READ THIS: PRESENTATIONS

PRESENTATIONS: please take these seriously: they are an important part of your participation in the class. Your job when you present is to lead the discussion on the reading for that day. You may bring in some research, but most of all, you should be very well-prepared with insights, interpretations, and questions about the reading at hand. You may want to begin by summarizing the progress of the plot represented by the excerpt assigned on that day. Then you should have passages picked out for the class to discuss. You may want to be ready, also, with the posts for the day (you can copy and paste them and print them out). The purpose of the presentation is to give more responsibility to the classmembers and de-center the discussion a little bit (although I will still chime in). Here are your assignments, mostly random. 1. Wed. 3/30 Small Things, 84-147, Eidia. 2. 4/4 Small Things, 148-225, Hannah. 3. 4/6 Small Things, ending, Anna. 4. 4/11 Ondaatje, Dan. 5. 4/13 Mukherjee, Michael. 6. 4/18 Poppies, 3-87, Karol. 7. 4/20 Poppies, 88-156, Jason. 8. 4/25 Poppies, 157-226, Joe. 9. 4/27, Poppies, 227-342, Will. 10. 5/2 Poppies, 343-446, Rachel. 11. 5/4 Poppies, finish, Jane.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Will - Rushdie - 2/16

Though this is a novel set in India, that doesn't stop Rushdie referencing myths from other cultures.  One example is the character of Mary Pereira, described as "plump, virginal" (115), who is transformed into Saleem's other "mother" when she switches the name-tags of the two babies born at the stroke of midnight (echoing the idea that Ahmed became Mumtaz's father after renaming her Amina). 

We meet her on page 114 in a confessional where a young priest tells her that Christ was blue.  She asks because of an argument she had with an ex-lover, Joseph D'Costa, who is something of a marxist, informing her that "the air comes from the north now," (116) not the west.  When Joseph tells her that poor people are rioting in the streets, Mary says, "But Joseph, even if it's true about the killing, they're Hindu and Muslim people only; why get good Christian folk mixed up in that fight?"  Joseph replies, "You and your Christ.  You can't get it into your head that that's the white people's religion?" (116).  In this way, Christianity is associated with the rich and powerful, maintenance of the status quo, looking the other way, and tacit support of violence.  Islam and Hinduism are associated for D'Costa with the poor Indians, and these religions could be a conduit for nationalist and revolutionary spirit.  Mother Mary Pereira perpetrates her own "private revolutionary act" (130), giving a poor-born baby to a rich family, because she wants to impress Joseph.  Ironically, she gives a rich life to the fair, half-white son of William Methwold, and a poor life to the darker Indian baby.  Mary's act shows the complicated ways religion, politics, and race play off each other in the novel.

I have a funny thought about this - Padma feels deceived that Saleem (similar to Salman, who had an actress-model wife named Padma) is half-white. So does the reader, expecting a testimony of the South Asian experience. It's a joke, I think. Also, in Mary's desire to win Joseph's love - I think there are echoes of the Hebrew Bible here: women are always trying to win the love of the patriarchs by producing children. Robin.

No comments:

Post a Comment