Third Mini-Collaboration

Faith Griffin, Aviana Freece, Bailey Foster, Mackenzie Gillen, Piper Cluff

Throughout this course, we have been given the opportunity to read and interpret texts that range from different time periods, each of which show a common theme of the housing crisis. Specifically, being expelled from one’s home has been a pattern in each book. Some of the texts include, King Lear, The Big Short, and A Mercy along with a few others. In each of these books, characters have had the ability to read and interpret texts but in the end were harmed by those who acted in bad faith. To begin, in King Lear, Lear is looking to divide his land for his daughters. He asks them to show how much they love him and that will determine his decision on who gets land. Two of the daughters acted in bad faith and lied to Lear about how much they love him. His other daughter Cordelia was honest about how much she loved him. He misinterpreted her response as her not loving him as much as the other daughters. With the two daughters acting in bad faith, they are rewarded with the land that was originally Cordelia’s, and in the end had Lear expelled from the land he gifted. Even though Lear can physically read, he interpreted and read the daughter’s responses wrong which ultimately led to his expulsion. To continue, in The Big Short, many people were given contracts to sign from banks and CEOS for mortgages. Although these citizens can read, they did not believe that these big corporations would act in bad faith and provide them with contracts with terms they did not understand. This is demonstrated on page 367, “We took them through our trade but I’m pretty sure they didn’t understand it.” These CEOs and banks knew they were acting in bad faith but had no issue in doing so which in the end resulted in an abundance of people being expelled from their homes. The latest text we read in class was A Mercy which led us through a story of an enslaved girl named Florens. We saw many patterns throughout her time in the book of being expelled by those she trusted.

It is known that Florens can physically read in the book A Mercy, but often misinterprets and misreads social situations throughout the story which results in her expulsion by those she loves the most. During the time period the story takes place, very few enslaved people had the physical ability to read, but the Reverend Father teaches Florens, her mother and brother how to read and write even though he is not allowed to do so. Florens mentions this when she says, “The Reverend Father tells us that. Once every seven days we learn to read and write” (pg 6). This quote shows that Florens can physically read, even better than her mother, yet she is unable to read situations. One example of this is shown within the first few pages of the book. Chapter 1 begins in Florens’ point of view of a significant moment in her life. At a young age, Florens recalls a situation where Jacob is given the option of choosing any enslaved person on D’Ortega’s farm. He first points to Florens’ mother but then her mother says, “Take the girl, she says, my daughter, she says” (pg 8). This is the first experience in Florens’ life where she has been expelled by someone. Throughout Florens’ life, we see that she believes her mother gave her away as she thinks she did not care for her. She is unable to read the real reason as to why her Mother offered Florens. In reality, a minha mãe was protecting Florens from the abuse she once experienced in her life. 

Another person who was important and close to Florens that ended up expelling her in the end was the Blacksmith. When Florens was living on Jacob’s land, we come to find out that she and the Blacksmith have a romantic relationship. She speaks of him throughout the book and shares how much he really means to her. When her Mistress Rebekka falls ill, she was sent to find the Blacksmith to gain his help. At her arrival, she was entrusted by the Blacksmith to watch a young boy, named Malaik, that was with him at the time. She finds him as competition for the Blacksmith’s attention and love. Florens ends up having an altercation with Malaik where she breaks his arm; the Blacksmith returns home and is appalled by Florens’ actions. He reacts by saying, “Own yourself, woman, and leave us be. You could have killed this child” (page 166). As shown Florens is once again expelled by someone that she trusted and even loved. Florens returns home to Jacob’s new estate and then begins to write her story on the walls in hopes that the Blacksmith will one day read it. While Florens is writing she states, “These words cover the floor… I am holding light in one hand and carving letters with the other. My arms ache but I have to tell you this”(pg 188). This whole situation surrounding the Blacksmith, being expelled again, and writing on the walls reinforces the concept that Florens can read and write, but cannot read social situations which often leads to her expulsion. 

The book A Mercy is one example of text that shifted our understanding and viewpoint of the 2008 housing crisis. We can see that a story written in a setting from hundreds of years ago with fictional characters relates back to the housing crisis of 2008. Florens represent those who were affected by the housing crisis. Even though Florens had the physical ability to read and interpret text, she was unable to read and understand specific situations that ultimately ended in her being expelled more than once, just like those who were expelled by the 2008 housing crisis. During that time period, many people signed contracts and mortgages not knowing what lies in the fine print. These people were able to physically read but did not understand and interpret how people would offer contracts to them in bad faith, so they did not understand the severity of the situation. One article we read in class shows a situation where a, “Baltimore resident says he missed in the fine print was that by accepting the cash, he was granting the company, MV Realty of Maryland, LLC, the long-term exclusive right to list his modest Park Heights row home. If he sells with someone else, he stands to owe the company thousands of dollars.” This quote shows how one of many people who were unfortunately reeled into contracts that they could never understand on their own; the consequences of this were pricey. We can see that oftentimes, we put our trust and good faith in people, just like Florens did, but may end up being left cleaning up the messes by those who worked in bad faith. This course has taught us that as college students, we have to be careful and read the fine prints. Many times, we are given assignments, tests and rubrics that we may skim over in the syllabus, but in the end if we don’t read these closely, we may be put in a situation where we receive a bad grade. 

Garden Eggs: A Nutritiously Bitter and Apocalyptic Snacc ™

By: Lidabel Guzman Avila, Adelia Callear, Kendall Cruise, Madolley Donzo, Marlee Fancet, Kya Primm, and Nicholas Parks

Praised for its nutritional benefits and bitter taste, the garden egg, an eggplant variation predominantly grown in West African countries, is known as a ‘super-fruit,’ aiding in the consumption of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. The fruit—sometimes perceived vegetable—assists in the digestion of food and protection of cells from damage, due to all of its valuable minerals. Heavily grown in Nigeria, it has acquired  both an agricultural and cultural significance to the country’s inhabitants. The fruit is especially unique to Lagos, Nigeria, adding to people’s sense of national pride and togetherness because the city is a significant centerpiece to the country. Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon actualizes this dignified sense of community in Lagos, Nigeria, both through people’s connection to the garden eggs, and the city’s collective experiences with extraterrestrial beings that suddenly find themselves in the country in the 21st century.  The coming of these ‘aliens’ catalyzes several series of events in the novel, where people, communities, and values seem to be sacrificed for the sake of different people’s peace during this apocalyptic instance. Apocalypse, as defined by Andrew Santana Kaplan, “primarily means to uncover, it shows that the world needs to end because it is cast in error,” (Kaplan 81). Here, Kaplan emphasizes that world-ending efforts are not only necessary, but inevitable in a lot of cases. They argue that occurrences of apocalypse—on individual and grand scales—happen over the course of people’s lives constantly, especially the lives of marginalized people. Okorafor’s Lagoon explores how needed these endings are, why they might occur, and how deserving people are of their super-fruit garden eggs at the end of these apocalypses.

The garden egg, by name, seems to suggest a type of poultry product, though in actuality, it is a plant species. Raw, the garden egg, also recognized as a type of eggplant, can be perceived as a vegetable because of its bitter taste, when in actuality, it is a fruit. The perceived deception of this taste and the general belief that fruits are meant to be sweet-tasting connects to the actual experience of the aliens, who do find garden eggs sweet, purely because of their status as a fruit. In a sense, the aliens take things just as they are defined to be, as they are experiencing things like tasting a fruit for the first time, without the social connotations that what typically classifies as fruit is much sweeter than garden eggs. So, when Ayodele gives up her life and her mist spreads to all people in the country (and seemingly beyond, too), many people sense the taste of garden eggs and the experience of one man is described through the lines, “He reached into his bag and brought out one of the smaller garden eggs he’d just purchased. He’d been hungry for them for hours” and “No one noticed as he bit it like it was the sweetest mango and continued on this way” (Okorafor 284). Many people now perceive the taste of garden eggs, especially when they’re raw, to be much sweeter than before.

