This week we had three interesting narratives. First, we heard about how different friends satisfy different needs, as divergent as they may be, and yet are still both dear to us. Second, we were presented with a common conflict in the classroom when teachers collaborate, how to find the right approach to classroom management while being respectful of both the other teachers and the students. Last, we were taken on a remarkable trip to Kenya, and heard about a visit to an orphanage that was overshadowed by the murder of one of the boys. Our thanks to the authors for sharing these stories. Our lecture this week continued with Nussbaum's idea of reading literature as a means of developing "narrative imagination" which contributes to learning through "moral imagination". It's harder to condemn someone from a particular group if you've experienced life through their eyes.
Our story this week was "Brokeback Mountain", a short story in Annie Proulx's collection (image).
Just a final reminder that the paper is due next week, March 24, and also keep in mind the blogs/logs are due the following week. After class ten, you should post your final blog, and then e-mail me one document with all your dated entries in it. There should be nine entries in total. (I'm not counting the introductory blog after the first class.) Enjoy the wonderful spring weather.
After reading “Brokeback Mountain”, I found that it was difficult for me to place myself in the shoes of the characters. Although, I saw their perspective, I could not relate to them and therefore thought that I couldn’t evoke their emotions as well as someone who could relate to them. I think that if their personalities were similar to mine, then perhaps I would be able to relate to them in a greater sense. I think that given the time period, many people would find it difficult to publicize that they are homosexual. Although I think that one can use “narrative imagination” to experience life through someone else’s life, I think that unless you are going through a similar situation of that individual, then it is extremely difficult to fully understand their experience. I feel that we may be able to emphasize with them or understand then a bit better, but we are unable to really experience the emotions that they are feeling at that moment.
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ReplyDeleteI will have to admit after reading “Broke back Mountain” by Annie Proulx's for the first time, I did not feel surprised with anything I read, for the simple reason that from as far back as I can comprehend, homosexual relationships were not portrayed as wrong or shocking and for this reason I found myself having difficultly putting myself in these characters shoes. I have grown up to accept people the way they are and not pass judgments and this made it difficult to understand what they were going through in the story.
ReplyDeleteHowever what was not difficult was looking at the relationship as a whole and communication within it, because I believe all relationships go through the same process of love, happiness, struggle sorrow and so fourth and it is not different in a heterosexual relationship or a homosexual relationship. All relationships are brought up on the same foundation and this I can relate to. I can understand how it is difficult to do something or be with someone that you love that your family or society will not accept.
A simple example being career choice, someone may have passion for a particular career but because this certain career may have reputation attached to it that is not highly looked upon within your family or society, may cause you to be unable to peruse this career in a open fashion. The same thing would apply with relationships of any type, if you express love for someone of the same or opposite sex that you know will not be approved within your family and in society, it can cause burden on the ones in the relationship and often not end well as portrayed in stories such as this one and the classic “Romeo and Juliet”. I know this can be a very cliché way of looking at relationships, but when reality hits I can understand situations that are forced upon people in such ways and “Brokeback Mountain” as with “Romeo and Juliet” are extreme cases of society and family pressures that forbid certain relationships.
For me the best way to understand the couple in “Brokeback Mountain” was to look at the function of their relationship rather then who is in the relationship, I think this might be an alternative way to look at relationships that people are not familiar with or do not understand, sometimes putting yourself in another persons shoes may be hard because of gender barriers that do not allow us to do this, by stepping back and looking at the situation of characters may be a more effective way of understanding the characters, for me at least this worked.
The difficulties that some people face when trying to find common ground with Ennis and Jack in “Brokeback Mountain” relates directly to the behaviour and attitudes they were brought up on. From class last night, I was again reminded that not everyone will be as open and accepting of different types of people, and may not have the same liberal beliefs as I do. Even though I find it hard to understand why people cannot just accept that everyone is different and still deserves the same level of respect, I learned to put aside my feelings of frustration. The differences of opinions in class provide a more realistic opportunity to place yourself in someone else’s shoes, and try to understand their point of view. With topics that are more sensitive and challenging, like sexuality, the ability to see the situation from another side is even more important. The significance of this class in trying to help us be individuals that are more open-minded will probably be one of the top lessons I take away from the course.
