Edward Said on Orientalism

 Hello Readers ! 

           Welcome to my blog. This is my academic blog activity given by Dr. Dilip Barad sir. So the task is to watch an interview with Edward Said on Orientalism and the second video is about the Israel - Palestine issue. It's reflective writing on these two videos. 

( Click here to watch an interview….)

 

                    EDWARD SAID

On ‘Orientalism’

Executive Producer & Director: Sut Jhally

Producer & Editor: Sanjay Talreja

Assistant Editor: Jeremy Smith

             Featuring an interview with Edward Said Professor, Columbia University and author of Orientalism.

         In this interview we find Edward Said who explains his thoughts on Orientalism and he gives various interesting arguments also. Sut Jhally has mentioned in the introductory part that :       Orientalism tries to answer the question of why, when we think of the Middle East for example, we have a preconceived notion that is given by our media or any political power. That is what kind of people live there, what they believe, how they act. Even though we may never have been there, or indeed even met anyone from there. More generally Orientalism asks, how do we come to understand people, strangers, who look different to us by virtue of the color of their skin? It is interesting to study in our life also how we think about particular regions of people.

        And also Edward Said argues that how Europe, the west and the U.S. look at the countries of the Middle East. In which lens they look at the people and particular land. It is not true but it might be a stereotype they have in their minds. He calls this lens through which we view that part of the world Orientalism, a framework that we use to understand the unfamiliar and the strange; to make the peoples of the Middle East appear different and threatening.

       Here I would like to mention Edward Said's own words in the interview. He was giving two reasons for his interest in Orientalism.

EDWARD SAID: My interest in Orientalism began for two reasons, one it was an immediate thing, that is to say, the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, which had been preceded by a lot of images and discussions in the media in the popular press about how the Arabs are cowardly and they don't know how to fight and they are always going to be beaten because they are not modern. And then everybody was very surprised when the Egyptian army crossed the canal in early October of 1973 and demonstrated that like anybody else they could fight. That was one immediate impulse.

   

        And the second one, which has a much longer history in my own life was the constant sort of disparity I felt between what my experience of being an Arab was, and the representations of that that one saw in art. I'm talking about very great artists, you know,like Delacroix and Ang and Gerome and people like that, novelists who wrote about the Orient like Disraeli or Flaubert and you know the fact that those representations of the Orient had very little to do with what I knew about my own background in life. So I decided to write the history of that.

The reason's are very interesting one. 

   There are also various examples of movies and news channels. How the media creates monsters and heroes. How manipulated the audience and the whole country. That is noticed here. We also add this one also how the media and films projected a nation and its perspectives.

         " And it seemed to me that there was a kind of repertory of images that kept coming up: The sensual woman who is there to be sort of used by the man, the East as a kind of mysterious place full of secrets and monsters, you know,  “the marvels of the East,” was a phrase that was used. "

         Here we can find that Said makes the point that the one way of looking at a particular thing that is not valuable you can say that is unfair.  Because what is the actual image of the East and what is projected by the West. That is problematic.

      In the same way the East projected West that is also not fair. How the stereotypes emerged in our minds and society. How we stereotyping a black people. We could not have any barrier with them or any issue with them. Then even our T.V. serials and films show insecurities towards black people.

         ' Orientalism and empire ' in which we find that after Napoleon came to Egypt in 1798. It's the first really modern imperial expedition. So he invades the place but he doesn't invade it the way the Spaniards invaded the New World, looking for

loot.

" He comes instead with an enormous army of soldiers but also scientists, botanists, architects, philologists, biologists, historians, whose job it was to record Egypt in every conceivable way. "

      He counted everything for european men. It's a new kind of imperialism.

       There is also a reference of American  Orientalism and ORIENTALISM TODAY – The Demonization of Islam in the News and Popular Culture and various examples are their. 

           Said also throws light on the issue of Palestine. In that area two kinds of people live and struggle, Arads and Jews. Because of the differentiation in religion they conflict and struggle a lot. Said is also a very prominent and active representative of the Palestinian people. Said grew up in what was then called Palestine and is now called Israel and the Occupied Territories. When the State of Israel was founded in 1948, like millions of other Palestinians, Said and his family were made homeless as well as stateless. These exiled Palestinians now mostly live, either in the territories under the control of Israel or in refugee camps in the surrounding countries. One of the things that drives Said is the quest for justice and a homeland for the Palestinian people.

