Sunday, August 31, 2008

Postmodernism and the Everyday Life

As I was looking back and trying to discover the true components of both postmodernism and modernism, while still thinking of the horrific play of Clemson last night, I came upon the conclusion that each of the characters gives some insight into what we talked about in class. However, I seem to believe that Yolanda's character simply displays a more complete version of what the class was talking about. Yolanda is caught in between trying to honor her heritage and her upbringing while she still seemed to consistently be at odds with the activities of the "normal" college students at the campus. While she tries to fit into the drug culture, she is confronted with her natural inclination to have fun. The contemporary modernist view would suggest that the decision not to sleep with Rudy was in fact the correct or right one because it did not compromise her values. However, if one were to look at the character from a purely postmodernist stand point, then she did neither right nor wrong. In fact, Yolanda could be viewed as simply not living life to the fullest. A prime example is with Rudy when she states, "I'd plead, 'don't say it that way'. " It makes her seem, to the modernist as though she has values but for a postmodernist, could she seem uptight, self serving, or just unsure of her own value simply because she did not give into Rudy's demands. I feel that you can look at this story in both ways and still be, in a modernistic view, make "correct" assumptions about Yolanda. It seems that the author did that purposely in order to let you see if there truly is a correct path for Yolanda.