global issue

the theme of power, inequality, and social justice

==how minor communities assert their rights and identities in the face of systemic oppression== (global issue)

Matika Wilbur’s photograph (American Concentration Camps: Unangax Loss and Resurrection - Project 562 Blog - Project 562) - reveals the hidden history of the US holocaust in Alaska %% - reflects on the eradication of marginalized culture practices %%

the novel Small Country - a refugee who still holds the belief of her own cultural identity %% - showcases the resilience of storytelling %%

Both demonstrate the resilience and inheritance of ethnic group under external pressure (Thesis)

Image

symbolism in Subject Selection - environment as symbolism of external suppresion in history - as reflected in its description, the US army put the local in holocaust to keep them from Japanese army during WWII. Later on, their culture were neglected in official education. - the harsh environment full of barren, rocks, and snow symbolizes the hardship facing systemic oppression - traditional uniform and instrument: representative of indeginous culture

Contrast - color pallete: grey hued background contrast with red uniform -> mood: facial expression and body language showcase its optimism, which contrasts with the harsh environment’s gloomy mood -> resilience of the figure and culture against external pressure

Small Country

%% “Rosalie’s frizzy gray-white hair stood on end like a chef’s toque perched
on top of her head. It made her skull appear oblong-shaped and
disproportionately large for the graceful neck supporting it: like a rugby ball
balanced on a needle. Rosalie was nearly a hundred years old.” She often tells the history before and after the colonialism of Rwanda.

simile and imagery: Rosalie is very old, but she still persists to tell story from the past to preserve them.

“She often
liked to tell the life-story of this or that king who had rebelled first against
the German and then the Belgian colonists, and who had been exiled abroad
for refusing to convert to Christianity. I never showed much interest in the
antics of the monarchy and the White Fathers. I always yawned, which
irritated Pacifique, who scolded me for my lack of curiosity. Maman would
fire back that her children were French kids, and it was pointless boring us
with their Rwandan stories. Pacifique, on the other hand, could spend hours
listening to the old woman recalling the Rwanda of bygone days”

juxtapositon: different attitude between people towards the old story

“The old woman was clinging to her past, to
her lost homeland, while the young man was peddling her a future, a new
and modern country for all Rwandans, regardless of their identity. And yet
they were both talking about the same thing. Returning to their country.
One belonged to history, the other was tasked with making history happen.”

juxtaposition: - diction “cling” and “peddling”, dynamic and static - young and old, but they both wish for going back home -> resilience of the cultural group in face of external pressure

%%

Turning to Small Country, the excerpt from Chapter 9 centers on Gaby’s great-grandmother, Rosalie.

“Every afternoon, she observed the same ritual. She would —, open her snuffbox crafted from vegetable ivory, — take the first small tokes of fresh tobacco. Next, she would —weave— handiwork — Rosalie was nearly a hundred years old. She often liked to tell the life-story of this or that — recalling the Rwanda of bygone days: heroic deeds in battle, pastoral poetry, panegyric poems, the Intore dances, the genealogy of the clans, moral values…Rosalie would speak slowly and softly in a gentle murmur, with the cadences of a sitar player. —A tear or two was always poised to slide down one cheek.”

vivid imagery to describe Rosalie’s afternoon activities. Details like “eyes closed” and “the first small tokes of fresh tobacco” give the scene a peaceful mood, immersing the reader in her steady, nostalgic world. The tears hint the sadness of Rosalie who suffered great oppression. Here, Rosalie has become a symbol of cultural resilience, a testament to its resilience. Her daily rituals of smoking, weaving, and storytelling are resistance to cultural erasure. Weaving coasters and baskets is a craft that is closely tied to her ancestral roots.

I never showed much interest in the
antics of the monarchy and the White Fathers. I always yawned, which
irritated Pacifique, who scolded me for my lack of curiosity. Maman would
fire back that her children were French kids, and it was pointless boring us
with their Rwandan stories. Pacifique, on the other hand, could spend hours
listening to the old woman recalling the Rwanda of bygone days: heroic
deeds in battle, pastoral poetry, panegyric poems, the Intore dances, the
genealogy of the clans, moral values…
Mamie berated Maman for not speaking to us in Kinyarwanda. She
believed that the language would allow us to hold onto our identity, despite
living in exile, otherwise we would never become good Banyarwandas
(“those who come from Rwanda”). Maman didn’t buy those arguments: in
her eyes we were white kids, with skin the color of pale caramel, but white all the same. Whenever we spoke a few words of Kinyarwanda, she
immediately made fun of our accent. So it’s hardly surprising I showed little
interest in Rwanda, its monarchy, its cows, its mountains, its moons, its
milk, its honey, and its rotten mead

Lastly, the text employs juxtaposition between generations different attitude towards tradition. Gayby the small child yawns when listening to Gramma’s story, while Mamie believed that the language would allow people to hold onto their identity. The youngs, like Gaby “spoke a few words of Rwandan language”, and his mother made fun of their accent. These dramatic contrasts reveals the disappearance of language and culture in a family, and also shows the effort for inheritance of Rosalie and her older generation.

Conclusion

Although oppresive power marginalized and gradually eradicated the minority’s culture, the minor groups show resistance and defiance in inheritance of their culture to their next generation.

In the Small Country, the forgotten stories told by Rosalie demonstrates self-determination, while in Matika Wilbur’s photo, it was the long-lost traditional dance that showcases the autonomy reclaim.

Even a humble assertion of one’s roots can stand firm against massive historical pressures.