ReplyDeleteContinually, when writing the letters to our parents, I felt that it was challenging to try to predict the reactions of my parents. The topic of being gay had come up once or twice before during dinner conversations, and both my parents had agreed that the announcement would be difficult, but they would not change how they felt about me. As I was trying to write the letter, I found it easier to use the experience of a family friend as a guideline. The family friend had recently been dealing with their own feelings after their youngest son came out. Having known them for many years, I tried to integrate their reactions into my own letter as a median between the situation I was writing in the letter, and one that had actually happened. Furthermore, as I was writing the letter, the process really forced me to think about the emotional repercussions the announcement would have on any family, not just my own. I do not think I realized how much of an adjustment parents would have to make around their hopes and dreams for their child. Although the situation is not a life ending one, for a parent, I think that their initial reaction would feel that way. As one of the objectives of writing these letters was to convince our parents that we were still the same child then had known and loved for years, the reflections of how parents feel was extremely important. This type of exercise was very useful for my own reflection about my parents, and I think it could be used in other situations to help people recognize how other’s feel.
I wanted to connect with the characters in Brokeback Mountain, but I really felt that I couldn’t. The world has changed and I wouldn’t really be afraid of violent repercussions anymore. My own fears would be centred on the reactions of my family. I think that doing something to seriously disappoint them has always been one of my greatest fears. Having to write that letter to tell them I was gay was extremely difficult. I don’t think I could do it. I also got a little frustrated with these guys as they straddled two lifestyles. I wanted them to commit to something. I understood Ennis’ fear but I wanted him to either stay with his family or have the courage to start a life with Jack. It was unfair to everyone that these two just kept giving little pieces of themselves to the different parts of their lives.
ReplyDeleteThe only part of this story I could really relate to was the idea of doing things in life because it’s expected rather that because it’s what you really want. I think everyone goes through that at some point. For me, it was when I applied for college without any idea of what I actually wanted to do. I felt like I needed to get started and my parents were prompting me to start my degree. However, the comparison ends there because I was eventually grateful that I had jumped into things as I discovered my interests along the way.
However, the story did make me think about the things people do that they don’t want to. For example, my father worked a job he hated for many years because it paid enough to support his family and the hours were such that he could spend a lot of time with us. In other words, he decided that we were his highest priority and whatever he had to do to support us both financially and emotionally was fine with him. I think that the idea of self-sacrifice is becoming increasingly rare. In this story, we’re supposed to feel bad for Ennis and not want him to give up Jack for his family. Yet we also excuse him for giving up having Jack because of his fears. When I think about the examples of sacrifice and courage I have been privileged to see in my family and friends, I lose a lot of sympathy for this character.
I understand the dilemma Ennis faces in the story of “Brokeback Mountain” by Proulx. Deep in Ennis, he loves Jack, yet he fears the consequences of opposing the societal norm. So, what can he do? In the story, he becomes greedy and wants to keep both his family and Jack. So from time to time, he arranges these little side trips as escapes from reality to see Jack. In the end after Jack dies, I become very touched when Ennis goes to Jack’s hometown where he chats with Jack’s parents and discovers his own shirt hanging inside the closet of Jack’s room. Ennis, (as well as readers), realizes how much hope Jack had in regards to their relationship and how deeply Jack loved Ennis. While I was reading that paragraph, I began to place myself into Jack’s shoes. I could imagine during the years without Ennis, Jack would open his closet, seeing Ennis’s shirt which brings him closer to memories of Ennis. I could visualize some down-moments when Jack holds onto Ennis’s shirt between his hands and his heart, alone in his room, saying “all I have left is his shirt”.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that society has not completely and truly accepted homosexual relationships. It seems to me that the degree of acceptance received today is limited and could be considered as what I call merely “surface acceptance”. Last week, as an in-class writing activity, when asked to imagine myself being gay and to ask for approval from my parents by writing, I found myself feeling quite depressed. I understand that most people who are homosexual have to face really hard conflicts and their roads ahead are surely uneasy. I can imagine most of my relatives telling me to pay the psychologist a visit or step into a church if I reveal to them that I were gay. Unfortunately, they would most likely stereotypically perceive homosexuality as a disorder. Then, I’m sure I would become even more depressed and lonely as a result of receiving zero acceptance and support. I’d question: Why am I being forced to ‘unlove’ the one I truly love when I clearly know that I was not even forced to love that one? Maybe I would avoid the negative judgments by hiding my homosexuality, though it is definitely not ideal and easy. Perhaps the only way to survive society is to believe that mind’s existence is more powerful thus we do not need physical’s existence of feelings of love and truth. Why has society evolved to become so brutal to minority groups? Perhaps because society has strictly defined what sums up to be ‘norms’.
