material items, and selfish interests. Abandoning the cultural ideals of heritage is dangerous primarily because individuals lose several of the elements that make them beautifully unique individuals an American society that is at times very harsh and unforgiving.

Heritage: Too Much or Too Little?

The three works: Mukherjee’s “A Father,” Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles,” and Yamada’s “A Bedtime Story” all focus on people whom are struggling with how to integrate American culture into their lives, while still appreciating their own heritages.

In “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles,” the speaker criticizes how materialistic modern societies (particularly Los Angeles) are these days. He notes how easy it is for one to get lost in the immense sea of strangers, and commercialism. On the outside, L.A. is beautiful – sunny, and full of celebrities and riches. But it lacks the inner beauty, which contains real value. It is also lack’s God’s gift of nature: “stripped of anything resembling the shaking of turtle shells” (3-5). In L.A. – people will do anything for wealth and riches, but they are missing the real value. Finally, he concludes by speaking with a crow; an animal that just watches the people while laughing at them; he tells the speaker to just wait and see.

“A Bedtime Story” consists of a father telling his daughter a legend. The story has it that an old, poor, Japanese lady had nowhere to sleep, and went through an entire village asking the people to sleep in their homes. When everyone turned her down, she resorted to sleeping on the top of a hill. As she was laying their, she was able to admire the beautiful moon. She even went as far as to thank the townspeople – for if they had not denied her shelter, she would have missed the opportunity to view such a “memorable sight.” The Father told his daughter this tale as a way of urging her to firstly appreciate her heritage/culture, and secondly find good in all situations, as the old lady did.. Sadly the young girl clearly did not understand either message; this was shown in her response; “That’s the end?”

“A Father” is the story of an Indian family living in Detroit. Mr. Bhowmick, the father, is attached to his heritage – he says his daily prayers in Sanskrit, has a shrine for his goddess, and missed his homeland. His wife and daughter on the other hand were much more “American.” Babli, Mr. Bhomick’s daughter, particularly adapted well; she had a successful career and good friends. Yet she was missing one piece – a relationship; when it became clear that she would never find someone whom her parents would accept, she saw that her only option in terms of having children was to be artificially inseminated. Ultimately, this upset her parents more than even marrying a white man would have, and ended painfully for her. It was ironic how Mr. Bhowsmick was willing to accept that his daughter was impregnated out of marriage, but that he took such drastic measures as to kill the baby when he learned that the father of the baby was “a bottle and a syringe.”

These authors all showed the difficulties that immigrants show with accepting their new lives, while also maintaining their culture and values, and recognizing their ancestry. Mr. Bhomick in “A Father” would have benefited from opening his eyes more fully to the world he was living in. The daughter in “A Bedtime Story” does not realize the value of embracing her ancestry – and the valuable life lessons she will learn from doing so. One’s background and cultureis an integral part of he/she as a person, and finding a healthy balnce of how much to value it is necessary to lead a complete life.

American Assimilation

The short story "A Father," by Bharati Mukherjee, the poem The Path to the Milky Way leads through Los Angeles, by Joy Harjo, and the poem A Bedtime Story, by Mitsuye Yamada each take place in America, but derive influences from the character's native country. Being able to combine the two nations in each of the characters is handled in different ways.
Mukherjee's story "A Father" is about a man, Mr. Bhowmick, and his family. His wife is an agnostic and his daughter doesn't care too much about her religion, so the father stands alone in his prayers and worshipping. Mr. Bhowmick moved to Detroit to please his wife, and was able to find a better job there. He was also a very superstitious man and didn't take the signs from his worshipping figure and heritage lightly. "Mr. Bhowmick was also a prudent enough man to know that some abiding truth lies bunkered within each wanton Hindu superstition." (pg 661) After his neighbor sneezed he knew something was going to happen, and it turned out he found out that his daughter was pregnant when he went back in the house to re-start his trip. Both Mr. Bhowmick and his wife were very traditioned in their customs. When their daughter, Babli, fessed up to being pregnant she also told them that there was no man involved. In America this is a rising custom for women who want a family, but don't necessarily want or need a man to do it. Mr. Bhowmick was fine with the fact that she was pregnant, but when he found out their was no father the idea was just unacceptable. The mother referred to her daughter "like an animal"(pg 665) and "Mr. Bhowmick lifted the rolling pin high above his head and brought it down hard on the dome of Babli's stomach."(pg 665) In this story the combination of the father's old Hindu heritage and the new American lifestyle did not mix well. Sometimes cultures are so different that people can never fully assimilate.
Harjo's The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles is about an immigrant moving to the city of Los Angeles. The reader gets this from the first line where "there are strangers above me, below me, and all around me and we are all strange in this place of recent invention." The poem is about coming to a new place, not knowing where to go or fit in, and waiting for someone to guide you. "We must matter to the strange god who imagines us as we revolve together in the dark sky on the path to the Milky Way," (line 11-12) gives the image that this guide is a god and that everybody is a part of this galaxy and feels this way at some point in their lives. This city is so strange to the speaker not only because they aren't familiar with it, but they aren't familiar with its customs and ideas of profit seeking souls. In America people will do almost anything to make money, because it is so important to Americans. So when people come here, especially to a huge city like Los Angeles, they don't expect it's fast paced and crude behavior, and when you aren't accustomed to it you feel like you'll never fit in.
Yamada's A Bedtime Story is a poem where a parent is telling their child, who are from Seattle, a story about an old Japanese woman. In this story the woman is shut out by everyone when she is trying to find a place to sleep for a night. In the end of the story the woman thanks these people, because if they didn't shut her out she wouldn't be able to see the beautiful sight that was outside at night. The last stanza of the poem explains the significance of the story. It says "Papa paused, I waited. In the comfort of our hillptop home in Seattle overlooking the valley, I shouted "That's the end?"(lines 40-45) From this stanza the reader understands how much things have changed in America. We look for excitement in the everyday and don't like to accept anything less. We don't really care about people we don't know, even if we are related to them by heritage.
These two poems and the short story explain the differences in American culture and the difficulties of assimilating to it. We forget that our families were immigrants at one time too and our culture now is based on their heritage.

