Overcoming Cultural Obstacles: the use of imagery and syntax for the creation of a connection with the reader
Overcoming Cultural Obstacles: the use of imagery and syntax for the creation of a connection with the reader
Connection to one's intended audience is central to the conveying of one's message. It is only in this relationship that a writer or artist has with their audience that space for their literature or art is created. The authors of the literature I read this summer are presented with a sizable problem for these women are faced with the hardship of connecting with an audience that cannot in any normal circumstance understand or appreciate their writings due to the barriers presented by race, gender and language. These roadblocks came into existence during a time period known as the Enlightenment, an intellectual revolution in which the definition of self became determined through the comparison of one self with others and the world in which we live (Gay 59). During this movement the mental space in which all things not of oneself exist was created, this being "the other." The persistence of this ideology results in the limitations of thought on the behalf of western cultures in that all things foreign find themselves categorized and discarded. I was interested in investigating how the literary tools of imagery and syntax aid sub-continental female authors to overcome the label of being 'the other' in order to establish a necessary connection with their reader because while I am not of Eastern heritage, I do find myself thrust into the throes of the western categorization 'the other' due to the blur of culture present in my heritage. The challenge of overcoming the lab this label of otherness finds itself at the focal of the literature created by the authors Meena Alexander (Fault Lines), Sara Suleri (Meatless Days), Anita Desai (Fasting, Feasting), and Arundhati Roy (God of Small Things). In their differing mediums of fiction and non-fiction, these female sub-continental authors utilize the literary tools of imagery and syntax in efforts to overcome the social blockade of being classified and disregarded as 'the other'.
Space, in terms of mental guidelines, finds itself existing as the windows through which an individual defines, perceives, and understands the world around them. This plays a vital role in the life of any individual, yet takes on a predominant focus when one discuses the lives and existence of a minority or any cultural exile. This defines any person or persons living in a culture and/or society bearing any form of self-definition not matching that of the individual. When this phenomenon occurs a state of double consciousness emerges - a dual existence in which an individual must integrate the values of their own cultural perception along with those of the host society in which they find themselves (Kosslyn 453). This occurs in the fictional works of Anita Desai and Arundhati Roy, yet gains a meaning all its own in the memoirs of Sara Suleri and Meena Alexandar. In these works the authors attempt to convey a part of themselves and their own lives to an audience which does not share their mental space. These writers must overcome this division in order for their own experiences to ring true in the minds of their differing readers. Their words and lifetimes must, to even find minimal meaning or importance, overcome this cultural division which can be overcome more easily in works of fiction due solely to the artistic freedom provided by such a medium (Finke 157). The ability to utilize symbolic imagery in fiction allows for easier mental connection to the author's audience, while the implementation of symbolism within non-fiction presents itself as burdensome due to the lack of symbolic occurrences within a normal life. Irrelevant to this fact stands the implementation of descriptive imagery and its ability to convey feelings and states of emotion, resulting in a better understanding on the part of the reader. For this reason, both camps of authors utilize symbolism although its depth and ability to allow the reader connection to the literature varies extensively. Additionally, common to both groups of writers is their complete control and mastery of the instrument through which they opt to convey their intentions and messages - that of the English language. Employing differing degrees of syntax control and verbal manipulation allows the authors to succeed in a conscious rebellion against the genderized and racialized language (English) through which they are forced to transcend the bounds of labeling, and, in a very post-modern way, dodge the categorization of their writing to connect with their primarily white audience.
During the period of history known as the Enlightenment, the idea of bipolar opposition emerged and through this school of thought, an individual seeks to define him or herself by first defining that which he or she is not; this then becomes "the other." As an individual, whether due to ego or pride, one attempts to see what one is as correct or good, yet, because of this, the "other" is viewed, both consciously and subconsciously, as bad simply due to the fact that it is different from ourselves (Dunn 97). This mental roadblock faced by non-White, non-male ...