The significance of garden eggs within Lagoon appears small, but in reality they pose a deeper connection between the human population and the extraterrestrials. Garden eggs are named after their resemblance to something else and are connected to the earth. They hold nutrition and a tasteful bitterness that makes them desirable and regarded highly above other foods mentioned within the book. Their nature is similar to how the aliens can resemble anything and are seemingly connected by one larger unit; they hold much more advanced technology and want to bring this innovative progression to the Nigerian population. Garden egg contains “egg” in the name, however, it is a plant and not a typical “egg” that we would think of; Ayodele is an alien, but she is just as much an alien as anyone else in Lagos, especially after her foggy departure and absorption into everyone, as seen through the peoples’ cravings for garden eggs afterwards. Within the novel as Ayodele died, she stated, “We are a collective. Every part of us, every tiny universe within us is conscious. I am we, I am we…You’ll all be a bit…alien.” (Okorafor 268). They are all connected within the larger picture of society as a whole, which the Lagos people find very hard to accept as they view the incoming of these foreign people as an impending doom that will end their own society. Rather, the actuality is that the aliens desire to improve the society they come to cohabit. Garden eggs are not represented effectively by the connotations of their name, just as Ayodele and the aliens are represented ineffectively by the name “alien” as they are no longer aliens to the humans of Lagos. Both find homes within Nigeria and improve the life of the present inhabitants. Garden eggs are in a way katechon–‘the restrainer [that] holds back the end of the world’ as described by The Nomos of the Earth in Kaplan’s essay–yet opposingly a catalyst for the apocalypse where we see them play a metaphorical role as a white flag raised in addition to the object that spurs the chaos for the rest of Nigeria as they become included in the context of the “apocalyptic” situation.

This “apocalyptic” situation, for Lagosians and other Nigerians alike, presents itself as the arrival of Ayodele and her people. Upon their introduction, there is an uncovering of corruption, during Ayodele’s discussion to “bring [them] together and refuel [their] future. Your land is full of a fuel that is tearing you apart…We are here to nurture your world.” Ayodele made it clear to the Lagosians that their corruption was preventing their country from prospering with the resources they possessed. While the connotation of her desire to ‘nurture the Lagosians’ would be to help them stop corruption, following the release of the fog, we came to realize that Ayoldele was actually referring to the literal meaning of her phrase. Ayodele had intended to literally stop their corruption through the spreading of garden eggs, aka a superfruit. Rather than allowing themselves to heed the warnings and understand the preachings of Ayodele, the people of Lagos set out to kill and destroy anyone they deem aliens, turning their back on family and friends alike. Fisayo, one of the witnesses of the oncoming apocalypse––Ayodele walking out of the water––, decides that “Lagos is hopeless” and begins killing people she deems unsafe. While this is happening, the people who were surrounding Adaora’s home, awaiting Anthony’s free performance, loot televisions, computers, and anything else they can get their hands on because despite the impending end of what they once knew to be Nigeria, they find themselves needing to commit these acts of corruption. Even the Area boys in the streets near Bar Beach find themselves running around with machetes, assaulting people, stealing cars, and allowing their base needs to take root in whatever is happening. This ‘uncovering’ that Ayodele has alluded to––the idea that her people aren’t creating the chaos taking over Nigeria, but only exposing it––is the basis of the apocalypse in Nigeria. The aliens believe that Nigeria’s old way of living, that the corruption plaguing them needs to be exhibited before it can be abolished. 

With that being said, the fog, with its “faint tomatoey scent of…garden eggs” is seemingly the end of what we consider Nigeria’s apocalypse to be. After Ayodele’s sacrifice, not only was “everyone in Lagos craving garden eggs,” but a calmness had blanketed them. Once the screens of televisions and phones flashed on for the second time, many Nigerians listened attentively to the message presented by the president. A message stating that “Last night, Lagos burned. But like a phoenix, it will rise from ashes–a greater creature than ever before.” This is the end of corruption in Nigeria. The end of their oil mining efforts. The end of the pollution of their home. And the beginning of a “transitional shift.” For this momentous point in Nigerian history marks a new way of life for every citizen of Nigeria. They now carry a bit of alien-ness in every one of them, allowing them to see through their base needs and proceed toward the progress of a better Nigeria. But with this revelation to the rest of the world, with the president’s nationalistic pride within his speech, many other countries find themselves jealous of what Nigeria is experiencing, signifying a universal apocalypse. “Other people in other parts of the world…agreed…Lagos is a cancer…[they] wish to cut…out before it spreads.”  This fear of what is happening in Nigeria––specifically Lagos––has caused people around the world to notice the unrest occurring around them and now, the only option is for them to stop Nigeria from succeeding in their collaboration with the aliens or it will mean the end for their own nations. It is an uncovering to the rest of the world. A show of how they will fall as Nigeria rises. And an end to what they once knew to be the world they lived in.

Returning to Santana Kaplan’s definition of the apocalypse and its ability to uncover this sentiment rings true in relation to the aliens within the body of this novel. Before the aliens arrived in Lagos, the oil companies had been allowed to run rampant and corrupt government officials had continued to allow it to occur. This then harmed the natural world of Lagos, “They [oil companies] brought the stench of dryness, then they brought the noise and made the world bleed black ooze that left poison rainbows on the water’s surface” (Okorafor 3). The aliens sought to correct this corruption by changing the composition of the water around Lagos to make it more beneficial for the creatures who lived in the waters, even if that made it more harmful to humans, since the water is the home of the animals while the land is the home of the humans. The aliens then bring new technology that can help buffer the losses in the economy due to the ceasing of the oil companies as directed by the President after the leaders of Nigeria and the aliens meet and compromise. These ideas of uncovering, aliens, and the garden eggs come together to merge in the real world towards our interpretation of the aliens in the book being symbolic of immigrants/refugees in our world as supported by statements like the one Ayodele makes when addressing the public at large saying, “‘…We are guests who wish to become citizens…here.” (Okorafor 111). 

The real life connotations of this book come from its ability to teach humanity as a whole the importance of learning from one another. . This is just as the change in perspectives of the garden eggs, which were once colloquially thought of as bitter-tasting “vegetables,” but after Ayodele’s sacrifice, they begin to taste like sweet fruit to the people of Lagos. This shows how welcoming in new ideas of others from the outside—in regard to foods, ideals, or policies—into the body of the country/space they are now inhabiting can result in a shift in the perspectives of those who already lived there. The defamiliarization of their views could be one that makes the country they all collectively inhabit more enjoyable, like in the way the aliens made the natural world of Nigeria healthier and the taste of the garden egg sweeter: the perfect treat after an accumulation of apocalyptic events.

The Façade of Apocalypse

Makayla Garrison, Jenna McFarland, Marisa Greaney, Sage Kearney, Lauryn Bennett, Katie Lyons, McKinley Skala

In Nnedi Okorafor’s novel, Lagoon, the ‘aliens’ play multiple roles in Lagos, Nigeria.  To some, depending on the perspective , their roles were carried out negatively to some characters and positively to others. The ‘aliens’ act as a form of katechon, despite the chaos that has erupted from their arrival. Humans have created their own problems, while the aliens just want to coexist with them. The existence of the ‘aliens’ almost prevents them from spiraling into total apocalypse despite the fact that they have been viewed as, and treated, very negatively throughout the book. They have not acted evil of their own volition, but mostly in response to the evil done to them by humans. When they witness something horrific done by humans, they step in to rectify their evil

The definition of ‘alien’ does not have any negative denotations, though society gives this word a negative connotation.  If we used ‘alien’  according to its denotative meaning, then it would just simply mean someone different from a foreign place, which would also connote change. Most often alien is a term used to describe immigrants or those from one country seeking to gain entry into another one. In this novel, the connotation of aliens being from outer space, or extraterrestrial, is used more prominently. This is a topic that has become highly politicized as there is much stigma surrounding people who are different and from another place seeking entry into a different nation. These same negative feelings connect to the way the people in Lagoon react to the water people arriving, as they simply desire to coexist with humans. They have never declared any negative intentions. Humans in the novel begin to react negatively and spiral into chaos as a reaction, but it stems from their own bad faith as the water people have not done anything harmful to humans when they first arrived. 

