Martin Luther King: Freedom vs. Oppression

           Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." In other words, the people who are discriminated against should not passively sit there and take the oppression; they must speak up and stand up for what they believe is right. This is evidently in correspondence to the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1950s-1960s. People should always actively seek their rights and demand it from those who are in power. King was the primary leader of the civil rights movement and ultimately led to black privilege and freedom, which has been demanded for hundreds of years. Moreover, King has a similar view as Gandhi; both believing in passiveness and demanding equal rights for all.

            In “A White Woman of Color” by Julia Alvarez, a type of oppression known as discrimination is evident throughout the entire story. Julia, the main character, grew up in the Dominican Republic all her life and emigrated to New York with her family in 1960. Her father’s side of the family was the ethnic ones; possessed a darker complexion, nappy hair, and “coarse” features. On the other hand, her mother’s side was white in terms of color and class. They possessed fine features such as pale skin, flush hair, and became adapted to the manners and habits of North Americans. A prime example of injustice in the story is the way Alvarez describes the ways the North American schools were; kids were constantly asking her where she was originally from. When she replied, the kids told her to “Go back to where you came from!” and hurled stones at her and her sisters. (Alvarez 169) The oppressed (Julia) ultimately winded up demanding freedom from the oppressor by applying to boarding schools where privilege transformed prejudice into patronage, and eventually worked out for the better.

            This famous quote by King can also correspond to recent labor laws and the protest and reform for an increased wage. Fast food and other unskilled labor workers make minimum wage or sometimes even less than that and have to support their families off it. At the time of August, fast food employees working for McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and other eateries were making $7.25 an hour to support a growing family. “I’m not going to stay quiet,” said Shaniqua Davis, 20, a Bronx resident and McDonald’s employee. “I’m going to continue to fight. ... I’ve got a daughter to take care of. I struggle to make ends meet.” (NY Daily News) In addition, a 44 year old married mother of a teenage daughter working at a fast food chain stated how she received a weekly paycheck of $215, and paid an electric bill of $218, losing money and unable to support her daughter and herself. Due to the multiple remonstrations throughout this period, the minimum wage went from $7.25 to $8.00 an hour, and was ratified on December 31, 2013. This wage freedom was not voluntarily given, but rather demanded by the oppressed and in due course, worked out well in the end.

Post-Modernism and Misinterpretation in "Interpreter of Maladies"

         Postmodernism is defined as a literary period with “highly skeptical explanations which claim to be valid for all groups, cultures, traditions, or races, and instead focuses on the relative truths of each person.” Moreover, it was a time period in which we all interpreted the world in our unique perspective. It is fair to say that people were and still are selfish and overly concerned with us rather then everybody as a whole. The purpose of this writing technique is to understand how different people decipher literature in different ways. Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” is an outstanding example of Postmodernism, the reason being because the reader is able to interpret the different scenarios between each character. The reader can construe the parents as unfit or fit, disrespectful or respectful, and/or faithful or unfaithful. “Interpreter of Maladies” is demonstrated through a third person limited point of view, revealing the perceptions of Mr. Kapasi, but nobody else.

            Mr. Kapasi is a driver leading the Das family and their children through India for a tour on vacation. Mr. Kapasi was once an interpreter of maladies in an office, in which he assisted individuals regarding their problems. He took this job as a way to pay off medical bills for his sick son who had contracted Typhoid Fever and it paid better than his previous teaching job. An exemplification of Postmodernism in this story is the misinterpretation when Mrs. Das called Mr. Kapasi’s interpreting job “romantic”. In regards to Mr. Kapasi’s job description as an interpreter, Mrs. Das says, “But so romantic.” (Lahiri 17) Once this was stated, Mr. Kapasi misapprehended the situation and believed that Mrs. Das was romantically interested in him. In reality, all she was seeking was advice because of her one night stand and felt a sense of guilt because of the affair and ultimately winded up perplexing Mr. Kapasi because of his observation of the distorted family. Moreover, Mrs. Das has taken a picture with the family and Mr. Kapasi ended up in the picture. After this, Mrs. Das stated how she was going to mail the picture to him. The narration then states, “He dreaded the possibility of a lost letter, the photograph never reaching him, hovering somewhere in Orissa, close but ultimately unattainable” (Lahiri 21) This shows his nerves acting up; frenzied that he wont receive the pictures from her.

