OSAFS: The Epigraphs

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves

Or lose our ventures.

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Man, I regret not paying more attention to the epigraphs while reading the novel. It was only towards the end of this epic did I realize how much influence both - but especially the first - have on the course of events and the feelings that evolve throughout OSAFS. 

The Shakespeare epigraph not only mirrors the revolution that occurs in B-Mor, starting with Fan's departure, but also reveals the dangers of sitting so high, so hazardously on top of the world. I also see a relation to the theme/idea of perfection that is ever-present in the story, from the organized B-Mor society to the luxurious Charter villages. 

I found the most noticeable connection between the actual content of OSAFS and the Shakespeare epigraph on pages 356-357, when the narrator says, in response to the seemingly unexplainable feeling of fear flowing through the settlement, "It's irrational, for sure, maybe even mad, but as our recent hopes for B-Mor have evolved, everything else has begun to seem precarious."

We, at the height, are ready to decline.

I loved what Christina said in class the other day as well, about how the second epigraph, lyrics from "Only the Young" by the band Journey, might be the consequence or answer to the first. That "Only the young can say / They're free to fly away." Certainly freedom is another key theme that Lee makes a point of, particularly in the final chapters as things in B-Mor become increasingly shaky and uncertain. 

I wish we knew more about what happened after the last, ambiguous page of OSAFS. I'm curious about the citizens 'left behind' by Fan, and if Fan, young and free, can ensure the "generation wait[ing] for dawn."

OSAFS: Fan & Stereotypes

Throughout our discussion of OSAFS, we have covered topics spanning class, gender, violence, geopolitics, aquaponics (@ Terrence!), technology, and many more. Yet the question initially posed by Mr. Khactu remains: How is OSAFS an Asian-American [sci-fi] novel?

There are several different ways the novel plays with Asian-American themes: basing New China off of China, Asian first and last names, descriptions of people and appearances, Asian food, and so on. I loved the Seneca Circus scene, filled with references to Korean food that I know and love to eat. The food tents somewhat reminded me of Korean street carts:

excited to move back to Seoul for this!

Anyways. One way that I thought OSAFS could be seen as an Asian-American story was, well, Fan. Fan, our favorite tiny protagonist. If we imagine Fan's appearance to be that of a small Asian-American girl with dark hair, we should also consider the stereotypes of Asian-American girls and how Fan either performs or breaks them. 

The main stereotype I want to write about is the one that deems Asian-American girls passive, submissive, and quiet. Now, I want to know what you guys think - does this or does this not sound like Fan? What's your initial reaction? 

I have mixed opinions, but I imagine many readers would argue that that stereotype does not seem like Fan. After all, she takes action in the beginning of OSAFS by leaving B-Mor and pursuing a tremendous journey through the counties and into Charter villages, all (?) for love. The narrator(s) certainly seem to agree that Fan's departure from B-Mor was unbelievable. But as the story progresses, in both Fan's world and the narrator(s)'s, it becomes clear that the tellers of Fan's story are not so sure about Fan's agency: "The funny thing about the tale of Fan is that much of what happened to her happened to her" (263). 

So is Fan passive or active? Or both? Is she the epitome of the stereotype or does she kick it down? And what, if anything, is Lee trying to say about Asian-American stereotypes of girls? 

Again, I'm left with more questions than answers...

OSAFS: Embellishment

While I was reading OSAFS last night, I couldn't help but notice a few things about the story. Particularly about the parts that describe Fan's driving. On pages 147 and 164 the narrator(s) say(s) (respectively):

"Despite the awful details, his telling must have helped her relax at the wheel, the way music can allow our instincts to take over the countless mechanical operations that you couldn't possibly orchestrate if you had to think through each one."

 "Fan drove for another stretch, having no trouble."

Okay. Maybe Fan is a naturally gifted and talented 17-18 year old, who, once sitting at the wheel for the very first time in her entire life, feels completely at home and realizes that she knows the gears and controls like the back of her hand...

Wait. That doesn't sound plausible at all.

Perhaps the narrator(s) wanted to create an epic tale of adventure that favors the unlikely Fan, and so embellished the story to give their heroine an extra boost. But what happens when the story becomes embellished and sensationalized to the point of dishonesty and falsification?

Across the novel, certain phrases and details like Fan's driving often make me stop and wonder. Like in my last blog post about OSAFS, I am still trying to determine the narrator's reliability. I'm not too sure we'll ever get the real, untouched truth, however, so I'm going to take things with a grain of salt.

OSAFS Map

OSAFS: First Impression

http://tinyurl.com/z935mgs

Well, I've certainly never read anything like this before.

Chang-Rae Lee's On Such a Full Sea takes a different take on dystopia and society, one that relies on the here & now in order to construct the there & then. In the span of who knows how many years, Baltimore becomes B-Mor, citizens of the past become B-Mor's so-called 'natives,' and technology advances exponentially. But what about the people? 

The most distinct aspect of OSAFS, in my opinion, is Lee's use of the first person plural to narrate the story. I had never before encountered the use of "we/us" to tell a tale, and it definitely changes the game. With frequent uses of phrases like "Of course" and sentences like "Indeed, it's difficult for us to understand...," it's hard to decide whether or not the readers can trust the narrator(s) (20). Stories told in the first person can very rarely avoid bias or exaggerative flair. 

The collective voice reminds me in some ways of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, and the novel's society's caste system which utilized social conditioning to force everyone into having the same opinions and interests. The same narrative. It's possible that something similar is occurring in Lee's novel; perhaps when Baltimore transformed into a high-tech, high-functioning community, and all the kids began learning the same - probably embellished - history, their voices came together and produced the "we/us."