Origin

Bharati Mukherjee’s “A Father”, Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way lead through Los Angeles” and Mitsuye Yamada’s “A Bedtime Story” all present the idea of origin. Mukherjee shows how his origin impacts his entire life, his culture, his ideas, his way of living. Harjo illustrates how no matter where you are from, no matter who you are, everyone is connected. Yamada depicts origin telling a tale about the Japanese woman and how she learned to appreciate where she lives by being rejected by her own people.
In Mukherjee’s story, Mr. Bhomick wants nothing more than to keep his Indian culture, and his Indian way of life while living in the United States. His wife and daughter on the other hand want nothing more than to leave the Indian way of life and embrace the culture of he United States and live like Americans. It is in these two sets of characters that we see a common conflict among immigrants when they enter the country, whether they should abandon what they have known all their lives to start anew or stay with the culture and what is familiar to them. So here the dillemna is presented of whether to embrace your place of origin or to forget about it in order to shape a new identity.
Horjo’s poem shows a different take on origin. In this poem we see how all the different cultures are connected through the eyes of this Native American speaker. The authors point in this poem was not to separate the places people come from but to unite them in a place, in Los Angeles. This shows that people do not need to let go of their origin but can embrace it and still survive and thrive in the United States.
Yamada’s “A bedtime Story” is yet another take on origin. The author here presents an old woman who is rejected by her people in a time of need, but yet after this rejection she is able to turn it into a positive experience. This Japanese woman is able to look at the situation as a way to appreciate where she came from and to appreciate what she has. She uses it as a humbling experience, and in this she appreciates her origin without ever having to leave it.
You can never erase the place in which you come from, you can try to forget or even deny it. But it is something that lives deep inside you, inside your heart, inside your mind and inside your soul. All three of these authors were trying to depict how important your origin can be because it makes such a strong impact on who you are and you will eventually become.

Understanding & Appreciating Heritage

In Bharati Mukherjee’s A Father, Joy Harjo’s The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles and Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story the idea of appreciating your heritage and the things that are taken for granted. From young children to young adults many Americans become so distant from their heritage and background that they don’t realize its value. In order for people to understand and appreciate their background they must learn to see and take advantage of the greatness in their heritage. By recognizing the importance and worth of heritage people will be able to find good in things and avoid disastrous situations.

Due to the lack of appreciation and understanding of heritage, children have failed to realize good aspects of their heritage when it is right in front of them. In Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story, a father is telling an old Japanese legend to the speaker. The story is about a woman who is rejected from all the houses in her town and as a result must sleep on a top of a hill where she sees the moon. The woman thanks the town for not accepting her into their homes because she would have never been able to see such a “memorable sight.” In the end, the child doesn’t realize the importance of the story because she expects more. She misses the whole point of the story and her heritage, which was finding good in any situation. Unlike the woman in the story, the speaker fails to appreciate her heritage because she doesn’t see the good part of the experience which was spending time with her father.

The inability for a person to understand their heritage or correctly interpret aspects of their heritage can result in traumatic consequences. In Bharati Mukherjee’s A Father Babli doesn’t understand aspects of her heritage. Since she was little she would watch her father and mother relationship which consisted of her father constantly excluding himself from the family. Babli would say, “Face it Dad, you have an affect deficit,” she didn’t understand why her father would lock himself away from the family. Because Babli doesn’t understand her father and his old beliefs she get artificially inseminated because she knows that if she would get married she would have to marry somebody of the same descent. Babli’s failure to understand her father’s ways and her heritage causes her to do something drastic which results in pain, he father beating the baby to death.

By valuing one’s backgrounds, a person is able to find beauty and greatness but the path way to utopia is finding value in heritage and in the present. In Joy Harjo’s The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles, the speaker talks about how he lives in a “place of invention” Los Angeles. He mentions how it is not like his home in Okalahoma but he finds beauty in it just like the crow. In lines 21 -23 the speaker is cherishing his home by referring to the learning from the crow. However, in the final line he proves that the best way to live life is by taking aspects from his background and using those aspects to find splendor in everyday things of the world.

Heritage and background are such and integral part of an individuals life that they need to find the greatness in their heritage and use it to his or her advantage. By fully valuing and comprehending one’s heritage will help people recognize good in things. If an individual fails to recognize the importance of his or her heritage only pain will result.

Longing

In all three of tomorrow’s works the characters have feelings of longing, and most often longing to “fit in.” In Bharati Mukherjee’s “A Father,” the main character, Mr. Bhowmick longs to have his family fit in and be happy in America while his daughter longs to be like other women her age and have a child. In Joy Harjo’s “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” the speaker mentions how there are so many people in the city and each person is longing for something different. And in Mitsuye Yamada’s “A Bedtime Story” the main character of the Japanese legend is looking for a place to stay, while the speaker is looking for more to the story he/she is being told.

This sense of longing can also be illustrated in a benefit that I volunteered at this past weekend. I am part of the dance team and this past Saturday we volunteered at a benefit for the Casey Cares Foundation, which is a foundation for terminally ill children. We did simple things such as selling raffle tickets and getting people to go onto the dance floor when the band started playing, but what impacted us most about the evening was hearing about the children’s stories and interacting with the families. Many of these children have diseases that can be cured while others unfortunately can not. As a result, the families of these children are not only longing for a cure, but simply longing for their happiness and comfort. That is what the Casey Cares Foundation strives to do, they try to make each child as happy and comfortable as they possibly can be during this terrible time in their life.

Happiness is what was also longed for by Mr. Bhowmick. He strongly longed for the happiness of his family and for the possibility of them all to fit in as well as they possibly could here in America. In fact, it was his wife’s longing to be in America that brought them to live there permanently. Mr. Bhowmick’s daughter also longs to find her place in America. She is 26 years old and lives at home with her parents with no male prospects that her parents see. She has many wonderful friends but longs for something more, something that many women of her age have, a child. Because she does not have a boyfriend/fiancé she looks to what other options she has, which would be through in vitro fertilization. Unfortunately, this is not something her parents want to hear and they are not happy about her decision.

