Becoming Someone Else--a Psychologist's Viewpoint

"Stories written in the first-person can temporarily transform the way readers view the world, themselves and other social groups."

Ever wondered how movies and books drag you in? How you emotionally connect with villains, such as Loki, Saint Dane, or Voldemort, when in real life you wouldn't kick a kitten? Researchers from Ohio State University have been looking at "experience-taking," or what readers get out of books. The idea is to make readers think outside of themselves and literally become someone else, so that they can share experiences and look outside of their own life to understand other people's lives. This article doesn't promise all of the answers for how and why we fall in love with certain characters, but it's certainly going to start up the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry.

Go State!

Losing Sight of the Original Idea: Pam Bachorz's "Drought."

My first grievance with this week’s book was that I totally did not understand the plot line. From the title, Drought, I got it into my head that I was going to read about a world where there was no rain, and that the main characters foraged for it. This is not the case. And by the time I wrapped my head around the real plot—that this is a book about a religious cult starring a girl whose blood can heal wounds and grant you almost-eternal life—the author’s subplot careened off course and became the main plot line. 

Since 1812, this Congregation has been living in the Adirondack foothills, scavenging for water. Before 1812, a woman named Sula met a man named Otto, whose blood had magical qualities. Sula fell in love with Otto, and the two formed a religion of sorts, gathering in believers. Of course, America in1812 was not tolerant of Otto’s claims to fame. Otto runs away, leaving his Congregation, and a pregnant Sula, behind.

When Ruby is born, a man named Darwin West has virtually enslaved the Congregation, forcing them to collect water, which he believes holds the key to immortal life. It is, although no one knows it but Sula and the Elder’s, Ruby’s blood that gives the Water its life-giving qualities. 

And then one day, an Overseer comes to monitor the Congregation. Unlike the other Overseers, he is kind, and gentle, and very attractive to Ruby…

This was not the book that was advertised, and not the book that I believe the author, Pam Bachorz, wanted to write. 

To put what I mean into perspective, we need to take a quick look at Pam Bachorz’s other book, Candor.

Candor is a place where everyone is brainwashed with mind messages, and the main character, Oscar, manages to find a way to negate them. Oscar even manages to make some profit rescuing teenagers from the subliminal messages and getting them out of Florida. However, his life is turned upside down when a girl shows up in the city of Candor…

The common thread between both books is brainwashing. Ruby, the main character in Drought, is brainwashed into believing that her Congregation’s Christ-like figure will come back and rescue her people from slavery. Ford, her lover, is brainwashed into thinking that Jesus is the only person whose blood has supernatural entities. They’re all brainwashed, the same way that Candor was brainwashed into following subliminal messages. These are books about power, these are books about control, and these are books on how your mind can be a prison. 

However, you have a very hard time guessing that. 

Everything needed to make this book good is there. Sula is abusive towards her daughter, seeing her as less holy than Otto, even though they share the same blood, with the same qualities. Ruby is just a commodity to Sula, whose blood will hold the Congregation until Otto can come back and save them from Darwin West. Her mind is trapped by a dangerous belief, that it is Otto who saves, and Otto who will return, and she is so convinced of this she is willing to deny her own daughter. 

An interesting parallel to this is Pam Bachorz’s insistence on making Ford, Ruby’s lover, a Catholic. This is a detail that is not necessary at all in the story. In fact, it’s downright annoying, to have a love scene, followed by Ford asserting that only Christ’s blood is holy, and Ruby is sinning, but oh, isn’t Ruby so sexy…?

With some tweaking, Bachorz could have made this an interesting comparison. The Congregation believes Otto Saves, and Otto Will Return. Christians believe that Christ saves, and Christ Will Return. What is the difference between a Cult and a Religion? Is there a difference at all? 

I kept waiting for Pam Bachorz to make these connections, or even subtly make the reader connect the dots for herself, but she didn’t. The only reason I caught this at all is because I myself am Roman Catholic, and her portrayal of Ford as a Roman Catholic irked me (because he was doing it wrong!). 