The narrative on friendships was very intriguing and it was something that I have also discussed with my peers and close friends. It it interesting to note that it does rather become harder as we get older to find true long lasting friendships. As we get older, our life becomes more and more busy thus we only do make time for the friends we intend to keep. The excuse that floats around is that “people are too busy to see each other” but the truth is actually, they are not making time to see you. If they really wanted to see you, they will always make the time. I have had friends that claimed to be “too busy” to come to the gatherings. We would invite her every time to the gatherings and every time she would say she is too busy to come, but we see her posting pictures on facebook of her and her other group of friends. We eventually stopped inviting her and moved on. I guess what I am getting at is that the friends who makes time for you out of their busy schedule are the ones who are bound to last.
ReplyDeleteThe short story “Brokeback Mountain” was very different and yet similar to what we have been reading. When the question about the similarities between the characters and us arose, I could not think of much similarities until our group discussed the deeper meanings and everything was clear. There are tons of similarities between the characters and the general public. An example of one similarity is that we are all in search of our identity. The characters were a part of the norm, living a masculine life until they discovered themselves. Most people are living their life according to the norms of society whether they notice it or not. They found themselves in relation to each other. We often discover ourselves and know more about ourselves when we bond with other people, that is exactly Ennis and Jack did. I often find out more about myself when I am with my friends or meeting new people. I found out that I like children more than I thought I did. I always thought it was not worth it to go through the pain and labour and morning sickness to have children. From the time I learned about child birth I swore that I would never have kids, but as I grew older and work with children I realized that I do want to be a mother one day. Children are fascinating and having kids would be undeniably painful but a wonderful experience. I would not have known that I like children so much if I had not gotten the chance to work with them. Sometimes we may not see the similarities between certain people because of the big differences, but if we look a little deeper, the similarities can always be found.
My reading of “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx led me to employ narrative imagination as defined by Martha Nussbaum. In my view, the characterization of Jack and Ennis defines masculinity and defies the stereotype of femininity applied to homosexual males even today. You see these feminine characters in media all the time, however this story brought me to understand the plight of a gay male in a more mature way than any story or film has ever done. Today discrimination against homosexuals occurs e.g. the Vancouver hate crimes committed against gay people on Davie street. In 1963 when Jack and Ennis met in rural Wyoming, there would have been no tolerance for homosexuals. The fear associated with being different is exemplified by Ennis, who says in the story: “I'm not no queer," Jack adding "me neither.” They were unable to admit their inner feelings; this circumstance motivated me to critically examine my own life. Have I bottled up any inner feeling in fear of societal rejection? Reflecting on these things as I read the short story, my ability to relate to Jack and Ennis grew stronger with every page.
ReplyDeleteIt is harder to condemn someone from a particular group if you have experienced life through their eyes. This short story is powerful because it elicits moral imagination. Responding to it with understanding has made me a stronger world citizen, hopefully open minded to the diverse lifestyles of the people around me. By challenging my prejudices and fears, I hope to break them down and bring myself to a point where I can effectively guide students to explore the stories of people who are strikingly different from oneself.
The third narrative on the trip to kenya and seeing other people's dreams and passions really touched me and make me reflect on myself. Through narrative imagination, I start to understand and comprehend people that are different from me. This greatly helped me on holding off making judgements and try to find something in common with the people. When I close my eyes and listen to the narrative on a remarkable trip to Kenya, I find myself to see people, who despite restrictions, allow themselves to dream. Children who have very little material possessions, yet make me wish I could be more like them. I can imagine their genuine smiles even though they face struggles and poverty. I see students who are eager to learn despite lacking resources. I feel very fortunate when I compare myself to them.