In “A Bedtime Story” the speaker of the poem is also very disappointed in the end. They are being told a bedtime story by their father about a woman longing for a place to sleep. She goes up to each house inside a village searching for a place to sleep with no luck. However, while she is outside the village the moon appears out of the clouds, a sight that she would not have seen that clearly, and if at all if she was in the village. She finds this feeling of contentment as what she was longing for. The speaker of the poem is not as content, they are looking for more at the end of the story.

The speaker in “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” is also longing for more. They talk about how L.A. is full of celebrities and that it is “perpetually summer”(6) but it is lacking of the more meaningful things of life. L.A. is what we as humans have made it to be, but it is lacking the natural beauty that God had created everywhere in the beginning. The speaker states how they “collect the shine of anything beautiful [they] can find”(28.) Not the shine of gold and diamonds and the monetary riches of Los Angeles, but the natural beauty, which is becoming even rarer.

Longing is something that we all feel sometime in our lives. Whether it is longing to fit in such as the Bhowmick family, or the longing for happiness that Mr. Bhowmick has for his wife and daughter and the Casey Cares Foundation has along with the families of the sick children have for their children. As well as the longing for more, which I believe is the most common form of longing, which is what both speakers are yearning for in “The Path to the Milky Way…” as well as “A Bedtime Story.”

America's Influence

America’s influence on our own as well as foreign culture is a theme prevalent in “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles”, “A Bedtime Story” and “A Father”. The three works use major U.S. metropolises as a setting. The writers of the entitled pieces introduce the audience to characters who are struggling with American culture. In the end of each piece, this drastic change of culture is proven to be a detriment to the speaker and or protagonist.

Joy Harjo’s, “The Path to the Milky Way Leads through Los Angeles” is a poem about finding yourself amongst the modernization of America. The speaker has lost their individuality within a sea of people and commercialization, which is better known as Los Angeles. The speaker mentioned how attractive the city can be during the day as well as the nighttime. However, Harjo contradicts the beauty of Los Angeles with, “This city named for the angels appears naked and stripped of anything…” (Harjo 3). Even though this metropolis is beautiful, American culture and society has tainted this “city of angels”. The speaker stated that people, “…can’t easily see that starry road from the perspective of the crossing of / boulevards, can’t hear it in the whine of civilization or taste the minerals / of planets in hamburgers” (Harjo 13-15). Americans cannot enjoy the simple things in life without being blinded by the glitz and glamour of our everyday changing culture. At the end of the poem, the speaker talked to a crow. The crow is symbolized as a swindler and one who laughs at American culture. “Crow just laughs and says wait, wait, and see and I am waiting and not seeing / anything, not just yet” (Harjo 26-27). The crow has been waiting for society to change and realize the real beauty that Los Angeles can offer without commercialization, but it has yet to happen. Individually, we cannot find or change ourselves, unless our culture changes first.

“A Bedtime Story” was a poem that dealt with foreign culture. There is a Papa and a child living in the city of Seattle. The child, who is the speaker of the poem, is being told “an old Japanese legend” (Yamada 2). The legend is of an old woman who is nomadic. The next three stanzas deal with the child telling the audience the old legend. There is not climax to the legend and the final stanza of the poem is concluded by the speaker saying “‘That’s the end?’” (Yamada 45). The story is very simple and is not a large production. The child is not impressed by an old legend of his culture. The legend has a simple message but it did not woo the youngster. Americanization has yet again been an antagonist in this poem. The child might be use to dramatic tales found in movies or on television. Therefore, the story told by his Papa was a disappointment. The permeation of American culture into foreign culture can taint or ruin a family’s heritage.

Bharati Mukherjee’s story, “A Father” was a depressing and disturbing tale about the Bhowmick family. The main character, Mr. Bhowmick, is very unhappy with his life in Detroit. The Bhowmicks have an unhappy marriage, a pretentious daughter, and their new American culture is interfering with their old Indian beliefs. “The women in his family were smarter than him. They were cheerful, outgoing, more American somehow” (Mukherjee 660). Mr. Bhowmick had a monotonous job at General Motors and is averse to giving up his Indian customs. “After that he showered…he recited prayers in Sanskrit to Kali” (Mukherjee 659). Mr. Bhowmick does not want to fall into this new western way of life. The controversial part of the story came when Mr. Bhowmick discovered that his daughter, Babli, was pregnant. The daughter was keeping her pregnancy a secret from her parents. Pregnancy outside of marriage was dishonorable according to Indian customs. “Babli would abort, of course. He knew his Babli. It was the only possible option if she didn’t want to bring shame to the Bhowmick family” (Mukherjee 662). It was not until the end of the story that Babli’s secret came out. Babli had no real husband and therefore the father to her child was a mystery. “The father of my baby is a bottle and a syringe” (Mukherjee 665). This Americanized act of artificial insemination did not sit well with the Bhowmicks. Babli wanted to continue on with the pregnancy, which was against her parent’s wishes. Babli was becoming more American and less Indian in the eyes of her parents. Mr. Bhowmick tried to abort the pregnancy himself by striking his daughter’s stomach with a rolling pin. Mr. Bhowmick was against immigrating to America in the first place, and he sure was not going to be the grandfather to an American child. The Bhowmick family was another victim to the evil known as American culture.

All three pieces of literature opened my eyes to how powerful culture can be. Whether it is adapting to a new lifestyle or conforming to present standards, culture can be positive or negative. The three works showed the negative side of American culture. Americans today are even more egotistical and possessive than ever before. Changing the way we individually act and present ourselves can better society as more importantly, change the way outsiders view American culture.