In fact, once Ford and Ruby start to get romantically involved, the plot dies. All Ruby wants to do is run away with him, at one point even abandoning her very sick mother to spend the night with him at the movies. As the reader, I was appalled by Ruby’s behavior, and could not understand how she could leave her mother. 

Everything that this book could have been is distorted by Ford and Ruby’s romantic entanglement. Ruby forsakes her Congregation, herself, and her ideas to be with him, and the way Pam Bachorz words it, Ruby appears to leave the Congregation more to be with Ford than to look for Otto. By the way the book ends, I would guess Bachorz is planning a sequel, but I have no idea how she is going to pull that off. The reader still has no idea where Otto is hiding, and all I can imagine Ruby doing in the outside world is eating and making love to Ford. 

Ruby is in no way the strong character that Pam Bachorz hoped for, and her writing left me very dissatisfied. She was unable to tell the story she really wanted to tell, penning instead a watery, unsteady version of the novel this could have been. This is the greatest disappointment for me. When a writer is unable to write the story she meant to tell, that is a sure sign that she has failed.

Bookworms Taking Action

I recently read an interesting news article about a group of women who live in West Vancouver, Canada. About eight years ago they started a book club—and I applaud them for this—that met once a week. (The best my life offers me is a writing group meeting once every month, and when my Pen meetings roll around, I attack them as if I’ve been lost in the Sahara for a year without water or books to read and I have finally been offered a gourmet feast of pepperoni pizza and retellings of Greek legends. That is to say, I live for them.) 

This book club wasn’t like most books clubs I’ve heard about, either. Instead of focusing on Jane Austen or classics or getting into 50 Shades of Grey, they read books about empowerment. About civil rights and social justice. And they started to react to what it was they were reading. These women started to volunteer abroad and at home. And still they wondered, Are we doing enough? 

Then they read Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof’s book, Half the Sky. 

I had to read Half the Sky for class, as well as write a book review on it, and as a college student, it did not hit me as much as it did for these women. Even though I love and respect Kristof and his writings, and as a female these issues are very important to me, this book did not make me happy. Instead, it made me learn more than I ever really wanted to know about C-Sections, and how in Africa it is apparently normal for your doctor to pull out your uterus, like a huge bubble-gum bubble, and cut it open to extract the baby. 

Not what your average girl needs to be learning about. I think my next book will be entitled: Abstinence, Forever. 

But I realize I am basically disparaging this book, and not giving it credit where it is due. 

Here’s the thing: everything in Half the Sky is true and deeply impacting. When these women read it, they knew that what Kristof and WuDunn were trying to say did not end on the last page. So they held an event, raffling off goods such as a Cameron Diaz’ outfit, to raise money for and speak out against trafficking and domestic abuse. 

I applaud these ladies. They are amazing role models, and really care about the people who live on this planet. They did exactly what I wished I could have done after reading Half the Sky, and I commend them for it. They took their vision and made it a reality.

The next step is to get the word out about women’s empowerment and how YOU can help. Read the article. Read Kristof and WuDunn’s book. And tell your friends, too. We all can’t do what the “Real Housewives of West Vancouver,” did, but we can at least spread the word. 

Some links (and books!) I recommend:  

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ This webpage is due to officially open...basically, any given second this month. It's an expansion of the book, and as a bonus, it will send you e-mail uploads! 

http://www.unicef.org/ the website of a United Nations group that works on promoting education and health to children all over the world.

 http://www.girlup.org/
Girl Up is one of my favorite organizations out there. It's bright, it's catchy, it has a clothes line, it does everything your average kind of selfish college student really likes. They also upload music videos and take your e-mail address, for information on the go.

 http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ 
I'm sure you've heard about all of the Invisible Children controversy that has been floating around there. Yes, Jason Russell acted like an asshat and put his case in the toilet. But I for one have been following the Jason Russell saga for a very long time--and my friends have been keeping up with him since his first horrifying documentary. He has a lot to say, and it would be a shame to count his company out because their leader had a Human Moment.

Caroline Moorhead's book, Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees, that looks at why people are forced to leave their homes. This is more of a social aspect that women's empowerment, but it gives the same effect--we are all human, and deserve to be treated with basic dignity and rights.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel. While this book is controversial for attacking the Islamic faith, this book does--I believe accurately--portray female genital cutting/mutilation and other hardships women face in Somalia and poorer regions of the world.

