Danticat’s Use of Sublimation Through Writing

According to psychologist Harry Sullivan in his book Clinical Studies in Psychiatry,  sublimation is the “unwitting substitution of a partial satisfaction with social approval for the pursuit of a direct satisfaction which would be contrary to one's ideals or to the judgment of social censors and other important people who surround one” (14). A prime example of sublimation would be writing, which Edwidge Danticat, an immigrant author from Haiti, uses to express her grief and sympathy for the suffering Haitian citizens. We can see sublimation in two of Danticat’s works, Krik?Krak! and Create Dangerously, from two different perspectives: the immigrant artist and women. The goal of this paper is to perform a close reading of two excerpts from two of Danticat’s texts and analyze how sublimation is evidenced therein.

First of all, in Create Dangerously, Danticat writes several essays about the challenges and motivations that the immigrant artists face when creating. In the first extract, she is clearly expressing her personal motivations to write and share her stories, yet it is interesting how she universalizes all immigrant artists and writes as a representative of all artists who are taking risks: “The immigrant artist shares with all other artists the desire to interpret and possibly remake his or her own world” (Create Dangerously 18). By using “the immigrant artist” as the narrator instead of Danticat herself, she is putting the focus on the writers who have sacrificed their safety for the sake of literature. By narrating a big population’s story rather than that of one person, she is building up more pathos and causing a stronger emotional impact on readers. Narrating the story in a first-person-plural-point of view also shows the pride Danticat feels as an immigrant artist and how all the writers respect and understand each other. Due to the conviction and firmness with which she makes her statement, she sounds more trustworthy as a source of authority by generalizing the immigrant artists.

In addition, Danticat also criticizes people who insist that she should live in Haiti, not in the United States, to write. According to Danticat, she will not return to Haiti because her words are too risky to be written in Haiti. She is “exiled” from her home country so that she can continue doing two things: share powerful stories about the horrors of the harsh dictatorship and the courage of the suffering Haitians, and create awareness around the world about these issues. At one point, she even admits that she has questioned herself various times: “Do I know enough about where I’ve come from? Will I ever know enough about where I am from?” (Create Dangerously 18). However, according to her, the “guilt and self-doubt” she is feeling for not living in Haiti is what defines her as a writer. She is not “risking torture, beatings, and execution”(Create Dangerously 18), which makes her doubt herself at times, yet she proudly explains that she will continue to take on taboo issues and fight for justice in Haiti from another country. However, readers could speculate and remain doubtful regarding her justification: Is this merely an excuse based on her fears of torture and execution? After all, she could have gotten even more powerful stories if she wrote as a witness in Haiti.

As seen before, in Create Dangerously, writing is described as a sacrifice for immigrant artists. On the other hand, in Krik? Krak! writing is described as inappropriate for females. Krik? Krak! is a collection of short stories by females of different generations from the same family but also recounts some obstacles Danticat had to face as a female writer. In this second extract from Krik?Krak!, Danticat is remembering her first writing-related interaction with her mom: “Her disappointment when you told her that words would be your life’s work... She was angry at you for not understanding”(Krik?Krak! 221). Danticat shifts to a second-person point-of-view, pulls the reader into action, and directly puts the readers in the shoes of female writers who are challenged by their families. Writing “She was angry at you for not understanding” rather than “she was angry at me for not understanding” allows readers to understand how Danticat felt when she first told her mother that she wanted to become a writer. This demonstrates how unexpected it was for females to choose writing over cooking. Danticat is generalizing the experience of any Haitian women who wants to write instead of following the family’s legacy and being a dutiful mother through her use of the second person point of view.

