Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Pandora's Box


In the Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Women’s Life, Pandora’s Box takes place on a Saturday morning in Farmer’s Market. The narrator faces the conflict of whether or not to tell her family or friends about being a lesbian. She was afraid of their acceptance of who she really was, which caused a fear of being different. Frankie was stuck in a dilemma, because when she told her friend Pete about coming out of the closet he tried to convince her otherwise. He would constantly ask her the same reoccurring questions, which were “What does the truth buy you, dear” and “Why open Pandora’s Box.” Pete’s remarks created flashbacks to when she was an adolescent. When Frankie was in the old Mee Street kitchen with her Auntie, her aunt said “Nobody wants a sassy girl like you.” It brought back memories of her Auntie telling her “Nobody, not even a girl would want you”, which caused Frankie to think about her sexual identity. In Evansville, Frankie decided to be with men, but that had changed when she had met Jay. When that relationship did not work out, Frankie knew that women had become “the lodestar of her universe”, which meant she was attracted to women more than men.
During Frankie’s adulthood, gays and lesbians were coming out of the closet around the world. They did not care about what people had thought of them, because they needed to accept them for who they were. There were certain gays and lesbians, such as Pete, who were afraid and would rather blend in trying to hide their sexual identity. Frankie thought that camouflaging took away her freedom, which would make her feel enslaved. This brought great conflict to Frankie, because she could either tell everyone and hope they accept her for who she is or she could keep quiet, while living day to day trying to hide who she really is.
While Frankie was trying to make her decision, Pete’s question came back again, which was “But why open Pandora’s Box?” He had been referring to the Greek myth of an old story with two different endings. The ending you would favor depended on your perspective about life. To Frankie the real question was, “Did she buy into it?” At that point Frankie was doubtful with the fact of dealing with the twelve monkeys all over again, but she decided to overpower the urge to go back to her old ways. She built up the courage to finally take a risk, but was still unsure if she was really ready to come out and say that she was a lesbian.
Frankie had remembered the words of Reverend Bean, which were “You are not a mistake. You are God’s creation, made in the image and likeness of The Creator. So, love yourself.” With those words, she than realized that she was not a mistake and she needed to live free of disguise. Frankie decided to resolve her conflict by calling Aunt Avice. As they spoke, she felt a sense of hope and reassurance of something solid beneath her foot. This meant that her fear of being accepted was going to no longer be an issue and she would not have to live each day hiding who she really was.

GLBT Motifs


In the Mee Street Chronicles: Straight up Stories of a Black Women’s Life, a literary motif, which is a theme, symbol, or phrase that recurs in literary work, appear as the GLBT motif. The GLBT stands for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender. Throughout the book, there are several GLBT motifs that are visible, but the two that appear the most in two of the stories are the fear of being different and the sense of shame about self.
The fear of being different reoccurs in two stories, which are Roger and Pandora’s Box. In Roger, Frankie describes how she would run from things most her life. Frankie lived in Indiana for thirteen years, drank every day, and passed off as being straight. She was afraid to live her life as who she was, which was a lesbian. In Pandora’s Box, Frankie was fearful of whether or not to come out of the closet. She did not know if she would be accepted by others, which caused her to question her sexual identity, but in the end she knew that she was more attracted to women than to men.
            In Roger and Pandora’s Box the reoccurring motif is the sense of shame about self. In Roger, Frankie had to deal with the sexual attractions caught up with shame and self-hate. They were attached with sacrifices made in order to overcome the oppression of being a woman. Frankie also had to deal with the homophobia that surrounded her everyday life. In Pandora’s Box, Frankie was ashamed of what people would call her sexual identity. She had been hiding it for so long that she did not know how people would react if she decided to show her true colors. She was tired of feeling enslaved and wanted to be free, in order to be accepted for who she really was.
            Should people have to hide who they really are? Just like Frankie, many women and men live day to day scared of coming out of the closet and declaring their sexual identity. The words of Reverend Bean, “You are not a mistake. You are God’s creation, made in the image and likeness of The Creator. So, love yourself”, made Frankie realize that she was not a mistake and should not be treated as one just for being different.

Jacques

In the book, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, David struggles to accept his relationship with Giovanni, while in Paris. Character traits are a distinctive, but not necessarily invariable feature exhibited by all individuals of a group and capable of being described or measured. Jacques demonstrates two character traits in this chapter, which is being bold and afraid. Towards the beginning of the chapter, Jacques and Guillaume were in the taxi with Giovanni and David. Jacques and Guillaume, out of disrespect made indecent comments towards people, which lacked any sense of humor.
This was done to provoke and entice Giovanni and David, but they decided to not be perturbed by such boldness and vulgarity. After arriving at the café, Jacques and David engaged in a conversation, where Jacques wanted to play uncle with David. Jacques wanted David to accept his sexual identity, because if he did not he would end up trapped in his own body like how Jacques was. This meant that Jacques was afraid to tell people who he really was, which was being a gay person.
             Jacques, who is in his early fifties, seemed to be very bold. While in the cab, Jacques and Guillaume would exchange thoughts upon every male that would cross their path. This gave me the impression that he would speak his mind no matter who was around him or how it would affect people surrounding him. Jacques, a long time ago, worked in Les Halles, which was something he would never do again. As they were passing by, he would talk about it with such sadness. This showed that he mocked himself in a dramatic way. He gave the impression of always wanting to over exaggerate when it was convenient to him.
            A value is defined as something people cherish and have relative worth, merit, or importance in. Jacques values companionship and honesty. While he was talking to David, Jacques wanted David to realize that Giovanni was fond of him, which caused David to question whether it was due to their friendship or to a love affair. Jacques wanted David to love Giovanni, because Jacques wanted him to not be ashamed and not play it safe when it came to his happiness of being with Giovanni. Giovanni’s relationship with Jacques on the other hand was kind of uncomfortable. While they were in the cab, Jacques had asked Giovanni where he lived, which was a maid’s room. Before Jacques even knew where he lived he assumed he lived in a hotel, which caused a sort of awkwardness due to the fact of him not being well-off. 
            Jacques stated,” somebody should have told us that not many people have ever died of love. But multitudes have perished, and are perishing every hour-and in the oddest places!-for the lack of it (Baldwin, 58).” Jacques did not want David to be like him, which would be hiding from his sexual identity.



