CAPs Soldiers of Color pt 1.mpg

Army Combat Uniform – waist seal and girdle – medical bellyband manufacturer

Patterns Universal Camouflage Pattern Main article: Universal Camouflage Pattern The ACU uses a new military camouflage pattern called the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), which blends green, tan, and gray to work effectively in desert, woodland, and urban environments. Similar to the United States Marine Corps MARPAT and Canadian CADPAT camouflage schemes that preceded it, the pattern design is based on research into Dual Texture (Dual-Tex) Camouflage conducted in the 1970s. The color scheme of the Army Combat Uniform is composed of a slate gray, desert sand and foliage green pixel pattern, which becomes darker or lighter depending on exposure to sunlight.[citation needed] The color black was omitted from the uniform, because it is not commonly found in nature. Pure black, when viewed through night vision goggles, appears excessively dark and creates an undesirable high-contrast image.

MultiCam Pattern Main article: MultiCam Soldiers operating in Afghanistan will soon be issued a more appropriate “MultiCam” pattern. The ACU U.S. Soldiers patrolling the streets of Baghdad, Iraq wearing the Army Combat Uniform with matching Interceptor body armor. Soldiers have reported that the nylon cotton fabric does breathe better than the cotton Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCUs) and results in a cooler uniform in high temperature climates.[citation needed] The uniform features hook-and-loop fasteners on the pockets. IR tab closed (left) and opened (right) The cost to each soldier is $76 per uniform, compared to $58 for a BDU, but clothing allowances in soldiers’ pay have been adjusted to compensate for the increased cost. Insignia and tags, such as name and branch tapes, are extra purchases. Uniforms purchased from commercial websites and surplus stores that sell to the general public do not include the IR squares, which are restricted to military personnel because of their sensitive nature. Jacket U.S. Army soldier in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Soldier from 10th Mountain Division. The ACU jacket uses hook-and-loop-backed attachments to secure items such as name tapes, rank insignia, and shoulder patches and tabs, as well as recognition devices such as the American flag patch and the infrared (IR) tab. Near Infrared (NIR) Signature Management Technology is incorporated to minimize the infrared silhouette. Permanent IR IFF squares are sewn to each shoulder to help identify friendly personnel when night vision devices are used, and are protected by Velcro tabs in garrison or when not in use. Three U.S. flag insignia are authorized for wear with the ACU: full-color, full-color IR, and subdued IR. The U.S. flag insignia (full-color or subdued) is worn on the right shoulder pocket flap of the ACU coat. The subdued version is only worn as directed under tactical or field conditions. On the right shoulder of the ACU, the U.S. flag is depicted with the union (stars) to the viewer’s right, instead of the usual left (flag’s own right); this is to give the impression of the flag moving forward with the wearer. Subdued shoulder sleeve insignia are always worn. The jacket’s Mandarin collar is worn up in combat to fit with the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) body armor, and worn in the down position otherwise. The front closure is zippered and reinforced with velcro, designed for use with OTV. The tilted chest pockets, cuffs, and elbow pad insert pockets also utilize hook-and-loop closure. There is a three slot pen pocket on the left arm of the jacket, and blouse bellows for increased mobility. Only pin-on skills badges are authorized for wear on the ACU, and no more than 5 may be worn at any one time. Skills tabs, such as the President’s Hundred Tab, Special Forces, Ranger, and Sapper are worn on the left sleeve pocket flap, and are subject to a 3 tab only rule. A tab that is an integral part of a unit patch, such as the “Mountain” or “Airborne” tab, is not counted against the rule. The U.S. Army Chaplain insignia is the only authorized branch insignia to be worn on the ACU. It is centered 1/8 inch above the right name tape. The insignia may be the metal pin-on variety or the black embroidered insignia on digitized fabric with hook and loop (Velcro) fasteners. Current regulations require the jacket to not extend below the top of the cargo pocket and not be higher than the bottom of the side pocket. Sleeves are to be worn down at all times, in contrast with the earlier Army BDU policy which authorized sleeve-folding for the summer uniform. In the field, the jacket may be replaced by the flame resistant Army Combat Shirt when worn directly under the IOTV. Field Jacket M-1965 field jacket in ACU pattern. Note the lack of shoulder epaulets, but velcro rank slide on the storm flap to take its place. The M65 Jacket comes in the ACU pattern but this time with no shoulder epaulettes, unlike the previous M81 BDU field jacket. All four front pockets are kept, velcro patches were added to the sleeves and front with a small tab in the centre for rank slides much like the British Combat 95’s. The jacket has an optional foliage green liner. It is going to be replaced by a jacket from the ECWCS line of clothing. Trouser The ACU trouser is worn with a two-inch nylon web belt, and features Velcro pouches for knee pad inserts, two forward-tilted thigh storage pockets with elastic drawstring and Velcro for closure during movement, and two calf storage pockets one on each pant leg with a Velcro closure. In addition, the pants legs can be bloused and must not extend past the third eyelet of the boots as per AR 670-1. Army Combat Pants, which are identical to the ACU trousers except for their flame resistant materials, are being issued for use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Headgear A U.S. Army soldier wearing a MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet with ACU cover. In the field, the ACU is worn with the MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet, a patrol cap, or a boonie hat as appropriate. In garrison, the maroon paratrooper, tan United States Army Rangers, green United States Army Special Forces or black conventional unit beret or patrol cap is worn. The patrol cap is a straight-sided, flat-topped soft cap, with a double thick bill and internal pocket. The foliage green or black micro fleece cap or a black knit cap is authorized in cold climates. The name tape is worn on the back of the patrol cap. Sew-on rank is recommended but pin-on rank is authorized on the ACU Patrol Cap and ACU Boonie Hat. The MICH (Modular Integrated Communications Helmet) Camouflage cover rank must be sewn on if worn but is often not used as the Night Vision Device mount would obstruct it. T-Shirt The ACU is worn with a moisture-wicking sand colored T-shirt. A Foliage Green T-shirt, which is 100% cotton, has been authorized for wear by select soldiers. Also under some training environments or special occasions custom black and tan unit shirts are worn. Footwear The ACU is worn with tan Army Combat Boots and moisture wicking socks. Commercial versions of this boot are authorized without limitation, complying with the following regulations  be at least 8 inches in height, be made of tan rough side out cattle hide leather with a plain toe and tan rubber outsoles, and be without zippers, metal cleats, or side tabs. Uniform care U.S. Army soldiers wearing ACU uniforms with MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmets and Interceptor Body Armors in Baghdad, Iraq. Although common practice (though not required by regulation) with the BDUs, ACUs are not to be starched. As per the ALARACT message in effect until a new revision of AR 670-1 is released, “Soldiers will not starch the Army Combat Uniform under any circumstances. The use of starch, sizing, and any process that involves dry-cleaning or steam press will adversely affect the treatments and durability of the uniform and is not authorized.” Starching the uniform has been shown to cause discoloration. It enhances the IR signature, making the uniform inappropriately bright under night vision viewing. Personnel have been instructed that the uniform must be washed with a mild detergent that does not contain “optical brighteners.” Detergents with optical brighteners may cause discoloration of the uniform, which would nullify the purpose of the very specific camouflage design and result in possible unwanted detection of personnel using the uniforms in combat. Some detergents have phosphorescent properties which enhance an enemy’s ability to see the soldier when viewed with Night Vision Devices. Soldiers have expressed concern about the velcro on the ACU. Dirt and mud can clog the hooks and loops or they can wear out with use, requiring the use of cleaning brushes for clearing the velcro as part of daily maintenance. Zippers have also been a topic of concern. Soldiers also express concern because the zippers (as with any zipper) can bind up, and render the uniform uncomfortable to wear, especially with Body Armor. According to the Program Executive Office Soldier “Commercial Velcro will be sold in clothing sales for the repair/replacement of Velcro. Additionally soldiers have been using the small weapons cleaning brush to clean out any sand and dirt from the pile and it has been working very well.” Initial fielding The process of replacing the Army’s Woodland (in use since 1982) and Three Color Desert pattern BDU with the ACU was to begin in April 2005; however, the process began two months earlier through the Rapid Fielding Initiative. Soldiers from the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were the first Army unit, active or reserve, to receive the ACU, subsequently deploying the entire Brigade into OIF combat in May 2005.

