Course Reflections

I immensely enjoyed all the historically and cultural background we learned about in this course, especially regarding the US's foreign policies and military campaigns. It is always extremely eye-opening to realize the extent to which politicians and the government will go to cover up their true intentions. And worse yet is how easily people buy into propaganda and don't ever question the government's true motives behind their relations with other countries. Interventions marketed as "for democracy" actually have much darker motives revolving around power and money.

In terms of the novels we read, my favorite moments were when we discussed A Pale View of Hills in class. I love reading novels where I experience a "gotcha" type of moment — that was the case with A Pale View. My first time reading the novel, I hadn't considered the possibility that Etsuko and Sachiko could be the same person, and that even the "third woman" who Mariko sees drowning the baby could also be Etsuko. It quite honestly blew my mind a little when we discussed the passage where Etsuko talks to Mariko about going to America and uses "we." The second time I reread the novel after that keeping that theory in mind, it gave the entire novel a completely different meaning, as more aspects became clear as to why Keiko (or Mariko) committed suicide. That combined with the historical knowledge related to hibakusha victims and the bombings of Japan gave the story even greater meaning, as it explains the reasons for which Etsuko became unstable (which catalyzed the rest of her horrible actions against her daughter). Overall, this made me want to read novels much more carefully to try and figure out any "gotcha" moments for myself and research the history of the context the novel is set in.