Conflict in Literature

Conflict and contradiction are major components found within literary works. Tensions can arise between characters, schools of thought, and evolution of cultures. Both Bharati Mukherjee’s “A Father” and Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story tackle the issue of culture and conflict; as time progresses aspects of human life change, regardless of if it’s occurring for the better.
Mukherjee’s “A Father” very avidly presents the reader with contradiction and conflict within the structure of a short story. The reader is shown the tension between “new-world reasonableness and old-world beliefs.” With time comes a shift in human perspective: evolution leads to new ideas and beliefs. “A Father” portrays the differences between the fathers, Mr. Bhowmick’s, views as instilled in him by his cultural background, and those views of the new American society in which he has raised his daughter. The author makes mention of the high school that his daughter, Babli, attended and how it was “both native to her, and alien.” Although Babli was raised in America, there are aspects that set her apart, ideas that make her different. These ideas also separate Mr. Bhowmick’s wife from her native people and himself from breaking away from his cultural rituals. The past is a major aspect of life and something that is extremely hard to let go of. Conflict then arises between the past and the present. In order to conform, you must be similar to those things found around your. Unfortunately, this is too great an ideal and usually contradicts reality. Though Bhowmick wanted to take a beautiful bride, his lack of finances didn’t allow him to do so: though Babli is a young, intelligent female, she is unloved. Ultimately, Bhowmick’s greatest conflict is found in the pregnancy of his daughter. Although he yearns for a grandson and someone to love his daughter, bastarding a child is considered a grave sin. In the end, his conflict is resolved when he finds out the child is not one of love but rather one of want. He himself ends the conflict with an extermination of the pregnancy.
Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story similarly evokes the theme of conflict. There is shown comparison between an ancient time and present, as well as nature versus modern culture. As the main character reveals the story of the old woman’s night under the stars, the listener reveals the significance of experience. Although the woman was treated poorly and had many doors closed in her face, good came out of her tribulations. She was turned away by many only to have Nature reveal herself. The beauty of Nature was shown to the woman in the form of the moon, and the woman was finally able to see the good that arose from her rejections. The speaker dictates with an overall sense of optimism and new perspective. Over all, time has changed the experiences of the listener sitting outside compared to the experiences of the woman. Nature is no longer as apparent as she used to be since modern culture has shunned her away; only by looking and reaching out to her will we see her true beauty.
Both Mukherjee’s “A Father” and Mitsuye Yamada’s A Bedtime Story accurately present the aura of conflict and contradiction within literature. Conflicts arise from characterization, clash of cultures, and evolution of time. When there is a shift in perspective or time, tensions develop between characters or even past versus present. Although these tensions can be of good or bad nature, they lead to a change of perspective.

Jesuits in the City

On Friday, I went to the panel discussion of literature in the city. The panel consisted of four local author: John Cane from The Baltimore Sun newspaper; Elizabeth Evitts from the Urbanite; Jane Conly, author of Rasco and the Rats of Nimh and While No One Was Wathcing; and Chevia Thomson Cager, a local Baltimore poet. At the beginning of the discussion each panelist either gave a description of their job or read an excerpt from their catalogue of work. This was helpful in getting a feel for each author’s personality and area of expertise; however, the real jewel of the discussion was the question and answer portion. During this time, the panelists made comments about the city that directly correlate to the Ignatian spirituality of viewing the world as God’s classroom.

Gregory Kane exemplifies many Jesuits ideals with his persistence in seeking truth and justice. Kane explained that in his line of work, the hardest part is getting public officials to tell the truth. One of his greatest techniques for getting at the heart of the story is to meet people face to face. If someone doesn’t answer to Mr. Kane’s questions over the phone, he will find them and chat with them. Kane is currently using this technique to uncover the circumstances of a Baltimore City inmate’s mysterious death. For the last year, the spokesman for the corrections facility has given Kane the run around, saying he would let him know when new information became available. Recently, Kane has begun driving down to the facility to “rattle the cage”, so to speak. This reminds me of the persistence with which many Jesuits protest the violent crimes committed as a result of the School of the Americas. Every year, hundreds of Jesuits from around the country demand the school, which trains foreign countries in military tactics, to close. This commitment to justice and distaste for violence defines the Jesuit ideals.

Another Jesuit ideal was brought up by Elizabeth Evitts of the Urbanite. Evitts, a great fan of Jane Jacobs work, wonders how we can step back and listen rather than jumping to conclusions. In the city, we rush to come up with quick fixes to problems associated with an urban environment, wasting money along the way. For instance, we are building a highway into the city, which city planners now say will not be large enough to support the proper volume of traffic. Rather than stepping back and looking for a solutions that will be convenient for automobile owners and those who use the buses, our city counsel plays politic: just trying to win the argument rather than working together to come up with a real, lasting solution. It is the responsibility of the Jesuits and those enrolled at their universities to put their own ambitions, passions, and desires aside and to seek God desires and truths. Only by giving themselves fully to God, can the Jesuits make clear and meaningful decisions.

Chevia Thomson Cager brought up a very important Jesuit principle when she was asked about the stoop and its social significance. Cager exalts the stoop as a form of “communion” for the city: a place where people have fellowship with one another. Being in the front of the house, the stoop is the spot where all people congregate, discuss, and plan. It is quite important for the Jesuits to be in close communication with his fellow man. Not only did Jesus command us to love our neighbor (see Luke 10:27), but the Jesuits Constitution clearly states that Jesuits are to “not only to apply one's self to one's own salvation and to perfection with the help of divine grace but to employ all one's strength, for the salvation and perfection of one's neighbor.” God gives us an inborn desire to be in communion with him and others (see Matthew 18:20), and the stoop can act as a crossroads for this meeting.

However, with the stoops being replaced by private backyard patios with bar-b-ques, politicians making decisions based on their election status, and devious public officials giving non-answers to simple questions; it is easy to see that the city is in dire need of a divine interruption from the ordinary. We, Loyola College, are the divine interruption that this city has been weeping for.

