Uno 8
Melinda Uno
Julie Maia
English 6B, Honors World Lit
West Valley College
28 May 2009
Death by Pen
Some people are killed for what they write. Publishing a work of poetry or literary fiction can be one of the most beautiful ways of speaking out against an aspect of society. Fearing ridicule from his family, sixteen year-old Ricardo Eliezer Neftali Reyes y Basoalto published poems and articles with his pen name Pablo Neruda. Anna Akhmatova’s poetry depicts the sorrow of Stalin’s Great Terror. The experience ofthe young student Aki in “The Rite” by Takenishi Hiroko documents a tragic part of history that is often censored in Western studies of World War II. Because of his literature, Salman Rushdie has the Islamic public of Lebanon rallying for his death. Edwidge Danticat’s short story “Children of the Sea” portrays two doomed lovers during the massacre of ten to fifteen thousand Haitians by the Dominican Republic. Through the perspective of men, women, children, the young, and the old, we can see the effects of displacement, poverty, sexual discrimination, oppression and suppression.
Neruda speaks to the working class of Chile focusing on everyday items such as table salt. While some of his poems are bluntly full of propaganda, instead of a militant tone In “Ode to Salt”, Neruda shows tribute to salt miners with imagery of the history and origins of salt:
the entire
salt plain speaks:
it is a
broken
voice,
a song full
of grief (22-29).
The voice of the salt becomes the voice of every person who contributed to its journey. The syntax is easy for a member of the working class to understand, along with the subject matter. Neruda writes directly to the working class, most apparent in his connection with the reader and the utilization of first person and second person point of view:
Preserver
of the stores
of the ancient ships,
you were
an explorer
in the ocean (45-50)
By personifying the salt, Neruda infers to the importance of the working class and the product of it on every table, in every home. Neruda’s subtlety is partially what makes it so dangerous. Some view his poetry as communist propaganda, meant to inspire a revolt in the working class. However, by giving the working class a literary voice, Neruda is merely fulfilling what is required of a poet, outlined in “Poet’s Obligation”.
To whoever is cooped up
In house or office, factory or woman
Or street or mine or harsh prison cell:
To him I come, and without speaking or looking,
I arrive and open the door of his prison (2-6)
According to Neruda, it is a poet’s duty to utilize his/her skill with language to shed light on the experiences of the suppressed. Especially when the government in place fears a revolt, publishing such poems can have severe consequences for the author.
Like Neruda, Anya Gorenko utilized a pen name to save her family from public ridicule. Gorenko, now Anna Akhmatova utilizes her poetry to speak out against the government in Russia who had her son and husband imprisoned. During the 1930’s, the dictator Joseph Stalin executed thousands of Russian citizens in what is known as “the Great Terror” and Akhmatova‘s poem “Requiem” gives voice to the suffering of the Russian people at this time: “the stars of death stood above us/ and innocent Russia writhed/ Under bloody boots” (48-50). Two hundred and seven lines of poetry are wrought with Akhmatova’s suffering that can be the same or similar experience to many Russians during the Terror. Akhmatova utilizes natural, classic, and Biblical metaphors to allude to the everlasting nature of the suffering of the Russian peoples:
A choir of angles sang the praises of that momentous hour,
And the heavens dissolved in fire.
To his Father He said: ‘Why hast Thou forsaken me!’
And to his Mother: ‘Oh, do not weep for me…’ (54-7)
Akhmatova’s own son was imprisoned, while her first husband was executed by Stalin’s regime. Clearly, the loss is very real for Akhmatova, who chooses to inspire change by documenting the injustice she faces:
Then a woman with bluish lips standing behind me… whispered in my ear (everyone spoke in whispers there):
‘Can you describe this?’
And I answered: ‘Yes I can.’
Then something that looked like a smile passed over what had once been her face (8-12)
With “Requiem”, Akhmatova documents history, tells a story, fights the Russian government, pays respects to innocent victims, and portrays loss, despair, and imprisonment. The political nature of her poetry resulted in its ban for 18 years. The ban could have been the result of the threat Akhmatova’s poetry against the status quo of Stalin’s regime, proving the dangerous nature of poetry.
Part of what makes Literature dangerous is the powerful use of imagery that creates a strong emotional connection to the reader. Especially when the topic is death, Literature can be one of the strongest voices to speak out against an injustice. While in America, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan during WWII is mentioned in history books and classes, there is a disconnection between the contemporary student and the victims of the bombings. “The Rite” by survivor Takenishi Hiroko is a young Japanese student’s perspective of the bombing. In the beginning of the story, the setting is not distinctly Japanese. It could be any city: “Often on Saturday afternoons Aki would come to this shop for a late lunch of tea and pie. She had done so yesterday” (Takenishi 973). For many who survived the bombing, life continued with unforeseen consequences. Traumatized, Takenishi is still haunted by images of the day of the bombing: “There’s lightening flashing! Aki wakes up with the feeling she has just come out of a queer disturbing dream. She seems to have woken up in the middle of her own scream” (Takenishi 973). This prose –poetry style adds a rhythmic element to the story making Aki’s experience seem surreal. However, as Takenishi was a survivor of the bombing, no doubt the experience was horrifically surreal, and this literary device helps to create a similar feeling for the reader. For sixteen year-old Aki, the day the bomb is dropped is just an ordinary day. The issues that Aki faces are the concern of any sixteen year-old girl until sheer violent terror takes over:
When she recovered her senses she found herself running in the direction of the sea, borne along in a rush of total strangers. Shirts in shreds, scorched trousers, blood-soaked blouses, yukatas with a sleeve missing, seared and blistered skin… When she looked back at the town it was engulfed in black smoke. As for what was happening inside it, at the time Aki had no idea, and even to think of it was too horrifying (982).