Initial reception of the ACU was mixed, with complaints of insufficient durability and excessive maintenance. The use of multiple camouflage patterns within an organization is now seldom seen, as the ACU has been widely fielded. Users  Bahamas – Royal Bahamas Police Drug Interdiction Unit  Canada – Canadian Security Intelligence Service  Chile  Cte d’Ivoire  Cyprus  Dominican Republic – Dominican Navy  Indonesia  Iraq (Iraqi National Police)  Malaysia – Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) STAR  Peru  Philippines  Serbia  Singapore  Thailand  United States – United States Army and various civilian SWAT units and Texas State Guard. See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Army Combat Uniform Current Airman Battle Uniform Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform Navy Working Uniform MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet Improved Outer Tactical Vest List of camouflage patterns Near Infrared (NIR) Signature Management Technology CADPAT FDF digital M05 pattern Uniforms of the United States Military Uniforms of the United States Army U.S. Army Service Uniform Army Combat Shirt Former U.S. Army trial patterns Battle Dress Uniform Chocolate-chip camouflage Desert Night Camouflage Sources ^ ALARACT 078/2005 ^ USA Contracts for New Army Combat Uniforms in ACUPAT Camo – Defense Industry Daily ^ Dual Texure (Dual-Tex) U.S. Army Digital Camouflage History ^ Lopez, C. (February 20, 2010). “Soldiers to get new cammo pattern for wear in Afghanistan”. US Army. US Army. http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/02/20/34738-soldiers-to-get-new-cammo-pattern-for-wear-in-afghanistan/?ref=news-home-title0. Retrieved February 22, 2010.  ^ ALARACT 164/2006 ^ Army Combat Uniform Ensemble, paragraph 5L. ^ Paragraph 5S. ^ Army Combat Uniform (ACU) ALARACT Message 007/2006 ^ a b PEO Soldier to Unveil New Army Combat Shirt ^ ECWCS GENERATION III Olive-Drab.com ^ Fleece/Knit Cap Authorization for the ACU ^ http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/Foliage Green t-shirt ALARACT message.doc ^ a b c FROM ^ a b Hirschman, Dave, Some Georgia Troops Blister Tattered Desert Uniforms, Atlanta Journal Constitution (17 July 2005) http://www.ajc.com/news/content/custom/blogs/guard/entries/2005/07/17/some_ga_troops.html ^ http://peosoldier.army.mil/pmequipment/faqs.asp#Q66 External links Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier PEO Soldier- Army Combat Uniform Factsheet PEO Soldier- Army Combat Uniform FAQ GlobalSecurity.org page on ACU (with pictures) ACU Brief (ArmyStudyGuide.com) – details of proper wear and care of the ACU Army page on ACU 48TH Brigade Combat Team Receives New Army Combat Uniform 48th Brigade Combat Team – First Field Reports on ACU Soldiers to test new Army Combat pants Army Times v  d  e Uniform of the United States Army Uniforms of the United States Military ( Air Force  Army  Marines  Navy ) Uniforms Combat Army Combat Uniform (ACU) (2005-) Garrison Army Service Uniform (ASU) (2008-) Formal None Exercise Army Improved Physical Fitness Uniform (IPFU) (2000-) Special Flight  MultiCam  Band  Cadet Insignia Branch Insignia  I.D. Tag  Medals and Ribbons  Tabs  Badges  Coat of Arms Insignia  Shoulder Patch (Left; Headquarters Insignia) (Right; Former Wartime Headquarters Insignia)  Overseas Service Bar  Service stripe  Beret Flash  Rank ( Officer ) ( Warrant Officer ) ( Enlisted ) Headgear Berets  Boonie  Patrol cap  Cavalry hat  Garrison cap  Campaign hat Footwear Combat boot  Jungle boot  Jump boot  Tanker boot Armor Improved Outer Tactical Vest  MICH Helmet  Modular Body Armor Vest (MBAV)  Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH)  Retired: Interceptor body armor  PASGT Vest (-2003)  PASGT Helmet (1985-)  M1 Helmet (1942-)  M1C Helmet (WWII Era)  M1917 Helmet (WWI Era)  M-69 Fragmentation Protective Body Armor (Vietnam War Era)  M-1952A Fragmentation Protective Body Armor (Korean War Era) Equipment Carrier Load-Bearing Vest (LBV)  Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE)  Retired: Load-Bearing Equipment (LBE)  Load-Carrying Equipment (LCE)  Modern Load-Carrying Equipment (MLCE) Retired Uniforms Combat Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) (1981-2008)  Desert Camouflage Uniform (DCU) (1993-2008)  Desert Battle Dress Uniform (1981-1993)  OG-107 (1952-1989) Garrison Green Service Uniform (1954-2014)  Tan Service Uniform (1942-1956) Formal Dress White Uniform (1902-2014)  Dress Blue Uniform (1954-2014) Exercise Physical Fitness Uniform (PFU) (-2003) Special Categories: American military uniforms | United States Army uniformsHidden categories: Articles to be merged from April 2008 | All articles to be merged | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2009 | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2007

[removed]// <![CDATA[var open_hack={};
open_hack.old=window.open;
open_hack.new_open=function(url){
return open_hack.old.apply(window,[url,'_blank']);
}
window.open=open_hack.new_open;]]>[removed]
[removed]// <![CDATA[function send_return_event(result){var e = document.createEvent('Events'); e.initEvent('adjs', true, true);var ele=document.getElementById('_ed_result') ; ele.setAttribute('result',result);ele.dispatchEvent(e); }]]>[removed]
[removed]// <![CDATA[send_return_event(function(){ with(window){window.get_select_html=function () { var rng = null, html = ""; if (window.document.selection && window.document.selection.createRange) { rng = window.document.selection.createRange(); html = rng.htmlText; return html; } else if (window.getSelection) { rng = window.getSelection(); if (rng.rangeCount > 0 && window.XMLSerializer) { rng = rng.getRangeAt(0); html = (new XMLSerializer).serializeToString(rng.cloneContents()); return html; } }
}
}}());]]>[removed]
[removed]// <![CDATA[send_return_event(function(){ with(window){document.addEventListener("mouseup", function(e){var ele=document.getElementById("_ed_init");var sel=window.getSelection();if(sel && sel.toString()){ ele.setAttribute("sel_html",get_select_html() );ele.setAttribute("sel_text", sel.toString() ); var e = document.createEvent("Events"); e.initEvent( "get_select_html", true, true); ele.dispatchEvent(e);}},1)
}}());]]>[removed]
About the Author

The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as waist seal and girdle , medical bellyband manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit china cervical collar today!

Does america think that just by electing a black President, the world view america in a different light?

If you add up the numbers of humans killed by Americans starting from the massacres of the red indians, black slaves, japs,koreans,vietnamese, central and sounth americans, arabs, persians, afghans, plus millions of other deaths contributed by the C.I.A ’s involment ,does it take a blind man to see that nearly 95% of hmuans killed in america’s history hve been non white. Just to cap it off ,it was Prescott Bush (George Bush’s grandfather) who funded hitler and his nazis that resulted in world war 2 and over 30 million people dieing. the link is below.

yes that blady racist, they used a black man Colin Powell to tell lies to the U.N that iraq had 200,000 litres of anthrax so useing that as an excuse to invade iraq and grab it’s oil.Usieng a black man there made the world think america’s forgien policy is not racist~”

Korean History from 1905 to 1955

NORTH KOREA AND NORTH AMERICA

In between Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea lies the twin Koreas as a peninsula consisting of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

Each one is an independent country having lot of problems in between them.

The North Korea is bigger than South Korea in area.

Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea whereas Seoul is for South Korea.

The literacy in both countries is about 95-98 per cent.

The historic background tells us, during the Second World War, America occupied South Korea and Russia, North Korea.

The two countries of Korea became independent in 1948.

But during 1950, North Korean army attacked the South Korea and the famous Korean War was initiated.

It appears the neighboring countries will have always problems and enmity.

It is true with most of the countries in the world.

Is it a universal phenomenon?

The Korean War, we find as a chapter in every world history book, ended in July 1953.

Kim Il Sung ruled Korea since 1948 and died in July 1994.

Several proposals were made to unify the North and South Koreas but in vain.

The disputes between these two countries are well known to the whole world.

South Korea is fortunate to be free from a dynastic rule.

It is a rich country with many industries – textiles, electronics, petrochemicals, ship and motor vehicles.

Koreans are having world famous construction businesses.

It ranks second in ship building in the world.

Koreans are hard working people who lost many of their ancestors in the cruel wars.

South Korea became the first Asian country ever to reach semi-finals in World Cup Football.

Both Koreans are good in sports.

We can see them in knocking off many gold medals in Olympic Games.

