Analysis of A Good Fall by Ha Jin - Essay Example

A Good Fall by Ha Jin Individuals in everyday life are trained to be locked into different systems that prevent themfrom being who they desire to be. These systems may be their families, their cultures and/or traditions, their communities, and even their relationships. All these form a basis through which individuals end up feeling trapped, and eventually, lose complete control of their state of being. This state of being or psychological state is what has been identified as learned helplessness, where individuals believe that anything they might end up doing to help themselves would be pointless. In the book, A Good Fall by Ha Jin, different stories about different individuals are told and the reader gets to see the situations in which these individuals are exposed to, leaving them with little choices over their situations (Jin 33). This paper will examine learning helplessness and its recurring cycle of futility among different people in their different systems. Systems, for example; relationships, develop for a specific reason and to satisfy different individual needs. As the system evolves, the manner in which it survives is through the creation of certain beliefs, taboos, activities, and perspectives. As this goes on, the original or intended purpose of the system fades or dissipates, leaving the system to run automatically. This then ultimately leaves all the participants in the various systems vulnerable or exposed to whatever comes their way without paying much thought to what they might like, dislike, or even hate about their present situations. Through observation, individuals are learning to accept their current situations without putting up a fight by thinking that the whole process will bear no fruit (McMahon 1). Learned helplessness means that people have accepted to live they way they are without striving to change their situations. Prolonged uncontrollable events in the lives of individuals often shape their future behaviors, thus; determining whether or not they might try to change them. When faced with these uncontrollable events, individuals and their problem solving skills are affected. They then choose to react through emotion, or lack of emotion, which could be a lasting or long term effect that might affect any and all future relations. Ha Jin, through his book, has provided the perfect examples of what people might go through in their systems as they try to find means of coping with their situations. These examples range from the lonely music composer who finds camaraderie with his girlfriend’s parakeet, to the Chinese grandparents who find their grandchildren disrespectful and culturally unaware (Jin 92). Free will is always a topic that raises a lot of arguments with different people arguing for or against its power in making decisions. Some may argue that free will does not exist because in truth, individual freedom does not exist. Others argue that the positive motivators in life offer individuals the right to choose or make decisions freely. This is in a bid to have others free from their form of thinking (McMahon 1). In Ha Jin’s stories, it is clear that free will is being threatened by learned helplessness, which has affected the manner in which most of the characters relate to each other, and how they make their decisions. By focusing on the systems in which they are exposed to, it becomes impossible for them to think of their behavior as being negative or depressing. This then worsens, and before the individual can identify what is happening, they might have already been drawn in too deep. In “Choice”, the characters are faced with dilemmas that might affect their choices and will to do as they wish. Dave Hong and Eileen Ming are both characters impacted by free will, or the lack of it, as their choices are being influenced by the environment in which they find themselves. As Ming sought to find a tutor for her daughter, she found herself attracted to Hong, who also felt the same. However, there were problems that came about as a result of their age difference. Hong was worried about what his parents would think or say about his relationship with a much older woman. On the other hand, Ming was conflicted between her daughter’s frustrations and her relationship with Hong. Sami, Ming’s daughter, was also interested in or attracted to Hong (Jin 132). In both cases, it was difficult for the two to do as they wanted, because they felt that the choice to be together had been taken from them. In “Children as Enemies”, the generational conflict touched on earlier appears, and is seen in the manner in which the older generation perceives the much younger one, and vice versa. In a bid to aid in the growth and development of the family, the narrator, who is the grandfather, is quick to point out the flaws that exist in his son’s family. He wishes that the children be educated properly so as to learn the ways that may make them grow into culturally aware individuals. This, however, proves a daunting task as the children wish to break ties with their grandparents and their traditions. This is seen in the way they are hell-bent on changing their names to suit their present environment, the United States. This, according to the narrator, is disrespectful in the eyes of the much older generation (Jin 95). Readers may find this story effective because it talks of both parties being at fault. In the first story, the main characters Dave Hong and Eileen Ming find themselves at a crossroads. They find it almost impossible to do as they wish because of the forces present in their lives. Hong is faced with the dilemma of having to tell his parents that he wishes to be with and even marry an older woman. Ming is faced with the dilemma of having to restrain her feelings in order to make her daughter happy. However, Hong is willing to overlook the disapproval brought on by his parents’ influence, but Ming is still conflicted. In the other story, the grandparents can be faulted for interfering in their son’s family affairs, while blame can also be put on the children for being disrespectful. One cannot help but feel sorry for the middle generation that is caught in the crossfire, feeling helpless because they cannot find a middle ground where all parties end up satisfied. In a recent interview, it became clear that a large number of individuals battle with learned helplessness, even without knowing it. From this interview, it became clear to me that a number of things can occur to individuals who face abuse while at home. In a home where there is an abusive father, the children can either develop tendencies that resemble those of the mother or those of the father. This is depending on the children’s gender. The girl child might grow up thinking that in such a situation, it is only right to be passive and compliant, especially if the mother was passive and compliant during such incidences. My interviewee was among those that happened to grow up in an abusive home. Through observation, she was able to associate these tendencies with the normal characteristics of relationships. After moving from one bad relationship to another, she began to wonder why she could not find happiness. Only after professional help was she able to find a solution to her problems, and now she cannot think of living in an abusive relationship (Hani 1). In conclusion, learned helplessness may be associated with the feeling of being unable to do anything to save a dire or calamitous situation. However, going by the stories in Ha Jin’s book, it is clear that most characters have the ability to overcome their negative motivators and actually build a better life for themselves. This contemporary tendency is present in the lives of countless individuals who feel powerless to do anything about it, but the answers are available in the facts in everyone’s lives. It only takes a moment to realize that being safe does not necessarily mean being happy. Once this happens, individuals are on their way to becoming free to do as they wish in a bid to be happy, and break the chains of helplessness. Works Cited Hani, Layla. Personal Interview. 8 October 2014. Jin, Ha. A Good Fall: Stories. Boston, MA: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2009. Print. McMahon, Jeff. “A Composer and His Parakeets” Lesson Revised for Fall 2014. Herculodge.typepad.com, 2014. Web. 25 Sep. 2014. Read More