Stream of Consciousness Narration in TTATD

     The Thief and the Dogs, written by Naguib Mahfouz, was seen as a pioneer for Arabic novels. Such was especially due to the author’s use of modernism, which was seen as a step forward from the previous genre of realism. The author was a modernist himself, as having a lost faith in society following the Egyptian revolution. There as, the main character narrated throughout the novel reflects his own confusion at the time. 

     As before, Arabic novels revolved around the genre of realism, known as realistic fiction, which was focused on character and class. However, The Thief and the Dogsincorporated use of modernism genre in order to present common themes of alienation and loveless society. More closely, Mahfouz produced a novel of psychological realism, which combines elements of realism and modernism genre in order to express the deep complexities of a character’s thoughts and motives. Within this specific genre comes the use of stream of consciousnessnarrative style. 

     Stream of consciousness narration is seen through a continuous flow of a character’s mental process. Such includes fundamental humane elements that were not clearly expressed in previous genres, including: emotions, memories and half-conscious thoughts. Within the text, stream of consciousness narration is seen through un-structured punctuation, direct interior monologue and evoked reminiscences. However, S.O.C narration is accompanied with third person omniscient narration in order to provide stability within the plot, as to balance disorganized thoughts with orderly narration. 

     Said Mahran, the protagonist of the novel, is characterized throughout the novel with several antagonistic actions. Use of stream of consciousness narration allows the reader access to Said’s thoughts, which may help in providing justification for his actions. As such, direct interior monologue is often implied when the character has become very ‘unlikable’. Allowing access to his thoughts further shows the reader how he perceives his external surroundings, and to represent to the reader how he chooses to develop within the circumstances he is faced with. Mahfouz may have chosen to do so in order to gain reader empathy and allow the reader to create a self-chosen relationship with the protagonist. As well, the reader remains manipulated by the author’s choice of narration, as by constantly provoking sympathy for the protagonist. Altogether, it allows for the protagonist to be ‘humanized’ through very ‘inhumane’ circumstances.

     Stream of consciousness narration is used to mirror the mental state of the protagonist. There as, the way the character expresses their thoughts through interior monologue provides insights into their emotional stability, as well as intellect. Throughout the novel, direct interior monologue varies in its ability to remain orderly. As such, when Said feels panicked after committing murder or not being sure of the whereabouts of a love-interest, the stream of consciousness narration becomes ever-so disorganized as to reflect his distressed mental state. This idea of reflected mental state becomes well visible through the exposure of Said’s inability to control the circumstances with which he has to deal with. 

     Stream of consciousness narration is important in providing balanced exposure to the protagonist’s internal conflict as well as external conflict. There as, through Said’s interactions with societal forces, the reader becomes aware of the metaphoric representation of these bodies as well as his inability to control them. However, the reader becomes heavily invested with Said Mahran, with their perception of the happenings of the novel are skewed only towards him. There as, other characters of the novel are not characterized to a near detail as Said Mahran. 

Texts in Translation

     In an ever-increasing global world comes the challenges of translation. The days have past of only being able to enjoy texts in only one’s own language, as thanks to the hard work of translators. Fiction literature provides a window into the lives of other people, as it brings upon understanding and emotional intelligence for the norms of different cultures. There as, by translating a wide variety of fictional literature, it allows for increased empathy for the world around. As to stop and think, many classic texts in the English-language are the result of translation, such as The Little Prince. Despite the new worlds that translated texts provide to readers, it is important to preserve the authenticity of the original text. This cross-plays with the Part 3 outcome “Understand the attitudes and values expressed by literary texts and their impact on readers”as not only is the goal of translation to provide an understandable version of the text to readers, but as well to provide the text in the same purpose and meaning as the author had intended. 

     Such may seem easier said than done, as each language is anchored in their distinct vocabularies, which are sometimes even impossible to translate. Too often, translated texts take so called ‘living’ and ‘fresh’ original text and turn it into something ‘dull’, due to the inability to mirror the meaning of the text in the other language. There as, translation is seen as a creative act, as it involves interpretation and making choices as to decide on what elements of the original text are to be preserved and sacrificed. Translating is as well seen as impossible, due to each language being so different and cultural difference, which disallow for ‘perfect’ English-language translations. 

     With the overall challenges of translating fictional literature, translating poetry can be stated as a greater challenge. The translator is left to replicate the style and ‘beauty’ of the original poem, as well as exact connotations. 

