P U R S U I T S PURSUITS VOL. XIII - ISSUE 2 A Peer Reviewed Journal RESEARCH CENTRE FOR COMPARATIVE STUDIES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH MERCY COLLEGE PALAKKAD - 678 006 KERALA AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2015 Advisory Board Prof. A. Joseph Dorairaj, Vice-Chancellor i/c, Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu. Dr. Vijay Nair, Associate Professor (Rtd.), Govt. Victoria College, Palakkad. Editorial Board Prof. P. Madhavan, Department of Linguistics and Contemporary English, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. Dr. V. Prathiba, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, University of Calicut. Dr. S. Nagesh, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri, Calicut. Dr. H. Kalpana, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, Pondicherry University, Puducherry. Editor Dr. W. S. Kottiswari Associate Editors Dr. Trisina M. Alappat Ms. Meena P. Kumar Ms. Rosemary K. R. Dr. Praseedha. G Ms. Rakhi N. P. (Faculty, Dept. of English, Mercy College, Palakkad). Cover design Bhavana K. S. (Alumna) Copyright Post Graduate Department of English & Research Centre for Comparative Studies, Mercy College, Palakkad, Kerala 678 006. CONTENTS Autobiographical Sketches in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye Ms. M. Gayathiri and Dr. S. Martin Mathivannan 1 The Theme of Friendship in Meg Waite Clayton’s The Wednesday Sisters Ms. N. Illakkia and Dr. Sumathy K. Swamy 5 Immigrant Integration in Historical Appropriations: A Study of E. L. Doctrow’s Ragtime and Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion Ms. Lakshmi A. K. and Dr. W. S. Kottiswari 8 Contextualizing the Contesting Voices of America: Popular Culture in “Poetry Slam” Ms. Lalitha Joseph 14 Wounds of Body, Soul and History in Toni Morrison’s Beloved Ms. Mohana E. 17 W. S. Merwin’s Rhetoric on Species Egalitarianism Mr. S. G. Mohanraj 20 An Ecological Analysis of Man - Nature Relationship in Russell Hoban’s Turtle Diary Ms. T. Monika Sivaprakasam 23 Tracing the Element of Artistry in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Dr. T. Muraleeswari 27 Edible Fun / Cartoonised Commodities: Toward a Critical Theory of Endorsement Mr. Najeeb P. M. 31 Traumatic Neurosis: Post-Nigerian Civil War Effect in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun Ms. Neena P. 34 Dreaming the Impossible: A Critical Reading of the Element of Fantasy in Mitch Albom’s For One More Day Dr. Nila N. 37 Nostalgic Reminiscence in Alice Walker’s “Poem at Thirty-Nine” Ms. Nithya K. and Dr. S. Lavanya 41 The New American Dream: Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland as a Take on Deterritorialization Ms. Parvathy G. 43 Cultural Resistance through Children’s Literature: A Study on the Children’s Works by Joseph Bruchac Ms. Parvathy U. 47 John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath: A Chronicle of Depression and Survival Ms. M. K. Praseeda 50 Trans ‘Inspiring’ Aesthetic Transformation of Aggression: Post Modern Terrain Ms. Radhika B. 53 Tell This Silence: Janice Mirikitani on the Silence Which Surrounds the Experiences of Japanese Americans Ms. Rakhi N. P. 57 Depiction of Self-Identity, Racism, and Social Consciousness in William Apess’s A Son of the Forest Dr. Rani Jeba Shanthi 59 The Red Bird Sings Of Thunder: An Introspective Journey Through Zitkala –Sa’s Autobiographical Narratives Ms. Razeena P. R. 61 Reclaiming the Lost History and Lost Voice: A Study of Leslie Silko’s Gardens in the Dunes Ms. Reshmi S. 65 Education as Strength and Solace: An Analysis Of Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Ms. Resmi R. 70 Flight Behavior as Cli-fi: A Concourse for Green Humanities and Sci-fi Ms. Rosmi Lukose and Ms.Neethu Tessa Baby 74 Writing (for) Survival: Native Women Reconstructing Theory Ms. Sangeetha Verma and Dr. Janaky Sreedharan 81 “Congregation for Propagating Falsehood”: A Canvas on the News Media based on the U. S. A Trilogy Mr. Sanil T. Sunny 84 Defamiliarising the Ordinary: A Glimpse Through the Poetry and Poetics of Frank O’Hara Dr. Sanil Raj Johnson 87 Love and Relationship Versus Independence in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes were Watching God Dr. Santhakumari R. 94 The Conflict of the Urban and Rustic Cultures: A Study on John Updike’s My Father’s Tears Mr. Shanavas Pattupara 97 Cross-dressing and Cross-cultural Perspectives in Louise Erdrich’s The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse Ms. Sheena John 101 Archetypes and Individuation: A Psychoanalytical Approach to Saul Bellow’s Herzog Ms. Sheena N. G. and Dr. T. C. Brindha Kumari 105 Places in Constant Flux: Multifaceted Urban Barrios in U. S. Puerto Rican Diaspora Writing Ms. Sini Jose 107 Racial Segregation in Langston Hughes’s Select Poems Ms. Sneha K. 111 Depiction of Revolution and Matriarchy in the Works of Gloria Naylor Ms. S. Snekha Sri 115 Trauma of the African Americans as Portrayed in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun Ms. Srivaishnavi Devi T. V. 118 Don DeLillo’s White