Southland by Nina Revoyr - Essay Example

?Southland by Nina Revoyr Table of Contents Jackie Ishida and James Lanier: Their Encounters and Responses to the Reality of Living in a Race-Based Society 3 2. The Rework of the Novel under the Context of the Image of Los Angeles as the Site of the ‘American Dream’s 5 3. The Role of the Geographic and Political Climate of Los Angeles and US in Shaping Race Relations in Los Angeles from 1930 to 1994 7 4. Role of Cultural Attitudes in Influencing the Characters’ Ability to Achieve the American Dreams and/or Their Own Dreams 8 References 10 Bibliography 11 1. Jackie Ishida and James Lanier: Their Encounters and Responses to the Reality of Living in a Race-Based Society The novel written by Nina Revoyr, titled “Southland” was one of the bestsellers in 2003. The novel is primarily based on a suspense thriller about the murder of four black men during the post world-war II in 1965. Conversely, critics and analysts not only judged the novel due to its well-structured plot scenario, but they also judged due to the fact that the novel showcases multiple edges of a race-based society. In a socialistic form, the novel represents three ethnic groups, i.e. Asians, Blacks and Mexicans. It also illustrates the behavior of these ethnic groups compliant with various situations arising during the exploration of the mystery. Consequently, it highlights both the utopian and the dystopian verges of the races in a well-furnished manner (Nina, R., “Southland”). Several characters can be identified in the novel performing their individual characteristics according to the situations and instances. Among them the two major characters of the story are Jackie Ishida and James Lanier. Jackie Ishida was the grand daughter of Frank Sakai, an Asian settled in Los Angles with a store in the area. Frank Sakai had passed away quite ‘unexpectedly’, just before ten days of Jackie Ishida’s arrival to the city after receiving the call from her aunt Louis. Jackie Ishida, by her birth belonged to the Asian race and can be identified as an Asian-American. The girl was also a final year law student in the UCLA law school. On the other hand, James Lanier was an African-American and related to one of the three victims who was found murdered in Frank Sakai’s store (Nina, R., “Southland”). Throughout the novel there were several incidents where the ethnic qualities of these characters have been visualized. For example, the first interview of Jackie Ishida and James Lanier revealed the various paradoxes of the two young minds in terms of ethnicity and gender. As can be witnessed in the situation, Jackie seemed to be quite an individualist and conservative as well for which her ethnicity and gender plays a significant role. Notably, in her first meet, the girl hesitated to be alone with James after Laura had left her in his office, although she liked him. On the contrary, James proved to be quite a conformist by his behavior where he approaches in front of Jackie and depicts to be interested in her through the words of Laura. This contradictory form of behavior depicted from the end of Jackie and James were evidently the influence of their ethnic groups and their genders as well (Nina, R., “Southland”). Another unique characteristic of the novel which in turn influences the encounters and the responses of the two characters was that it was to a certain extent based on the plot of 1992 riots. It is in this context, that the novel raises various consequences of an ethnic society during the period. For instance, Jackie’s astonishment when the true fact of her grandfather, Frank behind leaving Crenshaw was revealed and also when she witnessed a majority of blacks in his funeral depicted both the virtues and deficiencies of an ethnic society (Nina, R., “Southland”). 2. The Rework of the Novel under the Context of the Image of Los Angeles as the Site of the ‘American Dream’s Several authors had contextualized the site of ‘American Dream’ highlighting various instances which occurred after World War II, which was primarily based on the image of Los Angeles. For instance, the writing of Fulton (2001) was based on the political and the financial characteristics of Los Angeles during the post-war period of 1990s. The author in his writing sketches the underdeveloped status of the country, when compared to other regions of America. Another chief characteristic which he portrayed in his writing was that the majority of the county comprised of the black ethnic citizens. In the financial perspective, the county was hit by the earthquake during 1994 which badly affected the financial well-being of the citizens of Los Angeles. To be specific, the image of Los Angeles in the site of ‘American Dream’ was of a rural area which was at that period striving to gain the importance of an urbanized region. However, the county seemed to be seizing its rural existence to an extent. These characteristics altogether demonstrated the image of Los Angeles as a mix of both rural and urban colors (Fulton, W. B., “The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles”). To relate the novel of Nina Revoyr, ‘Southland’, to the demonstrated image of Los Angeles in the site of ‘American Dream’s according to Fulton, it can be stated that both the pictures tend to be quite similar. In other words, Nina Revoyr in her novel ‘Southland’ has quite frequently mentioned the fact that the county comprised a majority of black men rather than Native Americans and/or Asian Americans. For instance, in the funeral of her grandfather, before her return to Torrance and also in other various instances, Jackie observed to have more African American by her side than her own race or any other ethnic groups. Moreover, the novel also depicted the then scenario of the political and the financial aspects of the society notifying that there were only few stores besides her grandfather’s and there were also a few professionals who used to work in the urban areas. The author also mentioned the consequences of the earthquake which took place in 1940 and which