-How does Wittman's relationship and perception of women attribute to his own character and how you view his personality?
-What other techniques does Kingston use to illustrate Wittman's character?
-How does Wittman's family shape your understanding of Wittman's personal struggles?
-What significance does Popo have in your understanding of Wittman?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wittman Ah Sing
Wittman is a very complex character and I have yet to fully figure him out, and assume that I never fully will. His train of thoughts and ideas is what most interests me. His radical paranoia and tendency to jump to conclusions I think are linked with his uncertainty and untrustworthiness towards others. I respect his notion to find an educated woman with whom to converse with. Despite his motivations to find an attractive girl to be with; his motivation to find a worldly and open-minded individual is intriguing to me. His expectations of Nanci in the beginning of the novel perpetuate his relationship with Tana. He is always expecting something more of Nanci, and in the beginning I thought he would never be satisfied with any woman no matter how intellectual she really is.
But in his developing relationship with Tana he reveals some of his insecurities in introducing his new "white" wife to his family. He cannot help but compare the two cultures: "We wouldn't mind our fathers so much if Caucasian daddies weren't always hugging hello and kissing goodbye,"(205) illustrating the differences between his perception on his own lifestyle and that of his wife's. His expectations of Tana are always exceeded. He continually expects her to say all the misunderstandings of his previous girlfriends, when in fact she always says what he wished he would have said. As the novel progresses, I cannot but assume that these two individual are one in the same. The only difference is that Tana's mind is not represented in the first person as much as Wittman, so as the reader, we usually see Tana through the eyes of Wittman.
Kingston does an excellent job of representing Wittman's stream of consciousness whenever he is contemplating his own paranoia and insecurities. When Wittman confronts some white folks sitting at another table in a restaurant, the reader really sees into his train of thought, "Wittman turned to see what they looked like. They looked like the kind who entertain one another with race jokes."(214). This scene illustrates Wittman's frustration with the race relations within his time. His perception of culture and race are both Chinese and American, and this scene illustrates his ability to act like an American while maintaining his Chinese identity. His dual identity is what contributes to most of his paranoia. It is apparent that he distances himself from the stereotypical Chinese imagery represented within American culture. But he is not unaware of the jokes and negative representations of Chinese culture.
He struggles to remain proud and yet individualized from Chinese culture. He does not denounce his Chinese ethnicity unless he finds the separation of ethnicity to his benefit. When he meets the Chinese woman on the bus heading to a party, he engages in some stereotyping of Chinese within his own thoughts: "Nosiness must be a Chinese racial trait. She was supposing in the first place, that he was Chinese, and therefore, he had to hear her out.(74). This scene is interesting to me due to his failure to claim his real identity and his complete dislike of this female character. His own shaping of his identity is a new age way of thinking. I think that this generational gap between his mother, as a Chinese performer, and himself as detached from mainstream commodities and media, challenge the culture of Chinese-Americans. He is changing the culture with his new generation, and the American culture that is shaping his mentality and understanding of what it is to be Chinese.
But in his developing relationship with Tana he reveals some of his insecurities in introducing his new "white" wife to his family. He cannot help but compare the two cultures: "We wouldn't mind our fathers so much if Caucasian daddies weren't always hugging hello and kissing goodbye,"(205) illustrating the differences between his perception on his own lifestyle and that of his wife's. His expectations of Tana are always exceeded. He continually expects her to say all the misunderstandings of his previous girlfriends, when in fact she always says what he wished he would have said. As the novel progresses, I cannot but assume that these two individual are one in the same. The only difference is that Tana's mind is not represented in the first person as much as Wittman, so as the reader, we usually see Tana through the eyes of Wittman.
Kingston does an excellent job of representing Wittman's stream of consciousness whenever he is contemplating his own paranoia and insecurities. When Wittman confronts some white folks sitting at another table in a restaurant, the reader really sees into his train of thought, "Wittman turned to see what they looked like. They looked like the kind who entertain one another with race jokes."(214). This scene illustrates Wittman's frustration with the race relations within his time. His perception of culture and race are both Chinese and American, and this scene illustrates his ability to act like an American while maintaining his Chinese identity. His dual identity is what contributes to most of his paranoia. It is apparent that he distances himself from the stereotypical Chinese imagery represented within American culture. But he is not unaware of the jokes and negative representations of Chinese culture.
He struggles to remain proud and yet individualized from Chinese culture. He does not denounce his Chinese ethnicity unless he finds the separation of ethnicity to his benefit. When he meets the Chinese woman on the bus heading to a party, he engages in some stereotyping of Chinese within his own thoughts: "Nosiness must be a Chinese racial trait. She was supposing in the first place, that he was Chinese, and therefore, he had to hear her out.(74). This scene is interesting to me due to his failure to claim his real identity and his complete dislike of this female character. His own shaping of his identity is a new age way of thinking. I think that this generational gap between his mother, as a Chinese performer, and himself as detached from mainstream commodities and media, challenge the culture of Chinese-Americans. He is changing the culture with his new generation, and the American culture that is shaping his mentality and understanding of what it is to be Chinese.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Proposal
I wanted to center my research paper around the San Francisco bay is some way or another. First I thought I could link surf culture in SF to the culture of the beats; then I tried to find some information on the Ports of SF, but that was a broad subject. In researching I found a lot of information on immigration and migration to SF. So I began researching about Asian immigration and Angel Island. I would really like to focus my research paper on the influences of Chinese labor in SF industry and I would also like to somehow tie in the writings of poetry from the residents of Angel Island.