The Importance Of Identity

A strong sense of identity is one of the most important aspects of an individual’s character. It is important to recognize and learn through discernment, to develop the skills of thinking critically and evaluating, to differentiate oneself from the masses of people in this world. With regard to the reading assignments for this week, I found this to be a common theme between them. Additionally, when I thought about my service at St. Mary’s school this past Tuesday, I realized it was a common theme there too. The poem “In A Station of the Metro” as well as the story “Everyday Use” features the concept of identity, and how identity can be blurred or lost. I felt that this theme was prevalent to my experience at St. Mary’s this past week because I had to opportunity to work with the younger children and witness how they interact. It is interesting to watch such young and impressionable children and see how they react to each other’s actions and decisions to further develop a sense of self.
Although I usually work with the seventh and eighth graders, this week I had the opportunity to work with a group of first grade students at St. Mary’s. At this age, five and six, children are highly impressionably and are developing their likes and dislikes, and ultimately the foundations of their identities. In relation to the works I read this week, it appears that identity is an increasingly important aspect of one’s character, especially in today’s world. Hearing the children call each other names like “copy-cat” reminded me of my childhood and made me think about what these names really mean. One of the little girls was coloring her picture of an apple red, and several of the other children mimicked this. Another one of the children colored his apple purple with orange spots. Observing this difference helped me recognize that this child had somewhat of his own identity; instead of following the others he carved out his own path and was not afraid to color the apple the way he wanted to. Many of the other kids simply conformed, and colored their apples red because that is all they know. Through these observations I recognized that it is important for the children to embrace their differences and individuality and be encouraged to develop a sense of identity.
The concept of identity plays an important role in literature from the past and the present. “In a Station of the Metro”, a poem by Ezra Pound is a simple, modern haiku that in many ways deals with this theme. I felt that it was ironic that such a simple short poem could evoke such emotion and lend itself to so many different interpretations. In fact, when I initially read this piece I was very unsure about its meaning, and had to read it several times and read the story in order to extract a common tie between the two and identify the poem’s theme. When I read the poem, I immediately imagined the image of a train speeding through a dark tunnel blurring the faces of a crowd of individuals standing on the platform. As a result, I thought that the contrast of a blur of faces in a dark tunnel symbolizes petals on a black bough. The theme of identity plays an important role with this piece because as the train speeds by, the faces lose identity. Ultimately, they almost appear like an apparition. The crowd of light colored faces contrasts the dark subway tunnel the way flower petals would on a wet black bough. As a result, I found the tone of this poem to be rather dark and bleak unlike the tone of Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”.
Alice Walker’s story had less of a dark tone, but was very similar to the Ezra Pound piece in terms of theme. On the surface the story appears as if it is simply about a mother deciding to which daughter she should give two very special and unique family heirloom quilts. However, the crux of the story is the distinction between the practical values of the younger daughter, Maggie and the superficial values of the older daughter, Dee. This idea easily translates into a question of how the quilts should be used. Should they be given to Dee and kept for show, as a symbol of the family’s African heritage? Or, should they be given to Maggie to use, admire, and commemorate her strong female ancestors? This story examines the importance of heritage in determining one’s identity, however, ultimately the author realizes that Dee’s emphasis on her African Heritage is superficial, just like the new life she has created for herself. In trying to escape the life she had with his mother and sister, Dee changed her name and her sense of style to reflect her roots. It is in this transformation that Dee essentially loses touch with her true roots, her family. As a result, the mother gives Maggie the two quilts, although Dee thinks she is less deserving. Just as Maggie will put the quilts to more practical use, she has a truer more practical identity than Dee, who is too concerned with superficial things and trying to display her heritage.
Each of these pieces in their own unique way examines the theme of identity and the important role in plays in individuals’ lives. Often times identity is lost or blurred in pursuit of lofty or superficial goals. Ezra Pound’s poem helps readers visualize this concept while Alice’s Walker’s story puts this theme into practice by applying it to a story. My experience volunteering at St. Mary’s School this week helped me recognize the importance of identity in establishing a sense of self. This idea is especially important in today’s world where people are often distracted by superficial and commercial interests. Working with the younger group of children helped me recognize the importance of encouraging such young impressionable minds to think and discern on their own, to further develop a sense of self.

The Need for a Connection

Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use” and Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” both share a common theme of relationships and everyday life. On Tuesday I went to a presentation by NAMI (National Association of Mental Illnesses). This presentation was extremely interesting in that it gave you an inside look at the lives of people who suffer from mental illnesses. The short story, poem, and presentation all give people a chance to go inside the minds and make connections with those surrounding you.
In the short story, Walker focuses on the relationship a mother shares with her daughters. With Dee, there is a strained relationship and tension is clearly present. With Maggie, there seems to be a more natural love and appreciation between them. When Dee comes home after being fortunate enough to be able to go away to school, she views herself as superior to her family. Rather than treating her family with the respect they deserve, Dee pushes them around and constantly reminds her mom and sister how much better off she is. She does not take into account their feelings whatsoever and while visiting, makes her relationship with them even more stressed. If she had realized that this is her history, where she came from, and had appreciated and embraced it, then they would all be better off while leading happier lives.
Ezra Pound’s poem also focuses on human interaction but in a much less emotional way. She writes as she zones in on her surroundings. She is in a crowded place and all around her are people of all different cultures, statures, and lives. Despite the countless differences between the people all around, everyone is still connected by living in this society. This is point she is trying to get across in the second line when she states “Petals on a wet, black bough.” It is vital to take in and appreciate the surrounding areas and neighbors. This action will help you make decisions in your life and emphasize the idea that everyone is linked together in some way or another.
The NAMI presentation was one that really opened my eyes. It consisted of a movie that was shown and two speakers. In the movie, there were a group of people that suffered from mental disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia and schizoaffective. The movie was broken down into four sections entitled “Dark Days”, “Coping”, “Treatment”, and “Faith, Hopes, and Dreams.” Each section interviewed a few of the people that had an illness as they discussed what they went through and what they were feeling during these steps to their recovery. Along with the movie, there were two speakers that came. The speakers also suffered from mental illnesses and they shared their stories with us as well. The man suffered from bipolar disorder. It was interesting to hear his story. He shared with us his darkest days. One of them was when his wife was pregnant. He was driving a car with her in it and was convinced that she was going to leave him. He locked the doors, pulled over and refused to let her out. The police were called and he was arrested. After realizing how low his life has really gone, he underwent treatment. He now lives to see his 20 month old son and says that his son is what makes him want to never go through an episode again. The woman that came suffered from bipolar as well as anorexia. She told us her darkest days were when her fiancée had broken up with her over email. She hadn’t eaten for four days, she drank anything she could get her hands on, would not leave her house and had started to slit her wrists. She knew she needed help and eventually called her mom who then brought her to a hospital where after many rough patches, began to recover. Their stories really helped you understand them better and it was interesting to hear how they have been treated in the past by their peers and family. It is a known fact that a good percentage of homeless people do in fact have a mental illness. After hearing these people tell their stories, I realized that if they had not had supportive family and friends then they could have wound up on the streets as well.
The poem written by Ezra Pound and Alice Walker’s short story both focus on relationships and the need for connections with people. After hearing the people from the NAMI presentation speak, the desire for interactions with people and the feeling of love seem to be even more important than can be realized by most people.

