Friday- At the beginning of the story I thought Friday was just a victim
of the society, colonization ,slavery, mutilation. But as the story went
on, I realized that he had more power than it was given to him. Even
though he could not communicate verbally, he did so non verbally. He did
not respond to Susan's teaching either because he was not interested or
because of her teaching methods. You cannot teach a student that doesn't
want to learn, can you? Which reminds me of the concepts of acquisition
and responsibility. But to be honest at one point I thought that he was
autistic with the spinning, the fixating with the wigs and robes and the
humming. I did reflect on the kind of life Friday would have had if he
was white, English perhaps and not a mutilated African slave. How could
his life been different? Full of opportunities and a chance to be free
and not oppressed. But then again , as Foe asks,what is freedom if there
is not a desire to be free.(p.143) At the end I think that of all of
that was taken or given to Friday, he only took what he needed and most
of all what he wanted.
Monday, October 6, 2008
From discussion thread/add to it before the section is locked
by Betzaida:
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5 comments:
As much as i try to follow other options for what happened to Friday, inside of me I have this vision that he mutilated to, at least somehow, preserve himself from the intervention of the "white man".
He was considered a "savage", but he knew it wasn't right for someone to treat him the way he was being treated. Vera, I see what you mean by "[...]would have had if he
was white, English perhaps and not a mutilated African slave...", and it reminds me of what happened to the Native American when the English came to colonize here. In order to learn the "white culture", schools and universities were created, to "deculturalize" the Indians. I mean, if we think what's going on around the world today we think "kids need to be in school and learn!!", but if we look back, schools were created to teach the Indians English,economy and religion and pretty much take away from them their own culture and way of express themselves.
I am sorry if that's not what you were trying to show us, but it was what came to my mind: the contrast
of "opportunities" (in terms of education) centuries ago, and nowadays.
I keep thinking about this: if I were Susan, I wonder how I'd feel about myself in her situation. When somebody refuses to communicate with you, how do you feel? I feel manipulated, it is a mind game. I would not feel good.
My daughter used to bring me to complete despair when she wouldn't answer my questions. Nor would she acknowledge my very presence. It drove me nuts!!! I can certainly relate to Susan's frustration with Friday.
On the other hand, non-communication is communication in essence. It is a statement. That was thoroughly discussed in the thread (Gandhi, etc.). I know we are supposed to sympathize with "Fridays" in life, and I DO, I DO, but there is a limit to one's patience, unless one is a saint. Susan Barton is only herself, she can't be Gandhi or expert on other people's experiences, she can't see through people's heads, so I don't think she deserves harsh criticism that is being given to her.
I think Friday has a very strong personality and is, in short, admirable. His life-time of being a slave has not made a slave of him, in a sense. I am not sure I'd be able to preserve myself so well under the circumstances.
Great insights into Friday. I think he was traumatized and his behaviors are coping mechanisms. Very much symbolizing what people who are mistreated do in response to being dominated.
Thanks for posting in our blog, "Nanregtra"! Is it Nancy? :)
I feel like Friday was an extension of Cruso's existence. Cruso had given up on the civilized society and so had Friday. They had a comraderie in that sense.
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