Survival by Dorothy Allison - Essay Example

SURVIVAL Life is a lottery, mere a game of chance, where man has obtained least control over the circumstances. Not to talk ity over fate, humans have not obtained acquaince with even where they are to be born and open their blissful or baleful eyes in the world and what will be their parentage, race, ethnic group, religion, region, caste, creed, nationality and origin. It is the will of the Nature, before which man has to surrender willy-nilly. The same is the case with one’s financial resources, schooling, job, marriage/partnership, children and others. Life is a very much complicated object to understand and surmount as well. Social injustice and unequal distribution of wealth, power, resources and opportunities have created a wide gulf within the human race. This can be observed while visiting different societies and cultures of the world. There is lavishness, comforts, merry-making, gorgeous dresses, luxurious vehicles, splendid residences, attractive career and much more at one side; and poverty, lack of proper funds, absence of creature comforts and basic necessities, scarcity and darkness on the other. Deficiency in containing apposite provisions as well as dearth in attaining fundamental requirements leads human society towards the path of deviancy, perversion and criminal activities. “Social injustice”, Zaidi (2006: 32) views, “serves as the bleakest aspect of not only the contemporary world, but also of the most primitive clans and tribes consisted of cave dwellers of Paleolithic and Neolithic era. It has been the root-cause of man’s entire dismay, displeasure and dissatisfaction since his birth in the world of bitter reality, and has originated grievances, turbulence and turmoil to the generations from the very beginning till today”. Child abuse is also one of the most depressing features of human society. The article under the title “Survival” has been extracted from Skin: Talking About Sex, Class & Literature created by eminent feminist writer Dorothy Allison, who raised a strong voice against child molestation and violence against the delicate sex. The article is a bold representation of malpractices committed in the contemporary American society particularly in lower middle and lower lower communities. Allison, the American feminist writer and analyst has very courageously submitted the sensitive case before the world and brought to the limelight how the small children of both sexes, especially the girls from the lower stratum of society, are deflowered by family members, teachers, neighbors and other community members since their childhood when they are not even familiar with the words and concepts like sex, rape, exploitation and abuse etc. Child abuse or ill-treatment of children includes all curses imposed on children i.e. physical torture, sexual abuse, psychological affliction, as well as common medical and educational neglect. Allison was an illegitimate child of an unwed mother and was raped by her stepfather for the six long years from the very small age of five only. She was molested, battered and abused continuously and got so annoyed with the male gender that the feelings of liking and love for the individuals of the same sex created in her mind and heart at her teen age, the time she was entering her adolescence. But she least cares about her own misfortune, and is ambitious enough to rescue the whole society from the cruelty and ruthlessness. “There was no meaning”, she (2005: 218) declares, “in what my stepfather did to me; but the stories I have made out of it do have meaning.” In later years, she found herself a completely homosexual woman i.e. a lesbian. She does feel no hesitation or indignity at all in exposing her sexual inclination as well as homosexual tendencies. Rather, she is determined to struggle for the cause of homosexuals to protect the community from the hatred and exploitation of the heterosexual majority. She expresses her worries on the misbehavior regarding homosexuals and stresses to perform great that should be far more than mere the survival of homosexual community. She emphatically motivates the gay and lesbian writers to give significant time and priority to their obligation in their writings and expressions. “I need you”, she (2005:216) comments, “to do more than survive; as writers, as revolutionaries, tell the truth, your truth in your own way.” Children are the future of a nation, a country, a culture, a community and a society. Crimes committed against these flowers of Nature certainly mean to shake the very foundations of the future of a country. Perturb socioeconomic as well as geo-political condition of the world of today is the outcome of sinful crimes inflicted upon the children. “Condemned to the sub-human life of the streets”, Cullen (1992:2) notes, “and destined to become prostitutes as the cast-offs of a selfish society, thousands of hungry children are the living witnesses to the greed and avarice of the few hundred ruling families who maintain a closed system of structural injustice perpetuated by violence and a disdain for human rights.” Furthermore, Allison declares her environment responsible for the development of her present personality traits. “My age, my family background”, she states, “the region and class in which I grew up, and yes, my times---the political and moral eras I have come through—have shaped me.” (2005:209). The pieces of her writing reveal the life of the lower classes and the children belonging to the lower strata that undergoes cruel