ENGLISH 339-E Prof. Cora Agatucci Literary Genres

Seminar #3 Summaries:  Jewel in the Crown Parts 5 & 7 ~ 23 April 2003 Seminar #3 Leaders:  T. C., Ch. D. & A. L.; Summarizers:  T. E. & L. S. - Spring 2003 URL of this webpage: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/seminar3.htm Seminar #3 Participants:  C.A., T.C, C.D., C.D., T.E., A.K., A.L., L.L., L.S., J.V. Seminar #3 Summaries:  (a) T. E. |  (b) L. S. Additional Contribution by Ca.D.

Seminar #3 Summary a by T. E. One of the first discussion questions was “Why does Hari feel invisible?”  A comment was made that he didn’t feel that he fit into England as a home or India.  It was noted that his best friend walks by him and doesn’t even recognize him because he is seen as looking the same as the other Indians.  The Indians on the opposite side did not see him as true Indian because he was raised as English. On Page 269, Hari states “I am invisible not only to white people because they are white and I am black but invisible to my white friend because he can no longer distinguish me in a crowd…. He makes me disappear.  I am nothing.  It is not his fault.  He is right.  I am nothing, nothing.” Another time he showed how invisible he felt was on Page 242.  “It was at this period, after the visit to the pharmacy, that the notion of having become invisible to white people first entered his head, although it took some time for the notion to be formulated quite in this way.  When he had become used to crossing the river from the bazaar to the railway warehouse and used to the way English people seemed to look right through him if their eyes chanced to meet his own, the concept of invisibility fell readily enough into its place…… his father had succeeded in making him nothing, nothing in the black town, nothing in the cantonment, nothing even in England because in England he was now no more than a memory, a familiar but possibly unreal signature at the end of meaningless letters to Colin.”  This relationship with Colin was a crisis for Hari because he did not look the same Another topic that was discussed was the efforts of Hari’s father for him to have everything he could from the English.  Hari’s father took him to England when he was young so he could be noticed and learn the ways of the English.  Hari’s father wanted him to have everything he did not have.  On page 234 it states, “he felt that his Englishness was the one and only precious gift hi father had given him he liked to forget that he had once been critical of him and year by year more ashamed of him…….’This is what my father hated and drove himself mad trying to ensure I’d never be touched by’.” Hari thought he had lost everything and his right to passage as becoming a man. Another topic that was discussed was the reflection that Daphne thought if Hari had been white during the attack.  On Page 421, “they assaulted me because they had watched an Indian making love to me.  The taboo was broken for them.” We also discussed how Hari was violated more than Daphne because he was black and Merrick could not stand that he was not the man who had made love to Daphne.  He was tortured and abused beyond the rape of Daphne because of who he was.  The truth was not going to save him no matter what Daphne said.  We also discussed how the relationship between India & England was a rape in itself.  This was a rape on India from England to show the differences in power and authority.  Merrick seemed to know what was going on, but it never went to trial because it was more of a political debate.  There were never any efforts to find the real rapists.  Merrick took a big leap by going after Hari and torturing him for so long. We ended our discussion with the theory of history.  Everything in history is interrelated and a continuum.  Everything is connected.  History is a nightmare that we can’t wake up or get away from.  We can choose to either get in the water or stand by the side and watch.

Seminar #3 Summary b.  by L. S. Why does Hari feel invisible? He does not fit in anywhere. He is not accepted by the English or by the Indians. He essentially had no place to call “home”. Maintaining a relationship with Colin was very important to him—in a sense it was a means of holding on to his own Englishness. When Colin walks past him and sees just another black face Hari seems to finally realize that he is not, and never will be, English. However he is also not Indian. He does not like India and feel no connection to this foreign country. So he is stuck in limbo. He has no identity of his own, and thus he feels invisible. Daphne—her silence, the rape, and her death She does love the Indians. She sees through the color of their skin, and gets to know them. She does not think—as most of the other whites would that they all look alike. She is also celebrated by the Indians. They seem to understand the magnitude of her keeping silent and refusing to identify the men that were arrested. Daphne never told the truth. She kept silent. There was some discussion as to whether this helped or hurt Hari. Some people seemed to think that Daphne knew that telling the truth would not ensure the safety of Hari. Others in the class speculated about how different the outcome might have been if she had told the truth about the night of the rape. The rape is not gone into in great detail at all. Cora noted that the rape is an ongoing metaphor throughout the book—the rape of India, the rape of Hari, the raping of peoples rights… There was a lot of discussion about Daphne’s death and whether it was a suicide. While Daphne certainly does not seem scared to die, and in fact has prepared herself for death, it is not clear whether or not she wanted to die. Some felt that Daphne might have known that it was best for herself and the baby if she died, and perhaps that she wanted to die. While others thought that having the baby would have made her want to live—essentially out of love for her child. Merrick There was a bit of discussion about Merrick—in particular the relationship between Merrick and Hari. It was mentioned that Merrick had it out for Hari and would have used any excuse to put in him jail—thus ultimately gain control over him. Most of the class also seemed to think that Merrick knew the truth, and in fact that would have fueled his hate for Hari. Miscellaneous Notes No one is ever convicted of the rape. The whole thing just unravels. However the men arrested were still kept in jail and convicted on other unrelated charges. Everything in the book is connected, just as everything in history is connected. Lady Chatterjee understands this—when she talks she seems to jump randomly from one thing to the next, but in reality she does this because all the events are connected in her mind. The river metaphors in the book relate to history. History is a kind of trickling down of information—kind of like a river. History is also something that you can not escape. We are all part of history. Some of us, like Daphne, are just more willing to participate.

ENGL 339 Students: For more example Seminar Summaries from Spring 2002,  please see: Spring 2002 Seminar #1 ~ What Is Historical Fiction? URL: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/spring2002/Seminar1.htm Spring 2002 Seminar #2 ~ Jewel in the Crown URL: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/spring2002/Seminar2.htm Spring 2002 Seminar #3 ~ Jewel in the Crown URL: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/spring2002/Seminar3.htm Spring 2002 Seminar #4 ~ A Pale View of Hills  URL: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/spring2002/Seminar4.htm