The Valley & Tan

I have said it once and I’ll say it again: I love Amy Tan.  I loved her since I was too young to grasp The Joy Luck Club as a novel, but was spellbound by the movie like it was nobody’s business.  See, the movie was the perfect introduction to a ten-year-old because it quickly filled my head with sad stories about brave Chinese women, lost babies, and that un-belongingness I identified with as a youth.  The spice to my transfixed state rested on the movie’s cultural surroundings.  It was here that I got a glance into stringent conventions and traditions that bound Chinese women in a culture so foreign to me.  So naturally, I grew to want more understanding of all that I‘d witnessed.  The movie sunk into me at ten and never resurfaced to drift way.

When I was finally old enough I managed to read the novel and became a fan of Tan’s literary works from then forward.  I ate her books and stories--if you will.  And while the general consensus is that The Joy Luck Club lay in the majority of favorites among her readers (and undoubtedly her most popular novel), my personal love goes out to The Kitchen God’s Wife.  Besides being a thicker novel, I believe I loved it just a little more because I spent more time with the mother and daughter pair, Pearl and Winnie, and their respective narratives.  I say this as opposed to the various working characters and narratives in The Joy Luck Club.  In essence, Pearl and Winnie hung around a little longer to tangle me--as the reader--in their mother/daughter strife.

Nevertheless, I am a slave to Tan’s ethnic settings and illuminating mother/daughter themes, as well as that often used expression of “rich prose” that she uses.  Tan can take me to places far away and can take me to places close to home all at once.  I’ve waited eight years for something new from her (besides her Rules for Virgins Kindle Single) and it has finally arrived in the form of her 2013 release of The Valley of Amazement.  Spending those eight years between authors like Pearl S. Buck and Ha Jin wasn’t so bad, but I was certainly awaiting Tan’s return.  Good or bad, I spent my time reading The Valley of Amazement cutting my fingers in an excited rush through some parts, while using the book as a pillow during others.  It seems that while the device of using Chinese courtesans to move the novel was enlightening in the beginning, it was also the one thing that eventually pulled me away from engaging with the story fully during the later half of the book.  In turn, maybe even the characters.

I’ll attempt to not spoil the novel by sharing an overview of the material.  The Valley of Amazement takes place in late 19th century to early 20th century between Shanghai and San Francisco.  Told through the eyes of the mother/daughter narrative-sharing duo, consisting of Violet and her mother, Lulu, the story starts with Violet sharing a rundown of her current status as a lonely American girl living in Shanghai.  However, Violet’s mother is white while her father is Chinese.  Violet is unaware of this, while comfortably raised within a high-class courtesan house owned by her mother.  So she is exposed to much, but ignores what her true heritage consist of considering the physical signatures that make up her face.

In other words, she is in denial of her Chinese make up.

According to Violet she is American and fair-skinned--nothing else.  And it’s this attitude that causes her torment as a child by her academic peers.  She eventually leaves school, but her arrogance increases as the story moves forward with her development and eventual change.  Nonetheless, to young Violet, being and thinking Chinese means kowtowing to statues and ghosts and following old traditions simply because that was how things were done thousands of years ago.  Violet saw herself as too fearless and modern to be Chinese.

Violet is somewhat of a princess inside her mother’s popular courtesan house, and with that status and position comes an unhinged feeling that she isn't completely loved by her busy and inattentive mother.  So when a Chinese stranger comes into the courtesan house to speak exclusively with Violet’s mother, a prying Violet catches wind of a lost little brother that she has.  Her feelings of being unloved only intensifies at her mother’s angered response toward the stranger, who dredged up old memories, mistakes, and love unknown to Violet.  Suddenly, San Francisco is where Violet's mother sets her destination in locating her lost son; it's home.  The problem is getting there aboard a month long voyage on a steamer.  Reservations are required.  Passports are needed.  And considering Violet's mother suddenly finds her daughter's birth certificate misplaced, a visit to the American Consulate becomes necessary before the actual voyage.  A time crunch is pressed upon her.

It's here where Violet's mother make another big (and totally avoidable) mistake that sends her newly teenage daughter into the hands of a second-class courtesan house with her virginity up for auction as a virgin courtesan.  Everything Violet believed about herself is stripped away while her mother sails to San Francisco.

