This course will explore the unique experience of the woman writer. Studying works written by women from a variety of cultures, races and classes will reveal how being a woman has influenced the woman writer's creative interpretation of the human condition.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Blog #9: The Buddha in the Attic
The chapter “Whites” describes the Japanese women’s early encounters
with the dominant culture.Find a quote
(or two) that typifies these encounters and discuss its significance. (Please post by Sunday, 11 PM, May 10).
"And when we arrived at a new ranch and the boss took one look at us and said "she's too frail" it was our husbands who convinced him otherwise." I picked this quote because just like the Japanese women had their preconceived notions of what the whites were like before they met them so did the whites have their own notions of what these women were and weren't capable of doing.
The japanesse women talk about difference and similarities of the dominant culture to theirs. They describe that the dominant culture do not see the women as able to do the hard work needed in the feild and it is their husbands who stand up for them. They also describe some of the women they work for who are pretty, fair skined and carefree. They want to be like them because their lives are far from that. They are married to men that they dont love, their once fair skin has darken due to being in the sun. Their delicate nature has hard by everything they have do deal with.
"We loved them. We hated them. We wanted to be them. How tall they were, how lovely, how fair.... they had a confidence we lacked.... and we regretted that we could not be more like them"
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM, we were warned. Approach them with caution, if you must." "WE LOVED THEM. We hated them. We wanted to be them" I picked these quotes because it shows that even though they had preconceived notions about the whites and were also warned against the whites, they still envied the whites. And in the end they wanted to be like the whites because they envied the way the looked and their lifestyles.
" they did not want us as neighbors in their valleys. they did not want us as friends. we lived in unsigtly sacks and could not speak plain english". this quote expresses discrimination towards the Japanese. When they moved to the suburbs to become servants they wore used as an example of inferiority as shown in the following example: " if you dont study harder , you ' ll end up scrubbing floors just like Lilly." another example is : they import those girls from Japan as free labor ." The significance of these quotes are an example of Americans been unwelcoming towards the Japanese the language barrier made Japanese feel unimportant. Ironically in the town the setting had become more Japanese than in Japan , and they made fun and had hot gossip in the bath house about their employers. In fields the Japanese had an exclusive control of the vegetable markets to the point of being hated by the " whites " and at their homes , Japanese women realized that without them they could not get anything done because even thou their work as servants seem low and inferior their work was actually crucial. I will like to end with a quote by Mahatama Ghandhi :
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
The encounter the Japanese women had with the dominant culture was that they should observe the new culture but also to not to go near them. They Japanese women knew they weren't going to be valued by them neither, because they knew nothing of the new culture like the men did. "but for now our husbands told us please leave the talking to me. For they already spoke the English language. They understood the American ways ". This quote shows how once the women start to encounter the new culture they are prepared on what to do and how to act.
The chapter titled 'Whites' focused on first events that the woman encountered upon their arrival. One quote states, "Home was an old chicken coop in Willows that the Chinese had lived in before us. Home was a flat-ridden mattress in a corner of a packing shed in Dixon." This showed that the women did not live very comfortable lives, instead the treatment could pass as inhumane in some sort. The expectations the women had about the American Dream were beyond that of their own imaginations.
"Whenever we left J-Town and wandered through the broad, clean streets of their cities we tried not to draw attention to ourselves. We dressed like they did. We walked like they did, We made sure not to travel in groups. We made ourselves small for them - If you stay in your place they'll leave you alone- and did our best not to offend. Still, they gave us a hard time." The Japanese women were supposed to be seen and not heard. They were to stay out of the white man's way and even when they tried they were still bothered. They thought they were coming to a land where they didn't have to work and men held doors opened for them and spoke politely to them. Yet, they were wrong, they were forced to sleep in deplorable places, worked the fields and many of them even became mistresses to some of the men they worked for.
In "Whites" these Japanese women had different encounters with the dominate culture of American white women. Two quotes that typifies these encounters are: "They had a confidence that we lacked." "And much better hair. So many colors." "And we regretted that we could not be more like them". These quotes discusses how the thoughts of these Japanese women had on the American culture weren't the same since they notice that American women are way different than them which they show that they wished they had the same confidence and looks like these American white women and they wished they were superior like them.
The Japanese women begin to regret their decision to come to America because their working on farms. American are proud people "we never would have come to America to do work no self-respecting American would do". In a way the White man are to Superior to do the work that these women are doing. The type of work that they are doing is low level and the American are too tall in ego and in height. “They said our short stature made us ideally suited for work that required stooping low to the ground". This shows that being superior is in the nature of the white man as they won’t do work that require stooping low as they are above that. “They did not want us as neighbors in their valleys. They did not want us as friends. “The American people have a price for everything that "nothing in America is free" they are cold people who don’t mix with those who are beneath them. They are self-serving and can sometimes burn down fiends or shack due to the dominance of the "little guy": the Japanese workers.