References :

• “Edward Said on Orientalism.” MEDIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION TRANSCRIPT, Sut Jhally, 2005, www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Edward-Said-On-Orientalism-Transcript.pdf. 

Thank you....

         

To the Lighthouse : References of india

 🌟.   References of India in the novel of Virginia Woolf " To The Lighthouse " :

In  the movie we find the reference of India I think only one time. ( Time duration : 50:39) When one of the daughters of Ramsay's and one man were sitting in the garden. And talking about Augustus Carmichael who was sleeping in the garden in front of them. The girl added that he was writing poetry many times at night. ' It's quite well-respected Perch. You know'. He was a Teacher in India.  I think that is the only reference of India I found in the movie.

So the question is whether the reference was a good one or not and how the image of India unfolds. Here in the context of Mr. Carmichael was considered as some sort of achievement or something good. In the novel we find more references to India.

In the novel we find that the reference of India that is six time. So let's see in which context that is their in novel. References are in good manners or not.

In the novel we find the six references of India.  First of all there is a reference that India is ruled by others. Then the second one is there, when all the daughters who were talking with Charles Tansley live in different forms. There we find that the information of the Indian Empire : 

……..of the Bank of England and the Indian Empire, of ringed fingers and lace, though to them all there was something in this of the essence of beauty, which called out the manliness in their girlish hearts, and made them, as they sat at table beneath their mother’s eyes, honour her strange severity, her extreme courtesy, like a queen’s raising from the mud to wash a beggar’s dirty foot,.....

         This  paragraph gives us a view of looking at India. The description is kind of that India is a great empire and like a very exotic place where great romance ,  adventure and happiness lies there.

      The third reference is that Augustus Carmichael that we discussed earlier.

       The forth references is there :

      "  There were all the places she had not seen; the Indian plains; she felt herself pushing aside the thick leather curtain of a church in Rome. saw it."

   

       Here we can see that she was craving to visit the place India . So that through we can say India is something for Virginia Woolf 8a that desirable things.

The fifth reference :. 

    "  But which was it to be? They had all the trays of her jewel-case open. The gold necklace, which was Italian, or the opal necklace, which Uncle James had brought her from India; or should she wear her amethysts? "

  

      Here we can see that something that is brought from India is valuable for them. And also the owner with pride.

The sixth reference :

  " The autumn trees, ravaged as they are, take on the flash of tattered flags kindling in the gloom of cool cathedral caves where gold letters on marble pages describe death in battle and how bones bleach and burn far away in Indian sands. " 

     

              I think here we can say that the author tried to describe the hotness of Indian climate . There is also reference to battle. So that through we can say that knowingly or unknowingly she was putting the situation of India at that time.

Thanks......

Thinking activity : To The lighthouse

 Hello Readers 

        Welcome to my blog.  This is my academic blog on Virginia Woolf 's  " To the lighthouse ". There are several questions given below that are given by Dr.Dilip Barad sir. So the task is to answer the questions. Here i would like to mention  quotation form To the lighthouse:

" And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees

and changing leaves."

🌟 How can you explain that 'what' Virginia Woolf wanted to say (for example, the complexity of human relationship, the everyday battles that people are at in their relationship with near and dear ones, the struggle of a female artist against the values of middle/upper class society etc) can only be said in the way she has said? (Key: The 'How' of the narrative technique is to be discussed along with features of the Stream of Consciousness technique which helps Woolf to put in an effective manner what she experienced in abstractions.)

     

           Maybe that is the best way to tell a story about herself. Because she used a stream of consciousness in which we find that the perception  towards particular characters. That shows a thinking pattern of mind about a particular person. The complexity of human relationship, the everyday battles that people are in their relationship with near and dear ones, the struggle of a female artist against the values of middle/upper class society, these are all the things Virginia Woolf mentioned in her novel because she wanted to show human nature in  a variety of situations. She also very strongly makes a point that how women are suffering throughout life ( Mrs. Ramsay ). And also if anyone breaks the rules set by society like Lily Briscoe, then that is not accepted by many characters.

🌟 Do you agree: "The novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay"? (Key: Take some clues from the painting of Mrs Ramsay drawn by Lily Briscoe and the article by Andre Viola and Glenn Pedersen. Can we read Mrs. R in context of the idea of Ideal Indian Woman - Karyeshu dasi, Karaneshu mantri; Bhojeshu mata, Shayaneshu rambha; Kshama Yeshu dharitri, Roopeshu lakshmi; Satkarma yukta, Kula Dharma patni. )

             Particularly in this question we can not say that this is this only but both perspectives are the possible answers. Because " the novel is both the tribute and critique of Mrs. Ramsay" .