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During the period of history known as the Enlightenment, the idea of bipolar opposition emerged and through this school of thought, an individual seeks to define him or herself by first defining that which he or she is not; this then becomes "the other." As an individual, whether due to ego or pride, one attempts to see what one is as correct or good, yet, because of this, the "other" is viewed, both consciously and subconsciously, as bad simply due to the fact that it is different from ourselves (Dunn 97). This mental roadblock faced by non-White, non-male writers must be overcome in order for any value to be given to their writings. A space must be verbally cleared so that the ideas, which these authors wish to impart, can exist in a form that retains value and is not merely labeled and pushed aside. The rejection and labeling from within the American culture that these female authors live in creates within them, as within all minorities, a state double consciousness due to the fact that while they certainly do exist within the physical space of American communities; these minority writers can never fully exist, nor understand the mental space of those communities from which they are excluded. The concept of double consciousness is defined by Paul Gilroy in his work, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness as, "the special difficulties arising from [the] internalization of a [white] identity," and he follows this statement with an excerpt from W.E.B. Du Bois's The Soul of Black Folk, stating that the Negro, "ever feels his twoness; an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder (Gilroy 126)." This internal struggle between the urges to adapt, achieve success, or at the very least survive, within a white controlled society, amplifies the need to remain an unassimilated individual, plays an enormous role within the everyday mental landscape of black individuals and any other minority living within the confines of a suppressive and radicalized western society. The initial importance of this mental conflict comes to play in the self-perception of minorities. "It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness," states Du Bois, "this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity (Gilroy 134)."
The challenge to eastern women living in the first world remains the struggle to keep their own space of womanhood alive while living in a western society which seeks to assimilate them and thereby imprint upon them its own set beliefs. This struggle is the very reason for the writings of memoirs on the parts of Meena Alexander and Sara Suleri. The authors are not very old meaning that a general need to convey the sum of their life experiences has not beset them yet for their lives are obviously not over. While they certainly feel a general urge to impart their knowledge and experiences to the world, the primary objective of their texts is the selfish goal of assistance in their own definitions of themselves and the spaces of womanhood in which they exist. By imprinting this struggle to paper, the authors assist themselves in this definition.
While this endeavor into the realm of the self assists the authors of the memoirs, it is not the means by which they elect to connect with their readers. The actual connection required for a higher level of appreciation finds itself within the physical and tangible imagery conveyed by Suleri and Alexandar (Barlow 286). Within their self-definition, these authors assert their own feminine physical nature, and thereby communicate a sense of themselves through their images. The culmination of this defining takes form in Alexander's vivid description of birth and " the feel of [my newly born son's] lips, and my breast beneath (Alexander 167)." In turn, the physiological imagery utilized by Suleri bolsters not only her self-image and presence, but also the very tangible and realistic relation of these images in the physical world. In her writing temporal boundaries are transcended through the realistic nature of her images. The reader connects to the text in a sense that in order to appreciate these visions of another person's life and space, one must enter into the described situation for a moment and feel therein, not only the actual description, but also the emotions and views of the author at that precise moment. In the reading of this scene in Meatless Days, "to sleep on Ifat's bed was milk enough, to sleep in crumbling rest beside her body. Sometimes like water she runs through the sentences of sleep, a medium something other than itself, refracting, innocent of all the algae it can bear and capable of much transmogrification. Her water laps around me almost in reproach (Suleri 186)," the reader cannot only envision the bed Suleri discusses, but also, through her control of syntax by means of utilizing the present tense and first person narrative, the understanding of the images of 'algae, milk, water lapping and crumbling rest' evolves to a level of emotional understanding and connection with the view of the author. Through this the space the reader is effectively transcended and the labeling of 'the other' not only disappears, but is never even given a chance to exist.