It was surprising to read that the Asian people kind of went through the same racism antics that blacks went through. The quote on the first page stuck out to me, "do not let sundown find you in this county" (23) reminded me of the stories I use to hear about the KKK and how they hunted blacks down especially at night time. And also how they shad separate restaurants bathrooms and water fountains then black/ and or color people.
"we wondered if we made a mistake, coming to such a violent and unwelcoming land. Is there any more tribe savage then the Americans? This quote was one that really stood out to me in the entire chapter. The whites did not care one bit about these Japanese women. All they cared about was the free work labor they would get, the occasional sex when they went up behind them in the fields, just asking to put the tip in. What these woman considered home was in fact not a home at all. Their chicken coops were set on fire, their children would throw stones at them. The first word they learned was water, so they know what to say to keep themselves alive. YET these woman stood their faithful in their work, enduring all that came at them.
In "Whites" the Japanese women were somewhat ashamed in comparison to the American women. You can see that they struggled adjusting to American culture in this chapter. In one part it says "we regretted that we could not be more like them." This quote shows that they were not as confident as the American women and they wanted to be more like them to fit in and be treated better.
"we regretted that we could not be more like them." proves that the Japanese women wanted to be more like the "Whites". They wanted to walk, talk and act like them. They wanted their life and their beauty but they were servants and some even mistresses. They wanted more from America, where the dream of having the perfect life never really existed.
This book to me is so crazy that I can't put the book down but anyway while reading the Japanese women are starting to regret coming to American because they had a different perspective of how American would be. They thought they would be living well instead of working on the farm. They say " We never would have come to America to do work no-self-respecting American would do." They basically expected more from American and they wanted to be like American people and live the same life style not the one that they are living in.
When you say"The Buddha in the Attic" is "crazy," do you mean the style in which it is written, or the many varied experiences that the author explores? (or both :)?
"We regretted that we could not be more like them" a quote from the chapter "Whites" shows how the Japanese women were embarrassed about the American women. They practically wanted to be just like them. You could tell by the way they suffered and tried to fit into the American culture. These women wanted to live the way the American women did and be treated better.
"And when we arrived at a new ranch and the boss took one look at us and said "she's too frail" it was our husbands who convinced him otherwise." I picked this quote because just like the Japanese women had their preconceived notions of what the whites were like before they met them so did the whites have their own notions of what these women were and weren't capable of doing.
ReplyDeleteThe japanesse women talk about difference and similarities of the dominant culture to theirs. They describe that the dominant culture do not see the women as able to do the hard work needed in the feild and it is their husbands who stand up for them. They also describe some of the women they work for who are pretty, fair skined and carefree. They want to be like them because their lives are far from that. They are married to men that they dont love, their once fair skin has darken due to being in the sun. Their delicate nature has hard by everything they have do deal with.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a particular line from the text that exemplifies what you write here?
DeleteProf. Berke
This comment has been removed by the author.
Delete"We loved them. We hated them. We wanted to be them. How tall they were, how lovely, how fair.... they had a confidence we lacked.... and we regretted that we could not be more like them"
DeleteYes, good quote! The class seems to be united in the significance of this point that the women felt inferior to this dominant group of women.
DeletePr. Berke
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM, we were warned. Approach them with caution, if you must." "WE LOVED THEM. We hated them. We wanted to be them" I picked these quotes because it shows that even though they had preconceived notions about the whites and were also warned against the whites, they still envied the whites. And in the end they wanted to be like the whites because they envied the way the looked and their lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I wrote something similar
Delete" they did not want us as neighbors in their valleys. they did not want us as friends. we lived in unsigtly sacks and could not speak plain english". this quote expresses discrimination towards the Japanese. When they moved to the suburbs to become servants they wore used as an example of inferiority as shown in the following example: " if you dont study harder , you ' ll end up scrubbing floors just like Lilly." another example is : they import those girls from Japan as free labor ." The significance of these quotes are an example of Americans been unwelcoming towards the Japanese the language barrier made Japanese feel unimportant. Ironically in the town the setting had become more Japanese than in Japan , and they made fun and had hot gossip in the bath house about their employers. In fields the Japanese had an exclusive control of the vegetable markets to the point of being hated by the " whites " and at their homes , Japanese women realized that without them they could not get anything done because even thou their work as servants seem low and inferior their work was actually crucial. I will like to end with a quote by Mahatama Ghandhi :
ReplyDelete“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
The encounter the Japanese women had with the dominant culture was that they should observe the new culture but also to not to go near them. They Japanese women knew they weren't going to be valued by them neither, because they knew nothing of the new culture like the men did. "but for now our husbands told us please leave the talking to me. For they already spoke the English language. They understood the American ways ". This quote shows how once the women start to encounter the new culture they are prepared on what to do and how to act.