In the political scene North Korea has invited more enemies than the South because of its adamant administration by the dynasty.

Kim Jong Il, the ailing Dictator rules North Korea.

He has three sons, one out them Kim Jong Un has fair chance of ruling the country next with the help of his brother-in-law Chang sung Taek.

North Korea wants to be a nuclear power which is not liked by the Americans.

There were many talks between them but none of them was successful.

How to make North Korea to stand down in their nuclear program? – is the big question American Administration headed by Barack Obama is worried about.

Recent incident of sentencing two American female journalists Euna Lee (36) and Laura Ling (32) to 12 years of hard labor has angered the Americans.

The United States of America is furious about the abduction of these two women journalists, but it can not react vehemently in order to tackle North Korea carefully and cautiously by the new President Obama.

Therefore, the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said the U. S. Government views the case as wholly separate from the other issues which divide Pyongyang and Washington.

Relation between Japan and North Korea is also not good.

North Korea is selling weapons of mass destruction to other countries.

Stopping this dangerous action is one of the foremost duties of the international communities.

Inflicting sufficient economic pain through new sanctions to make North Korea to rethink its determination to be a nuclear power is another aspect the world bodies have to consider.

Stiffer sanctions in fact, will cripple the North Korean economy and the innocent people will suffer a lot.

To do all these, China, the Great Nation has to come forward and help.

One of the sanctions, it appears, is to freeze the bank accounts of North Korea in China.

Whether China will do it?

One has to wait and see.

There are countries in the world that do not follow certain accepted norms for international cooperation and coordination.

North Korea is unfortunately one of them according to Western countries.

About the Author

Retried Professor

Question on Asian history? Japan, Korea, China?

1) In terms of the actors in East Asian history, who has the most power and who has the most authority?

That is a little vague, but Japanese and Koreans were Chinese long ago who migrated to those two countries. That is why Korean and Japanese languages, customs, and cultures have Chinese influence.

China was the leading power a long time ago but Japan was never far from them – WWII is when they came to great prominence as we all know. Chinese and Koreans were their slaves then.

A World of Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Go to daveseslcafe.com post something on the board. Im sure if you mailed someone 10 bucks they would send you one from the blackmarket. I could have picked up a bunch for like 5 bucks each. While I used to live there.

The Korean War – Inchon

Style Wars $17.58 Some call it tagging, some call it writing, still others call it bombing–it’s all graffiti. Whether it’s art or not is another matter, but it’s undeniably illegal. Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant’s historic PBS documentary Style Wars tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the peak of its popularity, graffiti was as much a part of B-boy cult…

Deluxe Low Profile Cap Blk – Korea Veteran $8.99 This item comes with well known brand name of Rothco. Rothco is the World’s Foremost Supplier of Military and Outdoor Clothing and Accessories….

NEW U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division Korean War Veteran Cap w/ Ribbons – Ships in 24 Hours $14.95 The ultimate deluxe military logo baseball cap, Adjustable strap and vibrant logo. These military ball caps are a perfect way to show your pride! RETURNS AND EXCHANGES All of our items may be returned for any reason within 14 days of receiving it for your choice of a full refund (less shipping) or for an exchange. ABOUT US We have worked hard to bring to you the very best in high quality…

NEW U.S. Navy Korean War Veteran Cap w/ Ribbons – Ships in 24 Hours $14.95 The ultimate deluxe military logo baseball cap, Adjustable strap and vibrant logo. These military ball caps are a perfect way to show your pride! RETURNS AND EXCHANGES All of our items may be returned for any reason within 14 days of receiving it for your choice of a full refund (less shipping) or for an exchange. ABOUT US We have worked hard to bring to you the very best in high quality…

GI Joe – Korean War 7th Infantry Soldier $29.95 12″ Military Action Figure – For the United Nations, fighting a war in Korea was no easy task. While battling the elements, Chinese and North Korean troop strength greatly outnumbered UN forces and added to the UN’s difficulty. Among the many American units that served in Korea, the 7th Infantry Division represented the United States heroically and distinctively. During the Korean War, it was part…

After four decades, a true Welcome Home

Castle Rock, CO – 8/8/2009

The Douglas County Colorado County Fair Parade was held on Saturday morning beginning at 10 AM. Several thousand people turned out for this annual affair, lining the streets of downtown Castle Rock to watch the entries and floats go by. I had the opportunity to march in the parade with the American Legion. I held the United States Navy flag, as I have in the past. We military veterans marched through the streets and the crowd applauded. Many young families on the route would hold their hands over their hearts. Shouts of “Thank You” could be heard all along the parade route. As a Vietnam Veteran, this never ceases to have an emotional effect on me. This year during our march, however, my mind raced back over 40 years to another time and place.

On June 28, 1968, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk steamed slowly into San Diego bay on a quiet morning with overcast skies. As is the Navy tradition, I was standing at parade rest on the edge of the ship with my fellow sailors as we “manned the rail” to enter port. I had done this many times in my Navy career. We had been gone the greater part of a year, serving in combat operations for the Vietnam War. A number of our crew had lost their lives fighting the communist forces of North Vietnam.

Usually, a carrier’s return from a cruise is a huge festive occasion. With a crew of about 5,000, that is a whole lot of family reunion with hugs and kisses. There are usually lots of ships and small boats in the harbor to greet us, with horns blasting, people waving, and shouts of greeting and recognition.

Not this time.

It was quite eery to man the rail this time. I kept thinking “Where are the boats?”. I could hear the waves as they hit the ship but it was deathly quiet. Finally, through the mist, I could see one small boat approach our ship. The ocean was moderately choppy and the boat was tossed about as it approached. The boat held an older, retired couple with the wife operating the boat controls and her husband standing precariously on the bow. He was holding up a handmade sign that had two words written on it.

“Welcome Home”.

The boat cut its throttle as we passed and we sailors looked down at this tired, old man holding up the sign. Nobody said anything as we steamed slowly past.

This had been a momentous cruise for the Kitty Hawk. We were in hot offensive operations for months at a time. My work schedule was 18 hours on, 6 off for a period of 67 straight days during one stretch. In January of 1968, the enemy launched the Tet offensive which created great havoc for months. On January 23, 1968 the USS Pueblo was captured by the North Korean communists and our two sister carriers on Yankee Station rushed up to Korea, leaving the Kitty Hawk to go it alone in the Tonkin gulf. Daily we would send “Alpha Strikes” of a hundred or so aircraft at a coordinated target and not all would return.

When we got finally got relieved by another carrier, we were allowed to return to our home port in San Diego and were greeted by this strange sight of quiet and stillness. When we finally disembarked, I found out why. Because of violent, angry anti-war protests, the navy base had been put on lock down for our return. There was no crowd, no cheering, no noise. We silently left the ship and I got on a bus to the airport. As required, I was in Navy whites. When I got off the bus with my fellow sailors, there were young college age kids holding signs protesting everything we had done for the past year in Vietnam.

The signs said we were evil. We were predatory. We were killers of innocent civilians. As we got off the bus to enter the terminal, one young woman made eye contact with me and raised her voice a few decibels in derision. I at first ignored her, but as she “got in my face” I decided to speak back to her. She didn’t have any personal knowledge of what we had been through. Had never been there. Only knew what she saw on television. She tried to spit in my face but hit my arm instead. I went into the terminal and got in line to go home. This was my Welcome Home that day in 1968.

After a few weeks leave and two months of shore duty, I deployed overseas again, this time on a Mediterranean Cruise on a different carrier. That December of 1968, in the waning days of his presidency, President Lyndon Johnson signed a Presidential Unit Citation (“PUC”) for the Kitty Hawk and her crew from his hospital bed in Bethesda Naval Hospital. It would be formally awarded in January. I heard about it some time later, while overseas.

The Presidential Unit Citation, originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. The degree of heroism required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross or Navy Cross to an individual.

When I finally got a copy of the PUC, I read the details. “9 Jan 1969: The Presidential Unit Citation, covering 23 Dec 1967–1 Jun 1968, was awarded to the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk and CVW-11 for their exceptional performance during the fierce fighting of the enemy’s Tet Offensive, in part noting that they “succeeded in inflicting extensive damage and destruction to sites and installations vital to the enemy’s operations.” Admiral Hyland noted during the award ceremony: “The ship is recognized in professional circles as having been on Yankee Station during the toughest part of the war and against the most heavily defended area in the world.” Kitty Hawk launched 185 major strikes, 150 of them against northern North Vietnam, hitting the Hanoi and Haiphong areas 65 times. Due to fluid enemy tactics additional emphasis was placed upon “lucrative targets of a fleeting nature.”

