When Literature Meets Linguistics

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Robert Tsui

ENGE1640

Prof Grant Hamilton

Chosen topic: Discuss the relationship between language and identity in at least TWO of the set texts.

When literature meets linguistics: Integrating Language and Identity

English Language has been perceived as the global language for quite a period of time. A global language is often linked with the common language of mass media and the language of the American superpower (C. Lee 1). As more and more people are moving to Britain and the United States for opportunities, communities are increasingly mixed with people of different nationalities. In this essay, ‘Sunday Cricket’ and ‘Nostalgia’, two texts from two transnational authors, Jean Breeze and Bharati Mukherjee, will be examined for the relationship between language and identity. Although both texts have put particular focus on the internal struggle of the protagonists, the use of language in the text and how do the protagonists address the struggle make the two stories different from each other.

In this article, the analysis starts with characters, the most important element in literary texts. Through examining the two texts, it is observable that both protagonists are resilient to changes in culture to a certain extent. Arose from pluralistic identities, ‘issues of ethnicity, Diaspora and the boundaries of race and culture’ are often discussed and dealt with in transnational literatures (M. Lee 311). As diasporic writers, Jean Breeze and Bharati Mukherjee both focus on how people are resilient to changes even when they are introduced to a new culture. Instead of putting emphasis on diaspora in her work, Breeze sets the story in a Jamaican community, making the protagonist a constant church-goer and a devoted fan of cricket. As a sport originated in England, the protagonist, however, shows his affection towards the West Indies Team, instead of the England Team. He thinks ‘despite all dis [the Englands get rid of a racist team and have three West Indians in their team] doah, we still can’t lose we pride so much as to mek Englan beat we [the West Indies Team]’ (Breeze 344). Although the protagonist supports the English sport, he is still supporting the West Indies, the locals from Caribbean countries. Based on the bias towards the locals, the protagonist can be inferred as not totally accepting the British culture. Mukherjee has also put such mentality in her short story. As the protagonist, Dr Patel receives quality medical training at Johns Hopkins, a leading medical school, and has immersed himself in the culture to an extent that ‘he has chosen to settle in the US’, and thinks himself ‘not an expatriate but a patriot’ (Mukherjee 22). Ironically as an American patriot, he at the same time enjoys the experience as being an Indian, as he orders a cup of masala tea, allowing the brew to calm him, and the steam to clear his sinuses (Mukherjee 28). This differs from the Americans, as they ‘would probably have ordered a double Scotch’ (Mukherjee 28). From the difference in the preferences of the protagonists and people in the British or American communities, people living in a culture different from their home culture will try to adapt it, but they will still remain bits of preferences left for their original culture.

Because of such difference in preferences, their partners are often unable to understand what the male protagonists think, as they share different values. In ‘Sunday Cricket’, it is not the protagonist who decides whether they should go to church, but it is his wife who decides (Breeze 344). Although the protagonist knows ‘West Indies battin, … yuh wife decide dat de whole family have to go to church’, meaning that the male protagonist does not have any autonomy on whether to go to watch the cricket match or attend the church service (Breeze 344). The protagonist’s wife never understands what her husband thinks, which can be shown in where they sit in the church. The protagonist and Bredda B ‘usually seat in de back bench while my madda an im wife head towards de choir’ (Breeze 345), suggesting that they share different attitudes – the men think cricket is more important than church, while the women, who are totally immersed in the British culture, think in a totally different way. Such change in position is also seen in ‘Nostalgia’, with Camille unable to understand why Dr Patel is so angry at Mr Horowitz. In the story Mr Horowitz gets crazy, ‘calling Dr Patel … "Paki scum"’ and ‘flopping like a walrus on Dr Patel’s desk’ (Mukherjee 21, 28). Instead of showing sympathy, Camille makes fun of his job by suggesting him to ‘carry firearms’ to work (Mukherjee 28). Camille is not aware of that Dr Patel is so drained from the work because of facing such a disgraceful claim, and that Dr Patel is also an Indian. As Camille does not realize how disgraceful it is when an Indian is being called a Paki scum, it is unavoidable that Dr Patel ‘wishes he has married an Indian woman’, who understands him better than Camille. The difference in understanding because of the language and acts can exhibit how different their identities are, as the protagonists have to live between two cultures.

The play and mixing of languages also exhibits the life of living in two cultures. Both writers concentrate on the characters living in alienation, as mentioned above. They also incorporate the local language in their works, localizing their work in the global language. There are a lot of methods in making local languages and English coexist, and the small difference in language manipulation implies how the protagonists react to the culture shock they have encountered. In Breeze’s story, the use of first-person narrative with the use of Jamaican English makes readers feel that the protagonist, the person living a multicultural life speaks. Breeze decides to write in Jamaican English is not because of her language ability, but because she would like to share her Jamaican experience through literature and use the Jamaican pronunciation to write in English. According to Breeze, Jamaican literature is unpopular and if works are not written in the Jamaican way, Jamaican English literature is going to cease (Sharpe 609). Breeze also decides to use Jamaican English for the whole article, in order to imply the protagonist’s sense of belonging to the Jamaican community. The strategy for not translating Jamaican English into British English is possibly because Standard English cannot carry the local colours of the Jamaican community, and it is easier for readers to think English as a foreign culture. The Jamaican English is peripheral, it is neither Jamaican nor English; it also displays the protagonist’s mixed and confusing mentality – thinking of Jamaica and Britain at the same time. ‘Nostalgia’ has also played with linguistic elements for creating Dr Patel’s identity. As an Indian, Dr Patel chooses to cook bhindi and have masala tea, while most of the Americans do not choose and know how to cook (Mukherjee 26, 28). Apart from cooking, Dr Patel is thrilled ‘in taking a chance … stepping inside the New Taj Mahal and asking Padma out’ with his identity of being an Indian (Mukerjee 34-35). As he wishes to marry an Indian woman, this shows that he is still having his Indian identity. Apart from being an Indian, he also rejects the maître d’s request in writing a medical justification letter politely by saying ‘Please leave us alone’, which corresponds his reputation as a renowned psychiatrist (Mukherjee 33). Based on the quotes, it can be seen that the characters do experience cultural shock.

