The Painful and Lonely Journey in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing
Not all journeys are delightful undertakings. In Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing, the nameless narrator underwent a painful process of shedding the false skins she had acquired in the city, in order to obtain a psychic cleansing towards an authentic self. By recognizing the superficial qualities of her friends, uncovering the meaning of love, and rediscovering her childhood, the narrator was prepared for change. She was ready to take the plunge and resurface in her true form.
Weighed down by alienation and loneliness, the narrator considered Anna, whom she had known for merely two months, her best woman friend. Although she trusted Anna, her boyfriend Joe, and Anna’s husband David, the narrator wished that they were not going to her home "territory" with her, as she was uneasy and felt that "to be deaf and dumb would be easier." (Surfacing, 12) At the onset of their trip, the narrator already felt her apart-ness from her friends, for she knew her reason for returning home embarrassed them – she was worried about her father. For her city friends, the word "parent" was almost a taboo because they have abandoned theirs long ago. Careening freely through life, the narrator’s three friends unknowingly led the observant narrator through a maze of questions about herself and about life. David’s filming of Random Samples during their trip led the narrator to question how one could reach one’s goal without any plans in mind, but David retorted that she was close-minded. For the film, David ordered Anna to strip for the camera in that "menacing gentleness" tone of voice (145), which the narrator recognized as the taunting before a trick or a punchline. The narrator realized ...
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...ulent lives of her friends, the narrator was able to find the untruths in her own psyche. She was also able to relieve herself from her fabricated past when she examined her love relationships with others. The narrator, in perceiving her childhood through new eyes, was able to reconcile herself with her authentic self, and was able to become one with nature. Though her psyche has been cleansed, the narrator must nevertheless choose the right paths on her own in order to keep her true self.
Work Cited
Atwood, Maragaret. Surfacing. New York: Bantam, 1972.
Works Consulted
Bouson, J. B. Brutal Choreographies: Oppositional Strategies and Narrative Design in the Novels of Margaret Atwood. Amherst: U of Massachutes P, 1993.
Hutcheon, Linda. The Canadian Postmodern: A Study of Contemporary English - Canadian Fiction. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1988.
She sees her father old and suffering, his wife sent him out to get money through begging; and he rants on about how his daughters left him to basically rot and how they have not honored him nor do they show gratitude towards him for all that he has done for them (Chapter 21). She gives into her feelings of shame at leaving him to become the withered old man that he is and she takes him in believing that she must take care of him because no one else would; because it is his spirit and willpower burning inside of her. But soon she understands her mistake in letting her father back into he life. "[She] suddenly realized that [she] had come back to where [she] had started twenty years ago when [she] began [her] fight for freedom. But in [her] rebellious youth, [she] thought [she] could escape by running away. And now [she] realized that the shadow of the burden was always following [her], and [there she] stood face to face with it again (Chapter 21)." Though the many years apart had changed her, made her better, her father was still the same man. He still had the same thoughts and ways and that was not going to change even on his death bed; she had let herself back into contact with the tyrant that had ruled over her as a child, her life had made a complete
Previously, the narrator has intimated, “She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.” Her thoughts and emotions engulf her, but she does not “struggle” with them. They “belonged to her and were her own.” She does not have to share them with anyone; conversely, she must share her life and her money with her husband and children and with the many social organizations and functions her role demands.
Bouson, J. Brooks. Margaret Atwood the robber bride, the blind assassin, Oryx and Crake. London: Continuum, 2010. Print.
Moss, John. Sex and Violence in the Canadian Novel. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland and Stewart, 1977.
