James Joyce's Dubliners: Essay

James Jocye’s Dubliners: Essay

By Armando Ortiz

I learned about James Joyce through a classmate. We were taking the same Biology course at Los Angele City College back in the late 90’s. Just mentioning that seems a bit frightening, since it was almost twenty years ago. We were inside a Salvadoran restaurant, eating pupusas, sharing stories. He’d traveled through Russia and Eastern Europe, enjoyed drawing what he saw, instead of writing. He’d been born in South Korea, and was planning to transfer to UCLA.  Somehow he began to talk about James Joyce’s Ulysses and how it was the best novel he had ever read. Since then I kept coming across Joyce’s name, and more importantly I became somewhat familiar with the book, so while reading Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey I knew that there was some link between those epic stories and Joyce. It took several books and years, tackling several of Pynchon’s novels and reading several of Roberto Bolano’s novels before arriving at Joyce. I’d been challenged by Bolano’s writings, and the interviews that you can see on YouTube, so I made it a point to finally read Joyce. Ever since then I’ve read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and more recently Dubliners. This essay will mainly be on Dubliners, and will focus on a few themes presented in Joyce’s collection of short stories.

Dubliners

We live in a time where everything seems to have a quick solution despite the fact that many things require time and energy to maintain, the main one being our bodies which over time deteriorates. If you turn your computer or television on, in less than thirty minutes you will come across advertisements that promote renewed and prolonged virility, natural hair regrowth, more testosterone, Botox, plastic surgery, skin whitening creams and so many other things related to aging and our bodies. For a few years now some have looked into what steroids to take before beginning a bodybuilding workout program so that in a few months they can bulk up and be a completely different person. Different fad diets also claim to have unimaginable results that guarantee healthy but drastic weight loss in just a few weeks. In light of all these promises James Joyce’s Dubliners becomes ever more relevant today than when it was written back one hundred years ago.

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories that contains characters who vary from elderly men to children, and of people who fall in love or are tricked into relationships. These stories all contain their own plots and internal allegories, so it is difficult to explain each one, and doing so would wipe away any chance for future readers discovering for themselves the magic of Joyce’s story telling power. After reading his stories there is a greater awareness of the overall cycle that life offers to every person on this earth. While reading his stories one cannot help to see that what he shares with the readers is relevant and that the themes have much more to do with human nature than anything else. Although some claim that these stories have a nationalist bent he reveals an intimate and human side to these stories. Joyce captures the general social atmosphere of Ireland during the early years of the twentieth century, but it generally serves as a backdrop to the stories that he has to tell about people’s lives and the feelings, thoughts and emotions that they experience.

James Joyce

The first story has a scene where an old man sits relaxing, reflecting on life when he sees some children that most likely cut school. He engages them in conversation, and the generation gap is obvious, but that is the general trend in every society, yet it gives a glimpse into something that rarely happens, except maybe in schools or hospitals. You have an elderly person questioning and talking to youth in a manner that seems almost day to day. Another story has several memorable instances, but only one will be discussed here. There is a party that takes place in a house, and the ladies, all well past their youth, are busy serving people and trying to help out with the dinner party. They are described in such an elegant and lively manner that makes getting older an experience of further maturity, but also of a meaningful expression and engagement with people of all ages. Though the story ends on a different note that will not be discussed here there is a sense within Joyce’s writing that there is a wrestling of ideas and manners of expression with every passing generation. This might be one of his overall themes in all his writings, since most of the novels deal with memory, aging, youth and the generation gap between those that have lived life and those starting their lives. Everyone is trying to claim their right to existence, but it is done in a manner that allows the reader to appreciate the society that they live in. Yet, when you look around today, most of the messages that we get is that aging is bad, and that there are ways to remedy that instead of a message that states that with age comes wisdom, but also further engagement with society.

Dubliners is more relevant today than in the past because it seems that in today’s world there seems to be this desire to sweep the idea of growing, especially in Los Angeles, under the floor and ignore the fact that it is one of the longer and more memory filled times for all people. Aside from the passing of time that everyone has to come to grips, Joyce also focuses on love, and all its different manifestations, from a person using love as a way to get the other person’s money, or making the relationship between mother and father, where love has been slowly vanishing, but commitment to the relationship remains strong it to make a covenant in staying away from deviant behaviors, yet again we have the idea of love and what the other person who is currently committed had experienced previously, things like love and happiness.

