Michael Ondaatjes Coming Through Slaughter

Michael Ondaatjes Coming Through Slaughter Michael Ondaatje, the first Canadian writer to win the prestigious Booker Prize in 1992, is celebrated as a contemporary literary treasure. In his works he attempts a re-evaluation of history by focusing on relations between the margins and the centre, the personal and the public. As such his works readily lend themselves to post-modern and post-colonial approaches to literature. In addition, Ondaatjes distinctive appeal is that of an experimental practitioner and stylish expert in creating sensuous and sensual effects. Ondaatje draws heavily from his personal experience of being at the intersection of cultures, which enables him to attempt a special review of reality. Born in Sri Lanka, the former Ceylon, of Indian/Dutch ancestry, he went to school in England, and then moved to Canada. His multicultural roots and upbringing in multicultural society has provided him with a special insight into diverse positions and views. Acknowledged as one of the worlds foremost writers, Ondaatjes artistry and aesthetics has influenced an entire generation of writers and readers. Although best known as a novelist, Ondaatjes work also encompasses memoir, poetry, and film, and reveals a passion for defying conventional forms. From the memoir of his childhood, Running In The Family, to his Governor-Generals Award-winning book of poetry, Theres a Trick With a Knife Im Learning To Do (1979), to his classic novel, The English Patient (1992), Michael Ondaatje casts a spell over his readers. His works are characterized by a bleakly evocative narrative and minimalist dialogue, blending documentary and fictional accounts of real characters. The present paper attempts to trace and evaluate Ondaatjes explorations of identity as retrieved from history and memory. The focus is on Coming Through Slaughter, in which Ondaatje recreates the forgotten story of Billy Bolden, transforming it with such ingenuity that it occupies the space between history and memory, reality and imagination. The no vel explores the themes of alienation and infidelity that so often lead an individual to self-destruction, a typical element of the modern lifestyle. First published in 1976, the novel Coming Through Slaughter is a fictionalized version of the life of the New Orleans jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden. Charles Buddy Bolden (September 6, 1877 November 4, 1931) was an African American musician. He is regarded a key figure in the development of a New Orleans style of rag-time music which later came to be known as jazz. The novel covers the last months of Boldens sanity in 1907 when his music becomes more radical and his behavior more erratic. Ondaatjes concern however is not as much with the actual life story of Bolden as with the world of the time, where, as he says, There was no recorded historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦History was slowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(2,3).The novel portrays this historical figure in a way that draws on his actual life, but as Cynthia F. Wong succinctly points out, Ondaatje blurs the generic distinctions between poetry and prose, factual verisimilitude and fictional reconstruction (289) in order to explore the novels central theme. The novel comprises of a series of events strung together as snap shots demanding from readers to imagine and retrieve the self of Bolden from them. Ondaatje artistically and beautifully narrates the tale of the protagonist Buddy Boldens descent into his own hell. A blues musician, Bolden was unsurpassed in his time as his work influenced the music of several later generations. However in his time he struggled to transcend lifes miseries even as he frequently lapsed into despair, loneliness, and subsequently, madness. In this novel, Ondaatje touches the issue of infidelity with gossamer perfection and adds new dimensions and understanding to it. He raises pathos to such poetic heights that his genius matches with that of the great Greeks and does not falter when compared with greatest Bard of Elizabethan era- Shakespeare. There are no kings, no queens and no princes. There is nothing halo about the mega character. Neither there are gods nor ghosts to guide the hero. However, there is wisdom of the blood feeling on the hair tips and a wild passion that guides. The milieu depicted in the novel is lewd and lascivious. As he writes, By the end of Nineteenth century, the Storyville district of New Orleans had some 2000 prostitutes, 70 professional gamblers, and 30 piano players.