Though, acceptance of trauma can allow hindered development, eventually allowing full self-acceptance. Bernice, a once strong woman has been verbally, emotionally and physically abused since her childhood. Resulting in a loss of her sense of being. Within the beginning of the novel, when she is reflecting on her past memories, it becomes clear to the reader that in order for her to be able to accept herself, she needs to surface her past traumas. Bernice explains that, “In the tendrils, Bernice realizes there is remorse in her body and she is trying to kick it out. Her shell rejects remorse. Shame. Feeling bad over feeling good” (49). This mindset is negative and expresses her inability to share her emotions due to previous emotional abuse from her family and the many men that have taken advantage of her. This idea of disallowing happiness hinders her ability to accept herself and her past actions. However, through more time of self-reflection (over 200 hundred pages of her lying in bed with the author switching perspectives, confusing the hell out of me lol) Bernice realizes that she must learn to cope with these traumas and attempt to have a positive outlook on life. As Bernice is accepting the damaged part of herself, she comes to the realization that, “She can feel her body now, its loose and stiff at the same time. Her head, though will be the hard part. Part of her lost for so long that it is hard to enunciate what, exactly, she has found” (228). In comparison to when Bernice was unable to acknowledge her feelings and thoughts, it is now clear that she is slowly learning to manage her issues. By Bernice discovering that she is beginning to acknowledge her thoughts, this is the first step to being able to accept one’s self. In Total, It is shown that Bernice is deeply affected by the trauma within her life, however she is able to
influence all her life and struggles to accept her true identity. Through the story you can
The daughter alludes to an idea that her mother was also judged harshly and made to feel ashamed. By the daughters ability to see through her mothers flaws and recognize that she was as wounded as the child was, there is sense of freedom for both when the daughter find her true self. Line such as “your nightmare of weakness,” and I learned from you to define myself through your denials,” present the idea that the mother was never able to defeat those that held her captive or she denied her chance to break free. The daughter moments of personal epiphany is a victory with the mother because it breaks a chain of self-loathing or hatred. There is pride and love for the women they truly were and is to be celebrated for mother and daughter.
Staels, Hilde. “Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale: Resistance Through Narrating.”Critical Insights (227-245) From English Studies 76.5 (1995): 455-464. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
...a was raised, she was learning life lessons. She learned of violence from inside The Little Store. She never considered Mr. Sessions and the woman in the store to have any kind of relationship because Eudora never saw them sit down together at the table. Then tragedy struck, and this was how she learned of violence. She never knew exactly what had happened, but knew it was not good. The family just disappeared. Every time she came home from the store, she was carrying with her a little of what she had learned along the way. She learned a lot about, ?pride and disgrace, and rumors and early news of people coming to hurt one another, while others practiced for joy?storing up a portion for [her]self of the human mystery? (82).
Booth, Alison, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.
. This story embodies how the author saw her experiences that she had lived through.
She remembers how she fantasized about the love affairs that she secretly read about in her romance novels, envisioning her life to comprise of similar satisfactions. She recalls how her vivid imagination had engrossed her into the depths of the story. One may say that this sudden change could be due to her imagination implanting false information into her head. Life certainly has not turned out the way she dreamed.
In some instances, private firms have worked closely with local governments to construct, operate and finance these network services. In other rare instances, governments have provided these internet services alone or outsourced them to private firms. But for all the three forms, that is governmental, private and collaborative, internet access is allowed to the public either free or at a subsidized fee.
Brian Coombe, KRS President, explained last Thursday, "KRS doesn't acquire the capacity to maintain paying for the broadband services with KRS's contract finishing here on Kwajalein in the next couple months." He has requested for an extension; however, the Government denied his request. To receive an extension is like finding a needle in a hay stack- nearly impossible. Residential housing will no longer take delivery of Wi-Fi; however, public services such as the Ivey Gym, the Snack Bar, and work places will receive some figure of broadband since the private and public broadband services run through different Wi-Fi routes. Thus, residents will be able to stay in touch with family, friends, and businesses, and teens will be able to keep their Snapchat
Nowadays cell phone and technology are progressing by leaps and bounds and almost everyone has some kind of electronic device like iPad, cell phones or tablets. Those days are gone. Those days are gone when people were depending on their desktop computers in their homes and workplaces, this is advanced period and innovation has made it very easy for people to communicate with each other and as the business area is also progressing and people like to check their emails and call their contact or do business meetings on Skype. In this case, if they are traveling from one city to another it will create disturbance in their work if there is no internet or Wi-Fi available. People believe that Wi-Fi technology should not be free in every city and there should be proper charges, but I believe that it is very important for every city to keep the Wi-Fi service free for their citizen.