When comparing perceptions, generally adults and children have different and sometimes conflicting views of situations. Children are inherently good. They don’t have reason to fear the worst until they have been taught to do so, either by upbringing or experience. In the context of the novel, as the aliens arrive, the children view it positively and are eager to welcome these new beings, “Kola squealed with glee and exclaimed, ‘This is the happiest night of my life!’” (Okorafor, 180). Kola is eager to interact and meet these beings because they are new and exciting. Her reaction contrasts with the way many of the adults are either scared or condemn their presence without prior justification. The way that stigma is placed on aspects of society and that the humans have overreacted to the arrival of these aliens is highlighted throughout the children’s reactions, because they have not given any reason to suspect harm. Adults have already lived through countless harmful and deceitful experiences, so they already have reasons to doubt strangers (especially aliens, especially so given the negative connotation of the word). Adults do not have the innocent and trusting minds that they once had when they were children themselves. It takes time to trust in strangers whereas children start with trust and develop suspicions and doubts with time. When Ayodele proved who she was to the president and his advisors, “the soldiers guarding the president dropped their guns, the wives screamed, and one of his advisor’s fainted. The pilot fell to his knees and began to vomit. The president watched with wide eyes” (Okorafor, 217). These adults of such high status and power reacted in ways that resembled the actions of an infant. They cried, vomited, ran, and shied away from Ayodele as they immediately perceived her as a threat to themselves and the human race. The president managed to bring himself together as he knew he had a major role to play in the bringing together of Nigeria and Ayodele’s people. 

From each character introduced in Lagoon, the reader is able to clearly determine whether that character deems the alien emergence as an invasion or an arrival of the city of Lagos. For example, Fisayo believed Ayodele’s intentions were to take over Nigeria. Fisayo believed, “the alien woman had hijacked her phone. She was speaking about taking over Nigeria. Fissayo shut her phone … This was the rapture, the apocalypse, the end.” (Okorafor, 129). Ayodele was merely announcing the arrival of her people and was emphasizing their wish to coexist with the people of Nigeria. Fisayo came to this conclusion simply because there was a foreign individual on her phone announcing their sudden arrival. She reacted negatively based on pre-existing notions of aliens and what their arrival has been interpreted as based on stigma and negative representations. Fisayo’s blind fear caused her to instill fear and panic in those around her, particularly with her sign: “Repent. Lagos will never be destroyed” and her split-second killings of innocent Lagosians. Many other Lagosians initially reacted in a similar way to Fisayo, and sought to rid their city of these trespassers with whatever means necessary. People automatically believed these otherworldly creatures as invaders of Lagos and intended to cause harm to its citizens, but they have only communicated that they wish to live in harmony with humans. Ayodele announces to the world, “In less than twenty-four hours, I have seen love, hate, greed, ambition, and obsession among you … I have seen compassion, love, hope, sadness, insecurity, art, intelligence, ingenuity, corruption, curiosity, and violence. This is life. We love life” (Okorafor, 112). From the short time that Ayodele has been on Earth, she has witnessed all of these concepts in action. Ayodele realized that humans are intense, emotional beings and are constantly acting in their own self-interest. Humans took on the idea of us versus everyone else to get through this time of stress and the unknown. Humans protected themselves and their loved ones and left everyone else to fend for themselves. She has viewed all the good and bad, and despite the bad, still did not wish to cause harm to the people of Lagos. Humans have not recognized this as they cannot see past her existence as someone foreign and unknown.

The human reaction to the alien arrival showed their true nature; they took the arrival of the aliens as a reason to go off the rails and cause mass destruction, and stigma against the arrival of something new and different from them. Even when they had the opportunity to show their humanity in this situation, they rather showed selfishness and betrayal. Although the alien arrival did spark this behavior, the humans showed that they were always capable of this violence because there was nothing forcing them to react in this way. They have proven to be the actual evil despite their fear, “He could almost smell her. Peasant he thought. Rubbish. Filth. But he would take her money” (Okorafor, 59). Father Oke is a prime example of the problem of judgment, greed, and overall evil within society before the presence of the water people had even become widely known. Multiple other examples also protrude throughout the book with the discourse among the 419 hackers, the plan of Moziz and Philo to steal Ayodele, and the area boys aiming to provide nothing but torment to the surrounding area. There was already so much negativity pent up, that the humans used the arrival of this new species to unleash it all, “Agu understood that they were angry at Lagos, angry at Nigeria, angry at the world. The alien invasion was just an excuse to let it all out” (Okorafor, 173). Agu presents this sentence in a way that seems to almost justify their actions, due to their anger at the world, but humans also created the problems that curated such frustration. The refusal to change even went as far as to be rooted within the government, “When had the Nigerian government and military done anything for its people?” As soon as the opportunity presented itself, the humans took advantage of what they perceived as the apocalypse to steal objects, harm others, and basically do what they wanted while they had the chance. They used this opportunity for bad, rather than good. The president even reveals this in his broadcasted speech to Nigeria, “We tore at our own flesh last night, as we have done many times in the past. Now, as we hurt from the pain and loss, let our minds clear. And see” (Okorafor, 277). It was not the aliens who burned buildings, destroyed cars, beat people, and wreaked havoc in the streets of Lagos; it was human beings. The president urges the people of Nigeria to open their eyes and set aside their internal perceptions to make room for change and the betterment of their country. The evil of the humans generates strong contrast between their actions and the actual good that the arrival of this new species has presented. Ayodele sought to heal a human child, despite the fact that she had bee greatly harmed. Not only this, but others of the same species were able to change the mindset of people who were previously very comfortable with harming others for their own gain, “But this woke me up. The coming of Ijele. I am not being melodramatic and I am not crazy. And I am not out of danger. But I will never practice fraud again. Never. I swear” (Okorafor 199). They have no reason to be kind to the society that has been nothing but malicious and skeptical towards them, but still aim to protect humans nevertheless.

Throughout Lagoon we see many instances of humans eager to cause destruction and harm without thinking twice. These actions highlight the way that humanity has already had a problem to be solved, and that the aliens have brought no real harm to them. In fact, they have  mostly had a positive impact on the lives of many who have interacted with them throughout the book. If anything, the aliens themselves are the katechontic force preventing them from spiraling totally out of control. Whenever something truly threatens the humans, the aliens would step in and save them. The actions that the humans had taken during the first instance of stress, when the aliens landed off the coast of Bar Beach, the Nigerian Government had instantly assumed the worst. This skepticism carried on throughout the novel within the country despite the fact that they had not overtly caused any real harm to humans. When the situation turned out to be much more intense, but not dangerous, than initially expected, Lagos erupted into chaos. Many took advantage of that chaos to cause more harm than the aliens had ever intended.  These actions can reflect more broadly on the hesitation of humans to accept good change. The same applies to both extraterrestrial aliens, and the aliens that deal with foreigners traveling between nations. Humans apply the same evil both ways. 

Garden Eggs or Apocalyptic Easter Eggs?

Savannah Burley, Hallie Edic, Iris Kahris, Kathleen McCarey, Marie Naudus

Nnedi Okorafor’s novel, Lagoon, takes place in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Okorafor blends many Nigerian traditions into her work and makes the setting a key focal point in the narrative. In the novel, garden eggs are mentioned frequently and come to be an integral piece of the conclusion. Garden eggs are a type of eggplant popular in African countries. Additionally, “garden egg is used as a less expensive meat substitute because its spongy texture allows it to absorb other flavors, similar to meat” (Mangan). The garden egg is significant to many African cultures, it is often shared at special events and given as gifts as they represent fertility, friendship, respect and are a sign of a welcoming community. When Adaora is trying to make her new extraterrestrial friend, Ayodele, feel welcomed in her home, she discovers that her new companion enjoys garden eggs specifically. Adaora notes how “Ayodele had eaten every scrap of food Adaora placed before her… commenting the entire time how enjoyable it all was” (38). When Adaora questions Ayodele about if the food was satisfactory, Ayodele specifically notes her pleasure in consuming the garden eggs. In later scenes, Ayodele can be found enjoying the vegetable. In mid conversation, Adaora describes how Ayodele was “happily munching on a garden egg” (42). Ayodele is new to culture in Lagos, but already is attached to the local cuisine. The garden eggs in the novel first operate as a way for Ayodele and Adaora to grow their friendship and later are used as a way to show how the novel operates under the terms of apocalyptic fiction.