Readers can infer that Danticat had to face various obstacles to gain approval as a writer from her family only because she was a woman. She includes female stereotypes such as, “They carve onion sculptures and potato statues. They sit in dark corners and braid their hair in new shapes...” (Krik?Krak! 221) to demonstrate the type of behavior that is normally expected in Haitian women. She also uses parallel syntax to emphasize the five examples of expected female behaviors, and by the third example that starts with “they”, readers expect the syntax pattern to continue. Just like how readers expect a certain syntax, Haitian society expected women to “sit in dark corners”, “braid their hair”, and “carve onion sculptures” and not diverge from these established patriarchal norms. Readers also expect the syntax not to deviate from the established pattern, just as Haitian society expected women not to deviate from established ideals of female behavior. However, by challenging those stereotypes and deciding to be a writer, Danticat is criticizing patriarchy and the nation’s dependence on traditional gender norms. Danticat wanted to convey that women could and should do so much more than just braid and cook to fight for their freedom, and that they are as capable as men to write and change the world around them.

Based on the paragraphs analyzed, Danticat has a true inner desire: to “make a new world” (Create Dangerously 18). She wanted a new world in which there was political and gender justice. In the first extract, her inner desire was to criticize injustice, the corrupt government, and the violations of human rights. She makes a call to arms for the immigrants to unite into one group and gets the audience to understand their desire of wanting to reveal the injustices of their home country. However, that didn’t mean she was literally taking down the government or starting a riot with other people, as much as she may have wanted to, because that action would have been suppressed and threatened by the government who was contrary to her ideals. Rather, she was subliming and expressing that inner desire through writing to gain supporters and create awareness, which is a much more socially acceptable action that provided her “partial satisfaction” (Sullivan 14).

In the second extract, Danticat’s inner desire was for women’s freedom of speech to not be undermined by society’s expectations. However, her quest for women to hold a more active role in society strongly contradicted her mother’s principles. Instead of sustaining the family the way her mom wanted (cooking and braiding), Danticat starts going in a roundabout way and uses a different method to carry her family’s legacy and tradition forward: writing. Ultimately, she wanted approval and support from both Haitian women and men, but mostly from her mother. She was not completely satisfied because her mother and other close family members didn’t eventually approve of her passion for writing, but she was partially satisfied because it fit her ideals and she did what she felt was best, which makes it a perfect example of sublimation.

Sullivan states that sublimation is replacing a “direct satisfaction” for a socially acceptable partial one (14). In the analysis of these two texts from Danticat, sublimation can be seen as Danticat replaces the “direct satisfaction” she would have received from the specific goal of revolutionizing Haiti and gaining her mother’s approval for the “partial” but more acceptable and general goal of creating global awareness and gaining support from Haitian women. Thus, although Danticat cannot single-handedly change Haiti and change her mother's opinion of her life's work, through sublimation she has been able to reach a partial satisfaction in raising awareness on the injustice in Haiti and empowering Haitian women, slowly edging her way towards her larger, yet more specific, personal goals.

Works Cited

Danticat, Edwidge. Create Dangerously. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2013. Print.

Danticat, Edwidge. Krik?Krak! New York: Soho,Inc, 1995. Print.

Sullivan, Harry. Clinical Studies in Psychiatry. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1973.                    Print.

Living In a Biased World

Living in a Biased World

Malcolm Gladwell

Sarah Kim

285 pages, Little, Brown and Company, $16.99

______________________________________________________________________________

       Chris Langan and Robert Oppenheimer are two geniuses that are equally smart. Chris Langan has an IQ of 195, got a perfect score on the SAT, and taught himself to read at the tender age of three. Robert Oppenheimer was gifted in theoretical physics; he did full adult lab experiments by third grade and was invited to give a lecture at the New York Mineralogical Club at the age of 12. Despite their similar intelligence, Langan ended up working in factories and as bouncer for a bar on Long Island until he won the 1 vs. 100 game show contest during his 50s. In contrast, Oppenheimer was able to take a prestigious lead in the Manhattan Project during his 30s.

   How did this happen? How did one achieve success so easily while the other took so long?  Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, gives the answer to this question: opportunities. Gladwell argues that opportunities and surroundings have major influences on one’s success. He asserts that successful people don't rise out of the chaff simply based on the sum of their talent and intelligence.