(3) But it had only one man who played the cornet like Buddy Bolden he who cut hair by day at N. Josephs Shaving Parlor, and at night played jazz, unleashing an unforgettable wildness and passion in crowded rooms. The world that Ondaatje portrays is inhabited by people living at the margins of society; pimps, whores, barber, musicians playing in bars, etc. Through such a portrayal, he recreates the exciting world of jazz, as he describes how whores lay naked on the stage amidst a rendering of wild, loud and vibrant music- sensuous and passionate in the background. There is no talk of morality or other rules governing civilized society. Ondaatje takes us to the places where there are over 100 prostitutes from pre-puberty to their seventies (2). Music players are barbers. It is a dead crowd where money is the most living thing. They are neither Titans nor war wrecks or winners, but blacks pulsating with vigor, strength, passion and promiscuity. Ondaatje thus gives a presence to people who have always been deprived from occupying the historical space. The novel is explicitly about Boldens identity as expressed in his music, but implicitly, it is about his identity as a black man whose musical insistence on freedom is thwarted by worsening racism in New Orleans at the beginning of the twentieth century. Yet as Ondaatje observes, many interpreted Boldens subsequent crack-up as a morality tale of a talent that debauched itself. But his life at this time had a fine and precise balance to ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (7). Ondaatje portrays Bolden, an American of African ancestry as a tragic artist, a man whose musical genius isolates him from friends and family and eventually leads to his insanity. The black-white racial conflict however does not become the focus of the novel. Rather structured like jazz music, the novel presents a fragmented, multi-voiced, episodic narrative that draws even an unwilling reader into its passion. In this ordinary world, Ondaatje takes up the issue of infidelity. There are no accusations, no cold revenge, no plotting, no cursing, no murdering; but silent suffering- an ache in the soul-a sublimation and pouring out of the heart in the art i.e. music. As Ondaatje portrays, the cruelties of external world pervade the personal one too. Shakespeares Hamlet could rightly aver, Frailty- thy name is woman. But here both men and women are frail. Why so? Not an easy question to answer. In an unjust world where the primary struggle is that of survival, pure bonds of love are impossible to forge. Infidelity has remained curse of all ages, civilizations and tribes. Wounds and woes of infidelity lead to unbearable pain that becomes difficult to express. Why one falls in bondage, why seeks solace in this bondage, one does not realize. Why man and woman wish to break this bondage? Perhaps no one can ever describe. Buddy has learned that Tom Pickett is having an affair with his common-law wife , Nora Bass. Pickett is an extremely handsome pimp in the city of New Orleans. Boldens wife, Nora, was formally part of Picketts business endeavors. After Pickett boasts about his relationship with Nora, Bolden doubts the stability of his construction of Nora, If Nora had been with Pickett. Had really been with Pickett as he said. Had jumped off Boldens cock and sat for half an hour later on Tom Picketts mouth on Canal Street. Then the certainties he loathed and needed were liquid at the root (75). What emerges in the novel thus is the murky world at the very rag and bone shop of society where alcohol and sex make up for pain and love, and music exudes ineffably from the fabric of blasted lives. Boldens musical progress is differentiated from that of his contemporaries and followers as clear and even transcendental, particularly at the point where he becomes irretrievably insane. But why such a talented and pure spirited man should linger on in the mental asylum for all his life and die anonymous. Herein lies the true ache of novel and its genuine pathos. Buddy is neither killed or murdered nor crucified but is slaughtered on the altar of infidelity. When Bolden meets Robin Brewitt, Ondaatje observes that he nearly fainted (27); he loses control of his senses, and, perhaps in more romantic terms, his heart. The early stages of Boldens relationship with Robin are marked clearly by an ongoing loss of control or, more accurately, by the loss of the balance that characterized his life with Nora. Robin seems to represent an alternate other for Bolden a second chance, as it was, for his constructing a kind of truth for himself. It is stated repeatedly that even though Bolden has numerous women throwing themselves at him, he truly loves Nora. However, after Bolden runs from New Orleans, he finds himself without Nora. As Ondaatje portrays, Bolden does not really love Robin. Robin is his outlet. She blurs into Nora- and Nora is not his. He is completely alienated and devastated- devoid of everything- including his kith and kin. Only a slow and anonymous death is his destiny- a destiny of every modern man. The story is told in many fragme nts and many voices: Actual accounts of Boldens life and performances, oral history, lists of songs, biographical facts, narrative, dialogue, interior monologues, psychiatric reports, bits of poetry and lyrics, the authors own voice through which Ondaatje weaves a series of brilliantly improvised sets. There are blues, there are the hymns, there is rhythm, there is free jazz, there is melody, soul, mood, wild aggression with notes flung out in pain and hurt and it all creates an atmosphere, an environment. New