I found this awesome book that translates poems and writings from Angel Island inhabitants on their passage through SF. I know that Kerouac was really into Asian philosophies and the beat poets in general revolved thier lifestyles around Buddhist modes of thought.
I wanted to approach the subject in terms of the bay being a means of travel and communication to the outside world, and then focus on the immigration of one peoples from one region to narrow my subject. Then I would like to consider the industrial influences of Asain immigration as well as the cultural influence.
Hopefully my thesis will entail how the SF bay has enabled the city to become a center of change and influence from outside societies due to its location.
-Is this a legitimate approach to establishing a thesis?
-Do you think that this is too broad of a subject?
-Can I make a clean transition from Asian immigration as it relates to industrial growth and the Asian philosophies in poetry and writing?
I found this awesome book that translates poems and writings from Angel Island inhabitants on their passage through SF. I know that Kerouac was really into Asian philosophies and the beat poets in general revolved thier lifestyles around Buddhist modes of thought.
I wanted to approach the subject in terms of the bay being a means of travel and communication to the outside world, and then focus on the immigration of one peoples from one region to narrow my subject. Then I would like to consider the industrial influences of Asain immigration as well as the cultural influence.
Hopefully my thesis will entail how the SF bay has enabled the city to become a center of change and influence from outside societies due to its location.
-Is this a legitimate approach to establishing a thesis?
-Do you think that this is too broad of a subject?
-Can I make a clean transition from Asian immigration as it relates to industrial growth and the Asian philosophies in poetry and writing?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Dharma Bums: The Counter-Culture
I could not help but notice the peaceful resistance Kerouac is transmitting to the reader through his main character Ray Smith. The isolation from institutions and contemporary modes of life, illustrate the concepts of Buddhism. Buddhist theologies are significant to Ray Smith, and how he uses this structure of beliefs to challenge contemporary society provides his path to peaceful resistance.
Ray's travels from the West coast to the East coast illustrate to the reader how well the character can isolate himself from what American society would consider "proper housing", sleeping and eating in the outdoors. He breaks the law by camping out under a bridge one night and must avoid the police. His desire to transcend contemporary boundaries is marred by the construction of law and order. Boundary personnel search his bags in hope to discover some drugs, and find nothing. Ray Smith's attitude on Buddhist theory is transfixed on the concept of "nothingness." Ray meditates and prefers being alone in order to confirm and practice the mental state of "nothing" is really in existence. In order for Ray to completely immerse himself in Buddhist forms of thought he must separate his mind from the repetitive sociological forces of American culture, which are considered real structures, and focus on the "nothingness" of isolation and meditation.
This counter-cultural perspective also reminds me of the reading in "Reclaiming San Francisco" from Nancy J. Peters, and her perspective on the counter-cultural movement of the beat generation. She understood the counter-culture of the beats to be changing the ideals of youth culture. She knew that Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder are all contributors to confronting the "normal", and establishing other modes of thinking which destabilize the American literature status quo. These writers attempt to isolate themselves from society in order to discover something challenging and new to American culture.
Dharma Bums are mind seekers. Every thing that motivates Ray Smith, comes from the motivation to enlighten his mind. Abstinence and lack of material desire are Ray's methods of ridding himself from what he considers "odious" and "unreal" so he can focus on the development and expansion of his mind. This Buddhist mentality of separation from worldly desire is counter-intuitive to the concept of American capitalism and consumerism. In order for Ray,and Japhy, to be considered Dharma Bums they must not delve into American society, for their minds will be influenced by the social aspirations of contemporary Americans.
Ray's travels from the West coast to the East coast illustrate to the reader how well the character can isolate himself from what American society would consider "proper housing", sleeping and eating in the outdoors. He breaks the law by camping out under a bridge one night and must avoid the police. His desire to transcend contemporary boundaries is marred by the construction of law and order. Boundary personnel search his bags in hope to discover some drugs, and find nothing. Ray Smith's attitude on Buddhist theory is transfixed on the concept of "nothingness." Ray meditates and prefers being alone in order to confirm and practice the mental state of "nothing" is really in existence. In order for Ray to completely immerse himself in Buddhist forms of thought he must separate his mind from the repetitive sociological forces of American culture, which are considered real structures, and focus on the "nothingness" of isolation and meditation.
This counter-cultural perspective also reminds me of the reading in "Reclaiming San Francisco" from Nancy J. Peters, and her perspective on the counter-cultural movement of the beat generation. She understood the counter-culture of the beats to be changing the ideals of youth culture. She knew that Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder are all contributors to confronting the "normal", and establishing other modes of thinking which destabilize the American literature status quo. These writers attempt to isolate themselves from society in order to discover something challenging and new to American culture.
Dharma Bums are mind seekers. Every thing that motivates Ray Smith, comes from the motivation to enlighten his mind. Abstinence and lack of material desire are Ray's methods of ridding himself from what he considers "odious" and "unreal" so he can focus on the development and expansion of his mind. This Buddhist mentality of separation from worldly desire is counter-intuitive to the concept of American capitalism and consumerism. In order for Ray,and Japhy, to be considered Dharma Bums they must not delve into American society, for their minds will be influenced by the social aspirations of contemporary Americans.
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