Blog Reflection Essay

This class came off as extremely intimidating, not just the course description, but the syllabus as well. There was more work in this English class than pretty much any other English class I’ve taken. There was also a ton of writing (and as a Creative Writing major, not the fun kind). Writing about what I read helped me think deeper and understand more about the assigned material. Because of this, I had more ideas to write about and generally did a better job. The comments I posted on others’ blog were pretty informative and, if they were read, could have helped my peers understand or think about the material differently. I believe I did a good job commenting to my peer’s blogs. Inversely, while a few of my peer’s comments did make me think about things I hadn’t before, by and large I did not find them terribly helpful. Not only did I not get as many comments as I would’ve liked, but those I got felt vague and offered little critique. All in all, they did not contribute much to my learning.


As for the evolution of my blog writing…early on, my posts were very straight-forward but did not delve much deeper into the subject material. I did not think very hard about the topics being presented. As time went by, my posts delved deeper and deeper into the topics (and got much longer in length) and more time had to be devoted to them. I believe this was because I was learning more…from other student’s posts, assignments, professor’s comments, etc. This caused me to examine my writings and my work more deeply.


When writing, I imagined my fellow students as well as the professor as the audience. This effected how I wrote because I was careful how I worded things and what I said. I included more than I normally would, since I viewed it as an assignment and not just me sitting down and writing something and posting it to a blog. It was more grammatically complex and thoroughly spellchecked than my normal writing. However, when looking all of my blog material over, I’m pretty well satisfied with it. I think I did a good job. My second Summary/Application assignment is my best/strongest post because I knew how to handle the assignment and how to handle the reading for the assignment, since I’d done one more before. This experience really helped me out. My weakest/worst post was probably my first Summary/Application assignment because I had no idea what I was doing and had to re-do the assignment. I got a terrible grade on it. Most of my other reading responses were “in-between” because it was very much a “Question-Answer”-type of post. There was very little to be awesome or mediocre about here.


I did know that the blog could be read by anyone, but for some reason, it never really affected my writing. It never spooked me or made me prouder of what I wrote. Blog writing just is what it is and that’s how I took it. I’ve written for student-run publications before (and still do), so the public reading my work is not what rattles me. The class reading and discussing what I wrote specifically, however, might. If we’re talking about everyone’s work in general, though, it becomes much less intimidating…but that’s just me.


The amount of work I had to do for this class felt disproportionate to the amount of credit I’ll end up receiving. This definitely felt more like a five-credit-hours course for me. I enjoyed the professor and the topics presented. I really liked the Native American literature we read. I do feel like too much was tried to fit into this class. Perhaps the class should have only focused on one novel, rather than two? (Just a suggestion.)This class has been really difficult and I’m worried about what grade I’ll end up getting. I think the quality of my work has been (overall) excellent, though. I’m optimistic.

Introduction to My Final Paper

Jessica Webb
ENG 254
Professor Rouzie
Tuesday, June 2, 2009


Linear vs. Cyclical Concepts of Time in Sherman Alexie’s TLRATFIH

My researched argument paper will focus on concepts of time as presented in Sherman Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”; specifically, it will focus on how Alexie used the Native American cyclical view of time versus the Judeo-Christian linear view of time to show differences in basic philosophies between cultures. This researched argument paper searches to prove that not only was the native author aware of this basic cultural difference, but also will attempt to argue that Sherman Alexie used this difference in basic worldviews as another sort of cultural ‘background noise’ in some of his stories in his novel to re-enforce and/or conflict with certain points to hit his points home to the reader. I will also argue that Native Americans do not apply the passing of time the same way Western cultures do.

Not only is the basic worldview/philosophy different, but it is also applied in different ways. To quote Sherman Alexie’s novel: "Indians never need to wear a watch because your skeletons will always remind you about the time. See, it is always now. That's what Indian time is. The past, the future. All of it is wrapped up in the now. That's how it is. We are trapped in the now" (Alexie 22). This is a part of what I wish to argue. There is yet one more part of my paper’s argument that I will attempt to explore. What is one culture’s reactions to the philosophical views of time of the other and visa-versa? To again quote Alexie’s novel: "I remembered watches. They measured time in seconds, minutes, hours. They measured time exactly, coldly. I measure time with my breath, the sound of my hands across my own skin. I make mistakes" (Alexie 109). It is seen here that it gives Victor a sense of dislocation. Does it do the same for a white person looking in? That is the last topic I will attempt to explore.

List of Potential Final Paper Sources (10)

Bastian, Dawn, and Judy Mitchell. Handbook of Native American Mythology (World Mythology). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2004.

Grassian, Daniel. Understanding Sherman Alexie. Columbia, S.C: University of South Carolina P, 2005.

Heidegger, Martin. History of the Concept of Time : Prolegomena. Trans. Theodore Kisiel. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1992.

"Linear Time and Cyclical Time." Time and God. 02 June 2009. .

