Two stories of cultural collision. Consider the following questions for each story. Blog on at least one story (any question(s) due Monday midnight
- Tragic
structure of the story—why does Head give you ending at beginning? How does story unfold as something fated
or destined? Why is Life’s destiny
so determined? How is her fate a
consequence of her circumstances and choices?
- Describe Life's special
qualities, strengths and liabilities. What details reveal inner conflicts, tensions?
- Explain the
values of the Village: examine different groups—how does Head give us a
layered picture of the ethical norms of this community?
- Why
do you think Life submits to Lesego? And why
does Lesego choose her? How do they
embody a larger cultural collision?
- The
ending: why does Life do what she does in the end? What is your opinion of the trial, the
sentence, the song: “That’s What Happens When Two Worlds Collide”
Edwidge Danticat, "1937" (Look up the 1937 Massacre in DR; also called the "Parsley Massacre")
- Discuss the importance of the Madonna to the mother, the child, to others in the community. Is she a symbol?
- Examine the role of superstition and its effect on community: what beliefs disrupt community, allow betrayal, abuse?
- Why do you think those who are most oppressed are also most feared? How does this story deepen your understanding of female strength?
- How does Danticat depict connection among women and the value of their community? Note images that describe connection, community between generations.
- How does the daughter honor, commemorate and keep her mother close in this story?
In the story 1937 , The Madonna carry a mystical story that's been pass on from generation to another . The Madonna symbolize the injustice suffering the womens have been though .I believe those who were oppressed and most feared was due to the bad and good spirits everyone in the community believe . They fear the karma of knowing bad was going to happen for killing innocence people . the women in the story were all join by the river , that united them with the same story if there mother being kill and giving birth to females and continuing the legend . The daughter honor understood the story of the Madonna which help understand the meaninf of womanhood and keeping the generation going .
ReplyDeletenice reading of Madonna as symbol of suffering--and also the river is an interesting symbol!
DeleteIn the story “1937”, superstition plays a big role in the community. Women were beaten and thrown in jail because of multiple false accusations. The more people that claim that a certain group of women were killing children the more afraid people became.When people become scared or don’t understand something they tend to find someone to blame. If a person or group of people spread their fear onto others by feeding them their opinions then it doesn’t end well. As the group of people that believe these assumptions grow larger and larger people start to take action. This is known as mass hysteria. Mass hysteria by definition is a condition affecting a group of persons,characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness. In this story the women were arrested because other women claimed that they had murdered children. This then led to abuse and jail time for the women because they were now seen as less than human beings. Mass Hysteria tears a community apart. On side you have who is being accused and other the other side you have the accusers. Unfortunately people will destroy what they don’t understand, similar to what they did in this story.
ReplyDeletemass hysteria is a good word for it--also scapegoating?
DeleteWhy does Head give you the ending at beginning?
ReplyDeleteI think the author gives the ending in the beginning is because Life Morapedi was like a settlers coming from the city, and returning to the village life. In the beginning, the author describes that settlers brought “…bits and bits of a foreign culture and city habits which they absorbed" (Head 37). I think that the villagers disapproved the city life.
How does the story unfold as something fated or destined?
I think that the story unfold as to something destined because when Life came back to the village, seventeen years later. She reveal that she had many different careers. The villagers dislikes that Life had to sell herself in order to make money. When the pub first opened, Life's destiny began to unravel when she met Lesego.
Why is Life's destiny so determined?
Life's destiny is determined because according to the villagers, she was not a good woman in their eyes until she married Lesego. However, after one month, Life began to feel bored with her marriage, and she misses her old life. Life chose to disobey her husband's rule.
How is her fate a consequence of her circumstances and choices?
One of Lesego rule is that she can't go with other men, or else he will kill her. Lesego has warn Life, but she chose to ignore his warning and made an excuse to buy sugar. Instead she was meeting Radithobolo. At the end, Life got what she deserve which was death. In the middle of the story, the author revealed Life's fate. "...one evening death walked quietly into the bar, It was Lesego, the cattle-man" (Head 41).