Our Black Apocalyptic Fiction class is centered around novels that connect to apocalyptic ideas. When examining how Lagoon fits into this category, it is important to first define apocalypse. Commonly, apocalypses are defined as, “an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale.” However, in relation to this course, our class has defined an apocalypse as the complete, final destruction of the world. In the novel, multiple characters discuss the events that are happening around Ayodele as the apocalypse. When Fisayo witnesses the video of Ayodele addressing the Lagos community, she thinks: “this is the rapture, the apocalypse, the end” (129). Fisayo cannot wrap her mind around what is happening and assumes that it is the sign that the world is coming to an end. However, Agu has a differing way of comprehending the event. When his cousin questions him about whether he thinks “‘this is the end of days,’” Agu responds with a hard “‘no’” (151). Despite whether or not the characters view the events as apocalyptic, the clear destruction of the city, alien invasion, riots, and monsters coming to the surface, it is clear that this novel falls under the genre of apocalyptic fiction.

 By the end of Lagoon, it is clear that garden eggs become a crucial part of the plot and can connect directly to how the novel operates under the genre of apocalyptic fiction. Our class discussion, which defines apocalypse as the destruction of a world, can fit into the novel by the way in which Ayodele’s death brings about a vast change in the civilians of Lagos, destroying their notions of the original world and creating something new. When Ayodele is dying in Adaora’s arms, the alien musters the strength to speak to her friend: “‘You people need help on the outside but also within… I will go within… Adaora… let go of me’” (268). Ayodele enacts change in the world that Adaora knows. She relates how they will “‘all be a bit… alien’” before she slowly dies, using her final breath to state simply: “‘Garden eggs. Nothing better’” (268). Ayodele dies thinking of a happy moment: eating garden eggs. Garden eggs have made a great impact on her and connect her to her friend, Adaora, who shared the vegetable with her originally. After Ayodele’s death, Adaora notes “a faint tomatoey scent of… garden eggs” and was “overcome with a craving for garden eggs” (269). Ayodele’s spirit enters into all the people of Lagos, forever becoming a part of them. In this sense, Ayodele can be seen at the katechon for the apocalypse. The katechon withholds the apocalypse and has positive connotations. In the Andrew Santana Kaplan article, “Notes Towards (Inhabiting) the Black Messianic in Afro-Pessimism’s Apocalyptic Thought,” Kaplan defines the katechon as “the restrainer [that] holds back the end of the world” (80). It is Ayodele’s mission to stop the destruction she sees happening in Lagos. Lagos needs change due to the people and government destroying themselves. With this understanding, the thing that is destroying the world is not the aliens like would be commonly thought, but the Lagos government and people themselves. Ayodele sees the way in which the people of Lagos are destroying themselves, and in order to put a stop to this destruction, she places a piece of her soul into each individual in the city. Adaora credits Ayodele and her people “‘being catalysts of change. Wherever they go, they bring change’” (158). Adaora views Ayodele as the positive force she claims to be. By entering into the people of Lagos, Ayodele is using her last efforts to help, as she says, on the outside and within. 

The events that took place in Lagoon connect to the idea of apocalyptic fiction and strengthens our understanding of what it means to be in a class called Black Apocalyptic Fiction. Lagoon shares many common themes with the previous books we have read thus far in the class. Similar to Wild Seed and the characters of Anyanwu and Doro, the characters in Lagoon also share god-like powers. Anthony, Agu, and Adaora all possess powers that differentiate them from common people, which is the reason Ayodele chooses them as the three people who are swallowed by the sea. In this sense, while Ayodele deems herself the ambassador, Anthony, Agu, and Adaora become almost prophets. These three are chosen to announce the upcoming apocalypse, whether or not they view the matter as apocalyptic or not. Ayodele’s ability to transform into other people and animals are also shared with Wild Seed’s Anyanwu. Connecting the novel to other novels we have seen in this class helps to strengthen the understanding of how Lagoon can be read through the lens of an apocalyptic work of fiction.

Works Cited

Mangan, Author(s): Frank. “Garden Egg.” WorldCrops, 27 Jan. 2017, https://worldcrops.org/crops/garden-egg.  

Okorafor, Nnedi. Lagoon. Saga Press, 2016

Santana Kaplan, Andrew. “Notes Towards (Inhabiting) the Black Messianic in Afro-Pessimism’s Apocalyptic Thought.” The Comparist, vol. 43, Oct. 2019

Sule, Fati. “The Bittersweet Wonders Of The Nigerian Garden Eggs!” https://jd-publishing.com/the-bittersweet-wonders-of-the-nigerian-garden-eggs

Connotation and Denotation in the World of Pym

Hallie Edic and Katherine Lyons

The definition of denotation is the literal meaning of a word whereas the meaning of connotation is the feeling or idea that a word summons for the reader. In other words, denotation is the literal meaning while connotation is the feeling given to certain words by the world around it. The Word homework, for example, refers to work that you do outside of school which is the denotation; This word has a negative connotation for people because that is the feeling the word gives them.

This tension between denotation and connotation can be seen at the end of Pym when Garth, Chris, and Pym come across the land where the people are waving to them. The denotation of this scene is literally that they are pulling up to shore while the people on land are waving towards their boat. The connotation from this scene is what will let the reader know whether the ending of this novel was a good or a bad thing. One example of connotation at work is how the audience chooses to see the ending. Do they see the ending as happy or almost spine chilling? One reader of this novel could see the people waving towards the boat as welcoming the men to their land with open arms. Perhaps they are ready to welcome their new visitors happily and supply them with whatever they may need. On the other hand, the people waving could be a sign of warning or danger. Perhaps the waving is the people’s indication for the men to turn their boat away and not come any closer to the land. The waving could be the people’s method of telling the men on the ship that they are not welcome and they should not proceed. These two different readings of the end of the novel can change the entire finale of the work. Did Chris and Garth luck out and find people who were willing to help them after their long and crazy voyage or could they be sailing into their own death? The lack of any clear words or connotations by Johnson allows for there to be multiple different readings of the finale of Pym and does not offer a clear answer to readers as to how the men’s story concludes. This sort of idea may indicate that Johnson has a somewhat neutral take on the world. Maybe Johnson or Jaynes sees the world as being interpreted by each person around them differently. That saying that not there are endings in the world that can be left open to interpretation by the people who witnessed or experienced it. There is no one true definition of what happened at the end of the novel and everything in life is very similar to that idea as well: there is no one correct way to interpret something that happened.

In the closing scene of PYM Jaynes, Garth and Pym were the only people remaining after the snow monsters realized that sausage nose was actually Garth, they began to attack which led to an earthquake causing everybody to be killed besides the remaining three. This could have been predicted that these characters would survive due to the fact that they played a very big role in the story and were of most importance.  At the end people are waving from a distance on the land, but the readers are never told what type of emotion these waves were emanating; this gives the readers a chance to interpret this however they feel appropriate. Due to the fact that these people had been on this continent with no connection to the outside world this can lead the readers to believe that the people were relieved to see that the group who went on an expedition to Antarctica were still alive. There were not many details in the book that could lead the readers to believe that the people would be waving them away telling them to go back from where they just got freedom, but if the reader were to dig deeper and start thinking there could be alternative connotations for these waves. For instance if there was a bigger threat to them back at home like the government the people waving could be protecting them from legal trouble. Also the people could have been booing and wishing them back to the icy land because they had discovered supernatural creatures, and most people are scared of things that are non-human which could explain them wanting the group to stay as far away as possible from civilization. Perhaps the author used the word wave because it was nothing more than that but because there is no explanation the ending can be interpreted however the reader wants it to be. 

When looking at how this scene fits into the book as a whole, it can change the reading of the novel as well. Was everything the group did for nothing? Did they find Tsalal like they set out to and are they being welcomed by the people there or did they end up taking an extended journey to their death? At the end of the day, everything lies in how the reader decides to interpret it. Again, does the reader see their arrival in Tsalal as welcoming or as a warning of imminent danger if the men choose to come any closer to the land? Considering these people have never met Garth and Chris, and considering how poorly the snow creatures treated the humans when they intruded on their land, it is hard to believe that the people of Tsalal would be welcoming the men onto their land. It is more likely that the people are telling the men not to come towards their land and to keep sailing unless they are luring the men in in an attempt to enslave them just as the Tekelians did when the group stumbled upon their cave. 