Joyce certainly had a knack is capturing these moments in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man where Stephen Dedalus has an amusing conversation with one of the main teachers of the school he attends, and there one sees the struggle between letting the will of youth dictate decisions and the wisdom of will experienced to guide the youth. Along those same lines, in Ulysses Stephen reappears, spending a day in discussion with various people throughout Dublin, ending up in Leopold Bloom’s living room in conversation. Later Mr. and Mrs. Bloom are in bed and the story quickly turns the tables on the reader to take on a different perspective of reality. Finally, Dubliners bring into focus the reality that ultimately our lives are lived individually and our experiences remain only within us, be it a memory of a past moment in time that we cherish and never share with anyone else, even our intimate lovers. However, it is through our interactions with people around us that we end up having our most treasured and cherished memories.

Illustration by Chip Zdarsky

Aldous Huxley's Crome Yellow: Book Review

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”-A. Huxley

Aldous Huxley’s Crome Yellow: Review

By Armando Ortiz

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was born in England and is best known for his novels Brave New World, Point Counter Point, Island, and numerous essays that touch on topics of culture, society, the human body, medicine and religion. At some point in his life he saw his house and everything in it burn to the ground. He continued to write all the way up to his last days. Though he is not widely discussed in our perspective society he’s had a significant impact on the way many of his readers approach life.

In Crome Yellow there is a story that is told by one of his characters where a dwarf ends up inheriting the family house along with the family fortune. What was strange about the dwarf was not his size or the fact that everyone around him was regular sized. It was the manner he went about transforming everything around him to conform to his inner ideals and desires. His parents loved him and gave him the best education that was possible. Then his family began to die, making him think about his life and the legacy, if any, that would be left after he died. The dwarf’s preoccupation with marriage and having children made him start dating, but in his mind stature was a problem. For a time he dated a woman that was of normal height and they got along well, but that still didn’t satisfy him. He didn’t want to live in a world that reminded him of his short stature. So he paid a match maker to go out and look for a woman that was about his height and came from a respectful and decent household.

The matchmaker ends up finding a fair woman who also was also a dwarf, and soon she was brought back to the estate. They soon married and managed to live two years together without having children, since he was preoccupied with the fear of having regular sized kids or worse, dwarf kids. The man of the house went about reducing everything inside to fit their size. The tables and chairs were reduced in height, and the doors and beds as well. He also proceeded to slowly fire his servants and replace them with servant dwarfs. The couple also found ponies to replace the regular horses. By the time their first and only baby son was born the whole mansion and people living there had been transformed.

The baby grew, and by the time he was a few months old they knew he would be a regular sized person. What had kept them from having children in the first place came to be. All the work that they had put into their house thinking that they’d live a dwarf’s life became a bit problematic. Nevertheless, the kid grew and went to school and by the time he was eight years old was as tall as his father. Instead of dealing with the problems the child would face living in a dwarf’s house, the parents decided to send him to boarding school. The kid’s primary and secondary education were spent studying somewhere else, but of course the kid returned home for the holidays and for summer vacation. As time passed, his visits and his attitude grew more and more aggressive towards them. He’d purposely break things and mistreated the dwarf servants. The story continues to unfold and eventually leads to some very unfortunate and sad events, but I will let the reader finish the story themselves.

In the book, Huxley briefly mentions the Nazi, but this short story found in the novel Crome Yellow can be seen as an allegorical allusion to what the Nazi would do in the years to come. The Nazi government and everyone that took part in all the atrocities during World War Two tried to change their society to the extent that they began removing Jews from the general population, then the handicap, then gypsies, then homosexuals, and even then some Jehovah Witnesses. They were moved into ghettos and then into concentration camps to be separate from the German population initiating the attempt at the slow eradication of their populations.

The Nazi believed in a pure and strong race where every German idealized quality that was prized could be seen in its people. Yet, Huxley’s allegory begs a question- what if they would have been successful in their attempts, and they would have cleansed their society of every perceived ill or threat? Would evil and prejudice itself have disappeared from society? What would have become of their society? Would less criminal activity exist? Would prostitution have been eradicated? Would everyone have had equal access to goods and services? Would poverty have been wiped out? Would the violent and mentally ill no longer exist? Would the chronic poor no longer exist? Huxley points to the son that the two dwarves produced and says no. Human beings are too complex to define them as this or that. Yes, there are people that have different cultural backgrounds, but to have the certainty that by ridding society of certain groups of people for the sole reason that they have some marked difference or strange tradition will never be a valid reason to exterminate other humans. Though, of course, history is riddled with such events and not one piece of land on this earth has been immune to this reality. Instead of focusing on the things that mattered in life, the dwarf focused on changing things around him, though he could not control how his own son would grow up to be.