     The Part 3 learning outcome “Consider the changing historical, cultural and social contexts in which particular texts are written and received” can as well be examined through the rise in Arabic-language novels. Arab writers have historically shared their stories through poetry, however with a phenomenal shift to novels as to express feelings of love, enemies, revolutions and work. This new form of storytelling for Arab writers has become increasingly popular amongst English-readers, due to the result of the global selection of texts today’s readers are presented with. 

Second WW2 Introductions

Power and privilege

1.     How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/opinion/thanksgiving-refugees-immigrants-dad.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion-columnists

     The topic of immigrants within the United States is a controversial subject which is seen through a variety of perspectives. Such greatly depends on an individual’s relation to the topic and the extent to which their ideology agrees with it. There as, the opinion column titled “No Money. No English. But America Welcomed a Young Foreigner”speaks upon the immigration journey of his father, who immigrated to the United States in 1952. The author’s view on immigration is subjective as having close relations to the subject, therefore giving their opinion and addressing the topic through diction indicating bias towards accepting foreigners. However through the text, the author comments on the complexity of the subject, which creates an uneasy and even contradicting atmosphere at times. The author understands the hardships and intentions of immigrants, which favors the specific social group throughout the text. Therefore, bias through source control and tone is evident as the author criticizes the current United States approach with profiling immigrants and their handling. The relation and further connection an author has on a subject is a determining factor on how mentioned social groups are to be presented throughout a text. 

2.     Which social groups are marginalized, excluded or silenced within the text?

https://www.foxnews.com/world/american-missionary-wrote-god-i-dont-want-to-die-before-being-killed-by-remote-tribe-on-indian-island

     The role of a journalist is to provide a source of news, which is often tailored to the audience that consumes it. Altogether, journalists should have the moral obligation to cover current happenings in a minimally biased manner, in order to spread news of validity. However, such is hardly the case, primarily due to the ideologies which author’s carry. Such can be exampled from the news article titled “American missionary wrote 'God, I don't want to die' before being killed by remote tribe”,published by FoxNews. Given the strongly conservative biased nature of the source, FoxNews, there is preliminary bias altogether. However, the text centralizes around a missionary man’s death incident, which was a result of a remote tribe’s action. The remote tribe and their indigenous culture are silenced throughout the text, by highlighting the life of the man serving his missionary trip. Therefore, the text favors the subject of the text, an American Citizen, which altogether limits the whole truth of the incident. Through included bias, consumers often receive a partial truth on topics, which further drives communal bias and disenables a holistic perspective on current events.

Written Task 2- Introductions

How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers?

      This news article, titled “For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside of Marriage” was written in 2012 and published in the New York Times. Overarchingly the article covers the increase in non-martial births within the United States, however with general negative connotations on the societal occurrence. Consequently, the diction of the text hints towards a conservative ideology, with such a group inhibiting traditional lifestyles; children being raised only under a marriage. Such is further proved through the author’s incorporation of two negative anecdotes, as to reflect the American single mother demographic as a whole. Therefore, bias is relevant throughout the text, however exampled through selection and omission. Moreover, the negative atmosphere created through the manipulation of the idiom “meanwhile, children happen”indicates that non-martial children are seen as illegitimate. However, as the New York Timesis slightly liberally bias, the text can be widely interpreted. Therefore, given a liberal reader, the text can be rather misinterpreted. Such as, it may be difficult to understand the underlying topics as presented through various forms of bias, which the liberalist does not value. Despite the need to provide news in a monotone manner, it is inevitable to reflect personal ideologies when conveying topics. Therefore, topics may have several connotations regarding personal perspective, leading to overall misunderstanding of today’s happenings. 

If the text had been written in a different time or place or language or for a different audience, how and why might it differ?

     Given that the contents of the news article centralize around modern American demographic patterns, it is primary that changing circumstances would affect the text. The news article expresses the increase in non-martial births since 2009, which is a relevantly recent occurrence. However, the authors hinted conservative ideology suggests a reality which was traditionally relevant. Therefore, the overall diction of the text would be similarly negative as written in a past time period of popular conservative beliefs. Similarly, if the text would to be written in a future time period, then the contents may be more liberal as such a demographic change would to become more prominent. The contents of the news article reflect the current state of America, however through the ideologic lens of the author. Language as well plays an important part as being a part of the authors cultural identity. Moreover, the author is influenced by factors such as audience, therefore with changing circumstances comes changing contents of the text. 

