This drawing represents the magical realism story "Grandma's Tales," and is a depiction of Grandma herself post-rebirth, entering the party. Her dress is embroidered with a phoenix, a symbol of said rebirth, and she is clearly enjoying herself as an errant breeze musses her flowing freshly-loosed hair. Her shawl is white for purity, and the cleansing of rebirth. The picture (and the story in my opinion) signify the "rebirth" which immigrants have when they fully acclimate into the new society which they choose to be a part of. Her (somewhat) traditional gown suggests, however, that acclimation does not mean abandoning all aspects of a previous culture, but a perfect synthesis of the two.
I want to know what program you used to draw this! Hahaha. I liked how you described rebirth as "cleansing," and used the white to show purity. It conjured images of baptism in my head. I also loved how idealized the picture is, since it shows how idealized Grandma's rebirth is in this story. She emerges from the freezer as such a perfect model of an immigrant that it is almost comic; she speaks perfect English, she socializes with Americans and is the center of attention, she manages to tell her immigration narrative in a way that is understandable and interesting to the people around her. This picture really gets that across, in my opinion. Thanks for the great post!
ReplyDelete-Abigail I.
I like your take on rebirth as a "cleansing", and the fact that assimilation does not necessarily mean abandoning or forgoing one's own culture. The image of the phoenix reborn from the ashes reminds me of the perseverance for overcoming the hardships of assimilation and cultural barriers that faced many Vietnamese refugees in their new homeland. this was a very cool picture, which I thought captured the essence of the the idealized immigrant from "Grandma's Tales". Great job!
ReplyDelete-David T.
I'm a sucker for the ole' fire bird, so maybe I'm a bit biased, but I really liked this depiction of the grandmother. Your choice to use Autumn leaves near the lower portion of her dress struck me as particularly inspired, in that the season itself isn't often associated with rebirth but ephemerality. However, due to the cyclical nature of seasons, and Autumn's frequent association with change, it actually works quite effectively in representing a character who had reached the twilight of her years, yet still evolved into something derivative of what she was. Again, nice work!
ReplyDelete- Michael J.
I can only repeat what the Abigail, David and Michael have said: Your drawing really mirrors the concept of the story. And it also touches upon other stories in the book where we have the symbol of a bird, e.g. "Birds of Paradise Lost".
ReplyDeleteI also like Michael's point about the Autumn leaves and what Autumn symbolizes. I have never seen it from that point of view, but I will definitely keep in mind.
Storai K.
I am so pleased to see that you have meshed the phoenix along with Grandma's rebirth! The symbol of the phoenix as a marker of rebirth is a recurring image throughout Lam's stories. In many ways, I viewed the phoenix as another symbol of self-immolation. Rather than being seen as a self-sacrifice, self-immolation is also another form of rebirth in the instance of Mister Bac. Through his ashes, he hopes to give rise to awareness about Vietnam and bring attention to the lives of people that can be potentially saved. Though younger generation refugees portrayed in Lam's stories find self-immolation illogical, Mister Bac is similar to Grandma like the image you have depicted and represents rebirth.
ReplyDelete- Lauren S.
A very imaginative presentation to a very imaginative story. The idea of rebirth of a perfect English speaking grandmother enjoying the pleasures offered while retaining her heritage is Hopeful. Assimilation doesn't necessarily mean that one would have to give up their traditions or beliefs. This was a very well done depiction of that realization
ReplyDelete-Jose G.
I absolutely love the drawing that you chose to represent this story. I may be a bit biased since this was one of my favorite stories in the novel. Granted the entire book is wonderful, but this story so representative of Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a personal favorite. I loved how you captured the phoenix and white shawl and was able to tie those two items so nicely to perhaps the biggest theme of the story; rebirth and assimilation. -Scarlett S
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this narrative for many of reason, it was very intoxicating to be transported into a realm that of being considered in between. The grandmother lived in the present and the future while the grand daughter lived in two words also, her public family life and her private life. Both intermingled with the present and private, all the while being narrated via mode of mystical realism. I believe in the end both female characters floated and undulated from one environment to another without actually having the narrator show a contrast of scenes. - Xavier P.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read “Grandma’s Tales” I did not know what to make of it. I was confused as the story’s peculiar plot left many unanswered questions for me. However, when I read it a second time more carefully I, too, viewed the grandma’s resurrection as a type of cultural rebirth. I cannot agree more with you that “acclamation does not mean abandoning all aspects of a previous culture”. The beauty of this book lies in the notion of hope; it appeases the Vietnamese immigrants through the idea that it is okay to embrace a new culture. It teaches immigrants that their sorrows can be turned into stories of spiritual growth. In this story the message of hope is symbolically implied through the grandma’s cultural rebirth.
ReplyDelete-Gaby F.