Drawing of Huxley

Trying to alter your surroundings in such a way that it meets your idealized vision of how the world should run will never work. Even today with all the technological advances that we have has proven that humans still need to go out and work, and be active or else they turn into something disturbingly unnatural. One thing remains certain, and that is the randomness and serendipitous nature of life and human nature and the human spirit. Good and evil cannot be walled in or put into an ivory castle because no matter how good a society might be or think it is there will always be an element of evil and deviance in human nature.

Huxley suggests that things ought to be left alone and that we ought to just live life. Living with the aim of being aware of what is going on in our society and being the change we want the world to be. 1921, when he wrote Crome Yellow one could only gather hints as to what would happen in Europe in the next few decades, yet he was able to embed his criticism of society within his writings and look ahead to the oncoming problems.

Metaphorically speaking cannibalism does exist in our societies, and everyday people are being exploited and used for economic and political gain, more specifically undocumented immigrants, the chronic poor and women. The machine continues to churn and devour those whose voice is not heard. In the past, concentration camps segregated certain segments of the community, which in turn were sent to gas chambers and pyres. In Europe, Jews were seen as expendable, and these days its people are deemed illegal aliens and have no rights. There will always be oppressed and ignored people and those in power will try to rid themselves of the unwanted by using force or nowadays the media with its endless entertainment will create a collective stereotype and amnesia of people that lack political and economic power.

In the past, Empires exercised force, and everyone knew the empire was being created at the expense of other societies. In the 20th century empire and conquest began to take a new shape, being that the media became more refined via film, radio, magazines and newspapers. During the first half of that century those in power knew what was going on and Huxley suggested that force and elimination of the unwanted solved nothing.

Roberto Bolano's 2666: Book Review

Roberto Bolano’s 2666: Review

By Armando Ortiz

Introduction:

Roberto Bolano,born in Chile, spent significant time in Mexico with brief visits to Chile and El Salvador before eventually moving to Spain. There he had several odd jobs before having success with writing. In between his travels and writing, Bolano faced addiction but managed to get clean. As a result he managed to create literature that is not your common everyday reading. Instead it's material that makes you think, unblinds and changes your life. 

First and foremost, Bolano’s 2666 is a novel that will leave a lasting impression on your life and conscience, making it a worthwhile read. 2666 explores the search for answers to unsolved murders through the use of symbolic imagery. Additionally, the novel delves into the theme of migration and its impact on individuals. Another significant aspect of the novel is the presence of marginalized characters and their struggles.

Bolano populates his novel with characters from the cultural and societal fringes, taking readers on a journey from Mexico to the U.S. and eventually settling in Europe. Bolano reveals how invisible affect marginalized individuals and lead to collective amnesia, blinding us to what is truly happening in our communities. He does this by telling the story in a dark and gothic manner, as if one were watching a mystery horror movie.

This essay will mainly focus on two themes found in Bolano’s epic novel. I will start first with a short description of some of the various characters that live in the novel and what makes them unique. Then I will move on to a reflection on the world that Bolano paints in his writing where the poor, oppressed and marginalized exist, and make connections to our contemporary society and culture.

Frontier Characters at the Margins:

The novel is riddled with writers of all sorts. Struggling writers that are barely making ends meet, but are publishing books and articles- though in small time publications. Life for these artists is tough, earning low wages and publications are meant for small readerships.

For instance, one of the characters in the novel is professor Morini, a German literature specialist who chairs the academic circle responsible for selecting papers for publication. Although he is a cultural gatekeeper he is drawn to the life of a marginal artist who at one point decides to cut off his hand. This artist does so for shock value and monetary gain.

Another character, Oscar Fate, works for an African American magazine and is forced to delve into Santa Teresas’s criminal underworld. He visits the training compound of a boxer and there finds a fellow African American from Los Angeles who is working as a sparring boxer. They both reminisce on life in Mexico and the US. 

Similarly, Josue Hernandez Mercado, a Chicano character, works for a small community newspaper. The books he's written and published are written in an unorthodox manner, where he code switches from Spanish and English, making him an unconventional writer on the crossroads of two cultural fringes. Despite his unconventional style a small-time literary company from Texas has published two volumes of his poetry and two of his novels. Similarly, we encounter a person who picks up from where Josue left off. Mary-Sue Bravo, is another Chicana writer who works for a small-time newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona.