partially forced her aunt Louis to move from the county to somewhere else. From her words in the novel it can be observed that Los Angeles during the period stood as an image representing a traditional culture along with the characteristics of a transforming society in terms of modernization and urbanization (Nina, R., “Southland”). Illustratively, Fulton (2001) demonstrated the political environment of Los Angeles quite evidently demonstrating the ethnic issues during the period. As he states in his writing, the situation of Los Angeles during the early ‘90s seemed to anchor a tug-of-war between the Latinos and the Anglos regarding the political power. To be precise, the power shifted quite frequently between the Latinos and the Anglos which in turn provided rise to the ethnic rivalries and influenced the social environment of the county as well (Fulton, W. B., “The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles”). This certain feature of Los Angeles can also be witnessed in the novel ‘Southland’. Notably, the novel illustrates various instances which evidently reveal the contradictory form of behavior between the ethnic groups such as the murder of the three young black men, the portrayal of the social environment in the context of ‘92 riots. All these virtues of the novel apparently reveal that it was quite effective in packaging and promoting the image of Los Angeles as the site of the ‘American Dream’ (Nina, R., “Southland”). 3. The Role of the Geographic and Political Climate of Los Angeles and US in Shaping Race Relations in Los Angeles from 1930 to 1994 Evidences reveal that the economic and social characteristics of Los Angeles were highly influenced by the then political happenings and its geographical consequences as well. These divergences can be plotted from 1930 to 1994. According to the article written by Kamp (2009), the political and the social interferences during the 1930s were quite unstable. As a consequence, the racial aspect of the county provided rise to the racial discrimination which in turn influenced the social well-being of America. Notably, as one of the major regions of America, the effect also influenced the social characteristics of Los Angeles at large providing rise to racial disputes and discriminations (Bethell, L., “The Cambridge History of Latin America”). Until 1942, the political scenario of the nation changed largely, but the aspect of racial turmoil was still present in the American society. The factor even gained more significance during the 1942 period revealing a situation of internal war and external war as well (World War II) between various ethnic groups in order to earn freedom, cooperation and self-reliance in the political environment of the nation. However, on the utopian side, the literacy rate was at rise and the political environment of America had already started to take its structure. For instance, by the end of 1965, the number of adults with a college degree increased twice in comparison to 1940s. By 1965, industrialization and urbanization took rapid pace in the American Society, which also had an impact in the social well-being of Los Angeles (Kamp, “Rethinking the American Dream”). To be mentioned further, until the 1990s, the nations had its well-structured legal proceedings and a customized society which was aimed at eradicating the racial consequences of the then Latin America. However, social disputes seemed to be stable to an extent. On the contrary, during that period, the major parts including Los Angeles were hit several times by geographical hazards such as earthquakes. This in turn affected the financial environment of the economy making it slightly unstable (Conlin, J. R., “The American Past: A Survey of American History”). 4. Role of Cultural Attitudes in Influencing the Characters’ Ability to Achieve the American Dreams and/or Their Own Dreams By the time period of 1994, the plot timing of the novel ‘Southland’, racial issues were quite stable with an overall perspective. However, the cultural dynamism still contained a certain level of reluctance regarding the gender roles, interracial sex and sexuality. However, the ethnic dominance during the period was eradicated to a large extent, but still racial discriminations played a significant role in all these social verges. On the contrary, the literacy rate of the nation and the optimization of America and Los Angeles as well, increased with a remarkable pace (Phinney, “When We Talk about American Ethnic Groups, What Do We Mean?”). Therefore, the then scenario of the Los Angeles society revealed both complications and support for the characters, Jackie Ishida and James Lanier. To be specific, the cultural barriers to permit interracial sex during the period increased the complication in the relationship between Jackie and James which in turn affected their personal thoughts. Accordingly, it also affected the ‘American Dream’ which was to build up an integrated and cooperative nation for the well-being of its natives. References Bethell, Leslie. The Cambridge History of Latin America Cambridge University Press, 1995. Conlin, Joseph R. The American Past: A Survey of American History Cengage Learning, 2009. Fulton, William B. The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles JHU Press, 2001. Kamp, David. “Rethinking the American Dream”. February 28, 2011. Vanity Fair, 2009. Nina, Revoyr. Southland Akashic Books, 2003. Phinney, Jean S. “When We Talk about American Ethnic Groups, What Do We Mean?” February 28, 2011. California State University, 1996. Bibliography Davis, Mike. City Of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles Verso, 2006. Freer, Regina. L.A. Race Woman: Charlotta Bass and the Complexities of Black Political Development in Los Angeles The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. Gottlieb, Robert. Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City MIT Press, 2007. Kropp, Phoebe S. Citizens of the Past? Olvera Street and the Construction of Race and Memory in 1930s Los Angeles Duke University Press, 2001. Read More