Postmodern Posts

     When we were discussing the end of Kindred, we discussed Dana losing her arm, and especially  how that was a reflection of her experiences throughout the book, and how she lost part of herself at the plantation. This general theme, of mental experiences and trauma expressing physically, is not only present at the end of the book, but throughout the whole book.      In the first chapter, when Dana initially travels back, she ends up getting a gun pointed at her head, and while she doesn't actually end up getting injured, the gun represents a threat of physical injury, just like the travelling then represented only a threat of mental injury. As she keeps going back to the plantation, her mental state, as well as eventually Kevin's, gets worse and worse. This is reflected physically, in the injuries they receive. The following time Dana goes back, a white patrolled attempts to rape Dana, and Dana has the chance to gouge his eyes out with her fingers...

     One of the most unique parts of Slaughterhouse Five is the non-chronological view of the story that we get through the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. The book explores many of the consequences of this, including the fundamental breakdown of cause and effect and even the concept of free will, and what this does to both Billy, who once had a linear view of time, and the Tralfamadorians, who always viewed time non-linearly. I think that this non-linear view of time is actually helpful for Billy, but I'm not entirely convinced that overall, this view is helpful.      A large amount of people like Billy, who experience huge amounts of death, in both WWII, Vietnam, or more recently the wars in the middle east, have very traumatic experiences from the lack of care about human life in these wars. To Billy, the Tralfamadorian perspective offers a much more easy handling of the death he saw with the Dresden bombings. For the Tralfamadorians, death isn't really a b...

     Throughout Mumbo Jumbo , Ishmael Reed offers several fictional narratives that are crucial to the plot of the book, including the Hoodoo elements, and the historical narrative in chapter 52. These elements drive forward both the plot and the general themes of the book, but if these elements are just offered forwards, readers are unlikely to be convinced by the reality of these elements. However, Ishmael Reed uses the inclusion of many real, historical elements, which drives forward the readers' belief of the fictional elements, and ultimately, the themes and overall message of the book.      Throughout the book, real events, such as the US invasion of Haiti, or the election of Warren Harding, frame and actively shape the plot of the book, and the actions that the fictional characters take, even without being major elements of the plot. When Reed offers his historical narrative in chapter 52, with the millennia long war between Atonism and Jes Grew, th...