Style Oral Analysis- TEWWG

'Their Eyes Were Watching God' and 'This is Water'

The novel Their Eyes Were Watching God allows the reader to closely follow the protagonist’s self discovery journey. Wallace’s theory seen through This Is Waterexpresses that education allows one to become more self aware, as well as further expressing how an individual is in control of how they view their surroundings. The common subject of placing the individual in full control of their actions and further enforcing the importance of an aware mindset is expressed through both texts. Hurston’s overall purpose is to showcase the human experience of self discovery, through the journey experienced and omnisciently narrated by the protagonist. 

            Applicability of Wallace’s theory to Their Eyes Were Watching God is seen through Janie’s progression as a character and her time spent in three different marriages. As she moves from one marriage to another, she becomes more aware of her self-worth and values. To expand, she begins her first marriage by fulfilling her grandmother’s orders of marrying a man with adequate assets. However, Janie is mistreated which forces her to realize that love does not follow marriage. This creates her desire of fulfilling her value of respect and an organic human connection, which she believes to have found through the second marriage. However, the second marriage is sugarcoated with material wealth and continued mistreatment. This pushes Janie to further establish her self worth and recognize that such material belongings do not correlate with a feeling of love. Her last marriage is one constructed of organic human connections, lacking the undesirable traits she acknowledged in previous marriages such as material wealth and mistreatment. This relates to the theory expressed by Wallace, as it shows how Janie continually chose how to view her surroundings and the situations she was in, by further acknowledging her evolving values. She became more self aware through each marriage, as she gained self-respect and independence. 

            The novel could serve as a tool in developing empathy and emotional intelligence within the reader through the attachment to Janie’s character. As her character is the protagonist, she is closely followed through the events that continually develop her persona. Empathy could be developed as Janie expresses several emotions as a result of happenings of the plot, which the reader may be able to understand and relate to past a sympathetic level. Such may be possible as Janie is a representative for several underrepresented and oppressed groups, such as women and the black community as a whole. Moreover, emotional intelligence may be strengthened as Janie responsibly acts upon her emotions. She uses her emotions as a guide for her future endeavors. As well, she respectably deals with an array of people in the plot, ranging from racist to sexist individuals. Her character however being equipped with strongly developing emotional intelligence allows her to stay out of conflict and understand the backgrounds that result in such discriminative beings. 

A new book

One day of the summer, I was strolling around Helsinki waiting for my train to arrive. I knew the trip would be several hours long, so I decided to go the largest bookstore and pick out a book. Prior to entering the bookstore, I had not been shopping for leisure books for a long time, as school work had been time consuming the last months before summer. The bookstore had several levels, and looked like a department store for books. It was a great feeling, being able to take my time and having several floors of books to choose from. It was a hard choice, and I was walking around the store with several books in my hand until I decided on what I would read. Bookstores have a specific vibe which personally bring calmness and the wanting to buy several reads. My personal favorite genre is non-fiction, with no specific category. I love reading narratives about ranges of science, business, philosophy, etc. Through books like these, I learn more however not through the academic way I do in school. I chose a great read, “Adventures of a young naturalist” by David Attenborough. The novel itself is broken down into three sections, one from Attenborough’s travels to Guyana, another to Indonesia and the other to Paraguay. The book is written by Attenborough himself, which makes it so interesting as the reader gets a behind-the-scenes of what his quests were actually like. I personally have watched several documentaries of his, which is why I have enjoyed the perspective this novel offers. As well, I have learned about the mentioned wildlife and cultures that he has come across. His narrative voice is as well greatly entertaining. Writing this post before leaving Finland, I hope to buy more books from the specific bookstore before leaving! 

Code-switching

         Every summer that I can remember I have spent in Finland. Although I have never lived in Finland, it feels like home as both my parents are Finnish and as well is where all of my extended family resides. As well, I have made a great amount of friends, who I look forward to seeing all year. The nature, food and summer culture are as well amongst the things I look forward to. Although having to code-switch throughout the year at home when I speak Finnish to my family, the task is heavily accentuated when I visit the country. Throughout the academic year, I do not practice my Finnish language skills, and my parents have adopted ‘Finglish’ around the house. Therefore, when I visit Finland during the summer, although being able to understand the language perfectly, I have trouble expressing myself as I notice how rusty my speaking abilities are. Reflecting on this summer, I have had several family gatherings where my extended family have come together to celebrate differing occasions. During these events, I am often asked by older family members on my happenings throughout the year and prospective moves, which is when I find myself at hardship with the language as I am not able to use the ‘Finglish’ that I have been using all year. I am not able to communicate several ideas simply because I do not know the words or correct grammar to express them through. I am often a talkative person and have a lot to say, but during these times I am left at a loss of words. Especially when listening to my friends speak, I feel like an outsider as I do not understand new slang words emerged throughout the year. Having to code-switch from English to Finglish and then pure Finnish is challenging, and what I say is often corrected by those who I am speaking to. Maintaining two perfect languages is hard, especially when one is used significantly less than the other. 