      Outliers is a book that made me feel a little better about my own failures. I reevaluated the special Korean math education I received after reading the chapter “Rice Paddies and Math Tests,” and after reading “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes,” I gained insight into the kind of authority-centric society I grew up in. I began to notice the small opportunities that I had, which made me thankful for them. Before reading this book, my conception of success was a combination of hard work, talent, and a little bit of luck. However, after reading it, my view has shifted to a combination of hard work, talent, opportunity, and a strategy to seize that opportunity. Malcolm Gladwell left me reflecting on the special rewards our society grants to a chosen few people and how the world could advance in massive leaps and bounds if more kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their potential.

       Outliers has a very straightforward style with a journalist’s point of view. Gladwell uses concrete examples full of references, research and statistics, explaining every detail of each account of a success or a failure. His opinion is well supported by the ample research; however, the examples could have lost a little bit in length. It seemed that Gladwell was supporting his point with somewhat redundant examples written in different words. Gladwell’s definition of success also seems quite narrow. According to him, you are successful if you are smart, famous, and rich. However, I think that you also have to be happy in order to be successful. Are Asian students really successful in math if they are constantly pressured by the competition of their high achieving peers? Is Robert Oppenheimer truly successful even if he tried to kill his tutor because he was unsatisfied with the education he received? I believe how successful you are also depends on how happy you are, and Gladwell failed to include happiness in his definition of success.

     However, in general, the book is laid out well. It leads readers smoothly to his main point: Intelligence and personality traits aren’t everything when it comes to success. He successfully explains new theories, such as the Matthew Effect and the theory of plane crashes, to readers who may not have previously encountered these theories, much less thoroughly understood them. He also analyzes a well-known theory - 10,000 hours of work are required to master any skill - through a fresh perspective, thus making the book original and less cliché in comparison to other stories of success.

     Outliers succeeds in not presenting itself as a typical story of how successful people worked so hard or how smart they were, thus making it different and special. Readers could efficiently use the suggestions and information Gladwell offers and achieve excellence themselves. I would classify the book Outliers as an outlier itself, because it gives readers a new insight into success.

      

Develando las pasiones humanas en el mundo mitológico

El objetivo principal del presente trabajo es explorar las pasiones más sobresalientes en algunos mitos griegos, hebreos, y sumerios, explicar a qué personajes se les atribuyen tales pasiones y de qué forma las manifiestan. Como objetos de estudio examinaré la historia hebrea de Dalila y Sansón, el mito griego de Pandora, el mito sumerio de Ishtar y Tamuz, y los personajes de la guerra de Troya, Helena y Menelao. He escogido estos mitos porque cada uno representa diferentes pasiones como la traición, la curiosidad, el amor y la venganza. Una pregunta que surge con la lectura en estos mitos es ¿De qué maneras estos personajes proyectan sus conflictos no resueltos, sus temores, o anhelos? 
Analizaré esta pregunta desde una perspectiva sicoanalítica porque las pasiones y las emociones son unas partes de la sicología humana.

Traicionar es renegar un compromiso de lealtad y defraudar a otro. Normalmente uno traiciona al otro por nuevas oportunidades y ambición. Por ejemplo, la historia hebrea de Dalila y Sansón representan la traición tras el amor (Castellanos, 19). Sansón era un juez sobresaliente, poderoso y enamorado de Dalila, pero tenía una debilidad: si él fuera afeitado, sería como todos los demás hombres. Los filisteos estaban ansiosos de matar a Sansón y ofrecieron dinero a Dalila para que preguntara el origen de su poder y lo matara. Sansón creía tanto en Dalila que le contó el origen de su poder y fue traicionado y matado por ella. Dalila proyectó su anhelo (ganar plata) y traición en la forma de seducir a Sansón y hasta dijo que morirá si no le contaba su secreto. Después, llamó a los servidores para que cortara las siete trenzas de la cabellera de Sansón. La historia de Dalila y Sansón es una representación de los amantes. Cuando formamos un vínculo emocional con otra persona, normalmente abrimos nuestro corazón y nuestra confianza. Compartimos nuestros secretos, debilidades y sueños porque uno confía completamente en el otro. Cuando la pareja se separa por causa de la traición y las mentiras, el dolor se multiplica (pero en este caso Sansón no sabía que Dalila lo traicionó porque él estaba dormido). La traición es una de las acciones más destructivas en las relaciones humanas porque generalmente creemos que el otro nos ama del mismo modo hasta que nos traicionan.