Furthermore, Lalo Cura is a local from Santa Teresa and is recruited into the police force. The gradual transformation of his life from street kid to police officer is interesting. Lalo has a penchant for learning and at one point begins to independently read books on how to conduct investigations. He begins implementing what he’s been learning, but is quickly discouraged to do so by his boss. Later, Lalo’s life gets further entangled in the mysteries of his city. 

Moreover, these characters are representative of endemic issues around the world. The problems of a society whose marginalized ghetto dwellers are intimately in tune with. They are left to solve their problems with crime and violence. In Bolano’s world this is not possible, because no one attempts to stop the murder of women and the disappearance of males. These characters, despite their unconventional backgrounds, attempt to solve the unknown murders.

Fear, Poverty and Marginalized:

 A broader theme that he deals with is precisely the life of the poor and vagrants. The overlooked are left to fend for themselves and to find some type of concrete solution to their daily survival, which turns into fear of being involved in anything that might jeopardize their lives. Witnesses to crimes prefer to run away to avoid involvement and implication. In Santa Teresa cops and medical help rarely show up on time, preferring to let time pass so as not to have to go through the whole process of questioning people. Though there are crimes and violence happening in Santa Teresa the only attention it gets is from sensationalist magazines or or small time reporters - the marginal publications. 

In relation to the marginalized populations in Santa Teresa, Bolano explores the theme of poverty and the exploitation of marginalized people. Jobs are plentiful in the city, but not enough time for selfcare; pay is minimal at most and delayed. There is a sense that people are able to sustain themselves, but not in the manner that is intended for to further develop socially, communally and culturally. The city experiences a constant influx of people, partly due to its proximity to the US border and the demand for cheap labor. The pull to these centers seems to be a dark force, like a meat grinder, where people end up not by choice nor by chance. In essence, the fictional city of Santa Teresa is representative of the pressures societies living on the margins face. 

Similarly, the German peasants recruited to fight on the Russian front during World War Two are descendants of German peasants who fought in The Great War. In the novel the poor fight the poor in wars, and return to their hometowns maimed. As  handicapped men, attempting to resume their “normal” peasant lives. Just like some of the cops in Santa Teresa, who are drawn into violence regardless how that came to be, come from the chronically poor parts of Mexico. Their allegiances fluctuate between government officials and powerful narcos, who provide them with food, pay and guns to kill or protect them. In the end these cops, like the soldiers of the eastern front, are also powerless. Somehow, we become accomplices to these ills, because we are either blind or have been kept blind. We forget that we might be one step away from being in poverty and homeless. 

Reflection and Conclusion:

The novel connects to my world because it reminds me how to get entertained is easier than staying informed. It is easy to hear about a girl that was kidnapped somewhere in the Midwest, yet remain blind to numerous women disappearing in Native American Reservations. There are those that do look at the grimy and overlooked side of life, but they are few and their voices have yet to reach the ears of the general population. Bolano becomes the shaman who points at how there is no spiritual or moral starvation, but there is a general malnourishment in society. As long as humans walk this earth the greatest concern and fear is not what might become of us, but of what we are now and have been for centuries doing to each other. 

Bolano created characters that in real life might get overlooked and live in the fringes. He focuses on how our surroundings and the margins of society are affected by external forces. It is either society or the powers that be that create a collective amnesia, blinding us to what occurs in our communities. A meaningful existence that has ritual and meaningful connection is missing, and maybe has been its inception. 

Bolano exposes the ills of society, highlighting how the powerful dominate the weak. He makes us look at our own communities as he reveals these things in his novel. The irony is that all around the world, the poor and marginalized, the invincible, are the ones who become keenly aware of the forces that affect the lives of other invisible populations. To them what happens in the streets is nothing new, but what was happening in Santa Teresa was shocking.

Fyodor Dostoevsky's The House of the Dead: Book Review

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The House of the Dead: Review

by Armando Ortiz

 “This utterly new world, hitherto unknown, the strangeness of some of the facts, some of the particular observations on this lost tribe of men fascinated me, and I read some of what he had written about it with curiosity. It is, of course, possible that I am mistaken.” -Dostoevsky

House of the Dead

This short piece will focus on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The House of the Dead, and will discuss the symbolism that both carry and mesh well with the overall message that humanity is the same wherever you go. Despite the fact that every valley has its own unique history, we remain stuck here with each other in the same home that we call earth.

