Many things bother me. It usually occurs some time after a person says something that slowly sparks a thought in my head. The problem is that it takes me some time in order to grasp that thought. Virginia Woolf describes the situation perfectly in A Room of One’s Own:
Thought — to call it by a prouder name than it deserved — had let its line down into the stream. It swayed, minute after minute, hither and thither among the reflections and the weeds, letting the water lift it and sink it until — you know the little tug — the sudden conglomeration of an idea at the end of one’s line: and then the cautious hauling of it in, and the careful laying of it out? Alas, laid on the grass how small, how insignificant this thought of mine looked; the sort of fish that a good fisherman puts back into the water so that it may grow fatter and be one day worth cooking and eating. I will not trouble you with that thought now, though if you look carefully you may find it for yourselves in the course of what I am going to say.
But however small it was, it had, nevertheless, the mysterious property of its kind — put back into the mind, it became at once very exciting, and important; and as it darted and sank, and flashed hither and thither, set up such a wash and tumult of ideas that it was impossible to sit still.
I have to fish out my thoughts. Whenever I am able to find and “ripen” the thought the topic, usually, would have changed by then. Yet I am still intrigued by thoughts and they don’t leave me unless I am interrupted and forget about them. The topic that inspired my thoughts was the question, “Why was Ruined well-received than War?” Well, the question was similar to those words, but I cannot remember it exactly. Then Professor Healey did an imitation of a woman talking about getting a cappuccino after the play. That sent my fishing line even further into the recesses of my brain until it hooked onto an idea. It is a bit difficult to put the idea into words right now. I really dislike talking around the idea, but I don’t know how to put it in simple terms. Basically, the idea is that people are more likely to embrace ideas and conflicts of other nations when it does not correlate with their own nation; the farther way the conflict is, the easier it is to take it (with many exceptions). Also, depending on the horrors of the idea, the people may push it aside because they cannot believe it to be true.
Well, I cannot say that those people are wholly ignorant because I can be too (which I do not like being at all). But still, there are people who cannot accept that horrible things have happened. There are people who believe that the Holocaust never occurred and that millions of Jews were killed. There are people who say that the Japanese invasion of Nanking and Korea wasn’t inhumane and that the Chinese and Koreans weren’t treated as badly as history makes it to be. There are people in American who said, after watching films of the horrors in Nanking, that it wasn’t their priority. There are people who don’t believe that the atrocities that took place at Abu Ghraib occurred. There are people like that – people who cannot believe the immense horrors that took place or were taking place at those times. For me, human beings are incredible creatures. We can be worse than animals, and that is a gross understatement. People can be just blinded by their society or by themselves. I don’t know… people amaze me. When the atrocities come from the person’s country of origin, then they would deny being related to such abominable actions.
Now Ruined, by Lynn Nottage, takes place in the Congo in South Africa. The stuff that goes on there can easily take place within other conflicts and wars. It’s just that this story brings light to the horrors of events occurring in South Africa. Yes, the idea deals with women being raped, being tools of war, being used, etc. yet the area that these ordeals occur is not a place a good amount of Americans can attest to. For me, this is why people can take this play much more easily than War. Because the story is not alluding to other places trying to say that it can happen anywhere, including the person’s country of origin, but it focuses on one specific area. Yes, the story can be an echo of other situations but it doesn’t state it.
Meanwhile War, by Lars Noren, takes place in….well, different areas around the world. One family, different homes. The story is grim and serious, as was Ruined, sans humor. But the idea of showing the audience that this situation can happen to them. War can happen anywhere at anytime. People don’t want to think about it. They don’t want to think that it can happen to them. They do not want to face the horrors. They rather not deal with it and live without the pain. Yes, pain is what can make a person stronger, but it can also hinder or ruin the person. Just today my fencing teammate had a problem with her hip. She was in the semi-finals, but the pain proved to be too excruciating for her to continue. This pain won’t make her stronger; it just hindered her ability to fence well. Usually, it’s the emotional and mental pain we received that helps make us stronger individuals, but it doesn’t always work. Anyway, people can’t deal with serious stuff all the time because it can bring them down or they can’t face it. Even though the world is cruel, there is still hope out there for something better.
Still, majority of people cannot face such serious ideas that they just shrug it off. Others, who are able to handle them, are able to spread the word to bring light to the situation. Even though I feel that humans can be worse then animals, we still show great acts of humility, kindness, compassion, and all that other “good” stuff.
Anyway, this blog seemed choppy. I couldn’t focus fully on this idea. I hope what I typed is understandable. Maybe I am too cynical. Maybe I need to learn to reel in my thoughts.
Virginia, Woolf. “A room of one’s own, by Virginia Woolf.” eBooks@Adelaide: Free Web Books, Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2010. <http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91r/index.html>.