Did I give away too much?  Nah!  Trust me when I say this book goes a long way from Violet's troubled beginning.  About a quarter toward the end of the book the narrative switches to Violet's mother's history and point-of-view of the events.  Unfortunately, by the time I got to Lulu's narrative I was nearly worn out on the whole subject of courtesans and women having their sex taken or auctioned off to men.  Particularly toward the very last bit of the first arc that housed Violet's narrative.  The book is littered with themes concerning trust, and these women never seen to make the right connection toward it until it hits them in the face.  Nevertheless, I'll keep that relative to the reader, so you have to read the book and their journey to really decide whether or not the women could do more with their decisions or lack thereof.  But the way Tan painted the characters in the beginning of the book left me feeling as if they only managed to do less than what I believed they were capable of.  An example would be how Violet's mother, Lulu, found herself in power and status as a high-class courtesan house owner, yet she suffered through her mistakes by not applying the resources she created for herself. 

I felt a lot of "do this; problem solved" in this book.

Credit: Rick Smolan/Against All Odds

This leads to another particular I had about the book.  There were moments of disconnect that I felt for the characters.  As the reader I seemed to see things the characters didn't see.  With all of the great descriptions and glimpses of history and of a courtesan's lifestyle, none covered the feeling I got that I was witnessing the events that took place as opposed to living them with the characters.  So when the plot devices set up, I just saw the characters walk into them.  

The book often took on a strong telling atmosphere in this case, as if Lulu and Violet were feeding me (as the reader) information more than living it on the page as they moved through the plot.  Now there were certainly some solid, emotional moments in the book that moved me into feeling the character's experience.  One was Violet's violent reaction when she found herself in the low-class house.  I cheered for her flash of anger.  Then a couple of pages in she was damn near complacent with her position as the virgin courtesans.  Many areas of the novel felt like this; set-up when pages later the experience passes and the character dwell on it lightly.  Or even loosely.    

I still thought it was a great novel.  It told an obvious but great story.  I think the key essence in the novel wasn't so much the story per say, but more of the communication between mothers and daughters and relationships.  As well as consequences for not communicating (which in some areas they did shamefully to fulfill a plot device).  All that is usual to Tan--which is why I love her.  I suppose it was told a little "lightly" in this book because there was a sort of testingness (I often make up words) to it.  Nonetheless, we get to explore themes on trust and abandonment and how loving the wrong person can lead us to the wrong (some may even say right) places only so many times.  Eventually the characters find or reclaim some value in themselves, so that's a solid ending.  The book didn't ground me in like Tan's older novels, but it was a force of its own and very much worth reading a second time.

The secret ingredient to this novel is Magic Gourd.  I'll leave it at that.

Mythos and Logos Revisited

Powell’s final comprehension of mythos and logos was defined by a line of others’ attempts to define the term.  According to Powell’s A Short Introduction to Classical Myth, fifth century BC Pindar defined the terms as a “difference between a tale” [mythos] and “one based on reason” [logos].  Eventually, the definition of myth and logos took on a socialistic view, described as the passing of stories and parables that provided a reasonable solution to human endeavors.  This definition insisted that traditional-style stories, or mythos, contributed to the way a society modeled their behavior.  Or as I personally believe, offered itself as a behavior correction mechanism that laid “heavy numbers” to keep some parts of society in line.  However, logos are the concepts that relies on delivering the truth, or a reasonable explanation.

Nevertheless, I found that Powell’s eventual definition of mythos and logos as indefinite as its source.  However, myth will seemingly always carry the definition of being somewhat irrational in concerns to storytelling.  Whereas logo strives for the rational.

Jones’s book, The Marriage of Logos and Mythos, begins with his supporting of Powell’s view on mythos and logos in his “Aspects of the Mythic Imagination” text.  Here he highlights four aspects of mythos and how we apply the definition of it on a personal scale of comprehension.  Like Powell, he believes mythos is a means to provide insight into an individual’s own direction, even describing its purpose as a means to shift individuals onto a “timeless learning journey.”  His views take on an imaginative, even esoteric, approach to the definition of mythos.  However, like Powell, his understanding of logo continues with the “logical” approaching concept.