The roots behind my decision to pick up another Fyodor Dostoevsky novel is quite simple, but of course things do not just happen that easy, they have a life of their own, and one is influenced by all that revolves around here, there and everywhere, but to make things a bit to the point explanations will be brief. I have read several Dostoevsky novels, initially being exposed to him via a professor while studying in South Korea’s Yonsei University back in 2001. The first novel that I tackled was Notes from the Underground and quickly moved on to the Brothers Karamazov. Fast forward to 2015, where I found myself listening to A$AP Rocky songs on YouTube, wanting to see if there were any interesting videos that I could find, before acquiring his albums, and long behold came to discover one video where the characters were dressed in classical Victorian fashion of the 1800s. At first I was confused, thinking that what I saw was odd, but at the same time the track that played, Palace, matched the scenes that were used in the film clip. Yet, even Rocky’s track from his album Live.Love.A$AP  is also in many ways a tale of the topics that will be discussed in this essay.

Scene from the film Russian Ark.

The name of the film used is called Russian Ark and was done by Alexander Sokurov. Hence, I ended up watching the film soon afterwards. The two main characters wander around a massive palace where a huge party takes place. In the film, a French composer and a Russian soldier wander around St. Petersburg’s Hermitage or in other words a Russian national monument. It turns out that the museum contains pieces of art that are 300 years old and have survived despite the epic invasions of Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. I was enchanted by both the scope and ambition of the film, but also the many practical messages that people could gather from the film, one being that meaning depends on the perceiver and one’s views of how life and culture are not necessarily absolute.

A$AP Rocky

As a result of listening to A$AP Rocky’s track, I ended up going deeper into the rabbit hole of Russian culture and history, but this generally happens with anything we find fascinating or interesting. I went on to read about St. Petersburg, learning about the art festivals that are still held during the summer, the biggest being called White Nights, which turned out to be the title of one of Dostoevsky’s short novels of the same name, White Nights, which further fed the flames of inquisitiveness and made me read a bit more on his life in the northernmost European city of Russia. So, as a result of those serendipitous discoveries, I once again found myself wandering around Downtown Los Angeles and walking into The Last Bookstore, where by chance I found The House of the Dead. I had gone there in hopes of finding something written by him, yet not knowing what that would be. As soon as the purchase was made I walked the 6 blocks back to where my car was parked in Little Tokyo, and on my way there began reading the introduction to the novel. I found the moment compelling, and during my walk reflected with surprise how a simple music track was changing the direction of my literary currents.

White Nights in St. Petersburg

Dostoevsky’s novel House of the Dead is fascinating and enlightening, because it touches on life inside a prison colony, but in many ways the story seems to be an allegory of how humans live on this earth and our time here together creates all kinds of good and bad situations. It tells the story of a nobleman who’d become a prisoner as a result of murdering his wife after only one year of marriage. Soon afterwards, Aleksandr Petrocvich is sent to a colony in Siberia to do hard time for a couple of years. After serving his sentence Aleksandr settles in the neighboring town and keeps a journal telling of his life in the penal colony. The person who introduces Aleksandr to the readers is the narrator retelling what the author wrote in his private journals, which the landlord was already dumping in the trash. He’d shown interest in Aleksandr, as a person, but had been refused any chance to strike a friendship, and finds his death as an opportunity. He tries to find out more about this mysterious character who’d stayed behind in Siberia to work as a tutor/ teacher and goes to the ex-convicts home to learn more about him and ends up finding his writings. He then proceeds to share this information to the reader, in this case, me.

The novel in many ways deals with mercy and kindness expressed between the people and those in charge of life and death. Even amongst prisoners there was a silent code that gave respect to people who did their time and took responsibility for their actions. 

Russian Ark film.

In the House of the Dead a panoramic view of Russia’s realms of control is quickly explained in detail and amongst prisoners with different cultural backgrounds and traditions. It’s in that melting pot of ideas and customs where the main character learns about humanity and human nature. These people were fearless, and tyrannical with one another, but on the other hand it was terrible being alone, so they all compromised to keep the peace. Even though they had to serve their time, they had to do it amongst others that had been damned and punished to the penal colonies, so though not alone, it was a time of great aloneness of the mind. Even in the insanely dirty circumstances they all lived in they had to make communion with others. It was in the moldy atmosphere of condemned human bodies where he discovers the limits of humans and their resilience.

