Saturday, June 6, 2020
How Meaning, Hostility, and Identity Are Presented in The Window by Mary Jean Chan - Literature Essay Samples
In The Window, Chan presents a speaker responding to her motherââ¬â¢s disrespect for her sexual queerness not with anger but with an admirable grace. Through the metaphor of a ââ¬Ëwindowââ¬â¢, Chan reveals a realm of concepts that the mother- and by extension, all those homophobic- might open their mind to. Nonetheless, despite her efforts to encourage her mother to envisage such ideals, it becomes clear that the speakerââ¬â¢s identity is irrevocably harmed by her motherââ¬â¢s hostile attitudes. The poemââ¬â¢s subject of sexual queerness- and the hostile attitudes attached to it- is handled with a tentative and often gentle voice that urges the reader to re-consider outdated views concerning sexuality and gender. The poem is written in a free-verse form, used to represent the flexibility of gender identity in the modern age, and this, paired with Chunââ¬â¢s constant application of enjambment, encourages the reader to open their mind to concepts unfamiliar and alien. The poem is closeted by reference to the setting detail of an ââ¬Ëopen windowââ¬â¢ in both the opening and closing lines, which offers hope for a future in which the mother can escape her resentment of her daughterââ¬â¢s sexuality and ââ¬Ëopenââ¬â¢ her mind to collude with, or at least emphasise with, her daughterââ¬â¢s liberal attitudes concerning sexuality. Chan claims that the daughter will declare herself ââ¬Ëgenderless as hawk or sparrowââ¬â¢, and here the traditional animalisti c emblem of liberty is used perhaps to highlight the daughters desires to escape her motherââ¬â¢s outdated ideals into a world shaped by her own views. The image of a ââ¬Ësparrowââ¬â¢ may bring to mind the traditional folk rhyme concerning the capacity of sparrows to evoke certain changes in fortune (ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦one for sorrow, two for joyâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬â¢) which might suggest that the daughterââ¬â¢s freedom in her sexual identity has the capacity to cause both joys or deep pain. Nonetheless, the powerful image of a ââ¬Ëhawkââ¬â¢ used to emphasise strength and potency is testament to the daughterââ¬â¢s strength of will in that the ways in which her sexuality affects her personal life will be utterly within her powers to alter and control. The strength of the ââ¬Ëhawkââ¬â¢ is perhaps counteracted by the strength of ââ¬Ëthe heaviest of stones.ââ¬â¢, used as a simile to describe the motherââ¬â¢s tongue that speaks with firm discontent concerning the sexual orientation of her child. This, especially when reinforced through use of caesura is indicative of the motherââ¬â¢s willpower in suppressing her daughterââ¬â¢s sexuality, with the reformulation of adjective ââ¬Ëheavyââ¬â¢ in diction ââ¬Ëheaviestââ¬â¢ highlighting the motherââ¬â¢s unwillingness to alter her pejorative perspective concerning queerness. Nonetheless, the frequent stream of narrative distinguished by the enjambments that characterise every line of the po em suggest that the daughter will be able to prosper with liberty in spite of her motherââ¬â¢s attempts to extinguish her sexual flourishing. The poem closes in suggestion that the mother may ââ¬Ëreconsider at the slightest touch of graceââ¬â¢. The sharp narrative transition from descriptions of ââ¬Ërageââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëangerââ¬â¢ to that of ââ¬Ëgraceââ¬â¢ structurally mirrors the ways in which simple acts of kindness can cure and quell personal histories of oppression and extreme negative emotion. Highlighting this is Chanââ¬â¢s decision to finalise the poem with use of an end-stop, which elevates the poem into a tone of firm solidarity, offering hope for a future in which the daughter, and by extension all those suffering sexual oppression, will be able to bask in their queerness without fear of scorn or restraint. Despite the eventual tone of hope created by the verse, it is clear that the motherââ¬â¢s scorn of sexual queerness has lead to a damage in her daughterââ¬â¢s mentality that is perhaps irrevocable. Such is demonstrated by the declarative ââ¬Ëdead daughters do not disappointââ¬â¢, with the use of italicised lettering marking the daughterââ¬â¢s trauma as leading her unable to live a normal life due to her differences. Indeed, the patterning of plosive ââ¬Ëdââ¬â¢ in this line create a harsh and relentless tone, reflecting the ways in which the daughter feels she has been emotionally abused for her sexual preferences. There is a second person voice that is maintained throughout the pronoun in the repeated use of personal pronoun ââ¬Ëyouââ¬â¢, which both dares the audience to share the speakerââ¬â¢s emotional pain, whilst also suggests that the speaker must split her sexual identity from her core identity in order to come to terms with her motherââ¬â¢s att itudes. Furthermore, the selection of declaratives which largely shape the mid-section of the stanza suggest that the speakerââ¬â¢s rebuttal of her motherââ¬â¢s harshness does not come naturally, and that she must force herself to defend her own ideals, thus revealing the extent to which the daughter has been at her motherââ¬â¢s mercy for so long. When the speaker describes her ââ¬Ësore kneesââ¬â¢, the message of emotional distraught is concreted as it becomes evident that the motherââ¬â¢s harshness has become so extreme as to affect both the speakerââ¬â¢s mental and physical wellbeing. In The Window, Chan aptly explores both the mental damage yet emotional resilience shaped by years of oppression on a womanââ¬â¢s sexual identity. The poem explores the conflict between a daughterââ¬â¢s liberal views and a motherââ¬â¢s steely scepticism concerning sexual queerness, and ends urging the younger generation to fight outdated ideals with grace and a gentle compassion rather than rekindle the violence of their predecessors.
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