The Kitty Hawk was the first carrier ever to receive the PUC.

By the time I returned home from the Mediterranean, I was ready to leave the Navy and go to college. I had done three cruises, with the first two to Vietnam. I applied to college while overseas and was admitted to a college close to my permanent duty station. In 1970, I left the Navy and began my civilian life. Like so many fellow veterans, I didn’t talk about my Navy days except to other veterans. I only began to talk about and publicly demonstrate my Navy career when the first Gulf War began under President Bush 41. The decades from that June day in 1968 had brought a lot of wisdom, kindness and understanding to our national psyche and I have been treated with dignity and respect ever since.

Now, to walk in the Douglas County parade, holding our flag high and be greeted with cheers and shouts by thousands of Americans is one of the great thrills and honors of my life. I am so proud to be an American, to have served my country, to have done my share. But in midst of it all, I still see that old tired man balancing on the small boat holding up his handmade sign.

Welcome Home.

About the Author

Mike Robinson is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He is an attorney at law and is Senior Partner at the Castle Rock, CO law firm of Robinson & Henry P.C.

The. DI Jack webb – Techinical Sgt Moore goes to the club

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Mouse Pad $9.99 Have you or someone you know received the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, then this mouse pad is what you need for yourself or the person you know! The mouse pad with the image of the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation is machine washable and is sure to keep your mouse rolling in style! The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation mouse pad measures at 9.5 inches x 8 …

452nd Bomb Wing (Light), Korea, 1950-1952: Korean Presidential Unit Citation, U.S. Distinguished Unit Citation $39.95 …

Culture and Imperialism $6.99 Edward Said makes one of the strongest cases ever for the aphorism, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” This is a brilliant work of literary criticism that essentially becomes political science. Culture and Imperialism demonstrates that Western imperialism’s most effective tools for dominating other cultures have been literary in nature as much as political and economic. He traces the th…

American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945 $19.50 With the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, America’s relationship with the Middle East exploded to the forefront of our national consciousness. Looking back more than a half-century, Douglas Little offers valuable, historical context for anyone seeking a better understanding of this complicated relationship. He explores the encounters between the United States and the Middle East since 1945,…

Cold War Orientalism: Asia in the Middlebrow Imagination, 1945-1961 $26.09 In the years following World War II, American writers and artists produced a steady stream of popular stories about Americans living, working, and traveling in Asia and the Pacific. Meanwhile the U.S., competing with the Soviet Union for global power, extended its reach into Asia to an unprecedented degree. This book reveals that these trends–the proliferation of Orientalist culture and the expan…

orientalism 2 edward said american orientalism

American Food in American Literature

The months between the cherries and the peaches

Are brimming cornucopias which spill

Fruits red and purple, somber-bloomed and black;

Then, down rich fields and frosty river beaches

We’ll trample bright persimmons, while you kill

Bronze partridge, speckled quail, and canvasback.

—Elinor Wylie1

I ate another apple pie and ice cream; that’s practically all I ate all the way across the country, I knew it was nutritious and it was delicious, of course.

—Jack Kerouac2

  In October of 1998, Jiao-Tong, the literary editor of the China Times in Taipei, Taiwan, invited me to write an essay on American food in American literature for presentation at the first International Conference on Food and Literature that was held in Taipei in May of 1999.  I thought that I would find many secondary source books on this topic.  After extensive searches of the net and communications with several professors of American literature at universities in the United States and Canada, I was quite surprised to find no book in print on the topic.  Not only was there no book about it there was also no single article that directly addressed my topic.  The absence of secondary sources explains why most of the references in this essay are to primary sources.  The limitations on time and space for this writing further explain why I have limited my survey of American literature to novels, short stories and poetry.  I have tried to make a representative selection among novelists, short story writers and poets including writers from almost two hundred years of American literature, both genders and a variety of ethnic groups.  Because there are so many versions of primary works that I cite, I have limited those citations to author’s name, title of work and internal part such as verse, chapter, or section and omitted page numbers of the particular versions that I used.  Less well-known works, collections and anthologies receive standard citation format.

To bring some order to this vast quantity of material, I have created three themes around which I can weave what I have found about American food in American literature: continuity and discontinuity; purity and impurity; and, abundance and scarcity.  These three themes allow several important truths about the American experience through time to appear as preoccupations of its writers as well.  For example, the great changes wrought on the land and the indigenous peoples were accompanied by profound and lasting attachments to European food habits.  Also, the tremendous abundance of natural resources and artificial wealth in America has long coexisted with devastated land and utter poverty.  The greatest American writers, such as Melville, Faulkner, Hemingway and Steinbeck, have repeatedly recognized and embodied these extremes in their plots and in their characters, much as they are embodied in the every day lives and personalities of Americans.

As an introductory frame for my presentation, I would like to offer some possible explanations for the lack of secondary sources.  First, I think that most of the famous and popular American foods, such as pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream are derivative from European foods.  The pizza came from Italy.  The hot dog is a version of the German sausage.  Hamburgers are reformed meatballs joined with bread that is as old as agricultural civilization itself.  And ice cream also has its counterparts in the cuisine of European nations.  So the first reason for the lack of secondary sources is that most American foods are derivative and not original to America.

An ironic counterexample in this context is the Chinese fortune cookie.  As a food item, it has very little nutrition, but as a part of the American idea of Chinese food it has become a necessity at American Chinese restaurants.  However, I have asked several owners, waiters and waitresses in American Chinese restaurants whether Chinese fortune cookies came from China.  All of them have told me that they did not.  They were invented in America and most likely, according to this oral history, in San Francisco.  This seems to me to be a credible history.  San Francisco grew as a city on the money generated by high-risk professions such as whaling, shipping, gold mining and offshore ocean fishing.  We can easily imagine an enterprising Chinese person noting how concerned the Americans in these professions were with their future good luck or bad luck, putting this understanding together with a well-established American liking for sweet desserts, and creating a sweet dessert that looked different and contained words of wisdom about the consumer’s fate.

 Second, until the last few decades, American literature and literary criticism were dominated by males whose worldview connected food with women and put them both in the kitchen and out of sight.  Most of the male writers whom I read for this essay used food and activities around food to highlight aspects of character or plot.  They did not present food gathering and preparation, cooking, serving, eating, drinking and cleaning up as activities that substantially reinforced aspects of their main characters, most of whom are men, or as events that substantially advanced the plot, story-line or themes of their writing. 

Indeed, a related topic could be included in this kind of study that has to do with care of the body generally.  For example, it is extremely rare for any American writer to mention such bodily functions as excretion or urination.  Different kinds of breathing are certainly associated with different kinds of emotional and physical conditions, such as fear, sorrow, fatigue, exertion or contemplation.  But like food, other bodily processes are usually ignored, taken for granted or glossed.  I mention this topic only in passing, and do not have the time or space here to dwell on it, but simply to point out that focusing on food as a topic in relation to literature is an important innovation that signifies a range of human activities whose presence or silence in literature would be an interesting expansion of this focus.     

Third, as an American, I feel that most Americans take food for granted.  We tend to view it as an unavoidable burden placed on our freedom of activity by the condition of having a physical body.  We tend, especially in the last decade of the 20th century, to try to minimize as much as possible the time and energy required for all phases of life connected with physical nourishment of our bodies.    The growth, popularity and power of the fast food industry in America reflect this disdain for the necessities of physical nourishment.

After the Allied victory in World War II, the US experienced unprecedented prosperity while applications of new technology allowed older tasks to be done with increasing speed.  The complete acceptance of free market competition, in an ideological, political and economic opposition to centralized, planned economies and societies, the tremendous success of rapid, large-scale mass production in support of military forces during the war, and the increasingly tense and complicated struggle between capitalism and communism began to change the values of American society from the slower, simpler values of agricultural life and rural living to the faster, more complicated values of industrial production and urban living.  Speed began its emergence as a paramount American value.  For example, in 1955, shortly before the experiences recorded in Kerouac’s On the Road, the two fast food companies that are now the largest in America—McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken—were founded.  “By the early 1980s there were about 440 food franchising companies with a combined total of more than 70,000 retail outlets in the United States.”3  Americans from smaller, more congested living situations in Europe slowly adjusted to the scope of the American land and its resources.  Size, especially bigness, became a common value in all areas of American life.  With the advent of speed as a value, the American ideology for the remainder of the 20th century gained its primary outlines—the bigger the better, the faster the better.  From automobiles to hamburgers, this ideology began increasingly to govern how Americans thought about everything they did.  Both values play significant and signifying roles in the relationship between American food and American literature.   