For characters living between two cultures, it is very common to deal with cultural shock experienced by different characters. In Diasporic literature, it is common to have a feeling to retain the original identity before ‘feeling naturalized in the new surroundings’ (M. Lee 311). As for ethnicity, it can be seen from the protagonists that they want to keep their original identity (i.e. ‘I’ in ‘Sunday Cricket’ to be a Jamaican, and Dr Patel in ‘Nostalgia’ be an Indian). In ‘Sunday Cricket’ because the protagonist would like to be a Jamaican, he goes to church with his radio, turns it on and listens to it during the church service (Breeze 345). It may be argued that cricket is a British sport, and this is not a way to retain the Jamaican identity. However, the focus should be placed on which team he and Bredda B are supporting. The origins are not important, as we do not show patriotism to Korea because they produce quality Samsung phones. Patriotism is an idea which refers to ‘vigorous support for one’s [home] country’, so even under the British rule, the protagonist is still a Jamaican, and the act of supporting the Caribbean team is patriotic (‘Definition of Patriotism in Oxford’). With the West Indies team symbolized as the Jamaican spirit, attending church becomes a symbol of the British spirit. In the church, when the choir is ‘singin "up from de grave he rose"’, Bredda B voice ring out, loud an clear, "dem drop im, man, im get a life!"’ (Breeze 346). This act alienates Bredda B and the protagonist from the congregation, or the rest of the community, in a broader sense, because not acting as ‘appropriately’ as what others do in the same situation. In ‘Nostalgia’, alienation of Dr Patel from the American community is also seen. In the story Dr Patel is the only person who would like to go back to India and lead the Indian lifestyle. He always ‘lives with the fear that his father would die before he can free himself from … New York and go home’ and ‘sorts through wilted piles of okra which Camille won’t know how to cook’, showing that he always want to live the Indian style in New York (Mukherjee 23, 26). Yet he cannot explain his desire of going home, as Camille does not share the same experience, and his boy cannot leave New York because of his expired visa (Mukherjee 23). As in the family he is the only Indian, he is actually alienated from his family. Putting into consideration with the narrator’s feelings, dealing with the cultural shock becomes their big challenge.

In contrary to the characters’ similarities in the diasporic experience, they address the issue very differently. Although ‘Sunday Cricket’ ends with the narrator seemingly enjoys the church experience by ‘voice lif up like he is ready to over run a pitch’, he is actually referring to the ‘amen’ in the end of the final song. In churches, amen ‘is uttered at the end of a prayer or hymn’ (‘Definition of Amen in Oxford’). As the protagonist’s attention has gone to cricket, what he is actually longing to do is not to stay in church and listen to sermons; instead is to go outside and enjoy the cricket match. The narrator even makes fun of Jesus’ resurrection, that he ‘always rise again, hallelujah, always to rise again’, meaning that he is always ready to leave the church immediately after the service and enjoy the cricket (Breeze 347). From his quotes, he ‘pretends’ to love the British culture (as he ‘pretends’ to be very attentive at sermons), fitting himself comfortably in the Jamaican culture and unwilling to change his personality to meet the public’s expectations. Dr Manny Patel, in ‘Nostalgia’, does this in the completely opposite way. Although he once has an intercourse with Padma, an Indian lady, he quickly switches himself back to the American identity after he has been cheated by Padma and the maître d’ (Mukherjee 35). Because the fraud simply contradicts his values and fools him, he suddenly feels ‘her perfume … makes him choke’ and turns his loved into hatred by ‘writing WHORE on the mirror and floor’ (Mukherjee 36, 37). He then decides to ‘take his wife on a cruise through the Caribbean ad make up for this night with a second honeymoon’, optimistically accepting his own faults, trying to compensate it by retaining his American identity and embracing the new future ahead.

As people are somehow separated from their own culture into the culturally hegemonic culture in the new environment, cultural shock is inevitable. No matter how do they react to them, being trapped between cultures should be paid with a considerable amount of attention. Instead of evading trouble, one is suggested to overcome it and be ready for the challenges ahead. Bob Dylan once said, ‘No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky’. Everyone is bound with constraints, just like Dr Patel and the narrator in ‘Sunday Cricket’. However, as one’s success is determined by a good attitude, it guarantees one for success. Being nostalgic is not a problem, but it is a problem when people keep on recounting the past and not heading forward. It is hoped that after reading this article, readers can understand changes can always be made, and a better path can always be paved.