Noise: A Reading of Postmodern Human Consciousness in the World of Simulacra Mr. Sujith Babu S. 121 Ethnicism in Langston Hughes’s Select Poems Ms. C. S. Thangamani and Dr. Narasingaram Jayashree 124 P U R S U I T S EDITORIAL One of the key developments in late twentieth century American literature was the rise to prominence of literature written by and about ethnic minorities apart from theoretical texts, which throw fresh light on the perspectives from which these literatures should be read. With the intention of highlighting the varied aspects of American literature, the Department of English and the Research Centre for Comparative Studies, Mercy College, organized an International Seminar on AMERICAN LITERATURE—TRENDS AND PROSPECTS in which two reputed American academicians, Dr. Lars Erik Larson and Dr. Molly Hiro, Associate Professors of English, University of Portland, Oregon, U. S. A., Fulbright-Nehru Scholars at the University of Mysore during Fall 2014, were keynote speakers. This special issue of our Peer Reviewed journal PURSUITS contains the papers of scholars and academicians who presented their papers at the Seminar. The scholarly papers in this issue focus on the different ways in which American texts are read in the postmodern scenario. I strongly hope that these articles would be of immense help to students and Research scholars thereby motivating them to take up fresh areas of American literature for research purpose. I am grateful to the paper presenters, readers, and our contributors for their continued support and encouragement which, I am sure, would go a long way in establishing our Research Journal PURSUITS as a valuable source of knowledge. Dr. W. S. Kottiswari AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES IN TONI MORRISON’S THE BLUEST EYE Ms. M. Gayathiri and Dr. S. Martin Mathivannan One of the most critically acclaimed living writers, Toni Morrison has been a major architect in creating a literary language for Afro-Americans. Her use of shifting perspective, fragmentary narrative, and a narrative voice extremely close to the consciousness of her characters reveal the influence of writers like Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner: two writers that Morrison, not coincidentally, studied extensively while being a college student. All of her works show the influence of African-American folklore, songs, and women’s gossip. In her attempts to map these oral art forms into literary modes of representation, Morrison has created a body of work informed by a distinctly black sensibility while drawing a reading audience from across racial boundaries. Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye radiates with varieties of theme, symbols, and characterization which contribute to the formation of the novel. The novel further shows the way white beauty can easily be degrading to young black girls and women. Additionally, The Bluest Eye depicts how family life and childhood can have a great effect on a person’s life. The Bluest Eye is Morrison’s first novel published in 1970. In the novel, Morrison challenges Western standards of beauty and demonstrates that the concept of beauty is socially constructed. Morrison also recognizes that if whiteness is used as a standard of beauty or anything else, then the value of blackness is diminished and this novel works to subvert that tendency. While demonstrating pride in being black, the writer does not simply portray positive image of blackness, instead, she focuses on the damage that the black women characters suffer through the construction of femininity in a radicalized society (Moses 37). The individual who does not belong to a community is generally lost. The individual who leaves and has internalized the village or community is much more likely to survive. Also, a whole community – everyone – is needed to raise a child; one parent or two parents are inadequate to the task. The lack of roots and the disconnection from the community and the past cause individuals to become alienated; often her characters struggle unsuccessfully to identify, let alone fulfill an essential self. The Bluest Eye tells the story of an eleven year old black girl, Pecola Breedlove, who wants to have blue eyes, because she sees herself, and is regarded by most of the characters in the novel, as ugly. The theme of beauty plays a great part in the development of the characters and the novel. Throughout the novel, the reader views Pecola the protagonist, worshiping the beautiful white icons of the 1940’s. Pecola also goes as far as drinking three quarts of milk just so she can use the cup with Shirley Temple’s picture on it. Pecola’s mother, Pauline also seems to worship the white icons. Pauline visits the movies due to loneliness and buys into the fantasy world she views in movies. She even wears her hair like the white actress, Jean Harlow. By the end of the story, like the title of the novel The Bluest Eye, Pecola comes to believe that she actually has blue eyes and her delusion shows how white society can affect a young black girl.