The use of imagery within writing takes on entirely new assets inside works of fiction, primarily in terms of its depth and the convenience of its access in the midst of this medium. The symbolic images of fiction are meant to be interpreted. This much more complex shape of symbolism reflects an art form of expressing the depth and intensity of a given situation through alternative means of literary tools by moving beyond already presented knowledge. This in turn constructs an emotional link between oneself and the text as the reader becomes more psychologically and emotionally involved in the interpretation. In Fasting, Feasting, Anita Desai repeatedly demonstrates her ability to manipulate both of the literary aspects of symbolism, beginning with the more descriptive symbolism as a contrivance through which to better acquaint the reader with the setting and characters of the novel. As the narrative progresses, one sees instances of symbolic imagery beckoning the reader to engross himself or herself in the character of Uma, portraying the author's opinion that an emotional connection to the protagonist must transpire. Through the image of, "a koel [] calling in the neem tree - piercingly, questingly, over and over again (Desai 25)," the reader is allowed a moment to question and consider the meaning of this symbol in the context of Uma as a character, and thereby finds themselves inadvertently, and more importantly, consciously connected to her. A similar evocation of cognizant and emotionally involving thought occurs when "[insects] hurl themselves at the [blue oblong of electric light] like heathens in the frenzy of their false religion, and die with small, piercing denotations (Desai 167)." The only difference in these two quotes is that the latter one concerns an emotional connection to the novel's second protagonist, Uma's younger brother, Arun. The importance of these images depends not upon the actual meaning of these symbols, rather upon the realization that the understanding of these symbols requires effort and consideration.
In a novel concerned with a culture differing from that of its readers, the establishment of an emotional connection becomes necessary due to the removal of the reader from the characters and text by means of cultural barriers and stereotypes. Through the incorporation of symbolic imagery the reader feels actively involved within the emotions and thoughts of the characters, and becomes much more apt at following the author's gaze, or viewpoint, than situations in which the plot lines are merely narrated (Finke 45). In addition to the widening of the potency of symbolic imagery, fiction also offers writers an added degree of freedom in terms of their ability to control language and the syntax through which it flows. While there certainly is no ban or official restriction hampering non-fiction writers in terms of how they choose to present their text, there are however certain aesthetic values placed on how one conveys personal experiences, and both Suleri and Alexander have elected to fall within those undrawn lines (Kosslyn 246). The manipulation and control exerted over the flow of thoughts and world in the tragic novel, God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, transcends all literature I personally have ever previously encountered. Roy repeatedly employs methods and visual presentations of text that change and distorts the actual understanding of the printed words. These incredible reconstructions of the English language are so novel and odd, that to quote them completely interrupts the visual flow of this non-fictional essay, a fact that serves to reiterate an earlier point concerning the visual aesthetics of non-fiction works. The most memorable of this syntax control occurs for the first time on page 54, where Roy deconstructs Ammu's statements into a listed multivariable form of options (a), (b) and (c):
To this, Ammu always said "Ha! Ha! Ha!" like people in the comics. She said:
(a) Going to Oxford didn't necessarily make a person clever.
(b) Cleverness didn't necessarily make a good Prime Minister.
(c) If a person couldn't even run a pickle factory profitably, how was that person going to run a whole country?
This defiance of normal literary presentation appears not only as a mockery of, but also as a deliberate rebellion against the engendered and racially biased English language. Through this action Roy dually connects with her audience in the shared humor of America's vernacular and linguistic styling, but also in the assertion of herself as an individual and woman versus her pervious standpoint as a mere faceless member of "the other."