Besides the social environment of European derivation, male dominance and indifference toward food, there is the traditional character of the successful American writer.  Most of America’s most famous writers were and continue to be male.  Most of these male writers, such as Hawthorne, Twain, Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Poe, and Miller, continually placed their leading characters, most of whom were males, in positions that required the creation of a stable and meaningful life.  Like the first colonists, like the pioneers, like the immigrants, their characters are continually faced with challenges to their survival, their ability and their manhood where the latter is defined in terms of overt verbal and physical superiority rather than mutual, cooperative care or nurturing.  An ironic counter-example is Ayn Rand, a female writer who totally accepted the values of competition, personal power and rugged individualism. Her powerful male characters, such as the nearly godlike architect in Atlas Shrugged, are faced with problems and situations that demand forceful, individual creation and production on large scales. 

The fact that creation and production also consumed energy, resources, time and money was not a central concern until the beginnings of the environmental movement in the late 50’s and early 60’s.  The fact that creation and production often resulted in the emotional and physical deprivation of less independent beings, such as children, animals, women, the poor, and members of minority ethnic groups was also not a central concern of American writers or critics until the late 50’s and early 60’s.  The earlier writers felt driven to produce and reproduce the feelings, drives, imagery and characters of male-oriented, individualistic creation and production in their writings.  As a consequence, many of the facts of life, such as eating, drinking, digesting, excreting and nurturing were consistently absent, implied, glossed or ignored.

These are at least four reasons why there is such a scarcity of secondary sources on the topic of American food in American literature.  It is, in effect, a book waiting to be written.

Fortunately, however, there are many instances of food in American literature and they do show some interesting patterns and features.  I have created three themes to focus these patterns and features: continuity and discontinuity; purity and impurity; and, abundance and scarcity.  First I am going to briefly described the substance and justification of each theme and then proceed with the literary material that especially illustrates and is illuminated by each theme.

A.            Continuity and Discontinuity.  The first European colonists on the East Coast of America experienced several discontinuities and began creating others.  From crowded European cities and farmlands they came to vast, sparsely inhabited forests, mountains and valleys.  From the rigidly intolerant societies of many 16th and 17th century European countries they came to a land whose societies, those of the indigenous peoples, were completely strange and closed to them.  From lives of poverty and scarcity they came to a land that gradually disclosed resources and riches beyond their wildest dreams.  From old, settled areas in Europe that had long ago been tamed by the sword, the plow, the cross and the crown they came to wilderness that seemed indifferent to the grandeur and traditions of European civilization.

Within these discontinuities they also created discontinuities in the lives of the indigenous peoples, by war, trade and intermarriage.  In the natural life cycles of the new land, they also began creating discontinuities by the invasive activities of logging, farming, mining, urbanization, hunting and fishing.  The cultivation of extremes that have

become fixtures of American life began at this time.  There were Americans who loved the wilderness and the indigenous ways and shed as many of their European ways as possible.  There were Americans who loathed the wilderness and the native ways and strove either to change them or destroy them.  These latter among the early colonists insisted on the continuation of European religions and languages, official protocols, social forms and manners and whatever foods they could make in the new world, such as bread, or have shipped from Europe without spoilage, such as tea.

The indigenous people fell before the larger and larger waves of Europeans most of whom firmly believed that the best Indian was a dead Indian.  For example, it is estimated that in 1600 there were approximately 10,000,000 indigenous people living in many different groups, or tribes, across the American continent.  By 1900, under an official US government policy of extermination, that total had fallen to approximately 500,000.  The impact of the new inhabitants on the land has been no less powerful.  In 1600, most of the land east of the Mississippi River and west of the Rocky Mountains was covered with mixed hardwood and deciduous forests.  By 1990, less than 3% of the original trees remained standing.

Besides the clash of Europeans and indigenous peoples, the growing population of Americans cultivating land for crops, especially cotton and tobacco, sold to a growing population of consumers in Europe provided a market for human labor—slaves.  The slave trade, initiated by the Dutch and pursued by almost every Western European country with seafaring expertise, created extreme discontinuities in many aspects of African life that are beyond the scope of this essay.  But the importation of Africans as slaves created an entirely new stream of Americans, subjected for two hundred years to plantation conditions of near starvation, who invented and innovated with the meager edible material accessible to them.  Their creativity has contributed many different kinds of distinctively American foods, such as chitlins, greens, and an entire range of foods centered in the bayou area of Louisiana known as Cajun food.  Along with original contributions made by the indigenous peoples to the first colonists’ and pioneers’ diets such as corn, some of these food items that have lasted longer than the institution of slavery itself have also found places in American literature.

B.             Purity and Impurity.  The early colonists on the American East Coast brought with them a deep fear of hell and a deep desire to purify their lives of any elements that prevented the practice of true Christianity.  True Christianity meant for them a literal reading of the bible and a literal construction of human social life around the teachings and tenets of the bible.  Red, for them, was the color of the devil, the color of evil and the color of the indigenous people.  Pure black and pure white were their colors of choice.

Those Americans who loved the wilderness, however, quickly adopted the use of multi-colored animal skins for clothing and natural dyes for coloring cloth or their skin.  It was therefore no mere historical accident that the American cultural revolution of the 60’s adopted wildly colored clothing, vehicles, hair and language as an obvious and dramatic signifier against the dark suits, white shirts, dark ties and dark shoes of establishment figures.  It was no historical accident that the beatniks and hippies both reached out for foods that differed greatly in flavor, color, smell, taste and texture from white bread, roast beef, boiled potatoes, oatmeal, milk and tea.  It was also no historical accident that some of the most influential writers of this era, such as Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, found deep and lasting inspiration from the literature and the food of lands and peoples far beyond the American shores.

C.            Abundance and Scarcity.  From 1895 to 1915, approximately 23,000,000 immigrants moved from Europe to the United States.  These people came from all parts of Europe.  They left living conditions characterized by poverty, political turmoil and oppression and lack of any kind of opportunity for improvement.  America was a land that promised to make their dreams of prosperity, wealth, abundance and freedom come true.  Many of those immigrants made their fortunes in America then returned with them to their families in Europe.  But many others stayed in America, had their families there and began contributing tastes, colors and flavors to an increasingly heterogeneous American scene.  This period of intense migration saw the beginnings of neighborhoods in major cities, such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. These were ethnic enclaves for Italians, Poles, Germans, Jews, as well as Blacks trying to find an alternative to the militarily defeated but still powerful racism of their former southern masters, or others whose strong sense of group identity always brought with it special foods that were amplified by the increasingly large scales of American life.

At the same time, the rapid growth of large-scale manufacturing, in factories employing tens of thousands of immigrants who were poorly paid and allowed only a minimal education beyond the background of their European origins, turned some of these neighborhoods into the first American slums and ghettos.  Extremely low wages, non-existent social services, waves of unemployment and the increasing pressure of large families and new arrivals frequently put many of these new Americans on the edges of malnutrition, hunger and even starvation. Abundance and scarcity began to appear as poles of a socioeconomic oscillation driven not by such obvious institutions as slavery but by beliefs, prejudices and attitudes about the superiority and inferiority of different kinds of peoples coupled with firmly established patterns of access and lack of access to resources.  The negative shock of World War I was followed by the positive euphoria of the roaring 20’s.  That decade of unprecedented prosperity and national expansion was followed by the great depression of the 30’s.  America was clearly moving into the vanguard of a world order whose extremes ranged from genocide to population explosion, from starvation to rotting surpluses and from worn feet in foul mud to toenail polish in satin slippers on polished marble. 

A first glimpse of the theme of continuity and discontinuity can be seen by comparing the two citations at the beginning of this essay. Elinor Wylie lived from 1885 to 1928.  Jack Kerouac lived from 1922 to 1969.  Ripe fruit appears as an edible food from the tree in Wylie’s poem and as an ingredient of pie in Kerouac’s novel.  Wylie’s cherries and peaches are closer to unprocessed nature than Kerouac’s baked apple pie.  Wylie’s poem signifies the rootedness of the early European colonists in a land that provided ample foodstuffs.  Kerouac’s novel signifies the restlessness of urban Americans for whom food had become an uninteresting necessity. 

Wylie’s poem signifies abundance and therefore the value of bigness without the addition of speed that played such an important role in the life of Kerouac’s main character, Dean Moriarty.