When you say "Life got what she deserved which was death", do you mean that as your personal view or in the eyes of Lesego?
DeleteThe ending: why does Life do what she does in the end? What is your opinion of the trial, the sentence, the song: “That’s What Happens When Two Worlds Collide?
ReplyDeleteLife sleeps with Radithobolo because she no longer wants to be with Lesego, because she believes she isn’t fit for the married life, she is also aware that if she sleeps with someone Lesego will kill her because he threatened her before saying, “if you go with those men again I’ll kill you” when lesego said this to her she took it as a challenge because no one had ever told her what to do and slept with Radiothibolo so lesego would kill her. The trial was unfair, Lesego should have been hung and not sentenced to five years imprisonment, because even though what Life did was wrong he shouldn’t have killed her. The Song shows us that when two different worlds collide nothing ever turns out good.
so could we say that she chooses death?
Delete1. Describe Life's special qualities, strengths and liabilities. What details reveal inner conflicts, tensions?
ReplyDeleteLife was said to have been a "singer, beauty queen, advertising model, and prostitute" (Head 39). This shows that she is an independent woman that has always taken care of herself. The people, especially the women, of the village shunned her for her chosen profession. Being the first and only woman in the village to sell herself for profit, Life was both admired and feared. She went against the village norms by not relying on a husband to sustain her life. She had strength in her ability to use her beauty and body to get what she needed.
Head foreshadowed Life's destiny when she described her initial meeting of Lesego, "one evening death walked quietly into the bar. It was Lesego, the cattle-man..." (Head 41). This was where I realized that Lesego will be the death of Life. Head also foreshadowed this faith when LIfe protested her belief to, "live fast, die young, and have a good-looking corpse" (Head 40).
For Life, Lesego was a challenge. He didn't pursue her like all the other men did. This was new to her and for the first time in her life she was subservient. She soon realized that this wasn't for her and her only escape seemed to be death. Because Lesego said to her, if she ever lay with another man again he would 'kill her'. I think she saw this as a new and exciting challenged and she pushed her luck and tested her faith.
I agree with your analysis that Lesego was a challenge for Life.
Deletefine discussion of all the "foreshadowings"
Delete"1937"
ReplyDeleteHow does the daughter honor, commemorate and keep her mother close in this story?
The daughter kept the statue of the Madonna and immediately we can see that she links the Madonna with her mom, that when she saw the statue shed a tear she immediately got startled and thought of her mom.When her mother died, the daughter went to her prison cell and picked up a pillow that was filled with her mother's hair and held it against her chest hugging it. At the end she came to terms with her mother's death and told Jacqueline, "Let her flight be joyful", since she's in a better place now.
The daughter in 1937 honors, commemorates and keeps her mother close throughout the story in many ways. First when visiting her mother in the prison she "chose to go barefoot, as [her] mother had always done on her visits to the Massacre River" (Danticat 33) honoring the pilgrimage her mother had done in remembering her own mother. She also brings the statue of the Madonna to her mother in prison, honoring the tradition of the Madonna which was passed down at least four generations. The daughter also commemorates her mother by going through the ritual of making the Madonna cry, which her mother checks and asks "Has she cried?" (37) as if asking if her daughter has kept her tradition alive. The daughter keeps her mother close when Jacqueline comes for her and the daughter asks the questions which were "codes and disciplines by which [they] could always know who the other daughters of the river were" (44) honoring the tradition which her mother started by going to the Massacre River. The daughter honors her mother when she takes the trip with Jacqueline to visit her in prison after Jacqueline has said that the mother has died and she could feel it in her blood. At the end the Daughter keeps her mother close when she embraces the pillow full of her mother's hair and when she holds the Madonna close when they go to burn the mother, she gives her mother the traditional farewell when she tells Jacqueline "Let her flight be joyful...and mine and yours too" (49) as if honoring her mother by keeping the tradition alive.
ReplyDeleteyou touch on all the important kinds of commemoration--I esp like the idea that these women "feel" things in the blood
DeleteHow does the daughter honor, commemorate and keep her mother close in this story?