Orleans whores, pimps, drugs, booze, clarinets and cornets, jazz and jazzmen, ship builders and photographers and love and lunacy. Buddy also breaks the boundaries of love; he sacrifices his wife and children in order to pursue something more with Robin. In the Parade on fifth morning, Buddy gives his last performance. In the Liberty-Iberville concert, during the performance, Bolden is fascinated by a dancing girl who follows the rhythms and dances to his tunes intoxicatingly. Boldens self is completely immersed into music, so much that he even forgets the audience. The mounting tension between Bolden and the girl is reflected in the prose of the passage as run-on sentences break into fragments and then continue to the climactic point of Boldens complete immersion into music: In fact, the following passage reads much like a metaphor for the act of sex. Boldens love life is revealed when he describes the beautiful dancer as a culmination of his lovers. Then with the gorgeous dancer at the parade who pushes him to further limits leading to his destruction: All my body moves to my throat and I speed again and she s peeds tired again, a river of sweat to her what her head and hair back bending back to me, all the desire in me is cramp and hard, cocaine on my cock, external, for my heart is at my throat hitting slow pure notes into the shimmy dance of victory . . . feel the blood that is real move up bringing fresh energy in its suitcase, it comes up flooding past my heart in a mad parade, it is coming through my teeth, it is into the cornet, god cant stop god cant stop it cant stop the air the red force coming up cant remove it from my mouth, no intake gasp, so deep blooming it up god I cant choke it the music still pouring in a roughness Ive never hit, watch it listen it listen it, cant see I CANT SEE. Air floating through the blood to the girl red hitting the blind spot I can feel others turning, the silence of the crowd, cant see (131-32). Thus the instrument and the player become one. Diffusing himself, rather melting himself, blowing out himself through the cornet, his body, nerves, veins, sperms and aches of the soul find release. The whole scene is so built; the pitch of the music is raised to such sublimity that everybody is purged of his or her sin. The pathos of the jazz turns lyrics into hymns. The dancing girl appears to be a nymph and Buddy becomes the mystic piper. The appearance of a dancing woman who reminds him of both Nora and Robin releases his latent insanity, which is manifested in a stroke that he suffers while playing his cornet. Bolden spends the rest of his life in an asylum in nearby Jackson, returning to New Orleans only for burial in 1931. It is devastating to watch him confined, suffer abuse and gradually slip into madness. Jon Saklofske recognizes that Ondaatje rescues Buddy Bolden from historical obscurity by elevating and complicating the musicians largely forgotten history with a self-conscious and largely fictional synthesis of memory and imagination. The liberties Ondaatje takes in Coming Through Slaughter with his subject to achieve this re-presentation and the ownership of the portrait that results, exposes this type of authorial activity as a problematic appropriation. As a collector, Ondaatje becomes the owner and an essential part of this transformed and personalized image of Bolden. Further, Saklofske rightly argues that Ondaatje preserves Boldens presence, actively confronts historical exclusivity, and interrupts his own authority over his subject. Although his interaction with actual historical figures decreases with successive novels, Ondaatjes personal encounter with the impersonal machine of history continues, asserting itself repeatedly as a successful strategy against destructiveness or authoritative exclusion. Ondaatje tells of Buddy Boldens descent into his own hell, unwittingly or self-created, we do not know, but, in the process generating a level of art and beauty unsurpassed in the postmodern era. It is a story of despair, madness, loneliness, of the viciousness of life affecting high art, of art struggling to transcend lifes miseries, not always successfully, but ultimately a tale of aching lyricism. Ondaatjes language is innovative and appropriate and his strong theme is rich with universal implications. Ondaatje uses technique of Repetition with regards to the title. Twice in the book, Ondaatje includes references to a town north of Baton Rouge called Slaughter, through which Buddy passes twice. The most concrete theme is the idea of the setting as slaughter. The acceptance of promiscuity is a major cause of conflict and downfall. Ondaatje includes a description of the mattress whores who have been kicked out of Storyville for showing evidence of having sexually transmitted disease s. They are literally rotten. Promiscuity also seems to rot Bolden. By the time he has had his gratuitous fun in Storyville, married Nora, abandoned Nora, and had an affair with another woman, Bolden has lost his passion for jazz and is obsessed with sex. I desire every woman I remember (99), he says while he is