Accentuating Education

Last week, Marion Orr visited Loyola and delivered a compelling lecture regarding the public school system here in Baltimore. Living outside of Philadelphia and well as Camden, New Jersey, it was not news to me that inner city schools have an innumerable amount of problems. I also came from a public school in the suburbs, yet it is astonishing to me personally to know that neighboring communities refuse to pay or help aid the education of the future generation.

Poverty and social trends plague the Baltimore public school system and the Baltimore community. It was astonishing to hear that 100% of students in some public schools in Baltimore are living in poverty. It was also mentioned that in 2005, 30% of families living in Baltimore were impoverished. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, there was a serious change in the demography in Baltimore. There was a significant increase in the African American population. This increase in diversity caused a “White Flight” in 1970. Today there are 500,000 less Caucasian Americans living in Baltimore than in the 1950.

Aside from these social issues, employment within the public school system has been on the decline. More that ½ of the teachers in Baltimore public schools are not qualified. This lack of qualification led to only 9% of the African Americans within the public school system to go on and receive a college diploma. Also, there has been a decrease in city standardized testing scores. The number of students who drop out of school is on the rise.

Orr, unlike David Simon, did offer some hope to this disheveled school system. The environment of the school, as well as Baltimore needs to be changed. The schools need to hire a qualified staff, help needy families, and keep their promises to change. The school system needs to remember that they are a source of knowledge and to keep a promise to children in terms of fulfilling learning. Also, people on the outside of the problem need to view the public schools as an “investment” not a “charity”. This, personally, was the extremely important. Orr was not calling for pity, but to invest time to help treat the situation. Feeling sorry will only propel the problem.

Student members that were in attendance last week, including myself, should realize how privileged we are attending a private and prestigious college. Some of students in the inner school systems here in Baltimore, along with other troubled urban areas around the nations, may never be able to experience this great gift of education. The Loyola community should take Orr’s advice and invest time into helping the Baltimore community. One person could help change a multi-decade long cancer.

The poem, “In a Station of the Metro” and the short story, “Everyday Use” add to Orr’s lecture. Both works deal with culture as well as separation. “In a Station of the Metro”, even though it takes place in a busy, railroad station, the people are all different and separated. “Everyday Use” fuses family culture and generational differences to create a cohesive and moving story.

Ezra Pound’s, “In a Station of the Metro”, sets the scene of an everyday, train station. People are constantly coming and going in a constant mass. Faces and expression change from person to person. We are a self-centered society and forget about the bigger picture of life. Even though our lives are non-stop, we need to remember where we come from. The foreshadowing by Pound, “…a wet, black bough” (Pound 2) could mean that people are distancing themselves from their culture and community. This can be paralleled to Orr’s lecture. Orr wants the citizens of Baltimore as well as its neighboring community to open their arms. Orr emphasized to the audience to become involved in Baltimore and make a change. I think Pound and Orr we trying to advocate the act of coming back in touch with their roots to aid the present and more importantly the future.

“Everyday Uses” by Alice Walker talked about family culture and heritage. The story is comical as well as lighthearted. Mama, the narrator, lived in a dilapidated house with her daughter Maggie. The two are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mama’s other daughter Dee. When Dee finally returned back home, she is not the same person. With a new name, wardrobe, and vernacular, it is hard to recognize Dee, or Wangero, her new name. The story continues on, with Mama and “Dee” recollecting the past, while Maggie is scared of her older sister. The role of culture comes in when “Dee” inquired about family quilts. She wanted to hang the quilts up in her new house, with her new husband, in her new life. However, Mama had promised the quilts to Maggie. An argument ensues leaving the family frustrated. “Dee” felt that Maggie did not appreciate the quilts. Yet, Mama realized that Maggie is the daughter who has stuck by her and has not changed who she is. The quilts are Maggie’s to keep and “Dee” leaves the house empty-handed. This concept of being true to whom you are and also your upbringing could be found in Orr’s lecture. If you are living here in this city, you should love it, be involved, and embrace this diverse culture.

The two pieces and the lecture are passionately involved with culture. Having self identity and embracing diversity are important life lessons. Fortunately, I was brought up with a strong family as well as education to realize that. Hopefully, children of Baltimore will be able to have this life lesson one day through their education.

Community and Understanding

Marion Orr’s talk on the problems facing education in Baltimore goes hand in hand with Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro” and Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” because they all emphasize connectedness, or a lack thereof, among a group. “In a Station of the Metro” is a poem about the anonymity of people who are physically very close to each other. “Everyday Use” talks about the connectedness of a mother and her daughter while it shows the falling apart that occurs when people do not stick together and continue to talk and relate to each other. Marion Orr emphasized the importance of community groups in the city to mobilize families to fight urban problems. These three works emphasize the connectedness and locality of certain people and warn of the dangers of losing contact. They support the claim that contact and emphasis of local strengths are very important to relationships.
Marion Orr spoke about Baltimore’s problems with education in the city. He outlined a bleak state of affairs for the education system. Baltimore, he said, lost a great deal of its tax base during a massive exodus of wealthy people to Baltimore County in previous decades. He said that, at the same time, poorer black families moved to the city in droves. The tax base was eroded even more as manufacturing jobs in Baltimore were sent elsewhere. Orr said that Baltimore had lost much of its say in state government because voter turnout in Baltimore was a paltry, almost negligible, percentage. He warned of the dangers of losing the city’s youth to the dangers of the urban culture and he proposed his own course of action to help bring about change in the city schools and the city’s neighborhoods. His solution consisted in tapping into the countless local community groups to work within each neighborhood or community to bring out strengths in each community and to provide activities to the youth of the city. His main idea was to bring neighborhoods together in these groups in order to bring out each community’s strengths through teamwork and interconnectedness. In this way, Orr said, the local relationships would grow stronger and become an important tool to fight against the problems facing youth in the city.
Ezra Pound’s poem “In a Station of the Metro” is a picture of a city that is the opposite of Orr’s idea. While Orr wants interconnectedness and familiarity, Pound talks about a metro where faces simply appear in the crowd, somewhat anonymously. He uses the words “wet” and “black” (2) to add a tone of darkness and make the picture seem to be not ideal. While the crowd in the metro is physically close, like the neighborhoods from Orr’s talk, they do not have a personal relationship and do not know each other. Pound’s poem insinuates that they are all connected; they are one crowd and they are all leaves on one bough. However, that bough is black because its only connection is a physical one, there is no relationship, which would be ideal and, perhaps, add some color to the branch.
“Everyday Use”, by Alice Walker, shows a dichotomy between familiarity and estrangement. Mama and Maggie live together and are familiar with each other, their own culture, and their family life. Dee, on the other hand, has left the family, gone to college, married another man from somewhere else, and, after her education, believes that she knows the problems with black people’s culture and the solution to them. She tells Mama that Mama does not understand her own heritage when, in fact, it is Dee who does not understand her true heritage. She has been learning about her theoretical or historical heritage for so long and has been away from her own roots for so long that she has a distorted view of her family and its culture. She says that “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts! She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use” (Walker, 931). She is referencing quilts that she wants to take to her home to admire as art, but she does not understand that they were made to be used by the family and appreciated as useful- something the poor probably have to do often. Like Orr, Walker seems to emphasize that familiarity and locality are important to understanding, while distancing and separation are not ideal.
These three works show that familiarity is important because it allows understanding and teamwork. They show that when people are separated personally they cannot support each other. However, when communities are brought together physically and in a relationship with each other, much more understanding and common good can come out.