Through the eyes of Aki, Takenishi utilizes Modernistic elements to recall the experience. The story does not follow traditional rules of chronology, as the modern day Aki continually remembers the day of the bombing. By becoming connected to Aki, the victims of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are no longer faceless victims. They now have a voice and a literary identity that can be translated for people all over the world. The numbers and statistics are daunting, yet with Literature, the reader is now emotionally involved, and the ‘other’ is now like the reader, and humanized. After the bombing, Aki and we can assume Takenishi begin to question human ontology and attempt to go about life in a healthy manner. However, with every visit to an old friend, walk down a street, or even a sunset, the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima are haunted by the terror of that fateful day.
The narrators of “Children of the Sea” also face the consequences of war. Daily tragedy and calamity haunts the citizens of Haiti. Edwidge Danticat focuses on the perspective of individuals attempting to retain sanity in a chaotic and emotionally trying environment. Some are successful, while others meet an untimely end. The tradition and the importance of dreams and spirituality to Haitian life helps each person cope with warfare is apparent. Danticat utilizes the correspondence between a young man and woman to tell of the danger of civil warfare in Haiti. Many nationalistic Haitians attempt to flee from the forces of the Dominican Republic on tiny boats, like the young man, while others are left behind, forced to fight for their lives. The young girl expresses her frustration: “yes, just the way you left it. bullets day and night. same hole. same everything. i’m tired of the whole mess… they make me so mad. everything makes me mad. i’m cramped inside all day. They’ve closed the schools since the army took over” (Danticat 1399). The informal grammar suggests that the young correspondents do not have the most privileged literary education. The voice of the young man and woman echoes the voice of all young men and women separated by the Haitian-Dominican Republic conflict. The young man on a boat writes: “I think it would break my heart watching some little boy or girl every single day on this sea, looking into their empty faces to remind me of the hopelessness of the future in our country. It’s hard enough with the adults. It’s hard enough with me” (Danticat 1399-1400).Danticat, as an example of a refugee from Haiti, sheds light on the experiences of an underrepresented group in literature.
While Danticat’s politics are somewhat nationalistic, Salman Rushdie’s stories have a different political message. A Westernized Indian Muslim man, Rushdie’s opinion of the politics of Iran has militant zealots publicly calling for his death. Rushdie’s experience as multicultural writer gives him unusual insight into the politics of the East. It is partially because of Rushdie’s assimilation that he is disliked in Islamic countries. While “the Courter” is not the text for which Rushdie is condemned, this text focuses on the experience of a community of Indians in Britain. For many displaced immigrants, language is a daunting barrier between success or assimilation and alienation. The very nature of the title speaks to the language barrier: “English was hard for Certainly-Mary… The letter p was a particular problem, often turning into an f or a c… So thanks to her unexpected, somehow stomach-churning magic, he was no longer porter but courter” (Rushdie 1262). The colorful characters in “The Courter” bring humor to the experiences of many Indians in Britain. However, in the end of the story, the narrator, a young man is the only member of his family who chooses not to return to India. The narrator of “The Courter” faces the anxiety many immigrants face between the absolute nature of the new homeland, and the Old world: “But I, too, have ropes around my neck, I have them to this day, pulling me this way and that, East and West, the nooses tightening, commanding choose, choose… Ropes, I do not choose between you. Lassoes, lariats, I choose neither of you, and both. Do you hear? I refuse to choose” (Rushdie 1277). The narrator refuses to accept the absolutism of an immigrant, and attempts to bridge Indian and British cultures because, he is neither completely British nor completely Indian, but at the same time embodies both.
Many of these works of fiction are semi-autobiographical, allowing readers to gain insight into many different real-life experiences across the world. Although one person’s life may not be exactly like that of a young woman fleeing her homeland to escape poverty and racism, there are parallel themes and images to which the reader can relate. With creative imagery, rhythm, allusion, and metaphor, readers can peek into the life of someone else, and learn of the consequences of globalization and war. This is the power of literature to liberate and educate in an unconventional and uncensored way.
Works Cited
Akhmatova, Anna. "Requiem." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 561-67.
Danticat, Edwidge. “Children of the Sea”. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 1398-409.
Neruda, Pablo. "Ode to Salt." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 689-90.
Neruda, Pablo. "Poet's Obligation." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 691-92.
Rushdie, Salman. "The Courter." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 1261-277.
Takenishi, Hiroko. "The Rite." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. 1st ed. Vol. 6. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2003. 967-90.