Contextual influence on genre, narrative voice, and structure

            The context of Things Fall Apart influences formal elements of the novel. Such as, the inclusion of two great histories within the text and the author’s personal connection between the two leaves Chinua Achebe to use an omniscient narrative voice. With this, he is able to narrate the plot without bias resulting from his personal context. This narrative technique further allows for clearer direct characterization and an understanding of the the opposing perspectives (Igbo vs. European) through an anti-subjective lens. Achebe’s use of realism within the narrative voice leaves both identities (Igbo and English) un-idealized, but rather represents their flawed realities. The novel as well combines two genres: realistic fiction and historical fiction. Historical fiction is influenced by context, as the novel is not only set in a historical setting, but as well accurately represents past realities. Further, realistic fiction is as well included as the story portrays realistic occurrences through fictional elements, that occurred during the time of colonization. 

            The author has as well reflected the context through the structure of the novel. Such as, periphrasis is seen in part one of the novel, which is a linguistic idea often seen foreign within European literature. However, as part two and three successively continue on, the plot happenings became more linear. A linear plot is common western literary technique, which allows for the events in the plot to happen in a chronological order. Such a structural choice for the novel demonstrates the destruction of the Igbo society as the colonizers ‘took over’. 

Personal history of an author: significance on meaning

            The embedded personal history of an author within literary works is able to influence greater understanding of social context, as well as promote the reliability of the piece. As well, the purpose of the text is often linked to the author’s biography. Such as in Achebe’s case, he aimed to demonstrate that Europe did not bring “civilization” to “savages”. The author’s sense of biography is often reflected in the setting and characters of a novel; such as by representing ideas of religion, cultural surroundings, moral values, etc. Further, the reader is given a realistic sense of dialect, culture and political systems relevant to context. To understand context, it is crucial that the author’s personal history is examined in order to acknowledge the specific aspects which are being related to and expressed throughout the plot. As such, Achebe’s standing within two greater histories is able to create a rich piece of fiction, and is able to provide non-fictional perspectives of these historically significant events. Achebe himself expressed Christian and Igbo values, which combines the opposing forces expressed in the novel, allowing him to include two viewpoints to the text.

            Achebe’s inclusion of both the natural religion of the Igbo society and the modern faith of Christianity are almost equally represented through positive and negative connotations. However, he maintains reader sympathy towards the Igbo, as they are under presented as a whole within this history. This may be a result of Achebe’s personal bias towards both perspectives (as he was apart of Igbo heritage, but was as well a proud Christian), therefore not wanting to showcase one as highly significant over the other. Although as expressed by Achebe, he had found the old religion of greater interest, thus his elaborate exploration into the inner-workings of this faith within the novel. As Achebe grew up enforced with Christian belief, he was told of how the belief came to be within his land (allowing him to present the minority side to a significant historical event). This further upbringing endorsed in religion inspired characters within the novel; such as Mr. Brown representing the qualities of his missionary mentor G. T. Basden. Specific events within the plot were as well inspired by his personal religion, as the execution of Ikemefuna reflected the biblical story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac. Further parallels between the plot and the New Testament are included, which then are forced to balance out with the existing Igbo beliefs. Through the novel the reader is consequently exposed to the dis-equilibrium between the contrasting religions, which may be a representative of the author’s inner conflict between his Igbo heritage and western faith. 

            By acknowledging the connection between Achebe’s biography and context of the novel, it may help further prove the purpose of the text. Such as, as stated earlier, his overall purpose was to demonstrate how the European’s did not bring “civilization” to “savages”, as western media has so often claimed. Rather, he demonstrates the tranquil reality of the complex society, which was rather disturbed than ‘fixed’ upon arrival of the missionaries. His personal relation between the combined histories allows for further understanding on behalf of the audience on character behavior and societal traditions. Without the acknowledgment of the author’s personal stance, these significant historical ideas would just come off as ordinary fictional remarks. The meaning of literature is enhanced through understanding an author’s points and purpose. Such as, the significance of Achebe’s personal legend within Things Fall Apart adds to the importance of the his relation to context. 

                                                                                                                               

Practice IOC