The Earth is Flat and Other Conspiracy Theories

By: Lidabel Avila, Madolley Donzo, Kendall Cruise, Lauryn Bennett, Marlee Fancett, Maddie Butler

When defining a word, it’s important to remember that understandings of words go beyond the dictionary definition and have societal notions that affect them as well. A dictionary definition is known as a “denotation,” which is, defined by Google, the “literal meaning/primary meaning of a word.” Meanwhile, words also have a “connotation,” which is “an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literary or primary meaning.” Also according to Google’s dictionary function, a “flat-earther” can be defined denotatively as “a person who believes that the earth is flat.” Moving to the “informal definition,” the connotations of this term can already be seen within the further definition of “a person who holds outdated or disproven beliefs.” Since their beliefs are often accepted as “outdated or disproven,” being a flat-earther is often associated with a lack of intelligence since they refuse to accept modern scientific findings and refer nearly solely to the Bible in understanding the shape of the world. In order to accept this worldview of a flat land surrounded by an impassable icy rim, flat-earthers often believe in other theories that can be labeled as conspiratorial, like—but not limited to—believing that multiple governments have collaborated to craft images of Earth from outer space. Characters within Mat Johnson’s novel Pym also interact with conspiracy theories, which is  foreshadowed in the first part of the book when Chris Jaynes says, “I should say here that, in America, every black man has a conspiracy theory” (89). Some of these conspiracy theories explored through characters in this novel include Chris Jaynes’ belief that Edgar Allen Poe’s story about Arthur Gordon Pym is true as well as Garth’s belief that Thomas Karvel is hiding out in Antarctica. As Chris says, though, these theories are actually “true,” and they function to reveal much more about the selfishness of the characters and how this greed leads them to develop false perceptions of paradise (89).

The tension of the intended meaning of the waving at the ending of Pym stems from the perspectives of the narrator, Chris Jaynes, as well as others in the novel in their differentiations between perception and intention, which can be seen most clearly from the characters’ in novels perceptions of personal paradises, which double as their own personal conspiracy theories. At the end of the novel Chris Jaynes and Garth Frierson finally arrive, with a late Arthur Gordon Pym, to Tsalal, which has been Chris Jaynes’ own personal paradise, and sees a man on the island who has spotted them waving at them. The tension with the connotation and denotation of the word waving is the many intended meanings it could have based on the motives of the one waving. Chris and Garth, we can assume based on the fact that they waved back and Chris’ earlier assertion of, “That’s what waving and shaking hands are all about: showing we have no weapons to attack with” (125-126), is that this waving gesture is one that is friendly. This is a flaw of their own narcissistic perspectives of their worlds, focusing in on their own preconceived notions of the world and projecting that onto those on the island of Tsalal, where as far as we know Western/colonial hands have not touched. To the Tsalal people, this gesture of waving could have a multitude of meanings such as a sign asking for help, looking for attention, an attempt to scare away Garth and Chris, or they could be interpreting it correctly as a greeting and showing of passivity. The character’s projected views on the waving is mimicked in the projected views a variety of characters have of their own paradises. 

In terms of Garth’s perceived paradise, Karvel’s dome holds dual habitation for Chris Jaynes’s Hell. Chris Jaynes tends to be prioritizing his own paradise, and as a result leaves any other perception of paradise in the dust. His reaction to Garth’s paradise is a perfect example of this: “In my terror I realized that this was not my heaven, this was Garth’s. This was my hell. I was trapped inside a Thomas Karvel painting” (234). Chris is not focused on understanding Garth’s version of paradise, but rather is only interested in his version and sees any other version as ‘hell.’ Chris’ egocentric view is a main factor in how he interacts with and views his world. In his mind he makes the subjective objective and projects his own comfort of his false paradise onto others, refusing to accept the separate desires and enjoyments they might have. In Chris’ description of Tsalal he goes on to say, “‘Tsalal? What do you know about Tsalal?’ Even if there was no world left above us anymore, did that make this goal of discovering Eden any less lofty…Tsalal was the world my crewmates and I were destined for” (213). He not only sees Tsalal as his final destination, but the one of his crew and of Dirk Peters, who he plans to bury there despite the man having had negative feelings about the island personally when he had been alive. This goes to show that Chris has no desire to see Tsalal in any purview that does not support his deeply rooted conspiracy of Tsalal being this uncolonized, independent piece of land that would take them in and welcome him gladly. This goes to show how Chris’s connotation of the wave given to him and Garth upon their arrival to the island could not be interpreted by Chris in any other way but as a friendly gesture, in conjunction with Garth who at this point is forced to believe in Chris’ fantasy after the destruction of his own paradise. This then explains why the both of them might wave back in a kind manner to the Tsalal people regardless of the Tsalal peoples’ intentions because they have preconceived notions that taint their view of the vague denotation of the action itself.  

Similar to the obsessive nature of those convinced that the Earth’s shape is anything but spherical, the obsessions of Mat Johnson’s characters with their individual visions of paradise create lenses that impact how these people view and interpret others and their environments. These lenses, framed in personal or group conspiracies, are the root of ambiguity at the end of Pym. While Chris’s waving at the people of Tsalal can be taken at face value, we as readers are confronted by the waving’s possible connotations. Because Chris is waving back, we can infer that he understands their initial waving as a welcoming signal, but it is unclear as to whether or not it is. Both the readers and characters left at the end of the novel are left to wonder or assume all the possible states of the novel’s future. Being confronted with such an ambiguous ending, with a variety of possibilities for both the people and the world within the novel, forces readers to confront their own ‘lenses’ in which they view their worlds from. If these perspectives were to shatter, then the worlds we see them through would end as well. Chris, Garth, and the reader then must accept the world inside this apocalyptic novel does not end when Chris gets fired, or when the world at large experiences some catastrophic events, but rather the world ends at the end of novel as the false paradises of the characters within the novel are destroyed and shattered one by one. We, much like Chris and Garth at the end of Pym, are left searching for a place to go when the world we know too well comes to a jarring end. We are left to consider who will rebuild the world into something we are familiar and comfortable with, and not something we have to learn how to navigate by ourselves or from scratch. To better cope with apocalypse, one must let go of their ‘comfort conspiracies’: even if the idea of a round Earth seems terrifying.

Tsalal: A Beacon of Hope?

Written by: Sage Kearney, Kathleen McCarey, Marie Naudus, Kya Primm, Isaac Schiller, and Owen Vincent

Merriam-Webster defines denotation as “a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea.” Conversely, Merriam-Webster defines connotation as “something suggested by a word or thing or the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes.” To better understand the difference between denotation and connotation, we can think of the common phrase, “that is just how the cookie crumbles.” Should the phrase be interpreted based on its denotation, one might expect for the ways in which a cookie falls apart to be explained. However, when interpreting this based on its connotation, the speaker is referring to an unfortunate event that there is no foreseeable solution to. To give a clear example, if you miss the RTS bus here at Geneseo, a common response by a defeated, yet resigned, student could be to say “well, that’s just how the cookie crumbles.”

The tensions between connotation and denotation in Mat Johnson’s novel, Pym, reach their climax as the reader is introduced to Thomas Karvel’s “paradise.” As Chris stumbles upon Thomas Karvel overlooking the interior of his world, Chris inquires about how Karvel views change and how he has come to create his own sanctuary. Karvel replies, “No. There is only one look. There is only one vision. Perfection isn’t about change, diversity. It’s about getting closer to that one vision” (251). The connotation revolving around this statement is that Karvel wishes to extinguish all diversity and keep his world white. He values whiteness over all else and has his world mirror this belief. If only analyzing the denotation, the reader could interpret this as an innocent if not singularly focused display of artistic vision. Karvel says. “No, what I’m still creating is the land itself” (251). In doing so, he claims that he is only designing a room to manifest his artistic vision, but, he is actually creating a world  in which there is only whiteness and, by extension of whiteness, perfection. However, an analysis of the connotations at play reveal a discriminatory message as it highlights his obsession with whiteness. This “one vision” belongs to him; he believes that all of the best things on Earth are in his dome and happen to be white. His vision, at first glance, is jumbled. However, Karvel clarifies his intentions when he states that he’ll “never leave the U.S. of A” (236). Karvel is striving to create an ideal America, while removing any non-white context from these “components.” While Karvel and Chris are defending the 3.2 Ultra BioDome, the arctic snow monkeys are rapidly approaching but Karvel doesn’t notice them: “‘I don’t see anybody. Are you sure somebody is there?’” to which Chris responds, frustrated, “‘There, right there, in front of your face’…not even aware of my tone” (263). The denotation of this is that Karvel could not distinguish a white figure against a white canvas in Antarctica. The connotation however, would be that Karvel cannot comprehend whiteness as anything impure or as a threat. The culmination of all these events cause Chris to become wary of the motives of white individuals, humans and arctic monkeys alike. 