Moore, Kathleen D., Kurt Peters, Ted Jojola, and Amber Lacy, eds. How It Is: The Native American Philosophy of V. F. Cordova. New York: University of Arizona P, 2007.

Rovelli, Carlo. Metaphysics: The Big Questions (Philosophy, the Big Questions). Grand Rapids: Blackwell Limited, 1998.

Teichmann, Roger. The Concept of Time. New York: St. Martin's P, Scholarly and Reference Division, 1995.

Waters, Anne S., ed. American Indian Thought. Grand Rapids: Blackwell Limited, 2003.

Yunkaporta, Tyson. "Linear vs. Circular Logic: Conflict Between Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Logic Systems | Suite101.com". Aboriginal Rights (general): Indigenous heritage and Aboriginal identity worldwide from an historical perspective - land, human and intellectual rights and linguistic and cultural preservation. | Suite101.com. 11 June 2006. 02 June 2009. .

Zimmerman, Larry J., and Brian L. Molyneaux. Native North America. Boston: Little, Brown, 1996.

Preliminary Web Site Idea

I'd be interested in doing the option that publishes a website educating readers about Native American literature, its history, and the major critical issues in order to provide a context for reading Ceremony and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fidtfight in Heaven. This is option C on our assignment sheet. As I have an art minor, I'd really enjoy the visual and possibly audio qualities this topic could produce. As I'm doing my final paper on nativism, I feel I can use the research I've gathered so far best in this topic. I have some basic web design/graphic skills taught to me by my Computer Science boyfriend (haha), so I can deal with most of the design elements of the project.

I propose a fairly interactive site which educates readers about various periods of Native American literature, complete with images and possibly audio if we can get ahold of it. I'd also like to devote at least part of the site to a timeline and another part to a fairly intensive discussion of critical issues; maybe one page could be devoted to nativism and examples in the text, maybe another to postmodernism, etc. We'd be designing roughly ten pages all linked together, with varying amounts of text. I'd prefer a group of about 3-4 for this project, mostly for the bulk of the writing. I could take on most of the design/audio/graphics elements (with some help from my programmer boyfriend...haha again), not to say I won't take on some of the writing, too. So if you want a group where you won't have to fiddle with the site and just write, you're more than welcome. Of course, if you want to design, I'd have no qualms, either. I'll write, no problem!

...I call dibs on the nativism page and the timeline, though! =)

Annotated Bibliography Draft for ALRATFIH

Jessica Webb
Professor Rouzie
ENG 254
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Annotated Bibliography: Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”


Carroll, Kathleen L. “Ceremonial Tradition as Form and Theme in Sherman Alexie's "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven": A Performance-Based Approach to Native American Literature.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 38.1, Special Convention Issue: Performance (Spring 2005), 74-84. 18 May 2009. EBSCOhost..

Cox, James. "Muting White Noise: The Subversion of Popular Culture Narratives of Conquest in Sherman Alexie's Fiction." Studies in American Indian Literatures 9.4 (Winter 1997), 52-70. 18 May 2009. EBSCOhost. .

DeNuccio, Jerome. "Slow Dancing with Skeletons: Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven." Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 44.1(2002), 86-96. EBSCOhost. .

Dix, Andrew “Escape Stories: Narratives and Native Americans in Sherman Alexie's 'The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven'.” The Yearbook of English Studies, 31 (2001), 155-167. 18 May 2009. EBSCOhost. .

Hafen, P. Jane. "Rock and Roll, Redskins, and Blues in Sherman Alexie's Work." Studies in American Indian Literatures: The Journal of the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures 9.4 (Winter 1997), 71-78. 18 May 2009.EBSCOhost..

Summary of "The Approximate Size of His Favorite Humor"

In Coulombe's "The Approximate Size of His Favorite Humor", he attempts to show Alexie's purpose of using humor in his writing. He also examines the critical views to Alexie's use of humor. Coulombe presents Alexie's humor as "central to a constructive social and moral purpose" (94) throughout his works, as well as the similarities it shows to classic Indian 'Trickster' humor. Some critics feel that Alexie's humor puts too much of the blame on the Indians thesmelves. Most critics, however, feel that Alexie's humor disrespects the troubles Indians now face. Alexie's humor, Coulombe asserts, does not do any of those things. It simply serves the purpose Alexie intends his humor to: it makes the reader feel unsettled and challenges their conventional thought processes. This allows Alexie's characters to connect to the readers. In this unsettled space, the readers can choose for themselves what unifies and separates Indians from them. The humor creates this space for the reader to feel unsettled and stimulates independent thought. This offers an increased chance for inter-cultural understanding and seeing things from the Indian perspective. To quote Coulombe: "Alexie's stories force [the readers] to rethink own own level of culpability in a culture that fosters racism, hate and despair" (103). Alexie, Coulombe goes on to say, uses his humor to blame white America (mostly) and Indians themselves for the troubles modern-day Indians now face. In this way, Alexie uses his humor to separate Indians form whites. However, Alexie also uses humor to show the universality between our two cultures. Alexie's humor, Coulombe argues, "allows for bonds between Indians and whites" (108).