            In summation, Mr. Kapasi winds up falling for Mrs. Das, even though the feelings were not mutual. It was Mr. Kapasi’s burden for misinterpreting what Ms. Das said and he should not have been so quick to judge. Mrs. Das’ child winds up attacked by monkeys in the end due to the fact how she inadvertently dropped a trail of puffed rice, even though Mr. Kapasi warned the family that the monkeys were only dangerous if they were fed food. In the end after the attack, the paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address floats away, leaving no evidence of the address for Mrs. Das to mail the picture to him. Ultimately, this postmodern writing technique illustrates how everyone interprets situations different from one another.

            

Misinterpretation/Miscommunication present in "Interpreter of Maladies", "Hills Like White Elephants", and Medicine

Miscommunication is present in everyday life and is often difficult to circumvent, especially when it revolves around our lives. Theme is extremely imperative in any piece of literature and truly defines the underlying details and meaning of the literary piece. Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri both convey superlative illustrations of an evident theme known as miscommunication. Miscommunication throughout these two post-modern stories transmits several different interpretations for the reader to construe and can be seen in the medical field as well.  This recurring theme not only portrays miscommunication, but also illustrates failure to converse, such by the fact that Mr. Das continuously is reading a guidebook and Mrs. Das constantly hiding behind her sunglasses.Miscommunications mentioned by these authors along with medicine are vital to the construction of the stories and plays a paramount role in the execution of the authors’ aim. This theme is also seen in medical practice and Shankur illustrates how it could become a negative consequence as well.

            Interpreter of Maladies focuses on communication as one of the universal themes throughout the story. Lahiri uses the theme of miscommunication to demonstrate various ways of interpreting the underlying details of the characters’ lives. Mr. Kapasi, the interpreter of maladies, has lost the ability to communicate with his wife, leaving him to drink tea alone at night. Due to this fact, the Kapasi’s find themselves in a loveless marriage. The narration depicts that Mr. Kapasi would pick up the newspaper at night, read it, and enjoy tea served by his wife in silence, no communication between the two whatsoever. Moreover, this relationship is also evident in the Das family, in which they are unable to efficiently communicate because of a particular barrier each has which prevents them from any form of contact; Mrs. Das hiding behind her sunglasses and Mr. Das’ constant reading of a guide book. Because of this, their children also behave in the same way and is seen when the children ignore Mr. Kapasi’s warning of the monkeys. Mrs. Das says, “Mr Kapasi, Do something, for God’s sake, do something!” (Lahiri 29). This is a result of the monkeys attacking Mrs. Das’ son, Bobby, because of failure to communicate and truly notify the Das family about the dangers of bringing food around the monkeys. Due to the lack of communication between these families, when one is trying to communicate with another, it ends with someone unintentionally being hurt.

            Hills like White Elephants also centers on communication indifference as a preeminent theme in this short story. Hemingway uses miscommunication to convey several ways of deducing the true meaning of this story. This story illustrates a couple at a crisis point in their relationship. They struggle, in public, to communicate their opposing views on the course their relationship should take. Both the man and the woman talk, but neither listens or comprehends the others point of view. It is at this point in the story that the “operation” refers to the woman having an abortion, and the man is continuously trying to convince her to get the procedure done.  The girl is extremely indecisive and the man keeps on telling her that everything will go back to normal if it happens. The man continues to persist, and the woman begs him to stop talking. The man says, “You’ve got to realize, that I don’t want you to do it if you don’t want to.  I’m perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you” (Hemingway 3). This, in a way, is conveying the man’s manipulation toward the girl and how he just wants to make her happy, although she doesn’t seem like she cares too much and isn’t involved as much as he is. It is assumed by now that the man does actually want her to have the abortion, but without saying it. The girl does want the baby and the man wants the abortion, but the man just wants her to feel a sense of contentment. It takes the girl the entire story to say to the man to please stop talking, instead of communicating normally, and not going back and forth with unimportant context such as, “But I don’t want you to do it if you don’t really want to” (Hemingway 2). Due to this communication deficiency, both the man and the woman are unsure of their decision along with the impact of the outcome. Hemingway leaves the story open for interpretation and a cliffhanger when the couple is waiting at the train station and the woman says, “I’m fine.”