Louisiana 1850


The Gilda Stories, a novel by Jewelle Gomez, embarks us on a journey of Gilda’s life as she travels through time and leads multiple lives. Throughout her lives, Gilda is a woman of African descent with strong feminist traits. She has a sense of loyalty to her friends and family, both mortal and immortal. The first chapter of the novel, which has five scenes, describes her first life. She is a runaway slave in Louisiana in 1850, not yet a vampire, not yet named, who stabs a rapist in self-defense. Rescued and adopted by Gilda, a vampire who runs a brothel, she soon becomes a vampire herself and adopts Gilda's name.
            In scene one, Gilda stumbled upon the Girl in the root cellar of her small farmhouse on the road outside of New Orleans in 1850. The Girl had been crying heartily out of fear, because she could not distinguish whether she was in a dream or if this was really happening to her. She had stabbed the rapist with a wooden-handled knife in the chest and could feel his blood leaving his body. Once, Gilda found her she than took her to her Brothel, which was named Woodard Place. Gilda ran Woodard Place for fifteen years, but had Bird to help her manage it. Bird was a Lakota Indian, who wore adorned dresses and had thin strips of leather beading or quill braided in her hair or sewn onto her dresses. As Gilda was getting everything settled in the room for the Girl, Macey had brought in a tray of food, but kept glancing over her shoulder to look at the thin black girl with the African look. Macey did not live in the house, but mostly dealt with Bernice, who was the cook, and with Bird. She had no belief in voodoo magic and barely held on to her Catholicism. During this whole time the Girl had kept thinking about how far the plantation was, who Gilda was, and how she could get away from her. For Gilda, looking at the Girl reminded her of Bird when she had returned from her visit to her people, the Lakota. Gilda was able to see into the Girl’s mind and the Girl could see into Gilda’s mind as well. When the night grew near, Gilda and Bird lay side by side, which permeated their day of rest.
            In scene two, during the few months at Woodard’s, the Girl kept to herself and did all the chores she was directed to in the house. While the girls would eat around the kitchen table, she would listen to their conversations. Fanny, who was opinionated and a very vinegary person, would always argue with Rachel, who had a way with her words and was full of ambition. Gilda and Bird would sit with them occasionally to tell stories and laugh just the same as Bernice, who was the dark, wary cook. Rose, kind to a fault, Minta, the youngest, and Sarah, the appeaser would also join in. They would talk about debate topics only spoken of by men, which were on politics and economics. Gilda’s house was run with brisk efficiency. Since Bird managed there every day affairs, she decided to teach the Girl how to read. Bird enjoyed the lessons as much as her evenings spent with Gilda, since there time together had grown less frequent. With the Girl’s presence Bird had noticed that Gilda was more relaxed, but talked of the true death and how soon her time might come. At that point all Bird wanted to do was find their share of the blood together when night fall came.
            In scene three, throughout the Girl’s third year at Woodard’s, she had grown three inches and had the rounded calves and breasts of a woman. Minta was only two years older than the Girl, who was about seventeen years old. She carried herself as if she had always lived in a brothel and would accompany the Girl in the garden. Just before Minta’s twentieth birthday, Rachel, who was closest to Minta, left for California hoping to start a fresh life and find a husband. The Girl during the party engaged in a conversation with the man, but felt a sense of uneasiness, because she was wary of white men asking questions. The man had begun to touch her inappropriately wanting her to have sex with him. Gilda had walked in and told him to ask one of the other girls, but he kept insisting to have his way with the Girl. Gilda was flushed with anger, but the lessons Sorel taught them of an enduring power that did not feed on death came into play. She remembered that her love for Bird fed her and allowed her to finally lay down in the sea and give up her life.
            In scene four, on a soft light fall afternoon, the Girl worked in the garden as she had done for years. Minta had joined her that afternoon. While in the garden, the Girl out of curiosity asked Minta how long she had been living at the brothel. Minta could not quite remember how long, but said that she had been saving her money in order to move to the west with Rachel. The Girl also asked about Bird. She had already left once, but she came back quickly, because she was not welcome back home. Since Minta had been saving money, she advised the Girl to do the same, but the Girl considered it her home and would not leave under any circumstances. The girl made it clear that her life was with Miss Gilda and Bird.
            In scene five, on an evening after going to the farmhouse, while taking a trip to see Sorel, Gilda kept pondering over whether she could leave Bird without others like herself in the world. The Girl did not know why they included her on the trip to the farmhouse. On the way there Gilda asked the Girl what she remembered about her family. She remembered Minerva, who was small and full of energy and questionable, Florine, who was two years older than the girl and unable to meet anyone’s eyes, and Martha, who was the oldest and broad-shouldered like their mother, but more solemn. After learning about the Girl’s family, Gilda wanted the Girl to become her daughter, as well as Bird’s. She put her in a trance and the Girl felt sharpness in her neck and heard the soothing song. Gilda had told the Girl that Bird would return soon to complete the circle. Once it was complete, the Girl became a vampire herself and drifting away into the night with her parents, Bird and Gilda in order to learn their ways of living.