Jean P. Sasson's book, Princess, which also takes a look at women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

And if none of these books are enough, your normal philosophers and Saul Alinsky will guide you further in your quest for equality and empowerment. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Short Story Month

So May is Short Story Month, and I have compiled a list of some of my favorite short stories for you to enjoy. I have not included novellas. Novellas are a different month entirely. (Okay, not really. That is a complete lie. But there should be. Novellas are amazing but nobody gives them enough credit. But that is a rant for ANOTHER DAY!) 

 

Tales for Stormy Nights

Let’s start off with ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE AUTHORS, EVER. Ever. His name is Oscar Wilde. The short “etching” is called “A Sphinx Without a Secret.” It is both highly satirical and deeply accurate. 

“A Rose For Emily,” by William Faulkner, is good to give you the willies. Faulkner is generally very confusing (anyone who has tried to read “As I Lay Dying,” will know this) primarily because of his skill is juggling upwards of thirteen characters. “A Rose For Emily,” is blissfully easy to read, but harder to wrap your brain around. 

While we’re still on the subject of WILLIES, it would never do to ignore Edgar Allan Poe. He has written numerous favorites of mine, such as “The Masque of the RedDeath,” “Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House ofUsher,” and “The Black Cat.” If Faulker can’t get you freaked out, Poe can. 

Of course, Poe has written more than just scary stories. As I recall, he has written several “satirical,” portraits as well. But they’re not as fun to read, and I find it hard to believe Poe was really enjoying himself while writing them.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Irving, is a classic American scary story. It’s not as scary as some of the modern movies, but hey. The originals are always best, right? 

Here’s my last creeper: “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Ladies, it can get worse after the baby is already out; this story testifies to it. But it’s not just a horror story for women. Men too can quake at how one woman undergoes a mental breakdown. 

The Dystopian Craze

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr’s “Harrison Bergeron,” follows in my new favorite trend: dystopias. Many of you have probably read it in one or another high school English course. Try reading it again. It’s better than my 11^th grade teacher gave it credit for. 

Still on the dystopia subject, Ursula LeGuin is not just famous for her fantasies and science fictions. She wrote, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” a highly intriguing look at the cost of a truly Utopian society. (Leading me to the question: Is there such a thing as a Utopia?) 

And, of course, no dystopian selection is complete without “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson.

Women Writing for Women

Do we have any feminists in the house? Then Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” is a must read. Short and deep, it’s another short story that most of you have probably read in high school. Go back to it. Read it aloud. Let the words sink over you. It’s just the story of an hour—and hearts can be won and lost so quickly in that short span of time. 

War Stories

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” is probably one of my favorites. It’s by a Civil war journalist named Ambrose Pierce, who went missing in Mexico at the age of 71. 

Pierce just reminded me of Tim O’Brien, and “The Things They Carried.” It’s another war story, from a different era. 

Romances

Bringing up Oscar Wilde again, “The Nightingale and the Rose,” is one of the saddest and sweetest (and most depressing…wait…isn’t ‘saddest’ just a euphemism for ‘depressing’?) stories EVER. And I mean EVER. I’m still crying about it years after reading it. 

And while I have never read this one myself, “Brokeback Mountain,” was apparently once a short story by Annie Proulx. 

Classics

Joyce. “Dubliners.” More need not be said. 

Bringing up Irving again, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” and “Rip Van Winkle,” cannot be underestimated. America has so few folk legends of their own; we owe Irving. Big time. Therefore I must urge you: READ HIS STUFF. 

I hope that I've given you some short story ideas. Feel free to comment with short stories of your own--I realize that my "Romance" and "Women's Lit" sections are a little on the undernourished side. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL MAY--AND READ A SHORT STORY!  

 

Battle Hymn of the Not-Quite-So-Vicious Mother

This week I finally got around to reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua. It seems to me that everyone has been regressing to their chimpanzee roots over this book, especially because my (secretly evil) Japanese professor created a class especially to compare Western and Eastern cultures, using Chua’s story as the textbook, and my amazingly wonderful perfect Writing professor gave us about three New York Times and Times articles to read that picked this book to death. 

Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is. 

Yes, Chua threatened to burn all of her daughter’s stuffed animals. And yes, she frequently acted like an ostentatious asshat. 

However

is there really a parent out there who has never threatened to throw away all of their children’s toys? My mother certainly threatened me with that time and time again. 

“If you don’t clean your room I will break out the garbage bags and you can say GOOD-BYE TO ALL OF YOUR STUFFED ANIMALS.” 

My mother would say this kind of thing to me all the time. I was also eerily reminded of my childhood in this particular scene: 

“I need a haircut,” Lulu said one day.

I replied, “After you spoke to me so rudely…you expect me to get in the car now and drive you where you want?”

“Why do I have to bargain for everything?” Lulu asked bitterly.

That night…Lulu locked herself in her room. Much later…I went to see her and found her sitting calmly on her bed.

Lulu had taken a pair of scissors and cut her own hair. 

My mother used my hair as a threat, too.  “If you don’t put your dishes away I’M CUTTING YOUR HAIR.” 

I was always particularly vain about my hair, which hung around my hips for most of my life. For me, this was a threat. For Lulu, it was a dare. 

For the most part, I was less exasperated with Chua’s parenting style and more annoyed at calling it the “Chinese style.” While in the beginning she acknowledged that she has seen Westerners act like Chinese parents, I still have no real idea of where she came up with her model. Her own parents and siblings often tell her to shut the hell up, and if Chua refuses to listen to the wisdom of her own parents, who are immigrants, and therefore profoundly Chinese (maybe even more than she is!), then I wonder how she can call this system anything but “The Amy Chua Perfectionist System.” 

However, we know from the very beginning of the book that Chua is going to change her tune—at least a little bit. The subtitle of Tiger Mother reads, How I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old. It is obvious by page one that no matter what you think of Amy Chua’s parenting system, karma is coming for her. 

Despite karma and controversy, Chua does have a point with Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. American parents are letting their children get out of hand. While Chua does not answer this problem with a definitive or even acceptable solution for how to parent in the 21^st century, she at least addresses the issue. American parents are trying too hard to be their child’s friend, or worse, spending too much time on themselves and completely ignoring their child. 

Chua writes how sometimes she longed to jet off to California with her girlfriends for a spa weekend, but she knew her children must always come first. This is an admirable attitude, if a little out of proportion. Having children should not have to equal the death of the self. This is where parenting can get tricky. 

If you look at the grade school kids in America today, they are rebellious, disobedient, and uneducated. This is the fault of the parents who fail to instill in their children courtesy, proper respect, and a love of education. By caring too much or too little, these children grow up as spoiled rotten brats—and who knows what they will do when they’re grown up? 

What I admired most about Chua was how she was not afraid to be hated by them or take the blame. She did what she felt was best for them—even if she took it too far. And I think that it is important to remember that although verbally she was abusive, she was never physically abusive towards either of her daughters. Not once in the book does she mention doing more than spanking the child, and when she tried to kick her youngest daughter Lulu out of the house in the middle of winter, she immediately recoiled and coaxed her daughter back inside, where she got a warm bath and a cup of hot chocolate. 

And as for all of the shouting, look where it got Sophia and Lulu--Sophia went to Carnegie Hall to perform, and their parents took them all over the world. I wish that someone had taken me to Saint Petersburg when I was younger.

 Parents should be more willing to take the risk of being hated by their child if it means they will grow up to be a good person and admirable citizen--(or, to use my mother's words, "well rounded"). Chua’s daughters are shown to be generally very respectful, well-educated, and dedicated, which would show that Chua is not wrong for persisting in her unique parenting techniques. 

My mother has done things I wish she hadn’t, and we have had battles I wish we would not have. But never for one second did I entertain the notion that she was doing these things to hurt me, or because she did not love me. Lulu and Sophia, Chua’s children, seem to share this sentiment. 

Was Chua frequently out of line? YES. 

Is she ostentatious and self-glorifying? YES.

Is she completely wrong here? 

I would have to answer that with an I don’t think so.