Por su parte, el mito griego de Pandora representa la curiosidad de la humanidad (33). La curiosidad es un comportamiento inquisitivo natural que engendra la exploración, la investigación y el aprendizaje. Pandora fue la primera mujer, hecha por orden de Zeus para introducir males en la vida de los hombres.  Como regalo de bodas, Pandora recibió una caja que contenía los males del mundo (La vejez, la enfermedad, la fatiga, la locura, el vicio, la pasión, la plaga, la tristeza, la pobreza y el crimen) con instrucciones de no abrirlo. Dominada por la curiosidad, decidió abrirla para ver qué había dentro. Cuando lo hizo comprendió el grave error cometido y rápidamente cerró el recipiente. Sin embargo, era demasiado tarde, pues los males ya habían sido liberados. En la historia de Pandora, la curiosidad es algo negativo porque esa cualidad se puede convertir en un arma muy peligrosa y puede causar muchas desgracias para la humanidad. En la historia de Pandora, el deseo de saber que se siente lograr algo nos lleva a probar cosas que sería mejor nunca saber. Gracias a Pandora, la curiosidad es algo innato en el ser humano y, personalmente, creo que es útil e indispensable para el desarrollo de la humanidad, aunque también pueda ser una causa de nuestra desgracia.

Por otro lado, la historia de Ishtar y Tamuz representa el amor (71). Ishtar, la diosa babilónica del amor y la guerra, se enamoró locamente de Tamuz, dios de la primavera en la misma cultura. Cuando Tamuz murió, ella decidió buscar y salvarlo en el inframundo, gobernado por Ereskigal, su hermana celosa. Amaba tanto a Tamuz que podía perder su poder y sus joyas para él.  El amor y la necesidad de afiliación son emociones inherentes en el ser humano que no pueden ser controladas fácilmente. Casi todas las personas tienen una idea del amor idealizada que pueda superar cualquier obstáculo y barrera. Y en este caso, Ishtar mostró su amor y dedicación en forma de rendir su poder para estar con Tamuz. En el mito de este personaje, una de las manifestaciones de que el amor continúa hasta ahora es representada por el invierno, significando que Ishtar no está con su amante.

A su turno, la Guerra de Troya empieza por celos, resentimiento y venganza de Menelao hacia Paris cuando éste (con la ayuda de Afrodita) seduce a Helena, la mujer más bella de la Tierra y se fuga a Troya con ella (101). Cuando Menelao se entera de esta traición, decide vengar a Helena y Paris, atacando a Troya con la ayuda de su hermano Agamenón y hombres de Grecia. Los celos son una emoción negativa en respuesta a la infidelidad de su pareja y surgen cuando una percibe una amenaza hacia algo que considera de su propiedad. Los celos involucran el miedo, la sospecha, la desconfianza, la ansiedad y la rabia. Menelao venga a Paris más por su reputación de rey de Esparta y hermano de Agamenón que su puro amor a Helena. La frase “ojo por ojo, diente por diente” resume el origen de la venganza que desarrolló las primeras leyes. Por una parte, la venganza es una manera de aplicar la justicia. Sin embargo, según Beatriz Quintanilla Madero, una sicóloga y profesora que investigó el temperamento, las emociones, sentimientos, pasiones, e impulsos cuando uno venga al otro no quedan necesariamente satisfechos por la aplicación de una ley aunque sea justa.

Hasta la palabra sicología tiene origen mitológico: Psyche (el alma) y su amante Eros, dios del amor. La sicología entró en los mitos griegos, hebreos y sumerios para explicar los temores, anhelos, y conflictos humanos. Los mitos expresan la sicología de la antigüedad y las pasiones expresadas en los mitos siguen representando a la humanidad hasta hoy en día. Por eso, desde que la raza humana subsista sobre la tierra, los mitos seguirán siendo leídos y analizados para entender mejor la naturaleza de los comportamientos humanos.

