2. According to Joebell what does it mean to be "a real American"?
3. In the end, why does Joebell consider himself a hero even though his attempt to make it to America failed?
4."Really, in truth, I know America so much, I feel American. Is just that I aint born there." (230)
What does this say about his connection to his home country? Does the heavy presence of American pop culture in Trinidad effect the way Joebell identifies himself?
5. What effect is achieved by telling part one of the story from an outsiders point of view? Does it make Joebell's character appear more real or more distant? Did you experience a shift in opinion of Jobell's character when the story switched to a first person narrative?
6. How did the airport questioning help to create sympathy for Joebell while creating disdain towards the guards who were enforcing the law? What ironic or humorous undertnes are depicted in this section of the story?
According to Joebell what does it mean to be "a real American"?
ReplyDeleteJoebell has a very idealized picture of a real American, which he took from the television programs he watched in Trinidad. The best passage that ironically describes Joebell’s perspective on how to be an American is on page 225. Joebell wears all different, unmatched clothes, which are supposed to help him to blend in. There is an irony in this description since the pieces of clothing represent various types of Americans presented in TV shows, but people usually don’t wear them together. In order to pass as a real American Joebell wears brown suit, which symbolizes the successful American presented in the American movies. He also has a cowboy hat, which connects to the Westerns and a cigar that might be a reference to the mafia movies. It is also interesting that Joebell has an old camera. It could be Joebell ‘s imitation of the American tourists he met in Trinidad. The fact that the camera is old might mean that Joebell travels to the better side of the world and it will be the place where he will eventually get the new camera.
It is also funny how Joebell sees real Americans’ behavior, which eventually causes him troubles. He says that anytime an American is in a difficult situation, his or her voice “be heard in objection: in other words, he does get on.” I think that Joebell saw this kind of attitude in reality shows or movies and thought that this is the way Americans act everyday.
I like the irony and generalization, which can also be called stigmatization of Americans, presented in this short story. I still remember how surprised I was when I realized that not all American children go to school by the yellow bus that I saw in the movies, or that my newspaper carrier is an old man who walks with a supermarket chart. All newspaper carriers in American movies were young boys biking around the neighborhood throwing the paper on the lawn- well, there aren’t many green lawns in New York City.
3. I'm not sure that Joebell consider himself a hero in the end of the novel. He is just the type of person that doesn't like to lose and can't show the "audience" around him that he is depressed and destroyed. Obviously, Joebell can't feel happy about going to jail instead of going to America, but he wants to look "classy" and well in every situation. Seems like Joebell plays a role of a successful careless guy throughout the whole story.
ReplyDelete2. According to Joebell what does it mean to be "a real American"?
ReplyDeleteJoebell considered himself to be an American based on his knowledge of the American culture. This actually means that the American identity transcends the actual physical borders of America itself. What was more interesting were the different things Joebell thought made him American: Al Jolson to James Brown, Tallahashie bridge and Rocktow mountains, Doris Day and Frank Sinatra (pg 227). Out of this list, the only things I have heard of are James Brown and Frank Sinatra. Does this mean that I am not American even though I was born in America? This underscores the perception of what it means to be an American to people in different parts of the world; the American identity is in fact fluid. It can have to do with being acquainted with mainstream figures or knowledge of American culture or consist of being born in America (several other characteristics are also possible).
While considering how American Joebell considered himself to be, another side on the spectrum of Joebell’s identity that struck me was his identification with the Trini culture. Joebell actually seemed alienated. Because of his misdemeanors, dropping out of school, being thrown in jail, heavy gambling tendencies, and surprising over confidence, Joebell’s mother had always tried to steer him towards an acceptable direction. His mother consulted a priest, had them say novenas for Joebell, the mother herself recited psalms for Joebell, and even went to an obeah woman to ward off any evil eyes on Joebell. In response to this, Joebell stated, “What stupidness you trying to get me in? You know I don’t believe in the negromancy business.” (pg 219). It seems as if Joebell doesn’t take this aspect of his Trini culture seriously whereas it is the exact opposite for his mother.
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ReplyDeleteIn response to your third question, I do believe Joebell is a hero regardless of his failure to immigrate to the United States. As we discussed in class, Joebell is a hero because he handled his failures with dignity and class. In some ways, Joebell's fate was already foreshadowed when he responded to losing a round of poker in a conceited manner. This is evident because the narrator says that despite his loss, "Joebell have himself down as a hero. A hero can't turn away" (331). Lovelace ended this short story with Joebell being content with his inability to come to America because as a writer, Lovelace probably wanted to contend to his readers' expectations. Throughout the story readers were exceptionally aware of Joebell's arrogant attitude. Thus, some might have anticipated Joebell to do something as drastic as singing while walking across an airport in handcuffs. I think that if Joebell did not respond to his final failure to come to America with the same courage he had in the beginning, then his character would not have been persuasive.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Joebell was not able to come to the United States is significant because if his attempt was successful, then he would have been deeply disappointed by the reality that the American culture is not as enchanting as he thought it would be. For this reason, Joebell is a hero because he avoided the dissatisfaction that many immigrants encounter due to their distorted views of the American culture. The disparity between what an immigrant expects and what he/she actually experiences in America could be attributed to the way the media portrays the American culture. The absurdity behind Joebell's perception of Americans illustrates how the media often overtly exaggerates the American culture as one that is glamorous. While Joebell thinks that he is American because he is well aware of the American culture. Many Americans, however, will argue that there aren't any essential definitions of what it means to be a "real" American. Furthermore, I love the way Lovelace's story dramatizes Randolph Bourne's claim on how individuals are disillusioned by "the culture of the cheap newspaper, the 'movies,' the popular song, the ubiquitous automobile" (Bourne 4).
Chereene Ligno wrote:
ReplyDeleteThis reading hit close to home since my family is from Trinidad. Reading the story of Joebell was like listening to my cousins and friends in Trinidad who think they know everything about American culture from watching TV. In response to question number one, I do believe it is possible to learn how to be an American from television.
When you look at television, what you are seeing displayed is the popular culture. Television displays what popular culture is doing, wearing, watching, listening to, etc. Even as an American I am able to keep up with my own culture through the media, but I like many other individuals here know that American culture exist beyond what is depicted on television. During a recent visit to Trinidad this past March one of my cousins told me he knows how America works and he’s sure he can make it here. I really thought about his statement and laughed at it of course because I know he has it all wrong. So now I read Joebell and America and the only thing I can think of is the media being responsible for giving people the wrong idea of America and Americans. The question asked was “Is it possible to learn how to be an American from television?” I believe before we answer the HOW, we should answer WHAT is an American?