Formation of Identity in Toni Morrison’s African-American Fictional Characters

Many of Toni Morrison’s African-American characters attempt to change their circumstances either by embracing the white culture that surrounds them or by denying it. In this article the researcher explores several ways in which the characters do just that—either embrace or deny the white culture’s right to dominion over them. This discussion is, of course, a slippery slope in that both cultures’ histories are for better or worse inextricably linked. But the following questions seem to remain for Morrison’s characters: From what angle and in what way should this problem be attacked? If the characters decide to turn their backs entirely on the white culture are they unrealistic idealists, and if they decide to embrace the white culture are they betraying their own cultural identity? Finally, is there perhaps some middle-ground between these two extremes? Morrison’s novels are about the politics of social structure. How living spaces can shape her characters’ personas is a question central to her novels. Her novels also question how the construction of identity is influenced by the types of clothing her characters wear. The central question appears to be whether or not the African-American characters’ homes and clothing should reflect the white culture. Some of her characters fight to be different. They build or live in houses that are strange or different. They wear loose and ragged clothing that is not respectable. Some of the women shave their heads. They repurpose rooms and make cellars into bedrooms. They wear glamorous flashy clothing—clothing that calls attention to precisely what they are: African-American women. Fundamentally, the characters react to the pressures put on them by the white community in one of two ways: they either given in to or fight the influence of the dominant culture. Some of Morrison’s characters attempt to exert some control over their own lives by controlling and organizing objects—sometimes objects as small and seemingly in significant as cans of food, but these small objects are far from insignificant in characters’ lives. These tiny objects symbolize the characters’ desires for cultural autonomy, and they function as talismans for the characters, helping them to channel their discontent into something tangible. These objects facilitate change. Some of her characters are unable to deal with the pressures put on them by both the white and the African-American communities. These characters, hungry and desperate for fellowship and equity, turn on and fight with other characters within their own African-American communities. Their displaced anger causes a chain reaction which eventually affects entire communities. Morrison’s novels suggest that this displaced anger should be redirected and turned outward towards the dominant white culture that serves as the African-American culture’s oppressor. Some of Morrison’s characters not only survive but seem to thrive in the worlds of her novels. Interestingly these are the characters that make the biggest cultural compromises. They exist with their feet in both the African-American world and the white world. Somehow they inhabit a middle ground between the two extremes, and though Morrison and her novels seem uneasy with the characters that refuse to choose between the two worlds, it is an unavoidable fact that they are the individuals who prosper in her novels. Morrison seems to be asserting that for better or worse these characters are to be the inheritors of the African-American race’s future.Keywords: Tony Morrison; Formation of identit

Violence in Selected Fiction of Oates : A Zizekian Reading

Oates works have been analyzed in the light of violent literature all around the world; however, they are not scruntizied on account of Žižek’s outstanding ideas. Carrying out extensive research, the researcher highlights the positive outcome of  Žižek’s “subjective violence”, “objective violence”, and “systemic violence” (Violence 2) in Oates’ Blonde, Black Water and Rape: A love story.This article argues that the common meaning of violence which according to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is “actions or words are intended to hurt people” is not holistically true about the violence portrayed by Oates in her fiction. She depicts that the violence can save one’s life. The reserach presents the idea that outcome of violence can be a means of success in Oates’ stories. Oates’ optimistic view toward violence and positive effects of violence in the life oppressed characters are presented in this article. The writer of this article has made an attempt to attest positive aftermath of violence and to highlight different sorts of violence in Oates’ fiction by referring to aforementioned Žižek’s ideas on violence. Oates has unfolded “symbolic violence”, “objective violence” and “systemic violence” by illuminating violent language and terror which are held by parents, spouse or friends. Furthermore, Oates foregrounds human’s capability of adapting to new situations to create new identity to cope with difficulties

Basil Bunting’s Objectivist Perspective in Poetry and Musical Association

Basil Bunting, British poet, is one of the rare great modernists who have not been given their due or properly studied. An understanding of his work will help us understand modernism more appropriately. Reference will also be made to opponents who put sight and visuality over and above everything else in man’s effort to acquire knowledge of this world in general. The researchers in this article seek to achieve two goals in this paper. The first or the main goal is to consider the Modern English poet Basil Bunting’s Objectivist roots according to Mitchell’s paper in 2008. The second goal, which naturally emerges from the first one is to present sound play from Bunting’s own view and define them, regarding to Schott’s contributions in 2003, in a part of his long poem, Briggflatts, which lead to the kind of Aural and visual dancing. Then we will conclude , as Bunting mentions more and more, poetry is only its sound. Key words: Bunting; Objectivism; Poetry; Sound; Visuality; Aurality Résumé: Basil Bunting, poète britannique, est l'un des rares grands modernistes qui n'ont pas reçu leur dû ou n'ont pas été bien étudiés. Une bonne compréhension de son travail nous aidera à comprendre le modernisme de façon plus appropriée. Des références seront également faits pour des opposants qui ont mis la vue et la visualité au-delà de tout le reste de l'effort de l'homme d'acquérir des connaissances de ce monde en général. Les chercheurs de cet article visent à atteindre deux objectifs dans le présent document. Le premier ou le principal but est d'examiner les racines objectivistes du poète moderne anglais Basil Bunting selon le document de Mitchell en 2008. Le deuxième objectif, qui découle naturellement du première objectif est de présenter diffuser un show sonore du point de vue personnel de Bunting et les définir, en se référençant aux contributions de Schott en 2003, dans une partie de son poème long, Briggflatts, qui conduit à une sorte de bande sonore et de danse visuelle. Ensuite, nous allons conclure que, comme Bunting mentionne de plus en plus, la poésie est seulement le son. Mots-clés: Bunting; Objectivisme; PoÉSie; Son; VisualitÉ; Auriculair