Chris’ physical and ontological assaults from an all white world propel him to an all Black world, Tsalal. Once he discovers what he believes to be Tsalal, Chris explains the image he sees as a man “shaking his hand in the air, waving it, and we, relieved, waved ours back” (322). The novel ends with Chris stating how “on the shore all I could discern was a collection of brown people, and this, of course, is a planet on which such are the majority” (322). Chris is able to see Tsalal as a symbol of hope due to his prior experiences. In the opening scene, Chris recounts how he was fired due to his refusal to join the diversity committee and was denied tenure. Chris explains to his replacement: “‘The diversity committee has one primary purpose: so that the school can say it has a diversity committee. They need that for when students get upset about race issues or general ethnic stuff… People find that very relaxing’” (18). Chris views his role at the university as being a token, used only for his race. These experiences are not isolated in America, but can be seen in his experiences in Antarctica as well. Upon interacting with Mrs. Karvel, Chris acknowledges: “I often forget to some I actually look ‘black,’ not just ethnically but along the ‘one drop’ line…in that sense, Mrs. Karvel’s discomfort with my presence as a Negro was more comforting to me than the trepidation I often feel not knowing how I will be perceived” (239). Chris vocalizes to the reader how he is constantly in a sense of discomfort over how his race will be interpreted by others. This discomfort comes to a head when Chris realizes Thomas Karvel’s unhidden trepidation: “it was just that, clearly, the six of us were more startling to him presently than the one unfortunate Tekelian who was no doubt that moment ravaging Karvel’s stores of frozen pastry products” (273). Chris notices that Karvel is more comfortable with the presence of a seven foot snowman than he was with the other black human’s in the room, further highlighting his desire and favoritism for whiteness. All of these accumate to Chris’ worldview being one of skepticism regarding white intentions. 

These events can work to show how Chris views his arrival to Tsalal as a positive outcome. A world where he cannot see any whiteness upon his approach is a welcome change for him. This vision provides hope and the prospect of no longer having to question white intentions which have proven to stem from selfish motives. Chris views the connotations of the individuals of Tsalal waving as welcoming and can only imagine a positive outcome upon arriving to the island because it does not appear to be touched by whiteness, and thus is viewed as a place of refuge for Chris. However, there are other connotations that readers can see from this scene. The waving can come across as unwelcoming, a signal for Chris and his crew to turn around and leave. His eagerness to want to be accepted by this group can blind Chris from any danger that could actually be on the island. The individuals may not want Chris to corrupt them. We believe the waving on Tsalal and its ambiguity to be an overarching signifier to represent Western views, more specifically those that have affected Chris throughout his life in America. Chris views this final interaction as positive because he is seeing a land that has not been affected by whiteness. However, they may not accept him because of the way he has already been affected by the same system he is trying to escape. He has been so affected by American views on race that he does not recognize that there is more to acceptance in society than being judged by it.

Chris Jaynes: the Anti-Hero of the Day

By Adelia Callear, Savannah Burley, Makayla Garrison, Marisa Greaney, Iris Kahris, Nick Parks, McKinley Skala

In Mat Johnson’s novel, Pym, denotation and connotation are used in various parts throughout the novel where interactions could be viewed in various ways. These terms are closely related, both serving each other through their own meanings. Denotation is defined as the “literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests”. It is the direct meaning(s) of a word as distinguished from ideas associated with it. For example, when one says “sick,” the denotation of this would be when one is physically ill. On the other end, connotation is an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal/primary meaning, primarily an abstract/subjective meaning. Referring to the first example, “sick” depending on the tone/context it’s presented in could mean “awesome”, “cool”, “gross”, “gnarly”, “ill”, “unwell”, etc. Connotations tend to be associated as positive or negative, certain words that may have the same denotation can be described connotatively differently. Childlike would be seen with a more positive connotation whereas childish is negative, implying immaturity. Antique is more positive, portraying something rustic and serving value, whereas decrepit is negative, seen as old and holding little value. Within our reading of Pym, Johnson integrates connotations within his writing then explicitly defines or explains his references through denotations within the footnotes. On page 214, Pym describes the Tsalalians as black, which offers Johnson an opportunity to explain through footnote the different connotations associated with a white person or calling someone else black. He writes, “‘Pym said ‘black’ the way really white people do: not like they are simply naming the pigment, which those people do in one quick syllable, but in the way that made the word specific to Negroes. This black had at least two syllables and there was always enough emphasis on the second syllable to convey all of the anxiety the speaker had about my ethnic group as a whole. Ba-laaaaaaaaack.” This footnote offers insight into the way in which Pym perceives the world. In addition, this example shows the importance of tone and understanding different connotations of a word because it can imply a totally different meaning. Additionally going deeper into different characters’ characterizations, three of the crew members associate “love” with different connotations despite knowing the true denotation. Angela sees love as something flirtatious, consuming, and selfless as seen in her last act of trying to save her husband Nathaniel. Nathaniel in turn, views love as more possessive in nature and complacent, seeing Angela as “his” and expecting her to do as he wishes. Chris reprimands Nathaniel for these views over Angela, yet hypocritically thinks the same way. He feels love more selfishly and obsessively, since he’s vowed to win back Angela eventually and hasn’t rid her from his mind for almost a decade after the end of their relationship. 

As we finished Pym, the ending scene created a plethora of interpretations for the reader to reflect on. The class had a discussion about the multiple meanings behind the Tsalalians waving their hands in the air. The frantic waving could be interpreted as excitement, fear, enthusiasm, or the seeking of attention. Other interpretations were possible warning signs or motions of shooing the tiny crew away. Chris had expressed that they were “relieved” and “waved [their arms] back” at the man (322). Chris and Garth did not acknowledge the specific context of the Tsalian’s actions, yet they input their own connotations which allowed the reader to infer the original contexts to be more positive than negative, especially given the overall journey of the novel to be to land on this island and allow Chris to finally see Tsalal. He further expresses his comfortability arriving to this foreign land by stating “On the shore all I could discern was a collection of brown people, and this, of course, is a planet on which such are the majority” (page 322). Chris is accustomed to living in the minority, as the readers became aware of right from the start of the novel with Chris’ experience with his rejection of tenure and the Diversity Committee. He desired to find a place on Earth where he would be fully comfortable with those around him. Chris and his fellow companions, in a way, escaped the rest of the world by pursuing their research/work in Antarctica, only to be put right back into the minority and enslaved shortly after by an ironically white species (the snowmen). Chris’s miscalculations and ambitious nature brought the demise of the majority of the crew; his adventure leading them away from the end of the world only to have their own be crushed as well, more permanently for some than others. 

The ending of Pym also brings into question how human nature can lead to genocidal actions. Chris in particular, felt disgusted by the creatures, and felt little to no sympathy towards the life that the creatures were living. In his mind, poisoning all the creatures was acceptable, intending to kill all of them, was justifiable in order for the crew and himself to survive. The way the creatures are described by Chris portray them in a way that leads their physical attributes far away from that of a human, intending to dehumanize the creatures as much as possible. Some dehumanizing language such as calling the humanoid beings “beasts” and “sausage nose”, meant to belittle their existence (302, 305).  This is part of the reason why Chris had little remorse, similar to colonizers, as they often saw native peoples as less or nothing like humans, or what they thought as a “human”.  Furthermore in regards to human nature, we see that Chris embodies many different traits–both negative and positive–that also reside within the other characters. Nathaniel and Chris both are nearly the same person, just depicted as two different characters who despise each other for the traits they each possess. Both are selfish and possessive, especially in regards to Angela’s love, as mentioned earlier in our essay. Augustus and Chris also hold pity for one another, observing the situations the other is in–Chris’s enslavement and starvation vs Augustus’s poor living condition and isolation from his species. They additionally hold large amounts of curiosity as they each try to understand the other’s species/language (as shown with Augustus learning a few English words and Chris understanding their culture/way of life). Lastly, Chris and Pym, despite being portrayed as opposing characters, they are basically parallels of each other within different races. They both are self-serving and strive to support their race. They regard the places they found as Heaven with its inhabitants as gods or godly beings, the Tekelili to Pym as the Tsalalians are to Chris. Human nature is taken into a much wider perspective within Pym, its entire existence creating both beautiful things yet devastating endings/events for others.