and inhumane situation in their everyday life. Her works demonstrate the psychology of children and the impact of the shameful environment that destroys their purity and innocence altogether leading them towards the path of perversion. In addition, the use of abusive verbal communication and inappropriate body language becomes the part of their daily routine contacts. The children from labor class seldom get proper education and training due to lack of financial resources. “Lots of working-class kids”, she states (2005:210), “were confronting a world in which we were barely acknowledged”. As children surely imitate almost all that they observe while interacting with their elders, so there is most probability of doing on the same lines as their elders perform. Therefore, the theorists declare family as the primary institution and man’s first learning place. Allison witnessed her mother using abusive language during her job as a waitress when vulgar and vagabond truck drivers and other people of such category tried to tease her. All such events had negative impact on the innocent mind of little Allison. She had been, and still is, under delusion about males, thinking them mere molesters and wicked exploiters of female community. Each and every word of her article discloses her helplessness and fear while depicting her days of childhood in her essay under the title “Mama”. Her unabated love and desire for her mother is really stimulating and inspiring. Her innocent wishes of remaining connected with her mother presents really a heart-melting scenario. She could tolerate both physical and mental torture of her father, but his forcing to depart herself from her dear mother was the most annoying thing for the little Dorothy. “I never hated my stepfather”, she (1988:35) observes, “half as much for the beatings he gave me as for those stolen moments when I could have been holding Mama’s feet in my hands.” Not only this that she ignore the torture inflicted by the stepfather, but also the care and concern of her Mama after the torture came to end filled sense of gratitude in little girl. “Mama would take me into the bedroom”, Allison (1988:36) recollected the past memories, “and wash my face with a cold rag, wipe my legs and, using the same lotion I had rubbed into her feet, try to soothe my pain.” There is an utter grief, quite unabated, constant and continuous, in the tone she exercises while narrating her sorrows and sufferings of childhood. The exploitation and grievances took the form of protest in the future years to come. Therefore, the grown up Allison started taking active part in demonstrations and activities related to feminism. “I became a feminist activist, she demonstrates the very facts (2005:210), “when other people of my age were marrying or joining the Peace Corps or starting careers.” Feminism is a movement that came into being as a reaction of male domination and exploitation to safeguard the rights of female community. The movement was a challenge for the patriarch cal system still prevailing in the most part of the world for centuries. “Social groups are not only divided into different classes, Zaidi (2006: 16) writes, “in respect of socio-economic status and different occupations and professions, but also distribution of a society is based on age, gender and religion too. The interests of the rival groups challenge the groups and give way to the establishing revolts and counter revolts.” Social inequalities are found in all fields of life and in all the institutions prevailing in human societies. In this pretext the Marxist and Feminist perspectives theories came into existence. “For Marxists”, Woods (2001) suggests, “the root cause of all forms of oppression consists in the division of society into classes. For many feminists, on the other hand, the oppression of women is rooted in the nature of men.” The idea of division of labour on the basis of gender gave birth to feminism. It was a strong voice against the inequalities between men and women in respect of social status, division of power as well as work and gender discrimination. “Historically, radical feminism started with the assumption that the sexes are adversarially poised”, Eisenstein (1983: 41) opines, “that men have power over women, and that society and its various social relationships can be best understood in terms of their relationship to that situation”. Allison intended to remake the world where there would be no disturbance or annoyance for any group or community of the world. The world where there is neither suppression nor containment of any of the child or woman can occur. It is in the pretext that she shares her ideas of becoming too strong to be surrendered. “If we, as writers”, she (2005:211) argues, “are to continue, we need more people of large ambition, people who refuse censorship, denial and hatred, people who still hope to change the world.” Thus, she looks extremely determined to eradicate the exploitation mania from the existing world by implementing best of her courageous capabilities and trust. Her voice serves as the echo of the deprivations she had to undergo consecutively during the most innocent and perhaps most precious years of her life, which were spent in utter disgust and entire turmoil, but had to be led in unconditional comforts and unrestricted care. Her sonorous voice is not only the echo of the unpleasant moments she witnessed, but also, she regrets the pathetic young life of her mother and tries to raise voice to save the lost moments of her poor and wretched