A Unique Style of Journalism

As a student living in Bogota, I thought Alma Guillermoprieto's work would mostly be based on what I had already known about Latin America's history. When Mr Tangen recommended this book, I expected the book to be a "review" for me because I had studied Latin American history before at school. I have never been so 

Extradite-hand over a person 

accused of a crime to the jurisdiction

 of the foreign state in which

 the crime was committed

wrong. Not only did the book provide me with extra historical context of Latin America I had not known before, but also it gave me better insight into the everyday lives of those who had directly experienced the events in Bogota, 1989 and Managua, 1990. For example, when Guillermoprieto stated: "This war isn't against the drug trade but against the drug traffickers. The other war has to be won in the United States" (21), I realised that my knowledge of the drug cartels had been superficial and not deep enough.

      First of all, her opening sentence of the book was one of the best opening sentences I have read so far: "Among the few people to have benefitted from the current face-off between the government and the cocaine traffickers are Bogota's windowpane fitters" (3). She was asked to write about one of the most violent scenes which she witnessed firsthand and she is talking about window fitters? You could imagine my confusion. Then, as I read the next sentence, I was marvelled at her intelligent description of the responsibilities of the glaziers. It clearly showed the need for their work due to the frequency of the bomb explosions that shattered the windows. I doubt I'll ever make a choice as stunning as starting an essay about Pablo Escobar and narco-violence with window-fitting. 

drug cartel-criminal organization 
developed with the purpose of 
promoting and controlling 
drug trafficking operations

       The reason I am overemphasizing her opening sentence is that her detached yet clever and humorous style is consistent throughout the book. I respect her for writing about violence with confidence and an appropriate level of humour. Through this style, her purpose was to reveal the real aspect of Latin America that is so difficult to attain in a history book. Her writing has a way of revealing the truth indirectly in an impartial way. It's her ability as a reporter to reserve her personal judgement that I most admired. Also, she risks her life to tell these stories, going where others had gone and were killed, which makes me trust her that she's seen it all. 

Unanswered Questions

The sincere tale of Loung Ung's struggle allowed me to form an intimate connection with her and ultimately Cambodia, yet as I tried to put myself in Ung's shoes, I was left with several questions.

Dissuade- Persuade someone not to
take a particular action

    First, was it right for Ma to send her kids away? Even if she had their best interests at heart would they truly understand that? You might say I am cowardly and immature, but honestly if my mom told me to leave and go far away, I would fight back and never leave her no matter what. Instead, Ung obeys Ma and gets angry with her: "Instead of missing Ma, my blood boils with resentment toward her. Ma doesn't want me around anymore. Pa took care of us and kept us together. Ma cannot do this because she is weak" (123). I am certain that I wouldn't have separated from my mom if I were only eight, even if it was better to do so in order to live.

      Second, how did Loung know that something was wrong with her mother and Geak? You might have probably guessed by now; I am the kind of reader who doubts every detail and thinks about every action of the author. Long Ung states, "Rage erupts in my body. I don't understand the electricity in my body....I have to see ma. I have to go to her" (159). How in the world was she able to connect with Ma and Geak and know that something was wrong? 

      Third, how would things have been different if Ma had survived just two more months? Or if Pa had not been taken away? When Long Ung screams, "Two more months and she would have made it! Why couldn't she hold on for two more months"(214)? I tried to imagine Ma making it to Bat Deng with her kids and how that would have changed Ung's story. 

Dispensable- Able to be
replaced or done without

        But after I asked myself these questions, I realized that I would never be able to put myself in Ung's shoes. It is one thing to read about a violent, oppressive regime from a memoir, but to see it through the eyes of a child is definitely something else. Sure, some of the details of her memoir may be embellished, but it shouldn't be dismissed or judged. Therefore, I would like to thank Loung Ung for sharing her story, even though it must have been hard for her. Two million people were killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, but Loung Ung was one of the few people who had the ability and courage to share her story, which makes her account all the more valuable.