ReplyDeleteRelating this to teaching, the experience of learning how to use narrative imagination to moral imagination will make teachers more open-minded and not to take for granted the situations of their students. I remember back in high school my English ask us the question of what makes one person better than another? This really influenced me on my moral beliefs and in the importance of accomodating diversity in classrooms. If one day I can become a teacher, I hope to break down barriers in students with a gentle yet passionate way.
We read “Brokeback Mountain” this week. I have seen the movie a couple years ago, and I didn’t know it was based on a short story and a book. The short story was almost exactly similar to the movie, which made it easy to read, but less suspenseful.
ReplyDeleteAfter the discussion I was reminded that not everyone can easily understand or accept the choices made by these men. I have a very liberal outlook and support others sexual preferences and decisions. When we had to write the letter to our parents, yes it was hard to express myself, because I do not feel that way, but it was even more difficult to follow the guidelines or tips we were given. My mom would not care, and it was hard for me to write to her asking her to still love me and understand where I was coming from and to respect my decision, because she would. And I would not need to write it in a letter and specifically tell her I am the same person and to respect me, because she would already do those things. One of my cousins is a lesbian and our family does not judge her, nor do we respect or love her less. I am fortunate to have an understanding, open minded family or it would have been more difficult for my cousin to come out to all of us. When I was writing the letter, I was almost positive my mom would not care and be fine with my decisions, but there was still that small uneasy and unsure feeling about what if he wasn’t so ‘cool’ with it. What if she didn’t like my decision and everything changed between us. When I got home from school after the class, I told my mom what we had to write about and asked her how she would have reacted and to read my letter. She replied “are you kidding me, of course I would still love you, don’t be silly”. It was nice to verify that she was as open-minded as I believed her to be and that she would be there for me in any decision I make in the future.
In the story, I felt bad that Ennis’ father engraved such negative thoughts about homosexuality into his mind at such a young age; causing him to not be able to be completely happy with his decision and fully act on the relationship they wanted to pursue. My mom never engraved such negative notions about homosexuality or any diverse group.
I wish Ennis and Jack could have had the fairy tale ending of ‘Happily Ever After’, but this ending makes the reader truly think about homosexuality and about all the restraints and hurdles those couples have to overcome.
I thought Brokeback Mountain was an interesting read for me. It looked at the issue of homo sexuality, which tends to be a debate topic in our society. I believed the discussion we had in class was very interesting to see how different we were regarding that subject.
ReplyDeleteThe open letter was interesting to do since; we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. The letter was difficult to write because it touched on a very serious issue. I had a tough time writing the letter because it was something that I was not. However, I think that in order to understand everything about our world we have to see through someone else’s lens. If we fail to see this, then we will have a bias or hate throughout the rest of our lives. As well, we live in a modern society, and we should be living in harmony with all sorts of people regardless of their race, background etc. I also believed that education is also a contributor in helping us prevent stereo types and negative opinions on others. Especially in the case of someone else’s sexual orientation, cultural background and race. In school, we are taught a broader understanding of what the world is around us. I think that if it was not for school I would be influenced by what I see on the media, whom, in most cases always portray stereotypes. Yet, with education on various cultures and different people in our world, I have a better understanding of who they are, and dismiss stereotyping.
On a second note, I think classroom management is a very important aspect in having better relationships with students. There are many instances where students and teachers may have conflict. At times, a teacher may have to be strict when the classroom gets out of control. As well, students may not always want to listen to the teacher because, they may see them as an authoritarian figure. I think the best way to handle these situations is asking the students themselves how they want to learn. There are many students who would rather learn through visuals, such as educational videos and media. Others may prefer problem solving questions through paper assignments. I believe that this method would make classroom alt fun and educational at the same time because we are looking to see what helps the student learn much faster. However, this is not possible in all instances; because classrooms are very large, however, if the majority prefers a certain teaching style I think the larger classroom can always catch on. Furthermore, I think this can help develop the teacher student relationship, and help manage the classroom a lot better.