            Aside from miscommunication in literature, this common theme is also present in everyday life and a prime example of this is in medicine. Nirupama Shankar argues that miscommunication is a problem in today’s medical field, and is growing increasingly worse. Miscommunication is the failure to convey pertinent medical information to key members in the medical team; resulting in minor to major errors or even malpractice. In addition, it is very common for several doctors to miscommunicate, thus leading to the patient being sent to numerous different specialists. Generally, patients are referred to many, many, specialists before a diagnosis is made, or even a solution is presented.  All the patient is trying to do is to get the best possible opinion but, during that time of “doctor shopping”, one doctor is unaware that another doctor is even treating the patient, a result of miscommunication (Shankar 1). On a more severe note, when a doctor is prescribing medicine to the patient, it is also possible that the patient will take too much of a dose, ultimately resulting in severe consequences including nausea, vomiting, bloody stools, shallow breathing, or even a coma depending on the medication being taken. The specialist should always make complete sure that he/she is delivering the proper dose to the patient to ensure an apposite recovery.

            In summation, through the use of theme by Ernest Hemingway’s Hills like White Elephants, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, and medical miscommunication, these authors, along with doctors, are able to emphasize the significance of the way we interpret a given context. The Das family is at fault for misinterpreting each other due to the lack of communication between them. If they actually conversed with each other, they would realize the importance of Mr. Kapasi’s words when he warned them about bringing food around the monkeys, which ultimately led to their child Bobby becoming ravaged by the monkeys. Furthermore, instead of straightforward answers between the man and the girl in Hills like White Elephants, the two decide to speak indirectly about the abortion and never seem to come to a true conclusion, only with the inference from the reader. Aside from literature, medical miscommunication is seen by the result of doctors sending their patients to multiple specialists before coming to a conclusion, and the doctors doing this unknowingly. Failure to assign the patients the proper doses of medication is also prevalent as means of miscommunication. The theme of miscommunication is an intriguing one, and can be interpreted in various different ways, but simultaneously can be ineffective and deterring to oneself. All of the examples mentioned above ultimately depict how miscommunication can result in negative experiences. 

Motif and Symbolism used throughout Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire"

Motifs and symbols are generally recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes and represent various concepts in which the author is conveying. Symbolism and motif are extremely important in any piece of literature and truly define the underlying details and meaning of the piece. A Streetcar Named Desire is arguably Tennessee Williams’ most notable piece of work and the symbols/motifs throughout the play transmit several illusions through the characters of Blanche, Stella, and Stanley to hide fallacies in their lives.  Throughout A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams uses several of these symbols and motifs in the play to express insightful ideas not explicitly seen by just reading. These recurring literary devices not only portray illusion, but also focus on the Varsouviana Polka and “Paper Doll” music, flowers, light, and bathing to illustrate social realism.  All of these mentioned by Tennessee Williams are vital to the construction of the play and play a very paramount role in the execution of literary elements.

            Williams uses illusion throughout this play to impart numerous different symbols for the reader to unconsciously interpret what is being stated. A prime example of illusion in this play is the Varsouviana Polka and “Paper Doll” music. The Varsouviana Polka is a melody that Blanche and her late husband Allen Grey were last dancing to when Allen was alive. Allen commits suicide by shooting himself in the head because Blanche told him that she was “disgusted” by him. During the play at different times, the Polka music seems to play when Blanche is feeling a sense of repentance for Allen’s death. In scene one where Stanley initially meets Blanche and asks about her husband, the music begins to play. Stanley says, “Stella’s spoke of you a good deal. You were married once, weren’t you?” (Williams 1176). The music of the Polka then begins to faintly rise up when Allen is mentioned, demonstrating Blanche’s remorse and regret for her late husband. Moreover in Scene 7, Blanche begins to sing the “Paper Moon” music and says, “Say, it’s only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea/-but it wouldn’t be make-believe if you believed in me!” (Williams 1213). These lyrics dictate Blanche’s approach to life; she believes that her illusion is her way of enjoying a better life and is essentially harmless. From these motifs, Williams is illustrating Blanche’s life living in the “make-believe” world instead of her true reality.