The marriage between the two appears to be explained by Jones’s view of: “with the rise of the industrial economy, we found ourselves in a world out of balance.  Scientific logos quickly rose to dominance and the mythic life feels into disrepute.”  Nevertheless, Jones concludes that, in the context of leadership, both mythos and logos have to become one.  It’s this union that provides a leader with a logical--yet creative--approach to leading generations to come. 

Just revisiting some old ideas related to literature.  I wonder which do I live in most.  A world filled with mythos-like ideas?  Or the practicals of logo-like ideas?  It's fair to say both.

Jones, M. (2010). The Marriage of Logos and Mythos: Transforming Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies, 4(3), 73-76.

Powell, B. B. (2002). A short introduction to classical myth. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Subjective Term? Literary Masterpieces?

I remember a literature teacher asking the class what makes a literary masterpiece.  Of course the class had to write and share an essay on the topic.  At the time I simply thought the answer lie in how well a piece of popular literature is written.  As well as how popular some generation of culture and society thought it as, placing it on a pedestal for whatever determined reasoning.  However, I later learned that it remains a subjective topic.  What I may consider a masterpiece may differ from another's thoughts on the same subject.  And all too often I don't even use the term "masterpiece".

Nevertheless, I'd like to share a few of my thoughts.  Many literary masterpieces gather critiques as either presenting lackluster material, or the complete opposite, over-enthused writing.  Therefore, there are several combined elements that may “constitute” a pleasant reading experience, or a dull one.  As an author’s style and syntax continues to be the defining factor in a reader’s experience, other essential ingredients determine how well the message of the novel obtains reception, ingredients that work in conjunction with an author’s choice of words.  This combination of properly used elements helps the reader appreciate the context of a literary masterpiece.  

The Joy Luck Club.  I would consider it a masterpiece.

Long passages of description often cause readers to skim text, missing quality pieces of an author’s message.  Many times description merges with narrative, making it difficult for readers to separate the two.  However, description has the tendency to imply itself throughout a novel, whereas narrative has a way of giving character (often character specific) to a novel, essentially presenting itself as a secondary role in the process.  A character’s role in the pleasantness or dullness of a literary masterpiece brings success to the experience if the character creates speculation within the reader.  Characters that appear predictable to readers may become to contrive to drive a literary masterpiece, as readers are looking to explore the setting within someone he or she can identify with or grow to identify.  A careful balance of inner and outer character statements contributes to a well written literary masterpiece, as character statements create speculation of the character’s actions throughout each manner.

Characters use dialogue to relate their terms to a real life translation for readers.  As many readers skip through narrative and description, it becomes dialogue that catches the reader’s knowledge of the novel’s presence and direction.  Much of this has to do with how text appears on a page, as dialogue tends to be “easy on the eyes.”  However, dialogue is not the absolute to a literary masterpiece, as much of the message infuses into the reader’s ability to visualize the setting and inner monologue of the available characters.  This requires structure, as authors who produce literary masterpieces must maintain a balance of dialogue, narrative, and description to bring pleasure to many readers’ experience.  Character structure allows the information of a novel to become clearer while bringing passion throughout the reading and analysis.  Messages readers receives from a novel is through each passage or piece of dialogue.  It's here that we search for powerful passages to evoke our emotions, not so much to spend time decoding an author‘s material. 

Many find word choices and their meaning brings the biggest appreciation into literary masterpieces.  Though description, character, dialogue, and structure are powerful characteristics that attribute to what an author should focus on when creating a literary masterpiece, these elements are just as important in an author who chooses to explore in other genres of fiction.  Literary masterpieces become important because of the words and meaning they evoke in readers.  Because of this they explore social and personal changes.  Modern contemporary authors like Amy Tan [The Joy Luck Club] and Toni Morrison [Beloved] introduced literary masterpieces that unveil the complexity of what it means to be of an ethnic minority [Chinese, Chinese-American; African, African-American].  Then authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald [The Great Gatsby] provided a glimpse into his concerns about the corruption of the American dream.  An author such as Ralph Ellison [Invisible Man] attacks both social issues and individual conflict within many of his novels.  Then classic masterpiece of Oedipus the King [Sophocles] asks readers to question their purpose in life in modern times.  

