Baptizing the Gun

Uwem Akpan's "Baptizing the Gun" offers a colorful depiction of Lagos; from people "carrying amulets, clubs, and locally made hunting rifles" through the streets to running over a corpse in the road, explained as a "ritual corpse," meaning "the ritualists cut off the parts they want and toss the remains on the road," the narrator, a catholic priest, is quickly introduced to the extreme circumstances that are considered everyday events in the little town in Niger. Along the way, the narrator meets a Lagostian, a man who remains unnamed throughout the story and is depicted as both untrustworthy and insignificant as far as the narrator is concerned. I can understand the narrator's lack of interest and fear of the Lagostian; I would be unwilling to trust a man in a foreign country who carried a "gun" around in his pocket and just hopped in my car without an invitation.
While Akpan's story was fairly interesting, it seemed to drag on and become a little ridiculous. In a matter of about 15 hours the narrator encountered such a long string of events that it seemed slightly unrealistic and caused me to lose interest after the first few adventures. However, I found the ending amusing since the narrators' fear revolved around the belief that the Lagostian had a gun in his pocket, however it was really just a handkerchief.

Vocabulary
Mallam (in Nigerian): a title for an educated man

Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice

"Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice" is the first chapter of Nam Le's novel, "The Boat." The author suffers from writers block throughout the chapter, struggling to think of what to write about that will be true and personal enough to be interesting, yet not so personal that the story is too revealing for his own personal life. Driven from a surprise visit from his father, Le decides to write about his fathers past and the differences between him and his father throughout their past. Le reveals a troubling relationship between the two, complicated by abandonment as a child to lack of communication until much later in Le's life, events that continue to pose problems in Le's current life. I think that Le's writers block and struggle to decide what to write about comes from the complications and uncertainty between him and his father. He seems unsure about his past, causing him to be unsure about his present and future as well. The chapter draws to a close when Le's father, "Ba," offers stories about his past, allowing Le to write about them, but then burns his writing without Le's permission. This seems to offer some closure to their relationship and struggles, possibly because his father believes that now that Le knows more about his father's past, they should just put the past behind them and focus on building a better relationship in the future.

Final Pages of The Lazarus Project

I was shocked by the last fifty pages of the Lazarus Project, particularly the final pages in which which Rora was murdered. I find it both clever and ironic that the novel both started and ended with a murder; the murder of Lazarus lead to an investigation which lead to the murder of Rora. In addition to this one event, the entire novel seems to be quite cyclical. The novel continued to go back and forth between the past and the present, however by the end of the novel the division between the two times seemed to diminish greatly. While the times were still divided by chapter, Hemon began to fuse the past into the present through Brik's dreams and thoughts. Also, the theme of dreams connected the two times of the novel, making it somewhat confusing as to what was actually happening and what was simply a figure of one's imagination.
Unfortunately, while I had enjoyed the novel so far, the conclusion didn't please me. As mentioned above, I liked that the novel came full circle with the two murders, however I didn't like that the Lazarus murder wasn't brought back into the novel as a conclusion. I wanted some sort of closure to that time period, and I feel as though Hemon only concluded the portion of the novel with Brik and Rora, rather than that of the initial Lazarus murder. Overall, however, I enjoyed the novel more than most of what we have read so far in the class.

The Lazarus Project

Aleksander Hemon's The Lazarus Project is written in two different time frames; one in the past, written about the murder of Lazarus Averbuch, and Eastern European Jewish immigrant, and the other, in the present, from the perspective of Brik, a writer from Chicago who hopes to ignite his career as a writer through his first novel about the Lazarus Project. This style of writing is interesting yet sometimes confusing to me; while I enjoy it because it keeps me interesting by jumping back and forth and always keeping me on my toes, it also is sometimes more challenging to keep up with because the two stories tend to jumble together in my mind. However, overall I enjoy the novel thus far. I particularly like the relationship between Brik and Rora; I feel as though Rora is the kind of character that everyone believes has a fantastic life and they aspire to be more like him, but in reality his life is much more complicated and far from perfect. I hope that as the story continues we learn more about the true identity of Rora. In addition, I like how Brik is constantly comparing Lazarus Averbuch to the biblical Lazarus. While I know very little about the biblical Lazarus, Briks' interpretation of the similarities between the two and their sisters seem to parallel. I am intrigued by the novel and enjoy it more than most other things we've read so far this semester.