On Friday, March 16, I attended the panel of writers in McGuire Hall. Being 3 o’clock on a rainy Friday afternoon, I was surprised at the large turnout (I am sure cookies and hamburgers had a small influence). But it was definitely worth my time. I felt that the Writing Department did a good job of selecting a unique and interesting panel of four writers to speak with the college community. The group consisted of Gregory Kane, a Baltimore Sun reporter, Elizabeth Evitts, the editor-in-chief of the editorial “The Urbanite,” poet essayist/Diva and professor – Chezia Thompson Cager, and Jane Conly, a renowned children’s author. It was interesting to hear the different stories, opinions and outlook on life and the city of Baltimore.

Each writer spoke for about ten to fifteen minutes, and then a question and answer session followed. Gregory Kane, a journalist from the Baltimore Sun started off the afternoon. He is one of a dying breed, who keeps newspapers alive. Mr. Kane informed us that if he wishes to speak with someone who contains information on a story, and they refuse to talk, he is not afraid to confront them until he extracts the necessary information. He even gave a specific example of when a corrections guard in a prison was killed last July. A reliable source told Mr. Kane of a rumor that there would be a delay in its investigation by at least 6 months, because the officers were avoiding their work. He went back to get information on it 7 months later – nothing. Dedicated to unfolding the truth, Mr. Kane vowed to go back every month until he had some answers on the officer’s murder. Mr. Cane’s enthusiasm for his career was truly inspiring, He is truly passionate about reporting on stories within Baltimore, following up on them, and most importantly – finding out the truth!

Next came Ms. Elizabeth Evitts, editor of the Urbanite magazine. This magazine reports on life and occurrences in Baltimore. She explained the history of the Urbanite, and how it has greatly expanded over the years to over 150,000 readers, with 40% of them living in the country. She then proceeded to discuss her role in the magazine today. She often alluded the Jane Jacobs’ novel, “The Death and Life of Great American cities,” which she seemed to greatly value. Ms, Evitts pointed out that cities are the center of society’s culture for everyone (not just those who live there) – which is why it is so significant to recognize their value and what goes on within them.

Chanzia Thompson Cager, a professor at Maryland institute College of Art, and an accomplished poet essayist, was very interesting to listen to. She told us of how the struggles of her life taught her to appreciate the precious moments of life, because it could be taken away at any time. This theory led her to become active in her community, and to writing poems about life - in particularly about Baltimore. I thought it was quite unique that she sang some of her lines to us. It definitely kept me paying attention, and wondering what she would say next.

Finally, Jane Conly, a famous children’s author, concluded the afternoon. She began by reading two verses from her popular books, including one from “Crazy Lady.” Ms. Conly told us how she moved here from Virginia to study at the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminar. She first began writing about the city while working in a free clinic, where she saw all sorts of interesting people. Ms. Conly chose to write children’s books because her father had done so and left an unfinished book at his death for her to complete; she also feels the need to connect to the “eleven year old within her.”

I was really interesting in hearing real life stories about Baltimore – the great city that I now live in, but know little about. During the question and answer session, one student asked about the importance of the “stoop” in society. It was great to hear how all of the authors felt it was very important. Ms. Cager pointed out that during the warm weather, she and her neighbors spend all of their free time on the stoop – watching over the neighborhood. The benefits of this are great – the sense of community is strengthened, and the area is safer (because everyone is always watching).

Ezra Pound’s poem: “In the Station of the Metro” directly related to the panel of writers. She is observing everything around her in the station, as the panel of writers observe everything in their daily lives. They use there findings for writing material, and to help them better appreciate the city. Appreciating what is around you is a theme found in many of the works we read, and also the goal of this panel of writers. This is made evident by the interesting session held on Friday.

Finding Community in a FEMA Trailer

Two weeks ago instead of heading home for my spring break, I decided to take part in Spring Break Outreach (SBO), spending my spring break in the Gulf Coast helping with the relief efforts. Eighteen months have past since Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, devastating large parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, and yet there is still so much more work to be done. My “site group” was based in Pass Christian, Mississippi, but we did much of our work in Bay St. Louis, and Waveland, Mississippi. Mississippi is the epitome of southern living, with two-lane high ways, and major businesses being located forty-five minutes to an hour away from any house. Funny as it may seem, there was still significant damage done to many of the businesses, those who were up and running were chains that could afford to rebuild, funeral homes, Lowe’s and Home Depots, and even insurance companies. The entire week of my spring break was a life changing experience. I met people I will never forget, I saw images that will forever be branded in my mind, I made new friends, and I even learned how to correctly paint a house. But the one thing that really impacted me during that week was the sense of community the Gulf Coast residents had. Some people whose houses we worked on stayed during the storm, and risked their lives, others found shelter in friends’ and family’s homes, but either way they all came back. They told us that people would ask them time and time again why they came back, especially if they lost everything, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t happen again. And their answer would always be the same; this was the only place they knew as home. For many of the residents of Mississippi and Louisiana they were born and raised there, along with their entire families tracing back years and years, generations and generations. A house is not just a house for them; it’s more than that it’s a home, a community, and most especially their roots. It was hard for members of my group and me to comprehend this idea. Many of the residents who we helped were already living in poor conditions, many at poverty level, even before the storm hit. So it was hard for us to understand why they would want to return, and to return to a FEMA trailer as a new home nonetheless.

