This article was very deep and therefore, I found it quite hard to read. It’s really heartbreaking to even think that people have had lives like Shin’s. This article made me think of two things. The first is that if you’ve seen too many bad things then you slowly loose your emotions and change as a person. The second was very interesting because it kept me thinking about the same question, would a life like this be my dystopia?
From the moment you start reading the article you can tell that this is going to be a tragic and depressing story. When he explains that his mother and brother were brought out and killed, I suddenly got an image of my mom and sister being up there. As hard as it is to write that is what I pictured and even though it was completely fictional I felt extremely sad for a split second. I found it very peculiar that if I can react that way based on an imagination, then how can Shin not cry when it actually happened. Shin said, “My father was weeping, but I didn’t cry. I had no love for her. Even today I hate her for what I had to go through because of her.” This is imperative to the story because not one of us can relate to it. One must be crazy to hate one’s own mother, we are built in such a way that in one way or another we do love our parents. Moreover, when he said I didn’t cry, that was one of the most shocking sentences I read. Witnessing somebody getting hanged and shot in front of must be life scaring especially, if it’s your mother and brother! Shin was surrounded by so much pain and violence that I believe he lost all his emotions. People say that if you’ve been in a war or been in prison for too long it changes you. If that’s true then surely living under Shin’s conditions must completely destroy your emotions.
While reading about Camp Number 14 you feel as though you are being a told a scary and fictional story. The reason one feels this way is because the living conditions are so dreadful that it’s simply too hard to believe. This is definitely going to be a dystopia for a lot of people. I for one would have never been able to survive if I was treated like Shine. In the article Shine says, “I got to visit my mother only once or twice a year. I never saw my whole family together. I don’t think I saw my brother more than a few times.” Even the thought of going through what he just told us frightens me; at 11 I couldn’t spend more than 2 weeks without my mom. The thing that saddens me the most is when he said that he has never seen his entire family together, the definition of a family is parents and children living together in a household. According to that Shin has never seen a family and therefore, never experienced the joy that comes with it. Towards the end of the article it says, “He has recurring nightmare about being back in Camp No. 14. Awake, he wonders what happened to his father…” Again, these passages are so strong, particularly if you decide to put yourself in his shoes. One can only imagine how horrible a place must be in order to get recurring nightmares years after you’ve left it. It’s amazing that he’s able to live his life and at the same time ask himself, ‘what happened to my father?’
It’s unthinkable that somebody has actually experienced these things and lived under such frightful conditions. Reading this article made me feel miserable, and the worst part is that it never seems to end. If I would have been in Shine’s position I would have killed myself long ago because the truth is, there is no way death could be worse than the life he was living.
Hey Akash,
ReplyDeleteNice post. I agree with what your saying about how Shin was living in a sort of dystopia. But I think that the fact that he was born in the camp donates a lot to the fact that he accepts it. In We, D-503 knows nothing of the past and in 1984, Winston had small recollections of his past, causing him to hate the world he was living in. Shin had no past and therefore had no reason to believe the world he was living in was wrong. “Shin said he sometimes wished he could return to the time before he learned about the greater world, “without knowing that we were in a prison camp, without knowing that there was a place called South Korea.”” Shin has no reason to be upset with the world he was living in, even though it is disgustingly cruel to us, because he didn't know it was wrong. I like how you made comments to your personal relations with family members because that is something that I found shocking as well. How can one watch their mother die with such apathy? You could have made some references to the literature we have read in class, 1984 and We, but overall good post Akash.
Asim
I respect your opinion, Akash, especially the emotion and strength with which you convey it. I appreciate that you gave an emotional reaction, rather than just an analytical one.
ReplyDeleteSome of what you said struck me as very interesting. In fact, your post is kind of what my post is all about. You say that Shin's life is horrible, unthinkable; you would kill yourself in that position. Well, why didn't Shin kill himself? And how could he possibly want to return to that awful life after experiencing life 'on the outside?'
It seems as though you attribute this to his loss of emotion from growing up in the place he did. Is it really that simple?
My blog post is about how one person's dystopia is another's utopia. You view the gulag as a hellish place. It was Shin's home, it was normal for him. And, evidently, he was unhappy living any other way. So, is the gulag really a dystopia?
Like I said, I appreciate how you interpreted the article from your emotional point of view, but what about Shin's point of view. All you have to say about the gulag is what an awful place it was. I would like to hear you talk a bit about Shin's point of view, and why his point of view is so different from yours. I would like to hear your opinion on why Shin would want to go back even after experiencing our world, which is so much better. I think that what you would have to say would be very insightful and very interesting.
Great job. Look forward to reading your reply!
In the last paragraph of my comment, I don't me "All you have to say." I mean "What you have to say."
ReplyDeleteConsider it a typo!
:)
I found that very interesting too. The fact the he is ready to go back to place like that. however, no matter how sad it sounds the fact is that, that is his home. He knows no other type of life and therefore, his home is the Camp. I think he has grown accustomed to the type of life that was presented in the Camp.
ReplyDeleteWell, once you've grown up in place where you constantly see horrific things then eventually it disturbs you physiologically. I know it may not be the answer you're looking for, but yes, i do think it's that simple.
You seem very interested in Shine's point of view, i made it clear that i would've killed myself in his position, but what would have done in his position? I don't think death could be worse than the torture he's going through currently.