ReplyDeleteIn 1937 by Edwidge Danticat, the daughter Josephine honors her mother at the end by going with her friend Jaqueline to watch the burning of her mothers body along side the other prisoner women who she claimed also had wings of flames like her mother indicating that they had also been caught fleeing DR. She stands along side them with her Madonna to support her mother and her mother's way of life when she was alive because it's what her mother would have wanted her to do. She will probably take on the same role with her own future daughter. At first she is hesitant to go to the prison to watch her mothers body be burned by saying what would be the use but then she is persuaded. She brings along the Madonna and holds it tight to her chest just as her mother had done and she honors her mother be saying let her flight be joyful because her mother had been superstitious and she holds up to what her mother had taught her thus honoring her even after death.
moment of loyalty is very powerful
DeleteIn “Nineteen Thirty Seven” by Edwidge Danticat, it is evident that there is a strong bond between the narrator, Josephine, and the other women of Ville Rose in Haiti. Most of the women who live there are survivors of the horrible event that took place at Massacre River in 1937. They have “secret codes and disciplines” they use to tell “who the other daughters of the river were”. They can sense when another of their group is in need. Such is the case when at the end of the story a woman named Jacqueline arrives at Josephine’s house. She senses that Josephine’s mother is dead, or near death and comes to take her to Port-au-Prince. Josephine does not recognize this woman but Jacqueline assures her that, “You do know me…I have been to the river with you.” Something perhaps supernatural occurred on that night at Massacre River which has empowered the survivors.
ReplyDeleteThe Madonna statue, which has been passed down through the generations, is a symbol of the connection between mother and daughter. Josephine has no words for her mother Manman since she has been put in jail, but she still makes the pilgrimage to visit her with the Madonna, which is her way of expressing to her mother that she feels she is ethereal, or of another world. Manman, wears a white dress eventhough she is a prisoner. This conjures images of Mother Mary. Manman is said to be able to “fly”, which would make the reader envision her as a living embodiment of the heavenly.
effective reading of connections among survivors, even a spiritual element--that transcends death
Delete"Life"
ReplyDeletethe reason why Life does what she does in the end is because she realizes that she has not been use to being a wife. Since she left her home town at a young age, she probably has gotten use to i different life style with no telling her what to do. What Life does is cheats on her husband behind his back after being married with him for a month. The trail seemed like the judge was sympathetic torwards the Lesego Life's husband. He explained that he killed his wife because he couldn't understand why a wife would cheat on her husband. 5 years imprisonment is not enough what he did. I guess since it was 1966, women were to be very submissive and only that.
I believe Life submits to Lesego because he is the alpha male. This is a phenomenon that’s been happening for ages and still does today. Life is a strong, confident woman who won’t slow down for any man until she meets that man similar to herself. They both have money and are generous with it. Although in different ways, they both command a level of respect. She is drawn to him because he is different than all the other men in the village. He reminds her of men she had dealt with in Johannesburg and she admires the way the other men conduct themselves around him. We see Lesego for the first time through her eyes,
ReplyDelete"There wasn’t any other man in the bar with that expression; they all had sheepish, inane looking faces. He was the nearest thing she has seen for a long time to the Johannesburg gangsters she had associated with—the same small, economical gestures, the same power and control. All the men near him quieted down and began to consult with him….” (Head 41).
And then he did something the other men did not. He stands his ground and in a “silent command” makes Life come to him (41). Lesego presents a challenge to Life but he also represents that dominant man that subconsciously many strong, independent women want/need. “…she saw in him the power and maleness of the gangsters…”, this instantly attracted Life to Lesego (43). After some time though, that allure fades. The strong, independent thinker wants to be free again. This was also true for Life. She could no longer breathe under Lesego. In a way, she was already dead.