In Russia those in power had no real contact with the common so the head wardens generally had to be fair, treating inmates just slightly above the level of inhumanity and dignity to keep the peace. Again, the warden could not be too cruel with the people he was in charge of keeping locked up. And in general there was a compromise between the work that prisoners did, the food they ate, and with the minimal things that the prison provided. In many ways they were the direct slaves of those in power or in other words property of the state. In Russia, these criminals, worthy of hard labor, were made up of Russian peasants, vagrants, nomads and of people from other kingdoms recently conquered by Russia. Christianity, Islam, Jewish and other religions were practiced in the prison, and though religious expression was generally tolerated it was Orthodox Christianity that permeated all customs. These criminals came from the different realms of Russian power and their crimes ranged from murder, thievery, and vagrancy to political subversion.

Golden eagle.

Historically the eagle has had a strong influence over the human psyche with many cultures around the world revering this creature of flight as being one of the few animals that is able to reach the highest points in the sky. The symbolism of the eagle is a powerful bridge between allegory and life that is pointed out in the story, and this only came into focus while watching the play La Virgen de Guadalupe. At some point in the play Aztec eagle warriors dance right before the appearance of the virgin de Guadalupe. As the performance unfolded inside the Los Angeles Cathedral, which was mainly made up of dialogues between Diego Garcia, and those in his daily life, a sense of awe came over; it might have been the religious space where the place was taking place, but Dostoevsky’s allegory was coming alive before my eyes. The indigenous dancers brought to mind a scene in the novel where an injured eagle appears within the prison walls.

In a similar, but more powerful fashion we have an eagle that appears in Dostoevsky’s novel that has been injured and despite its broken wings it fights to the death not knowing anything else but to battle, between life and the next life. The inmates are keenly aware that the eagle is injured, so they try to feed it, but the bird of prey puts up a fight. They throw kolaches at it, and though it fights off the presence of these incarcerated men, it hungrily goes after the chunks of bread that land on the ground. In similar fashion, a human will fight to the end, but hunger can break their humility and their pride, and the battle between life and death becomes a real boxing match of the mind. The eagle, having broken wings, kept fighting, and not until the prisoners left it alone did it hop towards the food that lay on the ground.

Eagle dancer.

Again, in the novel, the prisoners notice that the bird is dying but decide that an eagle dying inside the prison was out of the question because the animal had been born and lived in total freedom before its misfortune. So the decision was made to take the eagle out of the prison so that it could at least die in freedom. Likewise the eagle in the story is a representation of nature’s greatest symbol of power, independence, and freedom but it's in an injured state, fighting to the death, limping towards the handouts thrown to it. It fights because of its inherent dignity, but hunger defeats it and we see that as it limps out to get the bread.

In the Russian story there is a wide range of characters from Muslim, Jewish to shaman like and Christian, and within that everyone learned to live with one another and to give homage to the one in power. There is even a character that despite being under the presence of the prison warden engages in his ceremonial ritual and even glorifies his god in the face of the man in charge of the prison. In conclusion, The House of the Dead not only sheds light into the syncretism that happens with people over time when in communion amongst each other. They share and diffuse their traditions amongst each other and learn to live with one another in the house we call earth. Furthermore, Dostoevsky signals to us that a prisoner on a daily basis runs the risk of dying within the prisons that we humans create whether it be religions or political systems, because in the end even ideas or beliefs box people in to systems of power, which further accentuates A$AP Rocky’s track Palace, because despite the track’s name the lyrics point to a different prison, that of material possessions, but to Dostoevsky freedom comes from the determined hope that one day the shackles placed on our ankles purposely or unbeknownst to us will come off.

Prisoner being shackled for hard time.

Roberto Bolano's Nazi Literature in the Americas: Book Review

Roberto Bolano's Nazi Literature in the Americas: Book Review

by Armando Ortiz

Roberto Bolano’s Nazi Literature in the Americas delves into the lives of writers from North and South America, as well as Europe. These writers are scattered across vast expanses, embodying the diversity and geographical expanse of the continents. Some are free to roam, residing in valleys, deserts, mountains, or coastal regions, while others are confined in a prison cell. They sustain themselves at the grassroots level, gaining recognition within their local communities. However, the novel introduces a third ideological element, with many of these writers being sympathetic to Nazi ideology, amidst the competing power of right-wing governments and leftist Communism. 