ReplyDeleteThe chapter titled 'Whites' focused on first events that the woman encountered upon their arrival. One quote states, "Home was an old chicken coop in Willows that the Chinese had lived in before us. Home was a flat-ridden mattress in a corner of a packing shed in Dixon." This showed that the women did not live very comfortable lives, instead the treatment could pass as inhumane in some sort. The expectations the women had about the American Dream were beyond that of their own imaginations.
ReplyDelete"Whenever we left J-Town and wandered through the broad, clean streets of their cities we tried not to draw attention to ourselves. We dressed like they did. We walked like they did, We made sure not to travel in groups. We made ourselves small for them - If you stay in your place they'll leave you alone- and did our best not to offend. Still, they gave us a hard time." The Japanese women were supposed to be seen and not heard. They were to stay out of the white man's way and even when they tried they were still bothered. They thought they were coming to a land where they didn't have to work and men held doors opened for them and spoke politely to them. Yet, they were wrong, they were forced to sleep in deplorable places, worked the fields and many of them even became mistresses to some of the men they worked for.
ReplyDeleteIn "Whites" these Japanese women had different encounters with the dominate culture of American white women. Two quotes that typifies these encounters are: "They had a confidence that we lacked." "And much better hair. So many colors." "And we regretted that we could not be more like them". These quotes discusses how the thoughts of these Japanese women had on the American culture weren't the same since they notice that American women are way different than them which they show that they wished they had the same confidence and looks like these American white women and they wished they were superior like them.
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese women begin to regret their decision to come to America because their working on farms. American are proud people "we never would have come to America to do work no self-respecting American would do". In a way the White man are to Superior to do the work that these women are doing. The type of work that they are doing is low level and the American are too tall in ego and in height. “They said our short stature made us ideally suited for work that required stooping low to the ground". This shows that being superior is in the nature of the white man as they won’t do work that require stooping low as they are above that. “They did not want us as neighbors in their valleys. They did not want us as friends. “The American people have a price for everything that "nothing in America is free" they are cold people who don’t mix with those who are beneath them. They are self-serving and can sometimes burn down fiends or shack due to the dominance of the "little guy": the Japanese workers.
ReplyDeleteIt was surprising to read that the Asian people kind of went through the same racism antics that blacks went through. The quote on the first page stuck out to me, "do not let sundown find you in this county" (23) reminded me of the stories I use to hear about the KKK and how they hunted blacks down especially at night time. And also how they shad separate restaurants bathrooms and water fountains then black/ and or color people.
ReplyDelete"we wondered if we made a mistake, coming to such a violent and unwelcoming land. Is there any more tribe savage then the Americans? This quote was one that really stood out to me in the entire chapter. The whites did not care one bit about these Japanese women. All they cared about was the free work labor they would get, the occasional sex when they went up behind them in the fields, just asking to put the tip in. What these woman considered home was in fact not a home at all. Their chicken coops were set on fire, their children would throw stones at them. The first word they learned was water, so they know what to say to keep themselves alive. YET these woman stood their faithful in their work, enduring all that came at them.
ReplyDeleteIn "Whites" the Japanese women were somewhat ashamed in comparison to the American women. You can see that they struggled adjusting to American culture in this chapter. In one part it says "we regretted that we could not be more like them." This quote shows that they were not as confident as the American women and they wanted to be more like them to fit in and be treated better.
ReplyDelete"we regretted that we could not be more like them." proves that the Japanese women wanted to be more like the "Whites". They wanted to walk, talk and act like them. They wanted their life and their beauty but they were servants and some even mistresses. They wanted more from America, where the dream of having the perfect life never really existed.
ReplyDeleteThis book to me is so crazy that I can't put the book down but anyway while reading the Japanese women are starting to regret coming to American because they had a different perspective of how American would be. They thought they would be living well instead of working on the farm. They say " We never would have come to America to do work no-self-respecting American would do." They basically expected more from American and they wanted to be like American people and live the same life style not the one that they are living in.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say"The Buddha in the Attic" is "crazy," do you mean the style in which it is written, or the many varied experiences that the author explores? (or both :)?
DeleteProf. Berke
"We regretted that we could not be more like them" a quote from the chapter "Whites" shows how the Japanese women were embarrassed about the American women. They practically wanted to be just like them. You could tell by the way they suffered and tried to fit into the American culture. These women wanted to live the way the American women did and be treated better.
ReplyDelete