Mama. She observes reflections of her poor Mama either in her wrinkled hands, or bitter laugh or shivering sound or bruised soul, or perhaps in each and every object that belongs to her ownself. “Sometimes”, she (1988:38) deplores, “I wake in the middle of the night to the call of my name shouted in my mama’s voice, rising from silence like an echo caught in the folds of my brain. Allison had decided to lead a life of celibacy throughout, in young age, till she would breathe her last. Though, she had recognized the reality that she was a lesbian at her teenage, yet the writer had no courage at that time to disclose her sexual tendencies as it was an object of great shame those days in 1960s. Also, she hesitated while revealing her inclination towards the members of the same sex as there were fears and more fears regarding her so called childhood domestic life, where her stepfather was present to rebuke, torture and abuse the small girl, and for which, her Mama had warned her many times to conceal from the outer world. “Push it down”, she (1988:38) quotes her mother’s words, “don’t show it; don’t tell anyone what is really going on. We are not safe. There are people in world who are, but they are not us. Don’t show your fear to anyone. The things that would happen are too terrible to name.” Therefore she had to spend many years to conceal not only the miseries inflicted and imposed on her by her ruthless stepfather, but also the feelings for hatred for males and sexual preferences for the individuals of the same sex too. The reason for hiding the sexual tendencies were due to the fact that she had already been leading a life full of humiliation and horror because of the training and socialization of her Mama. Her mother did not scare little Allison altogether. But also, it was she who created feelings of boldness and daring in her. She instigated her to reply the offender in the same tone as he tries to attack on her. “If people are going to kick you, Allison (1988:39) quotes her mother again, “don’t just lie there. Shout back at them.” A child learns the use of slang words and abusive language from his mother and other members of family and society. A child is quite unaware of the meanings of the words whether these are good or bad. He simply knows which words are to be used at some specific time or for some specific person. The same was the case with little girl Dorothy Allison, who was quite unable to understand what meanings the specific words and gestures contained. It was during her school she came to know the fact that certain words and gestures are prohibited ones and must never be exercised while interacting with the people in normal situation. Allison proved her worth as a successful feminist writer and overcame her childhood fears perhaps with the help of her wonderful writings. She crushed all fear under her feet with her sharp heals of boots and refused to submit before the world. Rather, she announced her identity as the flag-bearer of human liberty and the lover of absolute freedom for all majority and minority groups and sections of the world at large. She is ready to appear naked without dresses to negate all the horrors a soul and body can feel. Every word of her articles depicts her will power and strong determination, yet she cannot forget her pathetic childhood and chain of sorrows particularly regarding her mother. “Piece by piece”, she (1988:41) laments while describing the disease of her mother, “my mother is being stolen from me, the little toes that calcified from too many years working as waitress in bad shoes, hair and fingernails that drop off after every bout of chemotherapy; my mama is less and less the mountain, more and more the cave—the empty place from which things have been removed.” Her struggle is laid on the foundation of searching out self-awareness. She relates the shameful incest committed by her stepfather, the story that archives her own survival and thus she shares that survival in the reprise. The anguish and despair regarding unbridled sexual offences, incest and maltreatment of small children poorly costs a society. The misery and woe of the illegitimate children, the unfortunate product of unwed parents, can also be seen in the writings of many authors including Marisa Silver and others. Silver, in her story under the topic “The Passenger” laments the dark characteristics of modern world of technological advancement and industrialization. It is a fact beyond doubt that the ultra modern ways and latest developments in almost all fields of life have offered man easy and wonderful time. But the most gloomy element of the progression is this that human kind has failed to maintain the respect and regard for the members of family and older as well as younger individuals of the society. It has given birth to shameful crimes, vices and sins that are an infamous blur on the very face of the society of today. Silver has also tried to elaborate the truth the world is facing this time on the Earth. The story “The Passenger” relates us two different tales that progress side by side. The narrator, a paid employee of a radio cab company happens to pick a Chinese couple from the airport. On their way, they struck in a traffic jam and a cop reaches the cab to soothe the passengers. The Chinese get suspicious as if the cop means to investigate them. They jump out of the cab leaving their suitcase in the cab. The driver i.e. narrator finds a child in the suitcase and goes to the nearby hospital where he is caught under investigation by the