Andrew’s World Literature Blog

     What does home mean for varying characters in the book, and how does it relate to the injustice Native people have experienced? More specifically, how does the concept of ‘home’ differ between different main characters?

     Most of the adult characters in There There comment on the U.S. government’s treatment of indigenous people, both the horrendous slaughter and division of the past and the current, more subtle oppression that remains or at least goes unfixed. While not directly mentioned in the microlecture, I don’t think there is a more affected character by this historical injustice than Opal and Jacquie Red Feather. Having to do some outside research, I learned about the very real event named the Indian Occupation of Alcatraz, lasting from 1969 to 1971. Opal and Jacquie’s mother put the remembrance and honoring of her culture at the forefront of her life, especially detailing the government’s oppression to her daughters. The fact that Opal, who was not even 12, could recount the reasoning for the name “Teddy Bear” is proof enough. Joining in on that protest by living on Alcatraz for several months further confused Opal and Jacquie’s sense of home, a powerful theme throughout the ...

     In all honesty, I have been behind on this final project for a little bit due to a decent influx of other assignments catching up with me, so I don’t expect this blog post to be very long. My current topic is about performances and plays around the world, and how textual versions may differ, especially taking into account the issue of preservation over many years. It strongly ties back into Antigone, as lots of what we discussed in both the microlecture and class was about how the text may have been altered or how the translations differ greatly. Not to mention how in class, we discussed the many different versions and divergences of Hayy Ibn Yaqzan, and almost everything that we discussed during the library visit. I have found a few sources, but I am meeting with Michelle on Tuesday to get everything sorted out. I have some questions like how big the primary sources have to be, especially since my topic revolves around plays. Will I be reading whole plays for the s...

     The first microlecture brought up a lot of interesting points of how skewed Native American history/literature is compared to the truth of the original material. It is interesting how the Europeans really didn’t know what they were seeing upon entering Native American lands, both with the Pocahontas story and Columbus who believed he was in Asia. I have never seen the Pocahontas movie or the story, but from what I understand, it has been retold to be a love story of two cultures coming together naturally. It’s also interesting how an Abnaki Indian named Samoset already spoke English, completely throwing off the European’s expectations of an inhospitable and “savage” people. It is both sad and unsurprising that the cause of these issues stem from nothing more than ignorance– from biases, fear, resistance to change, and simply not knowing what to make of everything. If I were to take away one thing from the microlecture to apply to There There, it would be how much em...