Friday, February 4, 2011

1972 by Abby

1972: Inter-national Hotel

Guide by Abby

Edited by Sarah Neville

Structure

Each chapter is structured in a similar way. Each chapter is broken up into sections, with a quote by various famous revolutionaries or political figures at the beginning of each section. Within each section, each paragraph is given its own number, somewhat like a play. Each section within the chapter usually ends with some sort of paragraph that imparts wisdom or a moral value.

Questions to think about:

  1. Who is the oppressed? Is the oppressed one group of people or many groups? Is everyone oppressed in the same way? How are women oppressed - are they different from other oppressed groups?
  2. Who is a revolutionary? How are revolutionaries the same and different? What makes someone a revolutionary?
  3. What is the difference between history and a story? Are we being told a history or a story? How can you tell? How does this influence the way we should interpret the events in this hotel and in the whole book?

1: The Art of War

Synopsis:

The quotes in this chapter are all by a famous revolutionary.

This is an overview of the events that will mostly be described in more detail later. It describes the lives of Olivia “Olie” Wang, the granddaughter of a failed generalissimo (it isn’t clear of what nationality, possibly Chinese), and Bienvenido “Ben” or “Benny” San Pablo, the grandson of a manong (Filipino nationality). Olie and Ben have a son, who they name Malcolm, after Malcolm X. They are both revolutionaries, although their exact roles in any sort of red movement and their ideologies are never made clear. One day, about a year after Malcolm is born, four men try to mug Olivia, but she runs away. The men, who are from the police of the Red Squad, break into Olivia and Ben’s house after finding their address in an address book they steal from another woman they mug. Ben escapes with Malcolm. It is revealed that Olivia has ovarian cancer, and she dies.

Throughout the chapter, Olie and Ben constantly make fun of each other and insult each other.

Quotes:

  1. “Ben pondered the constant warfare within his mind, the hidden mines that seemed to explode at every venture made through that dark labyrinth. Had not his heroes, Lenin and Marx, already cleared a path to light? Why was it, then, that his vision could only navigate through the clarity of a white opiate?” (297)
  2. “But she said: I have anticipated the end of the story without first imparting the beginning. Knowing the story’s end does not necessarily imply completion or knowledge, for if many endings are possible, so also are many beginnings… stories may turn and turn again.” (301)

Questions:

  1. What does the first quote say about the motives and beliefs of a revolutionary?
  2. Why is the second quote, the ending paragraph of this chapter, about a story rather than a history? What does this say about this book as a representation of history?

2: Malcolm X at Bandung

Synopsis:

The quotes in this chapter are all from the Final Communiqué at Bandung and Malcolm X.

Ben first sees Olivia when she gives a presentation at an event, and Olivia first sees Ben when he presents at a similar event. The events are both some sort of conference about the conditions of the working class. Ben is very interested by Olivia and he tries hard to meet her in person. He has his roommate find out more about her, and he eventually finds himself sitting next to her at a showing of One Fourth of Humanity: The China Story by Edgar Snow. Olivia acts very condescendingly towards him and gives him her copy of the Edgar Snow book to read, which he accepts without revealing that he has already read it – he wants to see her notes. Ben and Olivia keep running into each other. Karl Kang, a character who reappears later in this section, is introduced at a meeting. Ben takes a road trip to Montreal with his friend Macario Amado to attend a conference, and it so happens that Olivia is driving them.

Historical Background:

Bandung was a meeting of non-white governments, at which they issued a Final Communique demanding certain rights.

Quotes:

  1. “She ignored him, as if he were a mere working peon.” (311)

Questions:

  1. What do you make of Olivia’s attitude? What does the quote say about the “equality” of a communist revolution?
  2. How do the quotes add to this chapter?

3: What Is to Be Done?

Synopsis:

This chapter is further broken up into “Study Groups,” each of which poses a question before continuing with the story.

The plot is not quite linear. The sections alternate between recounting the journey to Montreal and showing dialogue between Olivia, Ben, and Karl Kang, where they debate the “Study Group” question, with Karl acting as a mediator. At the conference, Olivia and Ben support the opposition to American intervention in Vietnam, although it does not seem like the conference actually accomplishes much. When it’s time to leave, Macario stays behind to stay with a girl he met. Olivia and Ben drive back to California together. Along the way, they acknowledge their feelings for each other.

Quotes:

  1. “…Only to discover that the exchange of one’s labor in the form of a coin is at the center of the meaning of our lives.” (323)

Questions:

  1. What is the purpose of the “Study Group” questions?
  2. Does the quote give accurate analysis of the meaning of our lives?

