After reading the book, Homebase, I sat down for a while and reminisced the whole book, then I decided that I wanted to write the interesting and confusing part of a character. However, instead of saying “a character”, I would rather say “the characters”, since the author mixed several characters in this book.
First, I think Rainsford’s personality is quite different from other Chinese-American kids, such as the way he views things, feels about his parents’ death, having a girlfriend, etc. He was raised up as a very tough kid; however, the confusing part is when the author said “I had witnessed her dying in another hospital eight years later and became the prominent figure at her funeral, I did not cry” (p.34) , he even mentioned it again later, “She had no longer wanted to stand by my side. After my mother died I was alone, but I did not cry.” (p.40) These statements are very contradicted towards his real feeling about his mother, he loves his mother so much, but he doesn’t even cry at all when she died and he even emphasis it again and again in the story. I think this is an unusual act for normal human being, so I would like to see what other people think about this scenario and why you think he keep mentioning about “I did not cry”?
It is very strange to me when I read the part that says “only in the first days after my father’s death did I cry silently into my pillow, my lover, my hero gone….as I cried”(p.40), it is interesting to me that Rainsford will cry for his dad, who he barely remember in his memories; while his mom, who live with him for seven more years, he didn’t even cry when she died.
To be honest, throughout the whole story, the way he mixed the characters had sometimes confused and lost me; however, I totally understand that as a lonely grown kid, Rainsford definitely wants someone to talk and share experience with him if not physically, then at least mentally. I think it is very interesting when he imagined his grandfather is always besides him. The author said “Yes, Grandfather, you watched me as I grew.” (p.60)
Another interesting fact and I don’t know if that is author’s personal likeness or just majority of Chinese did that. It was the name “Bobby”. I remember Rainford said he unintentionally called his dad “Bobby” instead of “Daddy”, then later in the reading, the author mentioned about the General he met in the Bay Bridge. He said “I call the pilot “Bobby”, yell his name out, “Bobby!”” (p.63) My thought about this is that, as long as, he sees the person who has a heroic figure like his father, then he will name that person “Bobby”.
There is a part that is also very similar to my personal experience. It is the part when he won “the Most Valuable Player trophy of a year……I am the first Chinese in the history of this high school to receive this award in any sports, and they applaud.” (p.79) I also won something in the competitions either representing the school or the whole country, even though I am not the first Chinese-Filipino to won these competitions, but I can definitely say that it is very different, especially, for a kid whose has different ethnicity.
In general, I think the story is very organized, the author arranges the characters from Great-grandfather all the way down to Rainford, which is the fourth generation of the family. As the story gets closer to ending, the author reorganized all the characters and put them into one same character by saying “I was only my father’s son, that he was Grandfather’s son and Grandfather was Great-Grandfather’s son and that night we were all the same men.” (p.85)
Anthony--I think it's great that you chose to focus on the things that confuse BUT YET intrigue you about "Homebase." In many ways it's a simple story, but a very difficult novel--the way that Wong plays with structure and different genres forces you, the reader, to do more work than a linear story would. Writing about the confusing parts can often help you to understand them better.
ReplyDeleteHey Anthony,
ReplyDeleteSo I guess I’ll just jump right into this (haha). When you stated that Rainsford would only cry for his Dad and not his Mother, I don’t think it was because he loved his Mother any less than his Father. Upon his Father dying Rainsford must take on the role of the “Man” of the house hold only in the first days after my father’s death did I cry silently into my pillow, my lover, my hero gone….as I cried”(p.40). At first Rainsford allowed his emotions to take over him, and he let himself cry silently into his pillow. Also, I’m sure he wanted nothing more than to hold onto his Father in anyway that he as able to, thus he attempted to be more of a Man as his Father was. I think that’s more of the reason he did not cry when his Mother died. Also isn’t it true that in Asian cultures one is not supposed to show emotion as much as we seem to do in America? That would mean that when his Mother died Rainsford became more acquainted and immersed in his culture, and did not show emotion when she died (Or perhaps he was just beginning to get used to loss). I certaintly could not imagine losing both my parents at such an impressionable age (I would cry much longer than a few days, and certainly not silently). What do you think about it? Is it a cultural thing not to show emotion as much as we do over here?
Anthony #1,
ReplyDeleteI think you really bring up a good point about Rainsford's relationship with his parents. I never realized that he cried when his father died, but didn't when his mother did. I think Rainsford had a special connection with his father that he didn't necessarily have with his mother. Throughout the novel, he talks about how much he wants to be like his father, so there is a deeper connection with him than there is with his mother.
When his mother died, he was a teenager, and was left alone. Being older, he probably wasn't as prone to cry as he was when he was young. I also think he didn't cry because he had to be strong and be his own family now. He may also have been trying to distance himself from her death because the pain was too much to bear. When I lost my grandmother, I tried to distance myself from the situation. I didn't go into the room the casket was in until the end of the funeral, and even then I tried to hold back my emotions. The pain would have become so overwhelming, I wouldn't have been able to make it through the day. I think Rainsford felt the same way. I don't think he could have come face to face with his mother's death for fear it would emotionally cripple him.
I don't think his inability to cry means that he didn't care about his mother as much as his father. I think he was just more mature when his mother died, and didn't want her death to become a deep hurt which would cripple him for the rest of his life.