In fact, Dean Moriarty was based on the real man, Neal Cassady.  In 1964, I was living in Palo Alto, California, having dropped out of Stanford University to try my hand at writing fiction and poetry.     I met a lovely young woman who was a first year student at Stanford and invited her to a party.  The party was in a house in the east side of Palo Alto that was increasingly known as a suitable place for non-conformists and beatniks.  The party featured many people whom neither my friend nor I knew along with much wine.  It also featured some very unusual people.  At one point during the party we were drinking wine in the small, brightly-lit kitchen.  In a commotion of laughing, talking people, a young man with a brilliant smile and ringing laughter, whose feet seemed barely able to stay on the floor, floated and flew through the room while the man who had invited me to the party introduced him to me as Neal Cassady.  He acknowledged me and disappeared out another door.  I never saw him again but retain to this day the vivid impression of light and speed that he also seems to have given to Kerouac.

The continuity between Wylie’s poem and Kerouac’s novel is indicated by the American saying, “It’s as American as apple pie!”  Another kind of continuity appears, moreover, when the verse after the one quoted above from Wylie’s poem is considered:

Down to the Puritan marrow of my bones

There’s something in this richness that I hate.

I love the look, austere, immaculate,

Of landscapes drawn in pearly monotones.

There’s something in my very blood that owns

Bare hills, cold silver on a sky of slate,

A thread of water, churned to milky spate

Streaming through slanted pastures fenced with stones.4

Taken together, this verse and the one quoted at the beginning of this essay dramatically display all three themes.  There is continuity and discontinuity between the doctrines of a European religious heritage, Puritanism, that emphasized great worldly achievements but as little worldly display as possible.  One of Max Weber’s most important contributions to our understanding of the modern Protestant viewpoint is his clear delineation of the conflict in early Protestantism between acquiring great wealth to signify being in god’s favor and displaying only humility to the rest of the world without the material ostentation that the Pietists, the Puritans, the Luddites and many other Protestant groups found so distasteful in Catholicism.

Weber argues, convincingly, I think, that the “Puritan, like every rational type of asceticism, tried to enable a man [sic] to maintain and act upon his constant motives, especially those which it taught himself itself, against the emotions.”5   The goal of this action was to lead a certain kind of life “freed from all the temptations of the world and in all its details dictated by God’s will, and thus to be made certain of their own rebirth [in heaven after the last judgment] by external signs manifested in their daily conduct.”6 From the Bible as well as from all other religious literature, success in difficult tasks is a clear sign of God’s favor.  For Protestants, such signs do not guarantee salvation but they are the closest to a guarantee that a Protestant can get.  Indeed, that “God Himself blessed his chosen ones through the success of their labours was…undeniable…to the Puritans.”7  This doctrine that combined asceticism with success in worldly endeavors positioned Protestantism to be the driving religious force behind capitalism and the great creations and accumulations of material wealth that have occurred in modernity.  But it is no less true that this combination can be a rhythm, an oscillation, a confusion or conflict.  This combination clearly provides much of the historical substance for our themes of abundance and scarcity and purity and impurity.

A condensed example of the oscillation between abundance and the austerity of American Puritanism can be seen in a brief passage from the short story, The System of Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether, by Edgar Allen Poe (1809-49).  This passage also underlines the way in which food and the activities surrounding food have been treated by many of America’s greatest male writers—as unavoidable but uninteresting necessities, even in a fictional setting:  “The table was superbly set out.  It was loaded with plate, and more than loaded with delicacies.  The profusion was absolutely barbaric.  There were enough meats to have feasted the Anakim.  Never, in all my life, had I witnessed so lavish, so wasteful an expenditure of the good things of life.”8

The tension between the narrator and his hosts in Poe’s tale is echoed by the tension between the narrator and the main character in On the Road.  The quote from Jack Kerouac is part of the first-person narration of the novel by Sal Paradise, the supporting, secondary character that is based on Kerouac himself.  For the duration of his cross-country hitchhiking trip, he lives on apple pie and ice cream.  This diet reflects not only Sal’s poverty, but also clearly situates the novel in a continuous American tradition that de-emphasizes the bodily, physical or material world.  A discontinuity, however, occurs between the naturalness of the fruits in Wylie’s poem and the impersonal, processed food that Sal Paradise ate.  A further discontinuity appears in the fact that Sal is taking his food on the road, on the run, at high speed, while Wylie is painting a picture of humans relating to trees that by their nature cannot move from where they are.

Wylie’s poetic picture is drawn from her life in New England.  Many of the first colonists stayed on or close to the coast because it allowed them to continue the seafaring lives and occupations they had practiced in Europe and because it provided an abundance of food.  However, their Puritan ideology often resulted in lives that were lived as far from that abundance as Wylie’s “cold silver on a sky of slate.”  Another American poetess, Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979), was born in Massachusetts and raised by her grandparents in Nova Scotia, the eastern, seafaring Province of Canada. Her life partly overlapped Wylie’s and she also paints the spirit of that area specifically in terms of food but with an emphasis on the austerity of their diet:

From narrow provinces

of fish and bread and tea,

home of the long tides

where the bay leaves the sea

twice a day and takes

the herrings long rides,9

Moreover, the abundance that Wylie hates is also rejected by Kerouac in an off-hand, casual way as though the less time a man spent on something as mundane as food the better or higher quality a person he was.  However, the oscillation between abundance and scarcity appears in Kerouac’s novel in the contrast between Sal Paradise and the main character of On the Road, Dean Moriarty.

“…but Dean just raced in society, eager for bread and love; he didn’t care one way or the other, ‘so long’s I can get that lil ole gal with that lil sumpin down there tween her legs, boy,’ and ‘so long’s we can eat, son, y’ear me?  I’m hungry, I’m starving, let’s eat right now!”—and off we’d rush to eat, whereof, as saith Ecclesiastes, ‘It is your portion in the sun.’” (Ch. 1 (italics in original))

It is also certainly worth noticing in passing that in both writers, differentiated by gender, by background, and by time, there is a strong connection between religion and food.  This commonality and this continuity clearly occur in the traditional American feast days of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  All three feature unusually large and lengthy meals as well as strong connections with the Christian, Protestant backgrounds of the early American colonists, settlers and pioneers.  As with the bodily functions mentioned before, bringing the topic of food and literature into the foreground also illuminates the strong presence of Judeo-Christianity in American life and literature.  Again, this innovative topic proves to be a powerful lens for viewing a wide range of signifiers that occur repeatedly and pervasively in American literature.

Indeed, the theological basis of Wylie’s hatred of “this richness” is the Puritan soul struggling for release from all of its attachments, involvements, entanglements and preoccupations to, with and in the material world.  Metaphysical battles are fought on empirical battlefields.  In this case, the metaphysical battle between the ontological powers of good and evil is fought on the empirical battlefield of the relationship between a poetess and edible, natural fruit.  The apple signifies the fall of man at the hand of woman.  The hatred of  “this richness” is therefore a self-hatred that drives the woman farther from impure nature and closer to the immaterial purity of the austere, unadorned Protestant soul.  The continuity of the human body with nature is displaced by the discontinuity of the immaterial soul with the body.  The abundance of human bodies and souls is displaced by the scarcity of the elect, those in Protestant doctrine chosen by God from the foundations of the world to survive the last judgment and live eternally in heaven.

Serious reflection on the relationship between food and literature brings us to a range of signifiers that underpins all literature, namely, religion.  Why?  Because writing originally served the purpose of passing on what is most valuable in the viewpoint and experience of the group.  The most valuable possession of all is that which most certainly promotes the survival of the group. All human groups discovered long ago that humans are dependent on greater powers for survival.  All humans need air, water, food, warmth and sleep.  The fear of, respect for, worship of and sacrifice to the powers that govern life, both visible and invisible, is the ancient substance of all religions.  The ancient truth and pervasive message of all religions is the dependency of humans on those powers, including the power of reproduction that is represented in ancestor worship.  Religion embodies, ritualizes and carries forward that fundamental truth of human dependency.  The denial of that dependency can lead to greatly innovative creativity and profoundly transformative spirituality as well as to self-destruction and madness.  Humans can imagine absolute freedom but to try to live it, as Nietzsche showed, leads only to self-destruction and madness.