isolated outside New Orleans. Ondaatje thus explores the connection between creative talent and self-destruction. He however does not try to answer any questions for his readers. He gives the facts, filling in where needed, and lets the reader decide what to think. After Boldens return to New Orleans, he is driven into deeper madness than before until he eventually experiences a climactic breaking point during a parade. Some say it was the result of trying to play the devils music and hymns at the same time. Others say it was from too many general excesses. Whatever the cause, Ondaatje makes it clear that, for Bolden living in New Orleans in the early 20th century, the road to anonymity was much more difficult than the road to fame. To sum up, Ondaatje attempts to retrieve the story of Buddy Bolden which lies hidden beneath layers of time. He draws as much from history, as from memory, re-mixing facts with fiction, reality with imagination, even reinventing the self of Bolden by mixing him with what he terms in the postscript as personal pieces of friends and fathers. In the novel thus, Ondaatje grapples with the intertwined notions of history, memory and identity portraying how memory affects history, to preserve, as also to distort. Identity as such has to be retrieved, reinvented and restructured from the obscure and impersonal discourse of history. The novel however leaves that task to the readers. Works Consulted: Deshaye, Joel. Parading the Underworld of New Orleans in Ondaatjes Coming Through Slaughter American Review of Canadian Studies. ( December 22, 2008). Emmerson, Shannon.Negotiaing the Boundaries of Gender: Construction and Representation of Women in the Work of Michael Ondaatje. A Thesis in The Depanment of English Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at Concordia University. Canada ,November 1997. Ondaatje, Michael. Coming Through Slaughter. London: Bloomsbury,2004. Saklofske, Jon. The Motif of the Collector and Implications of Historical Appropriation in Ondaatjes Novels. Comparative Cultural Studies and Michael Ondaatjes Writing. West Lefayette :Purdue Univesity Press,2005: 73-82. Vander,Kristin Coming Through Slaughter: The Destruction of a Man, Catapult. Vol.2, Num.4:2003 Wong, Cynthia F. Michael Ondaatje. Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Source Book. Ed. Emannuel S. Nelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Zepetnek,Steven Tà ¶tà ¶sy de. Comparative Cultural Studies and Michael Ondaatjes Writing. West Lefayette:Purdue Univesity Press, 2005.

Responsibilities of an Educated Person

In the world that we live in today, education plays an enormous role in cultivating societies and granting younger generations the tools and mindset required to increase their standards of living and contribute to the greater good. However, the term â€Å"educated† is a rather loose concept which differs from culture to culture. Having grown up in Western society following an international upbringing, I am naturally biased to attribute certain qualities to an â€Å"educated† person that another person from a different culture might not recognize. These various attributes affect the direct but also the suggested responsibilities that an educated person might hold, the latter being implied and not related to any concrete school of thought (utilitarianism for example. ) That being said, the main responsibilities of an educated person are: to contribute to the development of the global society, impart their knowledge on to the next generation, and to achieve personal success in whatever way suits their own personal desire. For the sake of brevity and to provide a context for the question, the term â€Å"educated† will be used acknowledging the following qualities: those who find themselves educated generally have the ability to think critically and provide commentary on the world around them; educated people are literate and have pursued an area of study that they can regularly practice; educated people are aware of the presence of other cultures and are open-minded and tolerant towards the idea of multiculturalism and globalization. These are the main qualities that define an educated person in my opinion. There are other admirable qualities such as pragmatism and leadership-skills that would fit nicely into the equation, but it has been proven throughout history that one does not necessarily need to be educated in order to be a good leader or pragmatic. It should also be noted that one does not necessarily need to be in possession of all these traits in order to be considered educated. Contributing to the development of the global society is, from a utilitarian perspective, quite possibly the most substantial responsibility of an educated person. This is explained in a variety of ways. For one, those who are educated are generally in possession of some type of knowledge or skill that society needs. Whether it be medical knowledge, the ability to fix a toilet, or even the poise required to write a speech, the world requires educated persons to fulfill their niches and at least attempt to make the world a more stable