ENGL 111: Mini Collaboration #2

By: Hailey Bernet, India Roundtree, Mia Stout, Piper Cluff, Janiqua Morris, Lucky Ni, Nina Avallone-Serra

One of the most recognizable pieces of literature (and film) covering the 2008 housing crisis is Michael Lewis’s The Big Short. His book follows a cast of real-life individuals who began to notice and take advantage of the anomalies in the housing market which led to one of the most devastating crashes in the history of the country. The world of The Big Short is highly insulated, zeroing in on the specialized world of investment banks, stock and bond traders, and hedge funds, all of whom are wealthy, and a vast majority of whom are wealthy white men. The main cast of the book is estranged from the consequences of the crash, as are the peripheral characters and entities (like investment bankers and corporate heads) and as a result, we as readers of The Big Short fail to see the impacts of the actions of those on Wall Street in the context of the average American and can only theorize about the impending fallout.


The Big Short informs the reader about the events leading up to the housing crash solely from the perspective of wealthy investors, therefore providing an extremely limited viewpoint. Rather than providing the effects of the economic crash, The Big Short provides the cause by telling the stories of a few members involved, such as Michael Burry and Steve Eisman, and how they gained wealth and power through the manipulation of the market. The storytelling of The Big Short lacks the perspectives of the individuals and families who were directly affected by the actions of these wealthy investors, which adds to the idea that most of Wall Street was extremely out of touch with the rest of society. As mentioned on page 106 of The Big Short, “A tiny handful of investors perceived what was happening not just to the financial system but to the larger society it was meant to serve, and made investments against that system that was so large that they effectively gave up being conventional money managers and became something else.” This limited perspective demonstrated in The Big Short purposefully illustrates how egotistical the members of Wall Street were and how insensitive they were to the effects their actions would have on innocent families.

The Turner House shed light on what was missing in The Big Short by focusing on the Turner family as they cope with the economic troubles and ongoing misfortune in Detroit as a result of the housing market crash. The Turner House provides an important perspective because it shows a more relatable view of the housing crisis by demonstrating the unfolding of the crash in the context of a middle/lower-income family. The book, unlike The Big Short, also delves into the human emotions connected with the house itself and the subsequent loss of the house. Page 198 gives us an idea of the thoughts of one of the Turner children: “I’m too upset to pick up the phone. I hear you’re moving forward with the short sale. If you sell the house I will never forgive you. I don’t put down my foot on anything in this family, not ever. But you do this, and you break my heart. Not trying to be dramatic, just how I feel.” It also contextualized the lives of those who were hit hardest by the crash, discussing issues like race, addiction, and poverty. The Turner House provided us with a unique perspective to understanding the housing crisis of 2008, focusing on how family values and conflicts play into the issue at hand, whereas The Big Short doesn’t begin to approach these issues.

The Turner House also gives us insight into the outcomes of bad loans, like the ones mentioned in The Big Short: for example, we know in The Turner House that the value of the Turner family home was reduced to a measly $4000 as a result of the churn of bad mortgages in The Big Short. The Turner House sheds further light on the failings of The Big Short by demonstrating the impacts within the city of Detroit itself, the abandonment and demolition of houses, the rise in crime, and the increase in unemployment citywide. It also touches on racial disparities and exemplifies how these played into the impact on white people versus Black people. Flournoy writes, “Lelah had been laid off from her job at the airport in 2002, and when she had visited the unemployment office then, the overwhelming blackness of her fellow unemployed seemed to be clear evidence of injustice. But the proliferation of these new white jobless was more disturbing. If this many white folks couldn’t find a job, times were certainly tough” (117).


Both The Big Short and The Turner House give commentary on what happened in the events leading up to the housing crisis, but they each have a different style of storytelling, with The Big Short providing an informative storytelling structure and The Turner House utilizing a narrative structure to tell its tale. Together, the two books give a well-rounded view of the housing crisis: The Big Short shows a highly specific breakdown of the economic causes of the crisis while The Turner House shows the emotional, financial, and social effects on a more relatable scale through the analysis of a large family.

One reason why the storytelling of both books is important is because each sheds light on how people of different races and classes can be involved in the same event but experience it differently. In The Big Short, the Wall Street giants manufacturing the events leading up to the housing crisis are white and extremely wealthy. In the aftermath of the crash, the consequences that they face are very minimal as they still have the chance to leave their jobs with pay and go back to their homes, and in many cases, retain their jobs and even head efforts to revive the economy. In contrast, The Turner House demonstrates the negative consequences of the actions of Wall Street bankers and how these play out for a black family.

The book hints that white people were also affected in a way, when Lelah notes more white people than ever being at the unemployment office. But overall, status and access to wealth and power completely transforms the event: for the white and wealthy, in The Big Short, the crisis was an opportunity to continue to accumulate wealth. For the poor minorities, in The Turner House, the housing crisis was a devastating blow to their livelihood. All that they had worked hard for was now invaluable and being taken away due to the actions of those at the top. Additionally, The Turner House gives us an understanding of how the financial crisis impacted whole cities, describing declines in infrastructure, demolition of houses, fleeing of neighborhoods, rising crime rates.

The Turner House gives us a humanistic perspective of the crisis, an area in which The Big Short lacks heavily. The Big Short lacks the humanness in its telling of the crisis probably because during the fraud that was being committed, many wall street bankers were so far removed from their clients that they failed to see them as people, and rather viewed them as pawns in their game. They had a duty to their clients to tell them the truth, but their greed made them incapable of doing that, putting plenty of people in harm’s way. If the bankers were empathetic and sympathetic, they would have maneuvered differently. If they stopped to think that it could be them in the other person’s shoes, maybe they would have had a better conscience.

So as The Big Short discusses the financial and economic side of the crisis, The Turner House adds the humanity of how minority groups dealt with the housing crisis. The Turner House and The Big Short complement each other in a way that allows their storytelling to “fill in the gaps” that the other story might have left out. The Turner House provides a more intimate perspective, as it sheds light on how one individual family was affected by the economic crisis, and how they almost lost their family home as a result. The Big Short, on the other hand, provides the perspective of Wall Street investors who were directly involved in the economic crisis, and the book sheds more light on the inner workings of Wall Street and how a lot of issues were overlooked in favor of gaining more profit from their risky actions. Unlike in The Turner House, where familial relationships are extremely important and the characters are all emotionally connected in a way, the characters of The Big Short are all stuck in their own bubbles and have little concern for the consequences their actions might have. The characters of The Big Short care mainly about the profits they’re going to gain, yet the consequences of their actions fall directly on families like the Turners.

Second Mini-Collaboration

Faith Griffin, Riley Griffin, Isabelle Hoff, Spencer Jurgielewicz, Abigail Kennedy, Alexandra Ross, Mairead Wilsch 

Michael Lewis’s The Big Short focuses on the 2008 global market crash and highlights the factors that lead up to said crash. It looks into the lives of the people who were involved in it. This includes but is not limited to individuals on Wall Street, the officials in the Reagan, Clinton, and Bush’s Administrations, and others involved in business. The book showed the views of those in charge on Wall Street and showed the making of the big decisions which affected the rest of the population. The book showed their lack of accountability. It also mentioned how many people were expelled from their homes due to the businessmen’s careless behavior towards their clients. The Big Short emphasizes a moral hazard, as the banks knew it was risky to loan money to people with the knowledge that they would not get the money back, they felt protected by the US government and believed that their system was too big to fail. The numerous loans distributed can be related to the overwhelming amount of characters that were presented throughout the story. Ignorance is a big theme throughout the book, consistently portraying the customers as “less than” the companies and investors having the biggest egos. Although the Big Short did give us a look into the Housing Crisis, there were many parts that were left out, including the parts that affected everyone else. 