Literary Festival Blog

I went to the readings at 356 with Leigh Anne Couch and Oindrila Mukherjee. Leigh Anne Couch, a graduate of UNCG, read five poems, three of which were selected from her new works. My personal favorite of her poems was "Learning to Use the Stick," which is written in an optimistic tone, encouraging the blind boy to "learn how to be blind." She says, "you're not alone" and "there's no use looking down," as words of encouragement, suggesting that the boy "open his eyes" to the world of the blind and learn how to make the best of it.
Following Leigh Anne Couch, Oindrila Mukherjee read the prologue of her newest novel, The House of Rain. Mukherjee, originally from India, read to us about her experience of travelling to England to attend Cambridge University. She used very intricate details to describe the sounds and colors throughout her encounters at the airport, on the plane, and after arriving in England. She expresses disappointment when describing her first moments in England because she had fantasized about it for so long and imagined it as the land of opportunity. Unfortunately, she arrived in England feeling alone and completely the same as before she had arrived, without new inspiration or feelings of a new life.
The readings at 356 were very interesting. I've never been to a reading before, and it was definitely a different experience to hear the readings by the author herself rather than reading the readings on my own.

After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town

After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town seems to ultimately center around the concept of American capitalism, particularly its negative aspects. While the article starts with the success of Cowboy Chicken, an American fried chicken restaurant that an American entrepreneur started in China, the success seems fleeting in comparison to all the trouble it soon causes. After a short time, Mr. Shapiro and Peter, the owner and manager, decide to expand the restaurant into a buffet, a classic American concept that seems so bizarre to the Chinese who are accustomed to much smaller availability of food. The Chinese quickly become obese, and after some time, many become ill after consuming such massive amounts of fried chicken and cheesecake, American foods that shock the stomachs of the Chinese. While this essay never blatantly critics the American way of capitalism, it seems to imply that capitalism will, if it hasn't already, destroy America, or any other country it consumes. Ha Jin clearly displays how the American way of buffets and fast food contribute to obesity and poor health in people, as well as the stress and forced nature of a capitalistic business. I'm interested to see if the appearance of McDonalds and other American dietary styles in countries overseas leads to as many health issues as it has in America, or if this is simply an American flaw.


Vocabulary:
Bandora - a musical instrument, similar to the guitar, played in the Renaissance era

Glengarry Glen Ross

David Mamet's play "Glengarry Glen Ross" perfectly depicts the American business. The entire play revolves around different forms of scheming and greed, all in hopes to achieve power and the alluring American Dream. Levene's misfortune throughout the play, mostly due to his own gullibility and novice nature when conducting business represents the amateurs in the business world, the ones who hope to reach the benefits of the American Dream, but unfortunately will. On the other hand, Roma depicts the greedy, always profitting businessman who is determined to get what he wants, no matter the consequences or how many others he may step on in the process. Williamson, the boss, represents the enemy in the corporation, the one who seemingly has all the power but is easily overridden by employees, such as Roma, who pay no regard to the rules of the company whatsoever. Overall, Mamet seems to have written the play to point out the multitude of problems associated with the American business system: while it supposedly brings profit, creates ease and organization, and leads to the beloved American Dream, Mamet seems to believe it is more trouble than it's worth. The never-ending plotting, scheming, and greed of corporations don't represent the American beliefs of freedom and prosperity, and Mamet ultimately seems to be attacking this flaw.