A very commonly used symbol in Williams’ play is the persistent flowers used to exemplify desire as well as death. Toward the end of Scene 5, Mitch brings Blanche roses out of pure lust for her. While Mitch approaches Blanche, Blanche says, “Look who’s coming! My Rosenkavalier! Bow to me first… now present them! Ahhhh-Merciiii!” (Williams 1205). The stage directions then inform the reader that Mitch appears around the corner with a bunch of roses. Shortly after Mitch’s flower delivery, in Scene 9, a Mexican woman comes around selling flores para los muertos, or flowers of the dead. Once the Mexican woman announces that she is selling flowers, Blanche says, “No, no! Not now!” (Williams 1225). The Polka music then fades in, reminding Blanche of her         late husband once again. Between these two different scenes, we went from desire and lust to death and despair just by the use of one symbol. The flowers are a powerful symbol in this play and can relate back to Williams’ technique, in which he is portraying life and happiness, then ironically depicting bereavement.

            Williams uses light as a recurring motif throughout A Streetcar Named Desire to illustrate Blanche’s insecurities with her own appearance and her sexual innocence along with her sexual maturity and disillusionment. In Scene 9, Mitch says to Blanche how he has never seen her in the light, and it seems like she is always making up excuses and beating around the bush when he confronts her about her constant avoidance of light. Mitch says, “I don’t think I ever seen you in the light. That’s a fact!” (Williams 1223). The narration then directs to the reader that Mitch has torn the paper lantern off the light bulb, and Blanche utters a gasp. Mitch then coerces Blanche to stand under the direct light. Mitch’s main concern is not her age, but is the fact that she is being deceitful. She believes that magic, rather than reality, represents life in its fullest. In addition, another example of light used by Williams is when Blanche is talking to Mitch about her late husband Allen and her sexual experiences. Blanche tells Mitch in Scene 6 that when she was in love with her husband, it was as if the world was revealed in bright, dazzling light. Ever since Allen’s suicide, the light has not been present. All through Blanche’s sexual experiences with other men subsequent to Allen’s death, she claims the light has been dim, and the reader can infer through William’s use of this motif that the vivid light represents true love.  

            Blanche’s constant need for bathing herself is another commonly used motif occurring throughout the play. Her sexual experiences have molded her into a frenzied woman, but these baths, as she says, calm her nerves. In a sense, they are a way to wash away her profligate past. Blanche says in Scene 6, “Oh, I feel so good after my long, hot bath, I feel so good and cool and-rested.”(Williams 192). Blanche’s numerous baths and time spent in the bathroom throughout the play are her attempts at cleansing herself of her past sexual misbehavior and her way of escaping everyone and everything and having time to herself in private. Moreover, another sound example of this is present in Scene 2, when Blanche states, “I think I will bathe again…My nerves are in knots” (Williams 1182). Blanche is stressed out over Stanley along with her recurring thoughts of her prior sexual ordeals with other men. Although Blanche is living in a fantasy, no matter how hard she tries to hide it, her sexual experiences keep popping into her head repeatedly to haunt her, ultimately causing her demented personality and frequent bathing. With the use of motif, Tennessee Williams is able to demonstrate Blanche’s intimate and promiscuous past and how much it deeply affects her feelings.

            In summation, through the use of motifs and symbols of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams is able to emphasize Blanche’s fantasy as well as her reality that she has been living in. Blanche is a very insecure and deranged individual who obviously needs help, ultimately leading to her being sent to a mental institution. The author is able to convey several different feelings throughout the characters in the play by the use of light, music, flowers, and bathing. Williams uses light as a motif to demonstrate Blanche’s constant need for masking her appearance to the public along with her insecurities. In addition, bathing is another motif in the play used by the author to illustrate Blanche’s need to “wash away” her previous sexual escapades. Furthermore, flowers are a recurring symbol and signify the irony of lust and happiness, to death, languishing, and resentment. The Varsouviana music and the “Paper Doll” music are perhaps the most crucial symbols throughout the play and truly signify Blanche’s contrition for her late husband, in which his death was primarily her fault. Conclusively, these symbols and motifs are fundamental in the implementation of Williams’ play and fabricate numerous narratives and aspects, such as the overall theme or mood, and represent various ideas and qualities.