authorities. It reveals the excessive sexual offences and the birth of illegitimate children consequently. It also depicts the tragedy of Dorothy Allison and her article “Survival”. It is a very awesome thing to survive as an illegitimate child in a society. People look down upon such individuals whose fatherhood is doubtful. It becomes hard for such children who undergo the severe trials of facing the hatred and curse of society. It is under these circumstances, the Feminist movement found the way. The Feminists declare patriarchical system a horrible and non acceptable thing and suggest that the child should be identified with the name of mother. Mother is the most tender and kindest of the human relations. Silver portrays the doleful days of her childhood in a sad tone. She relates how she had been living with her poor mother in a tight apartment that was situated in a dirty or poor part of Cleveland. Her mother’s life was a struggle and she was sent to a school where environment was not very much appropriate. The child was not familiar with the word father, and her mother had to work hard to earn bread for both of them. “I was to order”, she (2004:296) writes, “the cheapest thing on the menu or share whatever my mother had”. These lines are the sad description of the circumstances under which children were brought under single parenthood. A child feels the absence of father at every step of life. Stepfather cannot give such amount of affection to a child as the real father does. Stepfather takes the child either a liability or takes it for granted. In both the cases, he exploits the child and inflicts either the physical torture or sexual abuse or both, as Allison had to suffer for many years in her childhood. All that badly tells upon the weak and feeble nerves of the child and he/she seeks for love, protection, shelter and satisfaction somewhere else other than home and family. Home serves as the sign of terror, a nightmare for him. It damages his personality to a great extent and he may indulge in different kinds of perversion including crimes, homosexuality, exhibitionism, voyeurism, bestiality, theft addiction and other malpractices. Not only suffers the child, but also it is the unwed mother who dies many times everyday. As in the Silver’s story, the narrator’s mother always tries to commit suicide, but is unable to take her own life with her own hands. Neither the mother nor the child can see any ray of hope during the long journey of life. Their days serve as a continuous strife to save themselves from the jeering words of society. The future is most probably dark, dismal, drab and dull, and it rarely happens that any of them can lead a happy, contented and satisfied days throughout. It is not appropriate to estimate the prosperity with the scale of wealth, or growth of an economy. Rather, the exact measurement of prosperity lies under the fact that how many people are leading a satisfactory, peaceful and adequate life. The law and order policies as well as ethical and moral values are in dire need of review and revision. Otherwise, the prevailing sexual culture is sure to jeopardize the very foundations of the American society of tomorrow. Perhaps, there is something inherent in man, which instigates them to oppress and suppress the weak. It may be the case with poor classes, weak stratum or delicate sex i.e. women. It is, therefore, hard to perceive how the past as well as current situation will ever be remedied. The conclusion must be that the oppression of women by men has always existed and therefore, presumably, will always exist. And both the women and children will remain victim to the cruelties of the dominant part of society. Allison’s work exposes her devotion and longings for her mother. The strength of her passion and love for her mother can been seen in her words, where she declares herself as the shadow of her mother on the Earth. The curse of sex abuse, child molesting, rape, exploitation and unwed parenthood has covered the world of poor classes under its vicious shadow, where there is seldom access of the sun of jubilance, joy, delight and mirth. It has eclipsed the family relationship and bondage as well as snatches away the bulk of comforts all children must enjoy and avail themselves of. It seems that the writer seeks escape in homosexuality where there are no chances of reproducing the new generation. By this, there will be no fear of unwed motherhood, child rape and abuse, and sexual, mental and physical torture in the future years to come. REFERENCES Allison, Dorothy. Survival is Least of My Desires. An Extract from “Skin: Talking About Sex, Class & Literature. Firebrand Books, 2005. Allison, Dorothy. Mama. An Extract from Trash. Firebrand Books, 1988. Cullen, Shay. The Power and The Poverty, Causes of Child Abuse. 1992 Eisenstein, H. Radical Feminism, Humanism and Womens Studies. 1983. Quoted in Innovative Higher Education Journal. Springer Netherlands, 2004 Silver, Marisa. The Passenger. A story in the collection Babe in Paradise. 2000. Quoted in “More Stories We Tell” 2004. Vedder, Clyde B., Koenig Samuel& Clark, Robert E. Criminology. Holt, Rinehart and Wilson. New York, 1976. Woods, Alan. Marxism versus feminism - The class struggle and the emancipation of women, 2001 Zaidi, Mujtaba Haider. Biological, Psychological and Sociological Causes of Perversion. An unpublished thesis submitted to University of the Punjab, Lahore 1997. Zaidi, Mujtaba Haider. SOCIAL INJUSTICE. Moosa Publications, Urdu Bazaar, Gujranwala, Pakistan. 2006 Read More