4: In Practice

Synopsis:

This chapter has some sections which are entitled “Revolutionary Woman #__ -- Code Name: ______” The code name of the women is always taken from the quote that begins the section. All of the women are mistreated in some way by capitalist society, being fired from their jobs or making very little money. It is stated that several of these women are ethnic, although it is possible that some are white.

It is also revealed that Olivia stole her father’s car and left her (very rich) family after traveling to Mississippi and getting a Negro boyfriend who was not accepted by her family.

Quotes:

  1. “Women is the nigger of the world. –Yoko Ono” (335)

Questions:

  1. What does this chapter say about the state of women in America?
  2. How do the code names add to this chapter?

5: On Colonialism

Synopsis:

Ben’s past and his father’s story are described. Ben’s mother was white, which caused Ben’s father a lot of self-doubt. Ben does not have a close relationship with his father and has little respect for him. Ben’s father fought in the Philippines during the Second World War and then became a drunk. He returned to the Philippines at the end of his life and built a church after hallucinating his dead mother.

Some of Karl Kang’s life is also described. Karl marries a woman named Delia who later leaves him.

Quotes:

  1. “By his senior year in high school, Ben realized that no manner of assimilation or integration would erase his dark features.” (338)

Questions:

  1. There seems to be a recurring plot line of revolutionaries’ wives leaving them. Why?
  2. How does Ben’s father shape Ben’s future?
  3. How is the identity crisis of someone who is half Asian-American different from the identity crisis of someone who is full Asian-American?

6: A Romance for Humanity

Synopsis:

Each section of this chapter begins with a quote by Imelda Marcos, the First Lady of the Philippines.

There are two story lines. Ben and Olivia get married at the I Hotel. There are also several sections which appear to be taken from one or more speeches given by Ferdinand Marcos, the president of the Philippines, in which he ultimately declares martial law because several protesters have been causing disorder in the Philippines.

Historical Background:

Ferdinand Marcos was elected President in 1965 and declared martial law in 1972 when the Communist opposition to his regime began to grow. Under martial law, civil liberties were suspended and the government had the power to arrest and jail their opposition, as well as the ability to appoint members. Although martial law was lifted in 1981, Marcos remained President and kept his power to jail any opposition. He was eventually forced out of office in 1986.

Imelda Marcos, the wife of Ferdinand Marcos, led a very extravagant lifestyle while her husband was in power. She held several political positions while her husband was in power and remained in politics after her husband was forced out of office.

Quotes:

  1. “Bakit mayroong mga Pilipino … nag-aanak ng kamatis.” (Imelda Marcos, 351) translates to: “Why are some Filipinos slanderous of the President and First Lady? Don’t they know that we are the father and mother of the Philippines? If the father is a sweet potato and the mother is a sweet potato, then the Filipinos are sweet potatoes! Sweet potatoes are not bred from tomatoes.”
  2. “Daig ko pa si Cinderella.” (Imelda Marcos, 357) translates to: “I defeated Cinderella.”

Questions:

  1. How are Olivia and Ben related to the Filipino government – why are these two stories told concurrently?
  2. What is the significance of the quotes by Imelda Marcos?

7: National Liberation

Synopsis:

Ben travels to Cuba, where he finds a great respect for the love of country that he sees in the Cubans. He admires the Cuban revolution. Olivia, Ben, and Karl are trying to organize the revolutionaries to take some course of action. It seems that Olivia and Ben want to unite the entire working class, regardless of race. Angela Davis, a Communist political activist who was quoted in Chapter 4, is invited to talk. Angela leaves when Olivia and Aiko (who has been in some of the previous books) can’t agree on what sort of meeting to hold. The chapter ends with Olivia giving birth to a son, who is named Malcolm.

Quotes:

  1. “Even if you mobilize the working class, they don’t give a damn about the Third World or blacks, much less Asians. It may take many years, most likely not in our lifetimes.” (Karl Kang, 362)

Questions:

  1. How does this chapter show the clashes of the various revolutionary ideals?

8: Death of a Revolutionary

Synopsis:

Ben struggles to compose some sort of document that will help two revolutionary groups merge together. There is a conversation between two people, one of whom is Olivia, and the other of whom is unidentified, but may be Ben. They are talking about a woman who used to be part of the revolutionary group who got purged because she was a “liability” and believed to be a spy. The woman is referred to as “Y,” and she may be Yuri or Yoko from Chapter 4. Olivia believes that it was unfair to purge Y, but the other person says that it was the right thing to do at the time. Olivia dies after injecting herself with something – her death may have been a suicide since she was already dying of cancer. She makes Ben promise to stop using drugs for Malcolm’s sake.

Quotes:

  1. “When it’s all said and done, they can change the history… They’ll only remember that we purged people, that Y died, that I was a fucking bitch.” (Olivia, 368)

Questions:

  1. What does the quote say about history in general? About this story as an accurate representation of history?

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