Feeling Guilty

 As I reached towards the end of Loung Ung's book, I became guilty of two things (Don't worry, I didn't commit any sins). 

        First, I was guilty of how lucky I was compared to Ung. My mom cooked lasagna for me today. Lasagna is my favorite food. However, I lost my appetite because I felt strangely queasy after reading about Loung Ung's fight against hunger. The way she writes gave me a sense of what it was like to be there: to suffer and go through the horrors she experienced. I politely asked my mom if I could eat it later (my mom was shocked and wondered if something went wrong today at school) and reread the sentence that made me feel so uneasy: "I have my greatest dream and my worst nightmare. I am sitting alone at a long table. The table is covered with all of my favorite food in the world...I wake up feeling depressed and guilty. Always the hunger pains are there, never ending, never leaving me" (80). It seemed as if I were inside Loung Ung's nightmare, except what happened in her dream was something very common for me. 

         Second, I was guilty of my misconception. Before break, Mr Tangen told us to write down parts of the memoir that we doubted the author actually remembered. My list was pretty long because honestly, when I first started the book, I 

Heinous- Extremely wicked

wondered how a 5-year-old child could remember all the minor details and dialogue. For example, Loung Ung narrates, "Though the Angkar says we are all equal in Democratic Kampuchea, we are not. We live and are treated like slaves," (66) and "The temple walls are decorated with carvings of people, cows, wagons, daily life, and battle scenes. Guarding the ancient steps are giant granite lions, tigers, eight-headed snakes, and elephants." (67) Seriously, who remembers all those details and feels all those intense emotions when he or she is only five? Then, as I got further into the story, it occurred to me that no one would ever forget those powerful events and emotions. For Loung Ung, moving out of Phnom Pehn was a major turning point in her life that changed her forever. 

Forage- To wander in search of food

          Even though I have more to digest from Loung Ung's writing, I'm satisfied that I've learned from my misconceptions. Now I can go back and finish that lasagna.

Living Under Genocide

      I have never had to hide my identity from the Nazis or Cambodian soldiers, but somehow I could connect with Loung Ung and Anne Frank's accounts. Maybe because they were homesick and far from their hometowns, just like I miss Seoul. Though their descriptions of war and tragedy seemed distant to me, I could understand how homesick and out of place they felt. After all, Colombia is a long way from Korea. I could relate with Ung as she pleads to her father, "Why can't we go home to our own house? The soldiers promised that we could go home after three days" (39). Also, both stories are told through the eyes of young, innocent girls who convey the raw truth rather than manipulating the plot. Through these similarities, I could connect and learn about World War II and the Cambodian Genocide more than I did through AP World History textbooks. For example, while I read Anne Frank's diary, I learned a lot about what really happened during World War II: innocent people dying at the hands of an obsession. I felt similar emotions while reading the first fifty pages of First they Killed My Father. The book clearly explains the context and history of Cambodia, which made it easier to follow along even though I hadn't had much background information about Cambodia.

disclose-reveal a secret

    To me, Loung Ung's account more powerfully conveys her deep emotional distress by narrating on every small detail of the genocide than Anne Frank's diary. Ung recounts this story from a five-year-old-girl's perspective, which is interesting because it is based on a combination of innocence, confusion, curiosity, and fear. For example, she consistently asks her father: "Why are they doing this, Pa?"(27) or "I don't understand. What does all this mean?" (27) I could understand how frightened she might have felt to not tell anyone about her family's secrets and live under the eye of Cambodian soldiers.

ammunition- supply or quantity
 of bullet or shells

        First they Killed My Father is different from the Diary of Anne Frank because it tells a more unique and unknown story. When people are asked to recall genocides during the 20th century, the Holocaust and Stalin's Purge are the main events that come to their minds. However, people (like me) rarely remember the Cambodia genocide or they might have never heard of it. Millions of Cambodians such as  Loung Ung equally suffered from all kinds of atrocities and violence, but it is not an event that many people tend to be aware of, which makes the book so fascinating and special.