Final Thoughts on Narratives

Someday I am going to be whisked off my feet, married to the man of my dreams. Meeting, we will love. Life will be pleasant, pink-purple fields of daydreams. I will pour my heart into areas of service in hopes to achieve the naive dream of 'helping people'. But, life is not so rosy for untalented, uncomfortable me, I'll probably never be anything anyway. Besides, look at the despair that the world holds - war, extreme poverty, political corruption, environmental doomsday, and apathy, the ultimate killer.

These are narratives that, running through my mind, have the capacity to uplift and encourage me, or to smash, crush me into the Box. I have grown up with these three narratives, of love, of career, and of foolishly low self worth. Occasionally, I have allowed these ideas to form my life choices. Because of these narratives, as someone who dreams of service, I look forward to a teaching career. I consider myself somewhat of a feminist, yet I dream of a wedding day. I see global and local despair and have two choices - I could wither in the agony of cynicism or empower myself, determined to fight. Deconstructing narratives, or creating new, empowering narratives, is an important stop on the journey to self discovery.

Throughout this semester, as a student of Multicultural Literature, I have read four novels written by authors who focus upon the power of narrative in a global society. At some point the main character in each novel is confronted with the narratives that play a role in their lives.
Their narratives affect others in this inexplicable, "small" world way.

Stevens, the butler character of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Remains of the Day, is the definitive example of a person who allows one narrative to run his or her life. Stevens does not separate his profession from his identity, which is okay by him. In fact, Stevens regards the level of "dignity" and duty in his work to be applicable and admirable in every aspect of his life. He is so stuck within his narrative of dignity that he fails to understand the love of a woman, fails to understand his employer's involvement in Nazi activity. Disillusioned, he plods on, convinced that his assistance to his employer, is in turn, an assistance to mankind.

Steven's narrative, which does little to empower to him, also affects others in an adverse way. For instance, due to his strict devotion to his employer, as a matter of duty, Stevens fires the two Jewish maids of the house in which he works. Stevens also succeeds in driving Ms. Kenton away to an unhappy lifestyle, when he does nothing to show his affection for her.

The controversial author Salman Rushdie also develops the notion of crippling narratives within the short story "The Prophet's Hair." This was the tale of Hashim, a wealthy moneylender who becomes obsessed with a holy relic, a hair which he finds upon the street. The relic, which he believes to be a sacred miracle worker, consumes him. He determines that he must have the relic, at any cost. At the end of the story we see just how much the relic has cost him - in an unfortunate turn of events Hashim losses everything. Attempting to save the sacred hair he inadvertently kills his daughter, before killing himself and losing his wife to madness.

These two authors have made it their responsibility to examine narratives, to expose the beneficial and the harmful effects upon individuals and populations. As a citizen of a community, a community which interchanges between local and global, I have the responsibility to evaluate the narratives that shape my life, to examine how my decisions will affect others.