An education in resisting your culture

Through the narrator’s depiction of his education, he shows how Indian boys are taught to resist the Native American culture in order to protect them from the traditional feelings of pain and punishment. The narrator does leave the reservation for a short time to experience the white world and his experiences there, prove why he has been taught to resist his culture. I do not believe that he completely rejects his culture, but I think through “Indian Education” we see him struggling with what he has been taught and his feelings of tradition.

As a second grader you are very impressionable and this may be why the missionary teacher, Betty Towle, chose to teach this grade. I believe Betty Towle was there to educate the Indians about “her God” (173) and in turn she taught the narrator how most white people feel

about Indians, including herself. After having to eat his spelling test, Betty Towle sent a letter home with the narrator telling his parents to either cut his braids or he was not allowed in class. The next day his parents came in and drug their braids across Betty Towle’s desk and she responds “Indians , indians, indians.” She said it without capitalization. She called me “indian, indian, indian” (173). When reading this the first time I wondered why she said it without capitalization, after some thought I realized that she doesn’t have respect for Indians or their culture and really has a hatred of them. The narrator sticks to his roots and says “Yes, I am. I am Indian. Indian, I am” (173) but this is his first lesson in the struggles he will have if he chooses to identify himself as an Indian.

Throughout the narrator’s education there are several examples that I believe reveal the underlying message that he was taught. In the fourth grade Mr. Schluter told the narrator that he should be a doctor and when the narrator asks why he says “So you can come back and help the tribe. So you can heal people” (174). I find it very interesting that Mr. Schluter doesn’t say “your tribe” or “your people” as if he is hinting to the narrator to become a doctor and find your identity in that, not in being Indian. Then, for the first time, in the fifth grade, we see the narrator

realize that he is going to have to make a choice to either follow the traditional Indian lifestyle or try to make a lifestyle of his own. The narrator says “Oh, do you remember those sweet, almost innocent choices that the Indian boys were forced to make?” (175). I believe that at this point he has already made his decision to try and make his own path that will hopefully allow him to succeed and not fall prey to the pain that the Indian culture seems accustomed to. The last example, and the one that I believe to be strongest, is “This morning I pick up the sports page and read the headline: INDIANS LOSE AGAIN” (179). If the narrator identifies himself as an Indian then he will take a lot of offense to this headline, but if he can find his identity in basketball, or academics, or becoming a doctor he will not experience the same pain. Naturally this headline will always strike a note of pain for him, but he realizes that he can escape this pain by creating his own identity, something outside of the Indian culture.

I really liked this short story because I believe it could be read in several different ways and this is just one way that I believe it can be interpreted.

Ginsberg's spin on religion that can justify any action if twisted in your favor

The obvious theme in “Howl” is how the destructive social forces of Moloch destroy the “best minds” but in addition to these social forces Ginsberg creates an interesting spin on religion that can justify any action if twisted in your favor. Ginsberg includes aspects of Christianity, Islam, and Kabbalah (ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible) with some references to Buddhism to create his own idea of religion or spirituality. 

 

In part I we see Ginsberg using several religious terms and references to describe the “best minds.” The first description we see is “angelheaded hipsters” (9). When I read this line I see the hipsters, who I picture to be poets, musicians, and artists, to have a halo on their heads that make them appear to be angels. In the line before this we know that these hipsters are looking for an “angry fix” and right after, Ginsberg turns around and describes them as “angelheaded” as if to ignore the fact that they are looking for drugs. Shortly after, we see another reference to angels when Ginsberg writes “and saw Mohammedan angles staggering on tenement roofs illuminated” (9). In the stanza before this we see that these angels “high sat up smoking in the supernatural darkness” (9). We are now led to believe that these angels have been smoking and are now staggering and in the following stanza we see that they are hallucinating. It is apparent that they have smoked some type of paraphernalia, but Ginsberg lets you know that in a very light and angelic way. Then, Ginsberg writes “who vanished into nowhere Zen New Jersey” (11). Ginsberg is not only adding yet another religion by choosing the word Zen, which is connected with Buddhism, he is justifying the way these “best minds” can just pick up and leave by suggesting that they are looking for their Zen. By Ginsberg describing the “best minds” as angels and describing their actions with religious references he is justifying their actions. Also, by using religious references from numerous religions he lets his reader know that he has no tie to one specific religion.    