The Effect of Teacher-Centeredness Method vs. Learner-Centeredness Method on Reading Comprehension among Iranian EFL Learners

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect of teacher-centered method versus learner-centered method on reading comprehension of the Iranian EFL learners. In order to do the current research, 120 Iranian EFL learners were selected from Mehrvarz Language Institute located in Tehran, Iran. In order to conduct the research, some steps were taken-administration of the QOPT, administration of the (pretest), the research treatment and administration of the posttest. To analyze the raw data of the research, independent samples t-test by the use of SPSS was applied for inferential statistics. The results revealed that learner-centered and teacher-centered groups had positive results on the improvement of Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension performance. However, it was concluded that learner-centered instruction was more effective than teacher-centered instruction in improving Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension performance. The findings of the present study may be beneficial for materials developers in designing syllabi that are more adaptable with those learner-centered method which help language learners to use language communicatively

Black Holes in the Space of Literature: Gravitational Spacetime Singularities Applied to Maurice Blanchot’s Fictionality Face-to-Face with the Mystery of the Other

This article investigates and substantiates how Maurice Blanchot’s novels and récits collapse under their own gravity or in Blanchot’s words under “the gravity of one single word,” to form spacetime singularities/Neuters in the space of literature, where conception of the classical Einsteinian nonquantum spacetime continuum breaks down and where Hawking-Penrose theorems of spacetime singularities supersede; even though this supersedure entails General Theory of Relativity as its substratum. While spatiotemporal issues in Blanchot’s fictionality have to do with classical spacetime continuum and curvature, with establishing their legitimation through responsible and ethical relation with other persons as the only certain foothold to get at the authentic essence of time under the tutorship of Emmanuel Levinas, they are on the other hand subsisting on quantum theories engaged with the mystery of the Other whose wishful authenticity seems infinite, uncertain, and ungraspable ad infinitum. This is where this twofold Otherness having been dragging and spaghettificating itself from the beginning of time towards its end; that is, from the Big Bang to the Big Crunch, does emerge “to find the temporal transcendence of the present toward the mystery of the future” as Levinas asserts, so as to actualize our “horizontal escape” towards an infinite ecstasy face-to-face with “the Other that is time.

Covert Order in the ‘Audrey Niffenegger Set’: Chaos Theory in the Content and Structure of The Time Traveler’s Wife

This paper focuses on the subject of N. Katherine Hayles’s complex forms in Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife as a postmodern work. In 2003, Niffenegger published her famous novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife. The novel is a romance and science fiction which tells the love story of Henry DeTamble – a time traveler – and his artist wife, Clare Anne Abshire – who has to deal with his absence and dangerous experiences. Since it is the complexity of Henry’s mind which causes him to time travel unwillingly and appear in different time and places, the main questions of this research are to what extent the complexity of Henry and Clare’s mind leads them to different apprehensions about the world around themselves and how it defines the characteristics of individuals in 21th century. To answer these questions, N. Katherine Hayles’s Chaos theory in literature can be applicable. Hayles believes that complex form (of human mind) is one of the main characteristics of chaotic systems which does not allow the subject to have certainty and authority over his actions and leads to multiple recognitions of an individual’s identity. One of the major findings of this research is that different and apparently unrelated events in man’s life can affect and in some cases change the perspectives of human beings toward the way man used to see the world

Relationship between Celiac Disease and Refractory Idiopathic Epilepsy in Children

ObjectiveEpilepsy occurs with a yearly incidence of 40 per 100,000 children, of which more than 25% are resistant to drug therapy. Epilepsy may occur in autoimmunediseases like lupus, celiac disease and myasthenia gravis. In this study, therelationship between celiac disease and refractory epilepsy was evaluated inchildren with idiopathic epilepsy.Material & MethodsHundred-fifty-five children (mean age, 6.7±3.3 years) with idiopathic andcryptogenic epilepsy referred to the neurology clinic were studied in two groups;drug controlled epilepsy (control, 82 patients) and refractory epilepsy groups(case, 73 patients). Both groups underwent serological tissue transglutaminaseantibody measurement by ELISA. In seropositive cases, small intestine biopsywas conducted. Data analysis was performed using student's t test and 2 test.ResultsSeven (0.04%) patients had celiac disease based on a positive tissuetransglutaminase antibody and three patients (0.01%) based on a positive biopsy.Three patients (2.4%) with drug controlled epilepsy (control group) and fivewith refractory epilepsy (case group) had seropositive celiac disease (p=0.255).In the biopsy survey of six seropositive patients, one patient (1.2%) in the drugcontrolled epilepsy and two patients (2.7%) in the refractory epilepsy group hadpositive biopsy for celiac disease (p = 0.604). One seropositive patient did notcooperate for biopsy.ConclusionIf the relationship between celiac disease and epilepsy, especially in casesof symptomatic or oligosymptomatic celiac is proved, using gluten freediet increases the ability to control epilepsy particularly in refractory cases.We suggest celiac disease survey is not required in patients with idiopathicepilepsy