The Big Short does not examine the people who were hit the hardest by the economic downturn which were groups such as lower income individuals such as, people of color, and women. Instead it mostly highlights the CEO’s and businessmen on Wall Street along with the overall financial crisis of the nation. The book failed to analyze the socio-economic repercussions of certain groups that were at a disadvantage from the start of the crisis. There was no personal connection with any characters in the book and readers were unable to empathize with anything that happened regarding the people of higher status and influence. The businessmen and CEOs were sometimes portrayed in a manner in which they seemed like they had a robotic demeanor with no personality besides greed and a drive for self-interest. The Big Short showed just how corrupt those in charge were, gaining wealth from others’ downfalls. “The CEOs of every major Wall Street…All of them, without exception, either ran their public corporations into bankruptcy or were saved from bankruptcy by the United States government. They all got rich, too.” (Lewis 256). Unlike the general population, the businessmen received immense help from the government, even benefiting from this crisis of their making. American investors seemed to care little about the rules as they wanted to secure as many wins as possible, no matter the risk it presented to themselves and the global market. They even mock some European bankers by calling them “Stupid Germans. They take rating agencies seriously. They believe in the rules” (93). By mocking the foreign investors, they show just how little empathy they have for consequences. All their focus goes to their own gains, they simply do not care about rules or honesty.

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy sheds light on those who were directly affected by those in The Big Short. It shows the impact the housing crisis had on families, not only talking about the actions of the big companies and CEOs who caused the crisis. By showing the more individual reactions, and struggles of the Turner family, The Turner House shows many things that The Big Short wanted to hide, giving a new perspective many readers should know about when learning about this topic. The portrayal of addiction in both novels are vastly different;  the CEO’s use of drugs and prostitutes is for pleasure/enjoyment, while people in The Turner House used sex, drinking, and gambling as a means of coping with their financial situations.  “Lelah hooked Cha-Cha under the armpits and helped him sit upright on the bed. He reeked of beer. Sweat ringed his undershirt collar. She had never seen him like this before, ” (Flournoy 259). This example from The Turner House expresses the use of addiction as a way of coping with their struggles and as a way to avoid the financial strain they were facing, since they are in lower status it is viewed as pathetic. While in The Big Short, we see the “glamorous” side of addiction, used as a means of celebration or pleasure, hiring prostitutes, doing drugs and gambling, this is seen as an act of fun due to their higher status. “All three were worried that Bear Stearns might fail and be unable to make good on its gambling debts. “There can come a moment when you can’t trade with a Wall Street firm anymore,” said Ben, “and it can come like that.” (Lewis 219). In the novel The Turner House they highlight how the unemployment line was not helpful and both the private and public sectors provided minimal or no help at all. “She’d waited two and a half hours to watch someone push buttons on a keyboard. ‘It says you’re not eligible,’ the woman said. ‘I know it says that,’ Lelah said. ‘That’s why I’m here. I got suspended from my job without pay, so I should be eligible, right?’ ‘Your employer hasn’t put anything in here,’ the woman said.” (Flournoy 119).  Lelah, a member of the Turner family, is struggling with being laid off, evicted, and having a  gambling addiction. The text describes her trip to the unemployment office, the line being unbearably long, the employees being rude and unhelpful, overall not a successful trip as they sent her to call an automated response machine named MARTHA, rather than assisting her in person. This is an example of the many battles the Turner family faced when being used by the large companies seen in The Big Short.

The Turner House more specifically exemplifies the effect that the housing crisis had on families and groups with lower income, which often includes women, people of color, and people with different ethnicities than in the United States. In this literature, the Turner family tries to short-sell their family house on Yarrow Street. The mortgage of the house was $40,000, but by short-selling the house the Turner family won’t even make $4,000. The thought was to short-sell to Troy Turner’s girlfriend, Jillian, because at the time it was illegal to short-sell to relatives with the current market rate (Lewis 64). Ironically enough, Troy is a police officer in the family and he is the one who initiates breaking the law. People in these positions are supposed to enforce the laws for society, but end up becoming the ones who feel the need to break them. This exemplifies how people in power use their influence to benefit themselves and alter the rules to fit their agenda. This ties into the philosophical Immanuel Kant and his concept of categorical imperative. This is the concept in which people who act immorally and do wrongs such as steal, murder, etc. have a bad understanding of society as they expect others to abide by said rules but they are the expectation and do not have to (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).  Throughout both of the novels, corruption is a prevalent issue that takes place during the global market crash. The Turner House has a cop who is involved with questionable activities regarding short-selling the house, while The Big Short touches upon the issue of corruption within the banks and government regarding fraud. The banks continued to loan money to people knowing that they wouldn’t receive the money back, so it was relating to a ticking time bomb that would eventually explode. The Big Short, however, does not highlight many specific cases of who will face accountability and how it, directly or indirectly, still causes regular people economic issues post-2008: “He didn’t even notice you were here. He thought he was speaking in confidence to us. You can’t go holding him accountable for that.” Ever since joining the police force, Troy was quick to become litigious.” (Lewis 8). 

When the Turner family decided to short sell their house in order to keep it in the family, they also wanted to get the bank to take a hit. This showed how desperate times were for money, as mortgage payments were increasing and nobody was able to afford it as the house was worth less than what they owed the bank. The Turners have grown up in this house for their whole life, and now nobody is living there except for Lelah for a period of time. The house still is haunting them as they still owe money to the bank and they can almost never get rid of this old, moldy home. With the house still lingering behind the turners like a shadow and Lelah staying there for a period of time it is exceptional to think that, “humans haunt more houses than ghosts do” (Flournoy 312). The book was able to give us an emotional connection with characters such as Lelah and her personal life. We got to experience the effects from the housing crisis, one being unemployment. Lelah said “the prospect that so many white people are unemployed reveals how difficult times really are” (Flournoy 117). This shows that everyone, no matter race, was being affected. Lelah  not only was struggling to find a roof under her head, but she also was face to face with addiction and unemployment. The CEOs in The Big Short used addiction as a means of celebration and entertainment, while the people impacted in The Turner House used addiction as a coping mechanism. Lelah turned to gambling, while Cha-Cha consumed alcohol. After Lelah got evicted, she felt she needed to win back money, so even when she earned a profit she wanted more. Whereas, the oldest Turner child, Cha-Cha, reeked of beer, which surprised Lelah since she had never seen him like that before. Overall, The Turner House provided more personal details and a view of the consequences of the global market crash by showing the perspective of those who were impacted the most.

We have compared and contrasted the concepts from The Big Short by Michael Lewis and The Turner House by Angela Flournoy and several other works we have watched. First, “The Old Man and the Storm” shows how people were personally affected by crises’ just like how The Turner House shows the family’s struggles with the financial crisis. “The Old Man and the Storm” demonstrates more of the human side of a crisis, as compared to the business side shown in The Big Short. Unlike “The Old Man and the Storm” the documentary of “Inside Job” showed both points of view, though the documentary had a focus on those who were responsible for the crisis. The documentary showed how people lived in tent cities, how they lived as homeless due to the crisis. The interviews demonstrated the arrogance and lack of accountability in the businessmen of Wall Street. Finally, we made the connection between Fantasia and both The Big Short and The Turner House. Fantasia could be seen as a metaphor for the 2008 market crash: the wizard representing the U.S. government or nation as a whole. They did not stop Mickey who could be seen as the Wall Street tycoons when he kept slacking off and used the magic broom to move water or money in the market. When it got out of control nobody could stop the overflowing water well which could represent the crisis which would cause the market crash. Both Fantasia and the events which would lead up to the 2008 market crash demonstrate examples of moral hazard with both parties facing little to no consequences. All of these pieces of literature tie into one common theme: the market crash is a very complex topic and cannot be answered by one simple answer. Different books and films look at the crash and the events that led up to it with different outlooks and through different  perspectives. It is so important to look back at the 2008 housing crisis not only so we can learn from our past mistakes but also to recognize that people are still suffering from these actions fourteen years later. As a society, we should continue to educate ourselves and realize that people have a lot going on in their lives that we may not understand.