      At one point the novel is a tribute to Mrs. Ramsay. Because in the first part of 'The window'  we can see that she was like a bridge between several characters, like children and father. She was always present to work for others. She was caring and  pampered the male ego of the guests at any situation. She doesn't live a single moment living or thinking for herself. So she worked for others then also she suffered from her husband. She always asks her husband for any financial activity. Even he was angry with her. In the second part she died. So how can we say that the whole novel is a tribute to Mrs. Ramsay. But in the third part we can say that there isn't absence of Mrs. Ramsay. Because all the characters mind we find that the strongest effect of Mrs Ramsy.  So we can say that the novel gives us sympathy for her. We connect with her character strongly.

        The second point is the critique of Mrs Ramsay. Because of that we can see her behaviour towards Lily Briscoe. Lily Briscoe unfolds, she is revealed as a negative force in the lighthouse. Here we can say that Mrs Ramsay became a barrier between father and children. Mrs Ramsay insists  that her domesticity triumph over Me. Ramsay's intellect. This finally Mrs Ramsay and Mr. Ramsay are both alone, in spite of her unconscious desire for union with her husband , because consciously her domestic triumph, her matriarchy, her selfhood is more important to her than the integrity of the family.

     In a way she was not a bad Character but she was the product of patriarchal society. She shaped her daughters in exactly the way she was. So we can say that she was the tribute and critique.

We can connect Mrs.Ramsay with the typical indian women. The given below sloka described.

  

- Karyeshu Dasi  : work like a servant.

- Karaneshu Mantri : advise like a minister

- Bhojeshu Mara : feeds like a mother 

-Shayaneshu Ramba : Pleases 8n bed like the heavenly Beauty Rambha.

- Roopeshu Lakshmi :  Beautiful like Lakshmi.

-  Kshmayeshh Dharitri : Having patience like earth.

-  Shat Dharma yuktah : women who have these six virtues.

- Kula Dharma patni : good housewife .

🌟 Considering symbolically, does the Lighthouse stand for Mrs. Ramsay or the narrator (Virginia Woolf herself who is categorically represented by Lily)? (Key: Take help from the presentation on Symbolism to connect Mrs. Caroline Ramsay with Lighthouse. Secondly, the narrator / author cannot fully disappear from the novel and thus the stoicism of Lily to paint and thus prove that she can paint, is symbolically presented in the stoicism of Lighthouse. Read the 'lighthouse' symbol from the presentation slide with this insight to connect the lighthouse with the narrator.   Give your concluding remarks in the comment below in this blog )

       Yes in one way we can say that Mrs. Ramsay who was the guidelines for all the characters. She was talking with everyone and give a suggestions and guidance. She was trying to enter woven with everyone else. I think she was the super spreader of patriarchy maybe unknowingly.

      And several points are there that the narrator or writer can't fully absent from the novel. Because the narrator always guides us on a path. As we know that lighthouse is the symbol of inner strength. Because whatever situations happened in the sea but very bravely lighthouse stands for it's ambition to give path to sailors. So it can be a symbol of the stoicism of Lily to paint and thus prove that she can paint. She didn't give up whatever turmoils came ( society, Charles Tansley)

🌟 In the article by Joseph Blotner, two myths are patterned together. Name the myths? How are they zeroed down to the symbols of 'Window' and 'Lighthouse'? How does the male phallic symbol represent feminine Mrs. Ramsay? (Key: The strokes of light-beams. . . )

           In the article  'Mythic Patterns in To The Lighthouse ' by Joseph blotner. In which we find that the two myths that is

- the Myth of Kore , Persephone

-  the Myth of Oedipus

       In which we find that the Oedipus myth  is consonant with Persephone myth in it's application to the lighthouse and both reflect fundamental patterns of human experience. In the novel the symbol of ' Window '  is Female and the symbol of ' the Lighthouse' is male. That exalting

🌟 What do you understand by the German term 'Künstlerroman'? How can you justify that 'To The Lighthouse' is a 'Künstlerroman' novel? (Key: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/325047/Kunstlerroman)

 

          The word " Künstlerroman " is the German word. That is the literary genre and the words  mean artist novel. is a narrative about an artist's growth to maturity. It could be classified as a sub-category of Bildungsroman. So the meaning of  Bildungsroman is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is important.