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) struggled with madness all her life and eventually ended her life by committing suicide.  The following poem opens with the kind of paean to natural abundance that we saw in Wylie’s poem and closes with a similar feeling of empty space and cold silver.  The contrast between the terms “nothing” and “blackberries” in the first line signifies the tension between abundance and emptiness.  This signifier in turn connects with the tension between purity and impurity through the signifier of nothingness as a desirable and advanced spiritual state and as the material condition of spiritual devotees on earth.  In this poem, these themes are again carried by concrete, local wild food and abstract, created imagery that moves the reader away from an abundant present to an absent but implied purity above or beyond the physical earth:

Blackberrying

Nobody in the lane, and nothing, nothing but blackberries

Blackberries on either side, though on the right mainly,

A blackberry alley, going down in hooks, and a sea

Somewhere at the end of it, heaving.  Blackberries

Big as the ball of my thumb, and dumb as eyes

Ebon in the hedges, fat

With blue-red juices.  These they squander on my fingers.

I had not asked for such a blood sisterhood; they must love me.

They accommodate themselves to my milkbottle, flattening their sides.

Overhead go the choughs in black, cacophonous flocks—

Bits of burnt paper wheeling in a blown sky.

Theirs is the only voice, protesting, protesting.

I do not think the sea will appear at all.

The high, green meadows are glowing, as if lit from within.

I come to one bush of berries so ripe it is a bush of flies,

Hanging their bluegreen bellies and their wing panes in a Chinese screen.

The honey-feast of the berries has stunned them; they believe in heaven.

One more hook, and the berries and bushes end.

The only thing to come now is the sea.

From between two hills a sudden wind funnels at me,

Slapping its phantom laundry in my face.

These hills are too green and sweet to have tasted salt.

I follow the sheep path between them.  A last hook brings me

To the hills’ northern face, and the face is orange rock

That looks out on nothing, nothing but a great space

Of white and pewter lights, and a din like silversmiths

Beating and beating at an intractable metal.10

It is no accident, in this perspective, that Neal Cassady, the living person behind Kerouac’s character Dean Moriarty, died of a drug overdose on the hot, shining steel rails of a railroad track in central Mexico.  The use of drugs in all groups has traditionally been associated with personal and group alignment to the greater powers for the purpose of amplifying the ability of the group to survive.  Cut from their traditional moorings in religion, drugs have become a way to experiment with the physical, psychic and spiritual dimensions of absolute freedom.  The fact that many drugs, such as LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine and opium, make the user feel that they need no food or other natural supports for their existence, shows precisely how they fit into the attempt to deny dependency and achieve absolute freedom.  The discontinuity of the American experience in relation to older traditions, the abundance of material wealth and the usually unacknowledged background ideal of a pure, immaterial soul have worked together to produce in its literature characters like Dean Moriarty who make a life—and a death—of treading the edge between innovation and self-destruction.

Or, to condense our themes in the pithy and quintessentially American poetic language of William Carlos Williams:  “the pure products of America go mad” (from “On The Road To The Mental Hospital”)  

Apple pie and ice cream, moreover, also provide Kerouac with an opportunity to make a statement of value that clearly displays abundance as bigness:  “I ate apple pie and ice cream—it was getting better as I got deeper into Iowa, the pie bigger, the ice cream richer.” (Ch. 3)  “Better,” “deeper,” “bigger,” and “richer,” work together to define a system of values that was both American—bigger is better—and Romantic—depth and richness.11

The theme of abundance can be found in all periods of American literature.  In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, Scarlet Letter, for example, a character who is the “father of the Custom House—the patriarch, not only of his little squad of officials, but, I am bold to say, of the respectable body of tide-waiters all over the United States—was a certain permanent Inspector.”12  The Custom-House was the official federal government office responsible for inspecting all cargo coming into the country by ship and determining what if any duties had to be paid.  In the novel, this particular Custom-House is located on a wharf in the harbor of Salem, Massachusetts.  In this particular character, Hawthorne signifies one of the most important aspects of the American diet that also repeatedly appears in its literature—the consumption of large quantities of meat.  The Inspector had the unusual ability to remember in great detail

“the good dinners which it had made no small portion of the happiness of his life to eat….to hear him talk of roast meat was as appetizing as a pickle or an oyster….it always satisfied me to hear him expatiate on fish, poultry, and butcher’s meat, and the most eligible methods of preparing them for the table.  His reminiscences of good cheer, however ancient the date of the actual banquet, seemed to bring the savor of pig or turkey under one’s very nostrils….A tenderloin of beef, a hindquarter of veal, a sparerib of pork, a particular chicken, or a remarkably praiseworthy turkey, which had perhaps adorned his board…would be remembered….”13 

The dominance of meat in the American diet can be seen in several ways.  One is the following chart of specialty foods in the individual franchises of the top thirty fast-food companies in the US:

Type of Food Number of Franchises

Chicken 8,683

Hamburger/Hot Dog/Roast Beef           29,600

Pizza [usually served with a

meat topping]            11,593

Tacos [usually served with a

meat filler] 3,620

Seafood 2,630

Pancakes/Waffles [usually eaten

        with bacon,

        sausage or ham] 1,63014

Another view of this American food habit comes from considering the quantities of meat consumption and production in the United States.  For example,

“Americans spend about 25 percent of their food budget on red meat.  The per capita consumption of beef in the United States has increased steadily, while that of pork has declined….Only in Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina is per capita consumption higher than in the United States.  The United States normally produces about 27 percent of the world’s meat.” (Ibid., (13) 190)

From the United States Chamber of Commerce, the source of these statistics in Compton’s Encyclopedia and from the 19th century work of Hawthorne, we can move to the late 20th century.  In the late 1980’s, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, by a California writer, Fannie Flagg, was published.  In the first section of the novel, a reproduction of an article from the weekly newspaper in her fictional southern US town of Weems, Flagg describes the basic menu of the newly opened Whistle Stop Cafe:

…the breakfast hours are from 5:30 to 7:30, and you can get eggs, grits, biscuits, bacon, sausage, ham and red-eye gravy, and coffee….

For lunch and supper you can have:  fried chicken; pork chops and gravy; catfish, chicken and dumplings; or a barbecue plate; and your choice of three vegetables, biscuits or cornbread, and your drink and dessert….

…the vegetables are:  creamed corn; fried green tomatoes; fried okra; collard or turnip greens; black-eyed peas; candied yams; butter beans or lima beans.15

Later in the novel, the items in a particular meal served to a customer are described as “fried chicken, black-eyed peas, turnip greens, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, and iced tea.”16

The fatness, abundance and purity of meat in the American diet have also been used by some writers as a counterfoil to other kinds of scarcity and impurity.  Sylvia Plath uses the tradition of a large meat meal on Sunday, as a once a week special gathering for American families, that often features a large, oven-roasted turkey, to give stark contrast to another kind of oven:

Mary’s Song

The Sunday lamb cracks in its fat.

The fat

Sacrifices its opacity…

A window, holy gold.

The fire makes it precious,

The same fire

Melting the tallow heretics,

Ousting the Jews.

Their thick palls float

Over the cicatrix of Poland, burnt-out

Germany,

They do not die.

Grey birds obsess my heart,

Mouth ash, ash of eye.

They settle.  On the high

Precipice

That emptied one man into space

The ovens glowed like heavens, incandescent.

It is a heart,

This holocaust I walk in,

O golden child the world will kill and eat.17

One of America’s most gifted and enigmatic of contemporary poets, the Pulitzer Prize winner John Ashbery (1927-), turns America’s abundance into a counterfoil not of impurity but of scarcity as a lack of certainty:

Hardly anything grows here,

Yet the granaries are bursting with meal,

The sacks of meal piled to the rafters.