The cultural collision is due to Life being a city girl and Lesego being a small village cattle man. There’s also a cultural collision of values. We learn in the beginning of the story that Botswana born citizens had to go back home. They brought back with them the ways of the city. Some things were embraced by villagers, others not. Life was a “bit” which was accepted and rejected by different village members for various reasons (37). At first Lesego embraced her but then tried to change her. When his attempt to subdue her fails, this is a shot to his ego and therefore he kills her. Fatality is inevitable when worlds collide,
“But they looked at each other from their own worlds and came to fatal conclusions—she saw in him the power and maleness of gangsters; he saw the freshness and surprise of an entirely new kind of woman. He left all his women after a time because they bored him, and like all people who live an ordinary humdrum life, he was attracted to that undertone of hysteria in her” (43-44).
Ultimately the very thing that attracted the two to each was the very thing they could not live with.
It’s interesting that this vivacious character whose story ends in death is named Life and the cattle man who represents death is named Lesego. Lesego, according to my research means Lucky. In the story he is lucky with women and apparently also lucky enough to get away with murder.
Irony is a "killer".
Deletethanks for research on the name Lesego and an insightful analysis of Life's attraction to Lesego
Delete“Life” by Bessie Head is a short story about women’s lives and how they are judged by others. Set in Africa, one may be tempted to view the culture and values of the villagers as dishonest and judgmental, but what happened to Life happens every day to women all over the world, in every culture. Women who are strong and feel secure about who they are and what they are doing are desirable, on one hand, but are constantly being reigned in and suppressed by everyone else. Once a man secures a woman who is free and confident, the woman is expected to change and assume a modest, dutiful persona. The same is not expected of the man. If she does not submit to the man, the male ego is often bruised. If he senses the woman is engaging in the behaviors that attracted the man to her in the first place, the man’s sense of control is threatened. In Life’s case, Lesego took back his control by murdering her. His need for control was evidenced when “Lesego kept cool that evening…sitting quietly… unperturbed” (Head 45).
ReplyDeleteThe story reminded me of the Nicole Brown Simpson murder, which is currently in the news because of an upcoming television production about the case. The similarities are disturbing.
the madonna represented a symbolism of hope amongst the people who lived within this specific community. To some a representation of a their lost mothers, others way out of the pain that currently surging in their lives, and so on. but the main thing to be seen is that the madonna helps to uplift the people who are hurting in a turbulent time. Even though as you read to begin to see how the massacre had impacted everyone in a different way the main thing the madonna did was build that hope within people who really needed it...
ReplyDeleteI think Life submits to Lesego because, after returning to her homeland, she also thinks she should try returning to a more traditional way of life. Lesego is the most eligible man possible, who epitomizes the rural, masculine life that the community values. In turn, while Life is not a traditional wife at all, she is something unique, beautiful, and powerful in her own way -- and Lesego surely recognizes this, and is drawn to it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for them, opposites may attract -- but they can also cause conflict. These two embody cultural collision in their contrasting values and norms about how men and women should interact, and the role of women in public society. Lesego holds to a very traditional, rural view; while Life's perspective is more modern and urban. Their contrasting views, and Life's rebellion against Lesego's stifling rules for her, are of course what eventually results in her death.
Edwidge Danticat’s short story, “1937” shows the strength of women in spite of being oppressed. The most oppressed groups are also feared because there is a belief that some of those being oppressed will manage to break free and seek revenge. This means that on some level the oppressors must know that their behavior is wrong. However, that does not stop them from their harsh treatment. The horrible conditions instilled by the guards cause the women to have a more haggard appearance. This causes the guards to fear them even more as they superstitiously believe the women remove their skin at night. Their fear of the women continues the cycle of oppression.
ReplyDelete“1937” deepens my understanding of female strength. The women in the story demonstrate mental and physical strength. There are two main groups of women in the story. The survivors of the massacre who lost many relatives as well as the women falsely imprisoned. Both groups form a community bond and find strength in each other. Danticat provides evidence of a sense of community when she writes, “…making up codes and disciplines by which we could always know who the other daughters of the river were” (Danticat 44). They commemorate those they lost by going to the river each year. They demonstrate strength by honoring their mothers. When Danticat writes, “Our mothers were the embers and we were the sparks” (41) she is showing the women find solace and courage in being a continuation of their mothers. There are many examples of their strength such as Manman managing to escape a massacre while pregnant. Another example is the mental and physical stamina required by the innocent women who were wrongly imprisoned. These women survived a massacre that was aimed at their nationality. Now their own nation imprisons them because of a superstitious belief. They are survivors and display strength and hope even when they are doomed to a life of imprisonment.