      So in the novel we find that the character of Lily Briscoe is growing throughout the novel.  It is a novel in which a character is  growing in 5he novel.

🌟 Movie Screening: Worksheet 

🌟  You have compared the 'beginning' and the 'ending' of the novel and the film adaptation of the novel directed by Colin Gregg (you can see it again in the embedded video below this). Do you think that the novel is more poignant than the movie? If yes, do you ascribe the fact that the power of words is much greater than that of the screen / visuals?

      There are differences between the movie and the novel in the beginning. In the movie we can see the interesting beginning. Very beautiful and symbolic frame used by Colin Gregg at the beginning. In the novel we have the incident that is James who wants to go to the lighthouse and the father who was refusing.

           Ending of the movie and the novel that is quite similar. That Lily Briscoe had her vision of Life. Always to watch a movie that was an amazing experience. Looking at Camera work and the frame, facial expressions it was a great experience.

       But to read a novel is a different kind of experience. Because we can say that while reading the novel we create our own movie. We look at the things with the author's vision and are thinking. In the movie we can see the things in the eyes of the film maker. The novel gives us the feeling that this is my own.

         So the written words have a powerful force.  The novel is more poignant than the movie. But the visual and screen are not less than that.

🌟 How do you interpret the last line of the novel (It was done; it was finished.

Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, I have had my vision.) with reference to the ending of the film (After the final stroke on the canvass with finishing touch, Lily walks inside the house. As she goes ante-chamber, the light and dark shade makes his face play hide-and-seek. She climbs stairs, puts her brush aside, walks through the dark and light to enter her room. Gently closes the door - speaks: "Closed doors, open windows" - lies on the bed and with some sort of satisfaction utters: "Dearest Briscoe, you are a fool".) 

         It is an unpredictable question because in this question we can not find any particular and exact answer. Because there is a possibility of various viewpoints.

        If we look at   Traditional way  of reading then the protagonist is Mrs Ramsay and she was the heart of the lighthouse. But maybe Virginia Woolf is trying to say something different from the traditional reading.

        Lily embodies the 'vision' of the novel. Lily has long been regarded as a secondary character, since, for decades, most critics seemed to limit their reading to part I of the novel and to Mrs. Ramsay's belittling comments. In the novel as a whole, however, if one considers the sheer bulk of text allotted to each character, Lily is statistically more present than Mrs. Ramsay. Gender-oriented criticism has recently restored the balance in her favor, but often with diverging conclusions, so that it now seems appropriate to assess the new perspectives, taking as their main theoretical support analyses by Melanie Klein and by Julia Kristeva. At the same time, as To the Lighthouse is a kind of Kunstlerroman, it is fairly easy to follow Lily's progression and setbacks.

      

🌟 What does the catalogue named as 'Army and Navy' signify? What does cutting of 'Refrigerator'  signify?

            Virginia writing in 1926 a refrigerator would have been a symbol of modernity and of immense cultural change. That is the advancement of science but it is anti - nature. It is  against the natural process. If we connect the refrigerator with Mrs. Ramsay then we can say that she doesn't allow children's natural flow of behaviour but she is trying to shape his or her mind.

 

       There is also a question why Mrs Ramsay drowned attention to cut a refrigerator instead of another object. Any particular reason behind that or not let see. Yes there is a reason, James is guided in his choice by Mrs. Ramsay to cut the refrigerator, too, was presumably her choice, and it should therefore be associated with her, and with her role as a preserver and shaper of culture.

   

        It is also connected with consumerism and war.

     

🌟 Why did Virginia give such prominence to the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife”? In particular, why did she weave such a misogynist tale into the fabric of a book which so eloquently challenges received patriarchal notions about the roles and capabilities of women? 

           When we compare Fisherman's wife and Mrs. Ramsay then both are similar in their behaviour, because both want to ask her husband to fulfill her desire. But  at that point we can say why she was asking her husband to fulfill her desire ? The prominent question is this. Because the society and husband isn't allowed to go out and work. We can add this concern also.