With an author’s use of word choice and meaning, his or her messages become striking and clear.  Not understanding the careful use of the two sometimes fails an author.  There are moments when an author does not fully understanding the meaning of a word and uses it.  Granted, a single word can have multiple meanings, but literary masterpieces must use words that remain in the context of the passage.  The message obtains clarity this way because with words used properly in the context of the text, there are no alternatives for the reader to misplace its meaning.  Nevertheless, there are abstract attempts at words designed to further the reader’s contemplation of the material, but a careful use will drive the text to its clarifying end.  Possessing a strong vocabulary (combined with imagination) to draw from authenticates (as well as distinguish) an author’s voice and ability to drawing meaning from his or her masterpiece.  Operating consciously or unconsciously, the arrangement of an author’s word choice takes intuition and observation.  An author who writes to challenge a reader’s personal beliefs or social conditioning takes the advantage by introducing words, meaning, and context.  This careful use supports his or her argument for change, or insight into other cultures and ideas.

Whereas numerous elements such as character, dialogue, narrative, and description goes into creating powerful pieces of literary works, those masterpieces that challenge readers with their use of words and meaning appear to generate cross-cultural conversations.  It is these words that contribute to the greatness of an author’s character, dialogue, narrative, descriptions, and use of metaphors.  Literary masterpieces are important in the sense that they often create changes in real life, just as they gather inspiration from a life in need of change and progression.

Canon American Literature? Or Not?

People usually relate what makes American Literature American to authors such as Hemingway, Faulkner, and Fitzgerald (to name a small few). These are the authors persistently taught in American schools, analyzed in American colleges, and referred to as sources of inspiration to up-and-coming American writers. These authors are more than likely viewed as the “essence” of American literature because they contain sharp expressions of what it means to be American (though I believe that's individual-based) and to have the freedom to purse a destiny with pride.  Hemingway often wrote of soldiers, faith, and what it means to be honest.  Faulkner wrote about America’s south and the importance of individuals maintaining his or her memories during times of change.  So one could even state that American classics usually impressed a sense of patriotism, instilled by characters that are normally Caucasian.

So then is there really a such thing as American Literature canon? I believe literary canon refers to literature that distinctly represents a period of time in American history. Therefore, this literature becomes a critical educational tool, especially when it unveils candid examples of civil discord within certain American ethnic groups.  However, whereas American literature undoubtedly consists of diversity, there are many who consider the classics (Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald) as sole literary canon writers. Because these “canons” are frequently taught in schools and upheld to represent American literature, it can reflect in society in two fashions: bias and suppression of detailed history. Unless taught specifically within a certain curriculum, students are probably less likely to become exposed to examples of Holocaust survivors residing, within their inner struggle, on American soil. Furthermore, African-American literature, featuring the exploitation of slavery leading into the civil right wars, is a teaching tool sometimes glossed upon.  You can call it a blank theory of mine, but it wasn't until college that literary diversity was bumped up to the level of necessary and encouraged.  Therefore, much of the fore mentioned information is taught in history books, but because of that it lacks the emotion and honest engagement that literature provides. It is seen as facts and not so much needed stories. 

In many respects, ethnic authors have to “beat” Americans’ view of canon literature so that the ethnic perspective within this idea of canon literature can be told clearly.  Examples may be disapproval of exposing Latino-American‘s poor treatment in America, or quieting Japanese-Americans from revealing the atrocities of living in an internment camp during World War II while German and Italian-Americans were not. Ethnic writers also have the challenge of not creating misunderstandings between groups and history.  Additional challenges are finding only niche readerships, and failing underneath mainstream literature. However, these writers must maintain the honesty of their material, considering the biggest challenge is consciously representing the ethnic groups in which their cultural background resides. 

With that said, ethnic writers define literature by remaining honest to their experience. While the canon of traditional American literature defines the representations/reflections of a specific time, ethnic writers must also define him or herself within literature by using the same canon approach from an opposite viewpoint. In turn, this enlightens the scope of past (as well as changing) American events.  It's sort of like you can't read about the Civil War from Stephen Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage without following up reading slave narratives, such as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Each are canon representations of their time periods and American history. Because American is a country that inspires ethnic diversity, it must respect that diversity in its teachings of canon literature.  Or what have you.