My journal is meant to evoke the image of Atlas. In this case Atlas is representative of Mr. Nguyen from the short story "Hunger." He holds up a large pile of meat. In Greek myth, Atlas was punished for his rebellion by being made to hold up the earth. Similarly, Nguyen's new-found repulsion for meat, and his difficulties with food, can be seen as a form of karmic punishment for his "sins" on the boat (eating his wife). In Nguyen's case, his punishment is (somewhat) self-inflicted. He carries his guilt and shame around the way Atlas carries the earth. This guilt takes the form of his inability to eat meat, and is compounded by his inability to feed his daughter. The meat is imaged as much larger than Atlas-Nguyen to show how overwhelming this burden is for him.
By Abigail I.
This is an excellent comparison, Nguyen's burden is yes "somewhat self-inflicted" and the guilt he deals with is his burden to carry for scaring his daughter permanently. He has to carry the guilt of watching his wife die and every single day watch the pain on his daughter's face progress. Much like Atlas he is charged with something he doesn't have a choice but to do, a punishment of the most extreme circumstances. He is not only physically damaged but he is emotionally scared due to his wives death and the destruction of his daughter's innocence.
ReplyDelete-Jeremy B.
I really like how you drew a comparison between Mr. Nguyen and Atlas; not only does it match the guilt Nguyen faced because of what he did on the boat, but it also shows the relevance mythology has in the modern world. Atlas' punishment of holding up the earth/sky matches perfectly with Nguyen's burden of having to deal with what he did in the past, and just like Atlas, it will be something he'll have to hold onto that burden for the rest of his life. I feel that both Nguyen and Atlas' punishment was self-inflicted; at the very least, it reinforces that all actions have consequences, and the consequence of Nguyen's actions is his guilt. I also like how you made the meat large, just like how Atlas had to hold something larger than him.
ReplyDelete--- Neil G.
Abigail, I must say, I love how beautiful you put things, especially when you put a concept to a picture or image. It's true, his struggle with food is troublesome since it's paired with his guilt and shame that he carries as a result of his sin against his wife. By engaging in such a taboo, in both the Vietnamese and American cultures, he solidifies his doomed nature, as well as the ironic obsession and craving for meat. Morbid, but interesting.
ReplyDelete-Kristen P.
I like your use of the symbolism for the burden of guilt that Nguyen carries, as it is also a thematic element in other stories in the book. Many of the survivors wrestle with survivor's guilt in having lived while their love ones died. In this case though, Nyugen played an unintentional part in the "loss" and is tragically haunted by it. This is similar to Uncle Bay in "Step Up and Whistle" who is unable to escape the guilt of letting his wife's hand go during their escape. Both men are immobilized and tortured by not only their part in the incident but also the incident itself. They seem fated to live on and pick up the shattered pieces of their existence in order to serve as a witness to the atrocities they faced.
ReplyDelete-Jennifer V.
I love how you integrated Greek Mythology with Mr. Nguyen, even by hyphenating the two as "Atlas-Nguyen" almost as a modern matrimonial union. In a way, by addressing them as Atlas-Nguyen, your illustration also suggests that Greek Mythology, a euro-centric (often identified as primarily westernized) study, meshed with the Lam's Vietnamese character Mr. Nguyen, depicts a sort of newly emerged bicultural character adapting both a western (potentially American or European - considering countries Vietnamese refugees migrated) and Vietnamese culture. The symbolic use of meat as the world that Atlas-Nguyen holds can also represent the fleshly, innate, and survival state of mind that Mr. Nguyen was forced to resort to in order to reach America alive.
ReplyDelete- Lauren S.