We finally understood why many residents returned one day as we were driving home from one of our job sites. The homeowners of the house we just finished working on were kind enough to show us a scenic route to take to get back to where we were staying. As we were driving along the beach we passed houses that over a year ago were huge mansions. For many just the frame of the house stood, or the steps leading up to the front porch. And what stood in front of the houses were not FEMA trailers, rather for-sale signs. Once we passed the beach and were back to our normal route, we saw again the lower class area, with houses still partially in shambles, being rebuilt, with the notorious FEMA trailers parked in the driveways. For those houses that did not have FEMA trailers, had names and address of where the homeowners were temporarily staying spray-painted on plywood, along with the words, “Do not demolish.” For those who had new homes on the beach of the Gulf of Mexico, moving after Katrina was something definite, for they did not know what community meant. They moved to the Gulf for either a second home, or just for the scenic rural area. For them to pick up and leave meant nothing. Nothing was making them return except for the price of real estate. This idea of roots or community is mirrored in Alice Walker’s Everyday Use. The mother in the story understands and appreciates where she came from, along with her daughter Maggie. But for her other daughter Dee, the idea of appreciating where you came from, and who were your ancestors, is something she does not brace until it becomes “cool” or in style to embrace your roots. After attending college Dee moves on to more “important” things writing her mother that she would visit, but never bring her friends, being embarrassed of where she came from. Dee eventually returns to visit her mother and sister. And she shows some signs of appreciation for her roots, but its all fake and under false pretenses, only doing it because for her it’s the “cool thing” to do. Her family being people that could barely read or write, and who lived simply and in poverty like conditions. The mother and her daughter Maggie are like the residents of the gulf coast who have spent the past eighteen months in FEMA trailers trying to rebuild their lives, while Dee is like the former residents, who if anything will return in the next ten or so years when the Gulf Coast is as nearly as rebuilt as it can be. In Ezra Pound’s In a Station of the Metro, the speaker of the poem shows appreciation for, and acknowledges her surroundings. The poem is short, yet is able to say a lot, stating: “The appearance of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.” The speaker is able to clearly see all of the faces of the crowd, no matter the vastness of them like petals or leaves on a branch. A sense of familiarity is hinted to in the poem, with the idea that the speaker can identify and put a name to each face of the crowd, something that can be found in tight knit communities, one similar to the towns in the Gulf Coast. The ability to name and notice every single person in a crowd, gives a sense of community something that today is worth less and less, but can found worth much in the Gulf Coast.

After leaving the Gulf Coast and returning back to Loyola, I though to myself if it came down to having to leave my home and move out of New York, would I be able to do it? I do not know. I know I would never want to move out of New York State, but I think it would not be hard to move out of my house and out of my town. And this makes me a little jealous of the Gulf Coast inhabitants. I wish I had that sense of community and a deep appreciation of where I live.

A Better Baltimore

When a report looked into the question “What will Baltimore City look like in the year 2000?” the answer was startling. The report called for a bleak future for Baltimore. A future where the city schools would be ineffective, undisciplined and dangerous, the people would become poorer as the population lagged, and complete isolation would impede those individuals that remained within the boarders of the city. The report offered a condescending solution: to blow up the city and start over again. As this solution is not a favorable option or in the best interests of Baltimore residents, an alternative and more proactive solution must be developed. Finding this solution was the nature of the speech that was given by education policy expert Marion Orr on Tuesday March 13th as part of The Year of the City’s Big 3 Lecture Series. Orr specifically addressed the current state of education with Baltimore.
Orr began his talk stating these alarming facts about the current education condition within Baltimore. He noted that Baltimore has made some strides in the right direction since he read the pessimistic prognosis for the city in the year 2000. These progressions, however, as Orr notes, are not enough. The city is still lacking the resources to effectively educate the students of Baltimore’s public school system. The “large concentration of poverty” is a major part of the stumbling block leading to the poor condition of the city schools. As we have examined throughout this semester, the impact of poverty and the inclination to separate the city by race and more specifically, income, is a key force that further contributes to the failure of city schools.
Following the changes in demography and the socio-economic status of Baltimore residents that occurred throughout the second half of the 21st century, were changes in education. Upon the shift from the manufacturing to a corporate, white collar Baltimore, the ability of the African Americans to hold their status as middle class drastically dropped. As the whites moved out of the city and into the suburbs, so did the white school children, their teachers, and their administrators. Essentially these changes led to a clear division and between wealth and poverty as the middle class continued to straggle. The education was an area that took this hit the hardest.
As evidenced within the literature piece assigned this week, “In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound it is important to be observant when examining the world around us. The speaker of this poem observes the people around her on a city metro without judging them separately, as they are all “petals on a wet, black bough” (line 2). Marion Orr, in one sense is the observant onlooker for the city of Baltimore. He identifies the problems and calls for all to help no matter their status. Relating back to the piece written by Jane Jacobs, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” and the poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, both propose suggestions for the reconnection of the divided. Jacobs calls for “a seam rather than a barrier, a line of exchange along which two areas are sewn together” (267) and a situation where people do not need to be afraid to redraw the community lines. Frost finds the importance of re-connecting the community as being more significant than rebuilding the fence that divides it. Marion Orr, within the conclusion of his speech, asks for all of this. He challenges the fortunate to break down the barrier by directly investing in the community through hands-on involvement. Overall, he calls upon all members of the Baltimore community to be observant and to defy complacency as everyone works to create a better, more educated Baltimore.