In the fictional work, Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai, the control of syntax is slightly subtler, although its effect goal is a grand and vast undertaking. Progressing past subtle beginnings, the prompts within the novel quickly expand from simple verbal manipulations to the outright explanation of given symbolism, completely removing the necessary aspect of conscious reflection on the behalf of the reader, reducing the imagery to mere description (Barlow 339). The night after Uma's seizure at the ashram, she lies quietly on her mat listening to the barking of dogs, and the symbolic implications of this barking finds itself completely obliterated with the sentence which follows the description; "That was how Uma felt her own life to have been - full of barks, howls, messages, and now - silence (Desai 61)." The significance of literary prompts rests dually upon the negation of the emotions that the imagery they explain would normally convey, and their repeated parallel existence coinciding with symbolism which remains open to interpretation and allows for a mental connection which the characters in the novel. While seemingly baffling, the all too perfect coincidence of these prompts along side imagery - compounded by the fact that some of the imagery enlisted persists unscathed - points at the absolutely brilliant purpose behind these literary mechanisms. Anita Desai employs literary prompts and explanations to counteract the feeling of connection that a reader may have towards a character by removing the possibility for consideration of certain images. This effect is then magnified by the placement and unexpected development of these prompts immediately before or after moments of symbolic narration, causing a jarring effect in the light that the text then no longer reads comfortably. While she does allow the reader to connect with her protagonists, Uma and Arun, in certain situations, Desai maintains complete control over this relationship through these prompts, utilizing them to create and maintain the feeling that one is an 'outsider', paralleling how the character themselves feel. Anita Desai has created a literary means through which she is able to impose upon the reader the same sense of 'an outsider looking in' that Uma and Arun experience. This feeling, conveys the sensation of being "the other" and imposes an entirely new and novel sensation upon the reader, so, if only for a mere moment, a white person experiences the lack of connectedness and double consciousness that an immigrant or minority within American culture deals with their entire lives. On this level, the sense of understanding and connectedness that the reader feels with both the text and the author has come full circle, they are actually enabled to enter and feel the space of "the other" thereby negating the existence of 'the other' as they are now a direct part of it.
While each of the authors utilize imagery and control of syntax to transcend the limited space of their readers, it is apparent that they each do so in varied ways. The added flexibility of fiction is that the greater availability of symbolism and linguistic manipulation also presents themselves openly. In conclusion, one theme remains the same - the brilliance and genius of these female sub-continental authors. My personal investigation into the power of the literary tools of imagery and syntax as methods for bridging the cultural barriers left in place from the Enlightenment has revealed a new level of appreciation and understanding for the works of those who, like myself, are classified as 'the other'. My sole regret marks itself as a feeling of depression that the genius of these women's writing style is necessary for them to establish the connection they seek. It cannot be wrong to question the ideals of the Enlightenment; ideas laid down hundreds of years ago that are clung onto by western cultures. Cultural, racial and gender issues are sure to plague mankind and the arts for centuries to come. Authors stemming from other cultures may always be forced to turn to alternative modes of connection and assertion of self. In order to transcend the sexist and racist ideals of the past, we, the individual members of our societies, must first discover the truth within ourselves in order to establish a stable base for our lofty goals of equalization.
Works Cited
Alexander, Meena. Fault Lines. New York: The Feminist Press, 1993.
Barlow, Horace B. Images and Understanding: thoughts about images, ideas about understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Desai, Anita. Fasting, Feasting. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Dunn, John M. The Enlightenment. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1999.
Finke, Ronald A. Principles of mental imagery. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment; a comprehensive anthology. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973.
Gilroy, Paul. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness.
Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1993.
Kosslyn, Stephen Michael. Image and Mind. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1980.
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.
Suleri, Sara. Meatless Days. New York: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Bibliography
Alexander, Meena. Fault Lines. New York: The Feminist Press, 1993.
Barlow, Horace B. Images and Understanding: thoughts about images, ideas about understanding. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
Desai, Anita. Fasting, Feasting. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Dunn, John M. The Enlightenment. San Diego: Lucent Books, 1999.
Finke, Ronald A. Principles of mental imagery. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment; a comprehensive anthology. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973.
Gilroy, Paul. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness.
Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1993.
Hahner, Jeffrey. Speaking Clearly: Improving voice and diction. New York: McGraw- Hill Companies, 1997.
Kosslyn, Stephen Michael. Image and Mind. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1980.
Moore, George Edward. Principia Ethica. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998.
Suleri, Sara. Meatless Days. New York: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
Spencer, Lloyd. Introducing the Enlightenment. New York: Totem Books, 1997.
5
Roberts