Works Cited:

Coulombe, Joseph. “The Approximate Size of His Favorite Humor: Sherman Alexie’s Comic Connections and Disconnections in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” American Indian Quarterly 26 (winter 2002) : p. 94-115. Project Muse. Ohio University Lib. Athens, OH.

Summary/Application Assignment #1 (Revised)

Summary:

Gloria Bird’s essay discusses the decolonization of her language and culture. Bird starts off by showing the influences of colonization on native peoples. The possession of language is then spoken about from a personal perspective. Repression of native languages, she feels, is the essence of colonization. She argues that through literature, culture, and language people can literally unlearn things and become decolonized. Ceremony breaks down the Native Americans’ inferiority complex to further. Ceremony is also what she calls a piece of “critical fiction”. Ceremony is written, she argues, to show that all peoples can and are slowly becoming decolonized.

Bird also argues for a sense of racial and identity confusion. She states that mixed-blood Indians become aimless when their identities come into question. These Indians must learn to reconcile with both identities. Tayo must come to terms with his own identity. Tayo’s ceremony is, in part, a struggle to re-gain his identity. Lack of identity brings pain and can make people disconnect from the world. This searching for identity and self-awareness is a common theme and Tayo is the only character who has a positive outcome of this search. Everyone else ends up ignoring this search for identity completely and/or becoming a drunk. These characters end up having no options and become trapped through their lack of self-awareness. Tayo’s urban experience almost loses him everything, including his progress on his journey to re-gain his identity.

Witchery is a common theme in this article. Witchery is, in short summary, a Euro-American cultural colonization and style. Witchery promotes disrespect of the earth and cultural alienation between peoples. This is because this type of culture does not take care of how it treats the earth or even consider how they are transforming it. Though this culture is the root of the problem, whites are not to blame. They are also victims in the witchery. Change is also another theme in Silko’s Ceremony. The ceremonies change as the world changes and Betonie understands this. He changes the way he lives to better suit the ever-shifting world. Josiah reacts to change by diversifying his cattle herd. A worldview must shift for positive change to typically occur. Change must be managed or it can destroy everything, Bird asserts.

Bird shows us that Tayo is striving towards finding what is holding him back from returning to his culture. This thing also makes him feel guilty for not being white! Guilt becomes irrevocably linked to colonization. Bird also makes a case for how Silko addresses time in Ceremony. Silko’s use, Bird claims, of nonlinear time and space helps to further decolonize the Indians, banishing the feeling of “otherness” in the culture. It also helps her to “collapse time” to show how all things are connected; usually via the landscape. Bird ends her article on the note that perhaps Indian culture will not always be seen as “other”, rather as a sibling-type of culture to the colonized, American mainstream. We must be willing to see the world differently.


Application:

Bird’s essay was unique for me in its approach to how Ceremony should be looked at. It was critical, of course, but was also always finding new ways to see the novel differently. Bird gives the reader a great feel for how Ceremony tries to decolonize by questioning the fabric of the colonization model. The process of decolonization threatens not just Native American views and teachings of language and culture, but also the fact that the whites have been using the Indians somewhat as scapegoats. This process may also one day make Native American morals mesh with Americanized, colonial moralities. Bird invites Native Americans to look at their culture in this new way as well in an attempt to regain what they have lost.

Examining the characters who do not focus on fit into this colonized society (Auntie and Emo are decent examples here) is a good way to examine the new culture. As for attempting to regain what they have lost, some characters take an individual approach (Bentonie is a good example here) and try to make their own way. I feel neither Silko nor Bird discusses this situation well. When Tayo is about to be labeled a “thief” (Bird 6), he begins to struggle out of this colonialization on his own, breaking out of the box the white man has built for the Indian. He begins to look at his culture in a new way, not as simply being “Indian”. He realizes that the white man is just like the Indian and that not much separates them. He can now focus on healing. As he frees the cattle, he frees himself from the white-imposed box and sees that all mean are equal in this way; no more or less. All people pretty much can be labeled as “thieves”.

Racism is the hurdle in the way of achieving decolonization and dispelling the feeling and stigma of being “other”. Racism is a product of colonization, not on the Native American’s side, but on the colonials’ side. Perhaps it is born of fear, because the Indians are so much more different than them or perhaps it is born because the status quo for the whites is much better now than it’s ever been and they don’t want to shake up the status quo, per se. This explains why when the Tayo, Rocky, and the others put a uniform on and fight in the war, they are no longer the subject of any racism; their hair is cut and they are not immediately recognized as being a Native American, they are simply a soldier first. Racism no longer plays a role into what people perceive about these men.


Works Cited:

Bird, Gloria. "Towards a Decolonization of the Mind and Text 1: Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony"" Wicazo Sa Review, Vol 9, No. 2 Autumn 1993. University of Minnesota Press. 04 Jan. 2009 .

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). New York: Penguin Books, 2006.