The book sheds light on the writing and publishing processes these writers undergo. Some sell their self-funded publications outside soccer stadiums, while others create magazines while incarcerated. There are those who profit by copying the works of unknown and obscure writers, and some publish pamphlets that generate initial “buzz” but fail to last the test of time. Capital constraints or preference for exclusivity may limit printing to a few copies distributed to a select few.

Bolano’s narrative parallels the real world, where writers seek an audience for success as novelists or poets. Acquiring a following may not be as difficult as it seems, yet to reach a broader audience, these writers often embrace ideologies that appeal to those with more power and wealth. While the superstructures of the writing scene may lean toward a quasi-conservative stance, they are not as extreme as the writers found in Nazi Literature of the Latin Americas. These writers’ work are naturally imbued with anti-Semitic, anti-Black, and anti-non-European sentiments. Many of them are Nazi sympathizers or artists supported by conservative right wing governments or patrons, aligning with the ideologies embraced by those in power during the 20th century and beyond. 

This novel becomes even more poignant as Bolano reveals how some of the countries where these writers live undergo military and government changes, resulting in the imprisonment or death of left-wing political thinkers and sympathizers. The mysterious and dangerous character of Hoffman, supported by the Pinochet regime, exemplifies this. Additionally, remnants of the old “European colonial” mentality persist in countries like Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico, where only select segments of society are encouraged to write and receive funding.

These sympathizers aid the writers in their escape and reemergence in different parts of the world. A writer born in a small suburb of Brazil may find themselves in a gangster hideout in the streets of Chicago or become a right-wing artist whose avant-garde expression involves displaying mutilated bodies, reminiscent of the Japanese occupation of China during World War Two. Such images, although not considered art, were captured through the lens of a camera and published in newspapers for many to see. Moreover, post-World War Two, numerous German war criminals sought refuge in countries like Brazil and Argentina, living secluded lives for years. The reception and consumption of ideas and art depend not only on the appeal they hold for those with capital, but also on the process by which the public engages with writer’s thoughts but also an artist’s creations.

Bolano presents plausible scenarios where writers driven by persistent urges to write, extreme values, and unique perspectives can rise to power and become leaders. Hitler, who also authored a book, serves as an example. However, there are established writers who garner respect among their peers. Nevertheless, Bolano’s underlying message  remains that a writer must write, despite the countless obstacles faced on this solitary journey.

Looking beyond Bolano’s novel and considering the vast scope of writers that exist, both past and present, it becomes evident that they possess distinctive characters, ideologies and struggles. These range from endemic alcoholism and drug addiction to quasi-new age religious beliefs or a preference for solitude. Some may embrace the limelight of society, while others wish to maintain no with it. Bolano’s characters, renowned in certain circles, have yet to achieve the levels of recognition attained by established writers in the Western world. This raises questions about the insulation of literary structures and the criteria employed to recognize writers as writers. In Bolano’s universe, independent individuals create their own paths and find their place within their respective cultures through the power of the written word. 

Roberto Bolano also emphasizes that writing exposes oneself to the world. Even when forgery is employed, one’s true nature inevitably reveals itself to readers. While writers may exist in isolation, they still rely on a readership to develop their craft. It is the readers who find a storyteller’s thoughts and ideas provocative and appealing. Thus, both writer and audience contribute to the existence of literature. Writers are products of their environment, and when they expose themselves to the world, readers find affinity in their works, perpetuating the continuity of language in its written form.

Despite varying opinions on the existing superstructure of writing, books publishing, the role of agents, and the numerous writing clubs across the Americas and the world, there is no singular approach to disseminating one’s thoughts. Countless avenues exist to accomplish this goal. Bolano’s work shows that even when the established writing world turns its back on writers, they persevere and continue to write, fueled by an unwavering internal flame. Bolano’s characters create their own blueprints for publication, and despite their lack of fame, they persist in their struggle with words and pens. This prompts reflection on the significance and symbolism of the numerous clubs and associations within specific geographic areas. By immersing ourselves in the biographies of these imagined people, we cannot help but feel challenged and inspired by their sheer will to write.