 

 

In part II there is the obvious religious reference to Moloch, which is an Old Testament deity to whom people sacrificed their own children. Throughout part II Ginsberg uses language to refer to ancient rituals or religion that all require great sacrifice. By describing Moloch this way he is listing all of the ways that Moloch has required sacrifices from the “best minds” and due to these sacrifices they have gone insane. Ginsberg writes “Moloch whose skyscrapers stand in the long streets like endless Jehovahs!” (21). Jehovah is a Hebrew word for God so we continue to see Ginsberg reference religious aspects from all religions. By listing all of the required sacrifices to Moloch Ginsberg is furthering his argument that due to Moloch, which he gives very religious qualities to, the “best minds” are justified in whatever they do whether that be going crazy or doing drugs.

In part III we still see several religious references, but now that Carl Solomon has gone crazy, Ginsberg seems to use them in a manor to enlighten Solomon. He writes “where you accuse your doctors of insanity and plot the Hebrew socialist revolution against the fascist national Golgotha” (25) and “where you will split the heavens of Long Island and resurrect your living human Jesus from the superhuman tomb” (25). I believe it is important for these two quotes to go together because the Hebrew Jesus was crucified and then resurrected in Golgotha and Ginsberg writes about Golgotha and then in the very next stanza tells Solomon to resurrect his “human Jesus.” Throughout the entire poem Ginsberg is giving religious attributes and descriptions to the “best minds.” By doing this he justifies their actions and justifies their insanity.

 

 

 

The epigraph to "The Piano Lesson"

Gin my cotton

Sell my seed

Buy my baby

Everything she need

            -Skip James

 

When I first began reading “The Piano Lesson” I overlooked the epigraph that is at the very beginning of this play. An epigraph is typically a short saying or quote that alludes to the theme of the book or play. We know that the epigraph is a quote from Skip James, but most people don’t know it is actually a quote from his song Illinois Blues. August Wilson was highly influenced by the blues and this is not the first time that he has incorporated the blues into his work.
 

 

The purpose of this epigraph could be perceived in several ways, but after reading and re-reading I believe that this epigraph alludes to Boy Willie and the route we will see him attempt to take. After Sutter’s death he is focused on selling the piano so that he can buy Sutter’s land and begin farming on it. Boy Willie wants to grow cotton so that he “can stand right up next to the white man and talk about the price of cotton. . . the weather, and anything else you want to talk about” (Wilson 92). This is just one of the examples that we see Boy Willie referring to cotton just as in the epigraph. Through this line we can see that Boy Willie’s goal is to be able to stand equal to the white man and discuss the topics of everyday life because he is a farmer with his own land just as they are. Boy Willie wants the land because of pride rather than a bettering of self and family. The word “buy” in the epigraph is an interesting choice of word especially considering it opens a play that is centered around a piano that represents a family who were slaves. The word choice in the song is not abnormal, but remembering that an epigraph is a quote that alludes to the theme of the play, it puts an interesting perspective on the word “buy.” The word most definitely has a double meaning and can be easily taken as buying a gift for his baby and providing for her, which is how most readers would perceive it considering the line that follows. However, I think Wilson chose those lyrics for a reason and I don’t believe that the word “buy” should be over looked.   

        In addition to using James’ lyrics in the epigraph Wilson uses the same lyrics when Boy Willie is talking about obtaining the land and beginning to farm. Boy Willie says “This time I get to keep all the cotton. Hire me some men to work it for me. Gin my cotton. Get my seed. And I’ll see you again next year” (Wilson 11). Since I had originally overlooked the epigraph I also over looked the significance of Boy Willie continually referring to gin my cotton and get my seed. The correlation between the lyrics and the play is something that can easily be looked over because after you read the epigraph you become so quickly engrossed in the story. The epigraph plays an important role to this play and in the future I will not take the epigraphs so lightly because they are an insight to the work.