place. Happiness in the utilitarian sense is present when the masses are happy. So if educated persons can assure a better living standard for others, than they should make the effort to do so in consideration for the greater good. It is also essential that the chain of knowledge be imparted from one generation to the next. The demand for specialists and educators would always remain present because of a common acceptance that education leads to a better life. Educated persons generally have some way of proving their worth to society through a degree or a certificate that represents their acquisition of skills related to their topic, but it is often said that once a person can impart their knowledge to another, they've truly grasped the principals of their education. This statement functions as a duality. On one hand, it allows the educated person to obtain a sense of self-satisfaction in that he or she has fully grasped their education, and on the other hand, it spreads knowledge. Articles such as the First Amendment to the United States constitution stress the ability to obtain knowledge freely and the grave importance of knowledge. The fundamental principal of education exists throughout all cultures; the passing of some type of knowledge to the next generation. Undoubtedly the most subjective and arguably selfish responsibility of an educated person is to achieve success in whichever way they desire. This could be the acquisition of wealth, fame, happiness, a family, spiritual enlightenment, et cetera. Due to the subjective nature of this responsibility it is impossible to determine a universally agreeable importance, however, there lies a hint of truth which ties back to the previous responsibilities. One's hopes and dreams are usually reliant on some type of education, and the work spent on getting educated should eventually pay off in a profession or career of some sort. What this implies is that the more one studies, the more their education should pay off. This is reflected in the increasing demand for Master's degrees in most well paying jobs. However, this phenomenon also occurs due to an â€Å"inflation† of education where the presence of bachelor's degrees is so common that it is worth less than when a smaller percentage of people owned bachelor's degrees. In any case however, the main principal of this concept is that one must not waste one's education. When looking at education from a purely objective perspective, it would be hard to say that there are concrete responsibilities that all educated persons must fulfill. Due of the subjective nature of both education and responsibility, one can only offer opinions morally justified by particular instances in history and accepted ways of thinking. Based on the context that this essay has set for the ‘role-model' educated person, the three main responsibilities of an educated person are to contribute to the global society, to ensure that the chain of knowledge continues, and to use their education to guarantee their own success in whichever way they desire, ensuring that their education had not been wasted.

Acrylic polymer is derived from the monomer methyl metharcrylate or MMA Essay

When modern man discovered plastic and its myriad of uses, there was no turning back. Today, plastics figured prominently in the lives of 21st century people. It is almost impossible to live comfortably without this substance. And among the many kinds of polymer there is perhaps nothing more versatile and very much in demand than acrylic polymers. This paper will look into the chemical properties and the myriad of uses for the compound normally designated as PMMA or Polymethyl methacrylate. Chemistry Acrylic acid (H2C – CHCOOH) was synthesized in 1843 according to Charles Carraher (2003, p. 160). Then he goes to add that ethyl methacrylate (H2C – C(CH3)COOC2H5) was synthesized and polymerized in 1865 and 1877, respectively (2003). With regards to polymerization e.g. acrylic or methacrylic acid, it must be done in an aqueous solution at less than 20-30% concentration (Feldman & Barbalata, 1996). â€Å"Besides water, a conventional recipe involves an initiating system (potassium persulfate and sodium thiosulfate) and chain transfer agent† (Feldman & Barbalata, 1996). Acrylic polymer is derived from the monomer methyl metharcrylate or MMA. Polymers can be divided into two groups: thermoplastics and thermosets. And that majority of them are thermoplastics meaning once the polymer is formed it can be heated and reformed over and over again (see American Chemistry Council, 2007). This major attribute alone is enough to make scientists and businessmen to be very interested in the application of the product. But interestingly there are many more surprises up the sleeves of the thermoplastic polymer. Properties The following attributes can be seen in most polymers and especially so to acrylic polymers: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has a light transmittancy of about 92% – with particular clarity at lower wavelength of 270 to 350 nm (Whitaker, 1996) 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has