Week 3 






Irving Penn, Metropolitan Museum of Art








   Thinking about the short stories we read last week and several to come, "Rip Van 



Winkle," an American foundation story that shows how quickly situations may change socially and politically, and "Simon's Papa," which highlights the vulnerability of the individual before a hostile crowd or mob.  Many stories focus on the struggles of people everywhere to gain social and political legitimacy, equality and their fair share at the table, greater independence and freedom, with race gender and sex in the fray. Rip wanted relief from his termagant wife, and the colonists of early America relief from England's overbearing rule.  Simon wants a protector, legitimacy, as his mother apparently bore him out of wedlock and the women of the village have spoken of her  disapprovingly. The children's taunts and bullying of Simon reflect the low shame La Blanchotte is made to feel regarding her reputation.  "The Story of an Hour," by Kate Chopin, pulls the curtain back on the supposed satisfactions of a woman's married life.  Independence is what Mrs. Mallard really wants, to be free.  The longing and the struggle to be free, who hasn't felt it or seen it playing out? Remember the multitudes of women who marched in solidarity for a more just and compassionate society in D.C., New York, and cities around the world on Saturday, January 21, 2017?  I glimpsed the gathering on a tv while out and it thrilled me to see it.   Bigotry and hatred, fear and greed are scourges today as of old and the stories will be told.  The individual "outsider,"  the protagonist beset by a hostile or contrary power, reputation or name who is sometimes undermined by talk,  is the heart of a great many stories.  In The Hero's Journey, written by Joseph Campbell, the many trials, temptations, and wanderings of the hero-protagonist lead at last to a great confrontation with "whatever holds the ultimate power"  and thus the promise of transformation to a new order, one that may reconcile or get beyond warring opposites.  The journey is inward, a psychic aspect of every human life, and outward, traversing the plane of social life.  And the stakes are high for all.








 The eminent American writer James Baldwin wrote, 



We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope.”



Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues," on race, addiction, and jazz music, is a wonderful read, by the way, and perhaps we should read it.








    We want to be recognized, validated, legitimated.  The quest may ultimately lead back to ourselves, in discovery that we must be the source and power of salvation we seek.  Edward Snowden makes the point here in an interview, and he is not the first, that we cannot put too much faith in elected leaders or inherited authority that does not deal with us in just, transparent ways.  The quest for greater freedom, equality, justice, and prosperity for all is a thread that connects us to human society, past, present, and future.  Utopian literature depicts societies that have worked it all to a harmonious balance.  Dystopian literature emphasizes all the flaws of bad government and human nature run amok.

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Homework:   Read "Girl," a very short story by Jamaica Kincaid,  "Joy,"  a revealing slice of life story set in late 19th century Russia, written by Anton Chekhov, and the others to be presented in handout, including : "Up in the Tree," by Japanese author Kawabata Yasunari.  No response due.

Begin short fiction writing of 350-500 words, titled and double-spaced, and due week 5 in class.
    

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