Reading Holder of The World has actually been very interesting to me. I was afraid of not getting that in to it because of its relation to Scarlet Letter… oops. But I think I like it most because I’m able to determine when Mukherjee is using theory or ideas that we’ve been talking about all semester. I’ve recognized all sorts of things from the importance of an author (T.S. Eliot), demystification, deconstruction, metonymy etc. but what I have found most interesting is the idea of space and how it reacts with both culture and time.
Mukherjee suggests that something cannot be fully understood without addressing both time and space. The context or history of a country must be closely analyzed before you can understand the space or problem. This discussion of history and context is similar to Klein’s discussion, as well as the situation in Bangladesh which we saw through the video shown in class.
This leads to our discussion in class today of Post-Modern Lit. Post modern literature is when the author shows for example that two people may both be looking at a similar thing or truth, but they see it differently. Mukherjee’s use of space, time and multiple characters allows us to see how this can happen, and how influential space can be on ones perception of truth.
I find this an important thing to know and understand because it allows one to become more tolerant and understanding. Being able to see things and issues from a variety of perspectives is a very powerful character trait which theory and various novels, such as this, allow you to see the importance of.
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Just a question--but what happens when a person's space, isn't really "their" space, so-to-speak? Then how can they define their culture? Post colonial lit, as we talked about in class, sort of deals with this (so I think!, haha). How are writers supposed to define their culture within a space that, yes, technically is their space (because it is where they live, and are shaped), but really is not their space, because it has been created by a dominating culture? Do they then go back to the traditions and languages of a culture that is supposed to be theirs, but that they have never known? Or do they adopt the colonizer's culture, and if they do, is that really their culture?
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