     

       Mrs. Ramsay tells such a misogynistic tale Virginia is also indicting Mrs. Ramsay. By showing Mrs. Ramsay as transmitting and perpetuating harmful myths about female will and desire, Virginia is criticizing and attacking the way in which women are complicit in limiting their ability to fully realize themselves. By choosing to tell the tale of the “Fisherman’s Wife, “ Mrs Ramsay becomes an instrument for perpetuating the sexism and misogyny which lies behind it. In making Mrs. Ramsay the teller of this tale, Virginia calls attention to the ways in which Mrs. Ramsay, even if unwittingly, nourishes and supports patriarchal society. In telling her tale, Mrs. Ramsay is harming herself and her society.

        It is also possible reading that the last lines suggested that Briscoe realized that Mrs. Ramsay was not totally wrong. Close the doors but open the windows. Now she understood the points of Mrs. Ramsay.  In the film before making the final stroke she sees Mrs. Ramsay and James wander happily in the garden. She also might want to live that life. So, that can be her vision going inside the room, leaving brush somewhere, and on bed saying Briscoe, you are a fool suggesting that Mrs. Ramsay was right. Now she has her vision.

 

        The words like " you are fool "then  that is the contradictory statement also because  when she was occurring before she was thinking about Mrs. Ramsay and she believed that she was right. But at the time she realized that she was wrong and that's why she said that you are a fool. It might be a possible reason.

🌟 How is India represented in 'To The Lighthouse'? (Read this blog for passing reference) 

Click here to reach my answer :

https://ravinaparmaar.blogspot.com/2020/10/to-lighthouse-references-of-india.html

Thinking activity : Edger Allan Poe and his stories

  Hello Readers …

       Welcome to my blog. Here this blog was assigned by Dr. Jay Maheta sir. On the date 18 October to 20 October 2020, we have an online lecture of sir in google meet. That was the interesting session with Jay Maheta sir. We learnt so many things. Sir had introduced the world of Poe.

        So this work was assigned by sir before the lecture series. To understand how we can relate the story and story's atomospher.

      So first of all I want to talk about the author Edgar Allan Poe.

Here I am not talking about his life and work and all the things, but here I would like to talk about his writing style and his way of putting things in his stories.

Edgar Allan Poe died in the hospital on Sunday, October 7, 1849. The mystery surrounding Poe's death has led to many myths and urban legends. The reality is that no one knows for sure what happened during the last few days of his life. Did Poe die from alcoholism? Was he mugged? Did he have rabies? A more detailed exploration of Poe's death can be found here. As he was the writer of mysterious atmospheres and confusing things. That is how his death also remains like that.

I just wanted to make a post here about COVID-19 in case a future generation finds this site. Around 1842, Poe wrote the cautionary tale, Masque of the Red Death, about a group of wealthy people hiding out in a castle to escape the plague. You'll have to read the story to see how that worked out.

Now, in 2020, we have been confined to our homes for months because of the COVID virus. Many cannot work, while the rest of us try to work from home. At least I am happy to see people using this site for both education and enjoyment. Hang in there!

     Sir had mentioned in his blog that we have to collect the various types of social media or newspapers in which the people who suffer a lot because of this pandemic situation. Here we can relate the story of Poe with the Corona pandemic. In most of the story of Poe we find that extreme level  psychological condition of the people. So in the Corona pandemic also there are lots of examples like that. This is 5he question that I have to answer...

   Note down your first impressions while they meet your eyes. What thoughts they generated in you? What possible abyss of the human mind did you observe that  you can even try to fathom?

While I was reading this type of news and to listen to video clips about that. Then my mind gets disterb with lots of thoughts.

The very situation struck my mind very strongly. Who is responsible for that act. ( He or she  or power structure )

In the act of animal abuse in which we can say that the human who was the cruellest animal on the earth.

            After reading I was not able to speak anything because I was thinking about that activity….

 

What kind of mindset the criminal have….if we look at on the situation of the criminal then that is most thoughtful conditions

Why don't people think about what will be gain, doing this type of crucial act?

As we know that each and every situation has two ways of thinking, which is best or good for human beings, that is quite difficult. It might happen that this type of act makes an individual's desires fulfill. Every criminal has reasons to kill anyone do disaster for everyone. But that is the wrong step. Because we shouldn't do that kind cruel and horrible act. As we say that humans are the social 'animals'. So the animal kind of behaviour takes place. 

References :-

Giordano, Robert. Edgar Allan Poe, Short Stories, Tales, and Poems. poestories.com/index.php.

Thank you...