Finally, Roberto Bolano creates an alternate world within a vivid and historically grounded reality. As readers, we gradually accept the plausibility of these characters, as his ideas and writing immerse us in his literary realm. Bolano’s work is incredibly unique because his characters possess gritty resourcefulness in disseminating their stories. He reveals the secret to being a writer in real life: to write, persistently, and restlessly. If one desires to write, then they should write and distribute their thoughts in the manner they deem best, building a following and utilizing any medium available to share their written works. However, it is crucial to remember that countless others are also engaged in this wild and crazy endeavor, experiencing similar struggles but possessing vastly different perspectives of the world. Writing, therefore, becomes an endeavor of immense worth.

Roberto Bolano's Third Reich: Book Review

Roberto Bolano's Third Reich

by Armando Ortiz

Bolano is meant to be read at the edge of the city, where the ocean meets land, and honey baked skinned birds flutter about, with locks of gold.

Where you see cinnamon women with floating feet, smelling of sweet navel oranges, and yellow lemon flavored, sweet and sour to the tongue.

On the coast of the city, where the sun dangles above the desert mirage, with waves of dizzying spells, and waters that sway like an old rocking chair, an endless roller coaster ride, a continuous ocean signal of distress, filtered with the conscious mind of bliss.

I'm happy with my L.A., lost in its wilderness of surprise, where short men with moon goddesses walk about, and her morning voice haunts these memories, with body reliving the times I bit down her areola.

Bolano lacks citrus in his writing, because he was happy with black bread, wine and cheese, but it’s as good as it gets.

The edge of Los Angeles, is where the West ends, and citrus auras envelop all where book and sun come alive. 

Farewell to Manzanar: Book Review

Farewell to Manzanar

By Armando Ortiz

            The book Farewell to Manzanar details the life of Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, before, during and after World War Two. The book tells the story of her family that lived at the Manzanar War Relocation Center, which is located in Manzanar, California and the different modes of socialization that shaped her life; from family, religion, media and the people she met at camp. It is also about her life as an American that despite being U.S. citizen she was treated differently, and regardless of all the barriers that were confronted, hopes and dreams, as well as independence were nurtured in her family.

            I was surprised to find out how quickly Japanese-Americans became targets soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the haste with which they were relocated to camps. People took advantage of them by paying pennies for the valuables and property that they owned. Nonetheless, the narrative shed some light into the manner in which people cope with tough circumstances. At Manzanar, a community formed and people adapted to their new environment and made the land theirs, for example a lot of the bungalows started to have small stone monuments in front of every entrance, and the community built a small park to have normality in their lives.

Jeanne’s father was authoritarian and influenced her life and though as time passed she lost respect for him, his disposition in conjunction with an adventurous spirit and independent mind were aspects of his character that greatly socialized her. Having taken the risk of moving to America, and spending time in places like Idaho and Washington made him a man with a full life experience. There is a point in the story where she tells of the time she wanted to convert to Catholicism and he tells her that she was not old enough to think for herself, thus stopping the conversion process. Jeanne describes an instance where Mr. Wakatsuki and her brother, Woody, had a long discussion on the rational and moral consequences of becoming a soldier for the United States. Eventually, Woody, joined the Army and went on to fight in Europe. It was through such examples of giving his children feedback that Jeanne and Woody were raised to think for themselves independently.

While growing up in Inglewood, her access to Japanese culture was limited, but at Manzanar she came to discover socio-cultural similarities between the community that developed there with its traces of Japanese culture, and the American culture she knew outside of camp. At camp, she learned about Japanese traditional dancing, and was exposed to Japanese aesthetics and symbols, like rock gardening. This was well illustrated when she explained the connection between the Japanese National Anthem, also known as “Kimigayo,” and the Japanese belief that even in a barren landscape, like a rock island, hope can exist, which is symbolized by the moss that grows on the rock.

Religion was a socio-cultural force that she kept experiencing throughout her stay at Manzanar. There catholic nuns offered catechism classes to the community, and at one point she decides to convert to Catholicism though she was too young to really understand the choices she was making. Though not explicitly told, her experience at Manzanar accented certain aspects of Japanese culture in her life. Towards the end of the book she states her belief in spirits and ghost, as she explains the sense of respect and silence that gripped her during a visit to Manzanar as an adult, solidifying her belief of Shinto traditions.

Media and mainstream culture were prevalent throughout her life and she connected more with Western and American culture than her Japanese heritage. She knew the different actors in films, and had liked watching television. Extracurricular activities like baseball, and ballet classes were available. Though different forces passively and actively influencing her life, slowly, and progressively an identity of individuality was being forged in Jeanne.