The short story 1937 is set in Haiti, where a young woman tells the story of her mother and other women accused of being "lougarous" or witches, and thus they are imprisoned. The Lougarou stems from the voodoo beliefs of the Haitian people. The Lougarou is said to be a mythical creature that magically flies at night either by turning into a bird or by taking off their skin and turning into a ball of fire and flies around in the night killing children.
ReplyDeleteAt the time that Manman was arrested and accused of being a lougarou, she was staying with a friend who had a sick child, once the child had died, Manman was then stoned and carried off to prison where she would spend the rest of her life along with other women also accused of being lougarous.
Voodoo is the main religion in Haiti and is practiced by a large percentage of the population. A Hougan who is a voodoo priest who converts women into lougarous if their actions displeases him.
And while the Hougan is never prosecuted by society, the women who meddle or is seen visiting him often are labeled as lougarous and prosecuted accordingly.
Here we see the belief in the superstition of lougarous. More so, we see that it is part of Hatian culture and religious belief. And in 1937, we see how this belief works in favor of those who needed to point blame or find reason for the deaths of their children. In Manman's case the child of the friend she was staying with.
Once this woman's child is dead, even though it was stated that he was sick, she still chose to accuse Manman of witchery. And without trial or proof, she is then taken to a prison where other women are imprisoned for the same reason.
Their heads are shaved and they are basically starved to fit the profile of a woman with sagging skin, which is a result of them shedding and turning into balls of fire so that they can fly at night and steal the breath of children away.
This is how the community justifies the death of children. Not wanting to accept real causes but chooses to believe in superstition.
thanks for this really interesting background on the lougarou and the hougan, Antenal.
ReplyDelete
DeleteIn the story "Life" I believe that Life decided to have an affair because she wanted to end her life. Life new that Lego will kill her. Lego told life if she was ever to cheat on him he will kill her. So she knew exactly what she was doing and she did it because she was miserable with her married life. The trail was unacceptable Lego took a human life and was only sentence to 5 years in jail which is unrealistic. If you kill someone then you should be killed of sentences to 20 years or more in-prison. The song "that what happen when two world collide" is basically the overall summary of life and what it can end up to be when two different world collide.
Mayra santana
The Madonna is a statue which Virgin Mary is holding baby Jesus, symbolizing the unconditional love of a mother for her child. It was passed down to her from generations.
ReplyDeleteMany people feared/called them witches because they were rumored to be witches, whom in the night kill children. As well as not understanding the history of the Haitians being killed.
The daughter goes to see her mom she always carries the Madonna, on every journey. When she attends the burning of her mother she carries the Madonna as well holding it closer than before and looking into the sun as quoting her mom" Let her flight be joyful".
Life felt that it was too soon to become something she wasn't built to be. She started to reminisce after a month in her marriage that she did a mistake. In the story it explain her life in Johannesburg as being "a singer, beauty queen, advertising model, and prostitute" (Life, 39) where it explain she was really living the life she wanted and she was getting what she needed. So now being married she felt as if she was being trap. Lesegos was death and she was the key of life. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into when she went to the neighbors house. In the text Lesegos tell Life " If you go with those men again, I'll kill you" (Life, 43). Through there she knew exactly where it would lead her if she had went to the neighbor. She put that on herself because she didn't want to leave the lifestyle she was in for something she really didn't want. So she went and she dealt with the consequence. The trail everyone was shocked because they felt is was a "crime of passion" (46) and felt sympathy for him after he told them how it all started. Instead gave him 5 years. I felt at the ending the song "That's what happens when two world collide" was stating they lived two different lives, into two different worlds and they were not meant to be. You can't change someone who doesn't want to be change in that way.
ReplyDelete