good resistance to weathering 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Good mechanical strength 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dimensional stability along with high tensile and flexural strength (Whitaker, 1996) 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chemical resistance – including salts, bases, aliphatic hydrocarbons, fats and oils, most common gases, and inorganic chemicals as well as dilute and concentrated solutions of most alkali Applications According to Feldman and Barbalatat, the most important usage of acrylic polymer is in the manufacture of adhesives, thickeners, coatings, flocculants, dispersants, fluidizers, in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, ion exchange processes and textile processing (1996). Now, a few years after acrylic polymer was first introduced by the scientific community, the said substance was first used as interlining for automobile windshields (Carraher, 2003). Since acrylic polymers exhibit good resistance to weathering it is widely used in thermoformed signs, aircraft windshields, and bathtubs. Acrylic polymers have long been used in the manufacturing of cuvettes, tubing connectors, speculums,and many other medical devices requiring impact strength, chemical resistance, biocompatibility, and clarity. In fact it occupies a, â€Å"†¦prominent place in the market for clear, disposable plastic – only glass transmits light as well† (Whitaker, 1996). In the medical field, acrylic polymers have shown its versatility and all around usefulness. From the start medical professionals were already well acquainted with the substance because it was used in the manufacture of incubators. In 1955 its range of usage was expanded when the first acrylic prosthesis was implanted. This probably came after its success as a primary material for aircraft canopies during World War II – pilots suffered fewer infections from shards of acrylic than they had from glass (Whitaker, 1996). Aside as an important component of cuvettes and tubing connectors, it is also used to produce test kits, luers, drainage wands, syringes, blood filters, blood pump housings, fluid silos, surgical blade dispensers, surgical trays etc. Finally, acrylic polymers is not only superior in terms of chemical resistance, clarity as a thermoplastic, and durability which is highly prized in the medical field. This substance is also easily recyclable, â€Å"Acrylic burns extremely clean [†¦] with end products of carbon dioxide and water. In addition, the material offers superior recyclability: acrylic can be reground and reused, which results in less material waste during molding† (Whitaker, 1996). But there is more. The said material can be depolymerized back to its monomer, thoroughly purged of its impurities, and then can go full circle back into PMMA. This is a true recycling process, whereas most other recycling processes involve crushing the material and using it in applications with lower specifications (Whitaker, 1996). In the world of plastic, acrylic polymers belong to the top shelf. The range of its applications is a great help in the development of many industries especially in the medical field. Among other things it has provided cost-efficiency and safety concerning the medical practice and other industrial purposes. References American Chemistry Council. (2007). The Basics – Polymer Definition and Properties. PlasticResource.com [online] Accessed 08 May 2007 from http: www.plasticresource.com/s_plasticresource/sec.asp? TRACKID=&CID=124&DID=226 Carraher, C. (2003). Giant Molecules: Essential Materials for Everyday Living and Problem Solving. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Feldman, D. & Barbalata, A. (1996). Synthetic Polymers: Technology, Properties, Applications.    New York: Chapman and Hall. Whitaker, W. (1996). Acrylic Polymers: A Clear Focus. Medical Device Industry [online] Accessed 08 May 2007 from http: www.devicelink.com/mpb/archive/06/01/001.html.

The Impact Of The Great War On African American History

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When the United States entered the war, it would have a great impact on many African Americans, particularly the many men, women, and children who embarked on the G reat Migration - the largest movement of people in American history. Around 1914 to 1920, over 500,000 African Americans had gathered their belongings and embarked on a journey to the North. World War I and the economic boom that accompanied it created the conditions that made the entrance of black migrants into northern industries possible. However, until then European immigrants had been arriving at an annual rate that surpassed the North’s total black population, thus providing employers withShow MoreRelatedThe Great Migration Essay870 Words   |  4 PagesUnited States has had an essential impact on the nation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Progressions such as The Great Migration and the Second Great Migration are examples of movements that impacted the United States greatly. 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