Supervised Writing
Example 1 - Allah is Not Obliged (Ahmadou Kourouma)
Promt: What is your impression of the belief system / religion / superstition of this society?
From reading the book ‘Allah is Not Obliged’ my impression of religion in the book is somewhat conflicted. Leaders, for example Papa Le Bon try to connect to every religion possible to ensure they obtain more followers. They use symbols like the ‘grigris’ and link them to religion. They lie to convince young, uneducated children to become child soldiers when all this book is really about is survival of the fittest. The children are manipulated by the confusion and I believe that is why Birahima’s beliefs are so conflicted. I don’t think Birahima knows what to believe as when the ‘grigris’ fail, they simply blame it on the children, saying it was their fault and they didn’t use them correctly. Religion is used to gain power and obtain power. The diverse religious views of a leader draw in people of all religions but when they fail, the leader makes up new religious stories to keep his followers. The adults are also included in this as they are also uneducated and are just listening to the people in power. For example, the ‘grigri’ man seems to make amulets / talismans that can apply to any religion or any God. The religion and religious symbols serve to be an excuse or almost validation / approval, as one of the tribal leaders in Liberia says: “God says thou shalt not kill too much, or at least thou shalt kill less.”
In my opinion, although the role of religion is important, it is also irrelevant when we look at the reality and severity of the situation. These children/adults/child soldiers are just trying to survive therefore, when they see another camp with more food, they have no issue changing/lying about their religion. This could be blamed on a lack of religious education (that we receive) but also the manipulation of the leaders and how they have confused the people’s minds and views on religion and how sacred it is.
One of the rites of passage in the book is to kill your mother and father to become a child soldier. It is supposed to signify strength and independence. But the sad reality is most of the children’s parents are already dead, perhaps manipulation again as not many people can join. Another example of this is circumcision and female genital mutilation. I think this indicates gender roles more than anything. It is a rite of passage, however preferential to males as they can still enjoy sexual relations but females are objectified.
What I would like to further explore is the presentation and effect of religion in this society and how it is employed as a means of survival, as there doesn’t appear to be any real long-lasting loyalty to a specific religion; they are only worshipped for material reasons. I feel the rites of passage would be interesting to investigate for my final essay as they tell us different things. For example, I think the circumcision of males and females can be researched to find out more about gender roles and lack of gender equality within the society. Other questions I would like answers to are:
Example 2 - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
Prompt: Which single minor character do you judge as having a critical effect on the unfolding of a character’s quest?
On one of the last pages of the novel Kumiko says: “He was always a symbol of something good that grew between us. We should not have lost him when we did.” Here Kumiko is talking about their cat named Noboru Wataya. I believe that the cat is a depiction of the relationship between Toru and Kumiko. When they ‘lose’ their cat, they ‘lose’ their love, and their relationship/marriage.
When the cat comes back after being away for almost a year, Toru says: “Things had started to move. Now all I had to do was hold on tight to keep from being knocked off. If I could do that, I would probably end up somewhere— somewhere different from where I was now at least.
The critical effect of the cat on Toru’s story is that the cat ‘predicts’ what will be happening. The cat was a sign of comfort, happiness, and togetherness. Just as a pet presents a ‘homely’ feeling, a family feeling, so the per’s disappearance is the first stage of the family falling apart.
There are a few questions I want to look into and find out more about.
Finally, I want to explore the use of the cat’s name to add another layer of meaning to “Noburu Wataya.” When the name changes to “Mackerel,” Murakami must want to signal something.
In short I want to explore the cat as a critical minor character.
Example 1 - Allah is Not Obliged (Ahmadou Kourouma)
Promt: What is your impression of the belief system / religion / superstition of this society?
From reading the book ‘Allah is Not Obliged’ my impression of religion in the book is somewhat conflicted. Leaders, for example Papa Le Bon try to connect to every religion possible to ensure they obtain more followers. They use symbols like the ‘grigris’ and link them to religion. They lie to convince young, uneducated children to become child soldiers when all this book is really about is survival of the fittest. The children are manipulated by the confusion and I believe that is why Birahima’s beliefs are so conflicted. I don’t think Birahima knows what to believe as when the ‘grigris’ fail, they simply blame it on the children, saying it was their fault and they didn’t use them correctly. Religion is used to gain power and obtain power. The diverse religious views of a leader draw in people of all religions but when they fail, the leader makes up new religious stories to keep his followers. The adults are also included in this as they are also uneducated and are just listening to the people in power. For example, the ‘grigri’ man seems to make amulets / talismans that can apply to any religion or any God. The religion and religious symbols serve to be an excuse or almost validation / approval, as one of the tribal leaders in Liberia says: “God says thou shalt not kill too much, or at least thou shalt kill less.”
In my opinion, although the role of religion is important, it is also irrelevant when we look at the reality and severity of the situation. These children/adults/child soldiers are just trying to survive therefore, when they see another camp with more food, they have no issue changing/lying about their religion. This could be blamed on a lack of religious education (that we receive) but also the manipulation of the leaders and how they have confused the people’s minds and views on religion and how sacred it is.
One of the rites of passage in the book is to kill your mother and father to become a child soldier. It is supposed to signify strength and independence. But the sad reality is most of the children’s parents are already dead, perhaps manipulation again as not many people can join. Another example of this is circumcision and female genital mutilation. I think this indicates gender roles more than anything. It is a rite of passage, however preferential to males as they can still enjoy sexual relations but females are objectified.
What I would like to further explore is the presentation and effect of religion in this society and how it is employed as a means of survival, as there doesn’t appear to be any real long-lasting loyalty to a specific religion; they are only worshipped for material reasons. I feel the rites of passage would be interesting to investigate for my final essay as they tell us different things. For example, I think the circumcision of males and females can be researched to find out more about gender roles and lack of gender equality within the society. Other questions I would like answers to are:
- Why were child soldiers encouraged to kill their parents and what effect had this on their mental state?
- And culturally speaking, can we interpret this to be considered, in some twisted way, a rite of passage in the transition from boy to man?
Example 2 - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
Prompt: Which single minor character do you judge as having a critical effect on the unfolding of a character’s quest?
On one of the last pages of the novel Kumiko says: “He was always a symbol of something good that grew between us. We should not have lost him when we did.” Here Kumiko is talking about their cat named Noboru Wataya. I believe that the cat is a depiction of the relationship between Toru and Kumiko. When they ‘lose’ their cat, they ‘lose’ their love, and their relationship/marriage.
When the cat comes back after being away for almost a year, Toru says: “Things had started to move. Now all I had to do was hold on tight to keep from being knocked off. If I could do that, I would probably end up somewhere— somewhere different from where I was now at least.
The critical effect of the cat on Toru’s story is that the cat ‘predicts’ what will be happening. The cat was a sign of comfort, happiness, and togetherness. Just as a pet presents a ‘homely’ feeling, a family feeling, so the per’s disappearance is the first stage of the family falling apart.
There are a few questions I want to look into and find out more about.
- Why does Kumiko love the cat so much?
- Does she love Toru that much or just the idea of their comfort?
- Why does Kumiko want the cat back so badly and does she really want the cat back?
- How come Toru doesn’t really seem to care at all about the cat in the beginning?
- What motivates him to worry and look for the cat?
Finally, I want to explore the use of the cat’s name to add another layer of meaning to “Noburu Wataya.” When the name changes to “Mackerel,” Murakami must want to signal something.
In short I want to explore the cat as a critical minor character.