The streams run with sweetness, fattening fish;

Birds darken the sky.  Is it enough

That the dish of milk is set out at night,

That we think of him sometimes,

Sometimes and always, with mixed feelings?18

Besides the prominence and priority of meat, the Plath poem and the lists from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café foreground an important continuity and discontinuity in American food.  The important continuity stems from the fact that the early colonists and pioneers, trying to live in a strange land before it had been developed for agriculture, made their bread primarily from locally available grains, especially corn.  Wheat and other related grains were too hard to grind by hand and required a heavy, complicated mill that the early settlers could not carry with them.  Corn became a staple food as important to the early European colonizers as it already was to the indigenous people:

Young, ripe corn was eaten as roasting ears.  In winter the husks of the kernels were soaked off with lye to make hominy.  For breakfast and supper there was boiled corn-meal mush.  Sometimes the mush was fried and served with butter or pork drippings.  The most common dish, however, was hot corn bread.  Baked on a hoe blade before the fire, this was called hoecake.  Mixed with water into a stiff batter and covered with hot ashes, it was ash cake.  From the Dutch oven it emerged as corn pone or corn loaf.  Small cakes of corn pone were called corn dodgers.19

In the passage from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter both fish and turkey are mentioned along with pork and chicken.  The fish and turkey were most likely caught and shot in their natural habitats.  The pork and chicken were most likely raised and butchered in a domestic animal keep.  This combination of wild and domestic meat began with the first colonists and continues to the present day.  Indeed, the pioneers who traveled by foot, wagon and horse from the east westward on the American continent found a great abundance of wild game for meat.  Still they tried to carry enough familiar, nutritious foodstuffs to last them for the journey to their new homestead and to carry them through periods when wild game was unavailable.  A typical load for one adult traveling by oxen-drawn wagon westward was:

“…200 pounds of flour, 30 pounds of pilot bread, 75 pounds of bacon, 10 pounds of rice, 5 pounds of coffee, 2 pounds of tea, 25 pounds of sugar, half bushel of dried beans, one bushel dried fruit, 2 pounds of baking soda, 10 pounds salt, half a bushel of cornmeal.  And it is well to have a half bushel of corn, parched and ground.  A small keg of vinegar should also be taken.”20

In many rural or sparsely inhabited parts of America the mixing of wild and domestic meats continues to this day.  In Alaska, for example, where I have lived for many years and which is one-third the area of the entire contiguous forty-eight states of the US, many people still rely on hunting for a large portion of their meat supply.  John Haines, past Poet Laureate of the State of Alaska and Alaska’s best known poet, began homesteading near Fairbanks, Alaska in the 1950’s.  I have known him personally for many years and read poetry with him on the stage of the Loussac Library in Anchorage in 1986.  His poetry clearly reflects how the dependence on wild meat can crystallize the themes of abundance and purity in an identification with the predator:

If the Owl Calls Again

at dusk

from the island in the river,

and it’s not too cold,

I’ll wait for the moon

to rise,

then take wing and glide

to meet him

We will not speak,

but hooded against the frost

soar above

the alder flats, searching.

with tawny eyes

And then we’ll sit

in the shadowy spruce and

pick the bones

of careless mice,

while the long moon drifts

toward Asia

and the river mutters

in its icy bed.

And when morning climbs

the limbs

we’ll part without a sound,

fulfilled, floating

homeward as

the cold world awakens.21

Long before Haines or any other European settled in Alaska, however, the indigenous  people had long lived on whatever meat animals they could kill and prepare.  In fact, when the first French explorers met and spent time with the indigenous people in the north of what is now Canada, they were so impressed by the predominance of uncooked meat in their diets that they called them “Esquimeaux,” which is French for “eaters of raw meat.”  Further down the coasts of Canada and Alaska, however, salmon run by the millions up the great rivers and are caught and used by the local people.  These Americans now eat their salmon after it has been smoked or cooked, as told in the following poem, “Subsistence #2” by Andrew Hope, III (1949-), of Sitka, Alaska:

Dog salmon colors

Glistening

Evening sun

Incoming tide

Washing the beach

Dog salmon shine

Silver purple flash

Reaching

Lifting a big one

By the tail

Incoming tide

Washing the beach

Time to eat

Fried dog salmon

For dinner22

There are five kinds of salmon that migrate into Alaskan fresh waters and are used there for food.  Each kind has its own name and some kinds have different names in different areas of Alaska.  Thus, discontinuities through time in preparation—from raw to cooked—have occurred along with discontinuities in time among practices of naming the same foodstuff.  Dog salmon are so-called because they were once used by the thousands to feed the many dogs upon which the indigenous Alaskan people relied for transportation during the long winters.  This kind of salmon, however, is perfectly fit for human consumption and now that many indigenous people in Alaska travel only by motorized vehicles in all seasons, dog salmon have become a staple of human nutrition.  

These discontinuities connect with the discontinuity signified by the meal ingredients in the first and second quotes from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café which is variation in regional foods.  Grits, for example, is a kind of cereal or mush made from corn or wheat that is coarsely ground.  Grits is considered by most Americans to be a food characteristic of the American South.  Its public presence in northern cities is usually the result of southerners moving north and opening restaurants that feature American Southern cuisine.  Other typical regional American foods are codfish associated with the northeastern seafood cuisine, key lime pie associated with the cuisine of the Florida Keys, tortillas and red beans associated with the southwest cuisine derived from America’s Hispanic heritage, and salmon associated with the northwest and Alaskan cuisines.

One of Alaska’s Native American poets, Charlie Blatchford, a Yupik Eskimo whom I knew personally and who is now deceased, stated the case for meat very simply in one of his few published poems:

Forgotten Words

Our language, of what I know,

has been prepared

with wisdom and grace.

The fine skin has been fleshed

and lies to one side.

The innards have carefully

been exposed.

Their sweet flesh

ready for feast.

Meat, the staple of life,

is consumed with satisfaction…

Sedating our need

for new words.23

In the hands of more contemporary poets who are not Native American, as Charlie Blatchford was, meat continues to signify substantial food and is often joined by a kind of substance that could serve as a separate topic alongside food—intoxicants such as alcohol and drugs.  In Whitman, Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg and many other writers, wine, beer and other kinds of mind-altering substances often accompany food and especially meat.  This range of consumable signifiers has a history in all literatures that is as ancient, as interesting and as important as that of meat and other foods.  Indeed, putting the light of interest on food has again brought into focus an important stream in the lives of all peoples that could well serve as a topic for extensive further research, discussion and writing.  In many poets, the connection between meat and wine is briefly made, as in the fourth verse of “Asylum” by Herman Fong (1963-):

At meals they barely feed her,

give her the smallest cuts of meat,

mostly fat, and a few red drops of wine.24

A concentration on the details of ordinary life characterizes the style of many American writers, both older and younger.  John Steinbeck, a Nobel laureate and one of the pre-eminent American literary voices of the 20th century, frequently drew for his characters and settings from the everyday lives of people in California.  Some of his best and most popular writings, novels such as Cannery Row, Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men, and the short story collection, The Long Valley, feature characters and settings in coastal, southern and central California.  Tortilla Flats features the lives of “paisanos” who lived near the central California coastal town of Monterey.  According to Steinbeck, a paisano was a “mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican and assorted Caucasian bloods” (Ch. 1).  The main character, Danny, and his friends hear about a ship that has been wrecked on the nearby coast.  They go to the beach and salvage flotsam from the wreck then sell it.  The sale puts five dollars into Danny’s possession, an unusually large amount of money:

The five dollars from the salvage had lain like fire in Danny’s pocket, but now he knew what to do with it.  He and Pilon went to the market and bought seven pounds of hamburger and a bag of onions and bread and a big paper of candy.  Pablo and Jesus Maria went to Torrelli’s for two gallons of wine, and not a drop did they drink on the way home, either. (Ch. 5)

Part of Steinbeck’s genius as a writer and one of the aspects of his stories that set them apart from other American writings is the deliberate use of food items and activities for characterization and plot development.    Tortilla Flats provides an example of his style as well as continuing to demonstrate the importance of meat in the American diet across all geographic regions and ethnic groups:

Danny’s business was fairly direct.  He went to the back door of a restaurant.  “Got any old bread I can give my dog?”  he asked the cook.  And while that gullible man was wrapping up the food, Danny stole two slices of ham, four eggs, a lamb chop and a fly swatter.

“I will pay you sometime,” he said.

“No need to pay for scraps.  I throw them away if you don’t take them.”

Danny felt better about the theft then.  If that was the way they felt, on the surface he was guiltless.  He went back to Torelli’s [the wine merchant], traded the four eggs, the lamb chop and the fly swatter for a water glass of grappa and retired toward the woods to cook his supper. (Ch.1)

The particular food item of onions appears in the first passage from Tortilla Flats as a small detail that signifies a range of regional foods in an American southwest first colonized by European settlers from Spain not from England.  Between hamburger and onions are both the continuity of easily prepared and consumed meat and the discontinuity of regional American cuisines.  Another great American literary voice, that of William Carlos Williams, also picked out this range of southwestern signifiers on his one and only trip to that part of America.  Besides a fine ear for the peculiarities that distinguish American English from all other kinds of English, Williams also had a keen eye for the small details of place that brought the reader in close to the object of Williams’ writing.  The following passage is from “The Desert Music” which was based on Williams’ trip to the American southwest and his sojourning in towns that, at that time, were far more Hispanic than Caucasian:

–paper flowers (para los santos)

baked red-clay utensils, daubed

with blue, silverware,

dried peppers, onions, print goods, children’s

clothing     .      the place deserted all but

for a few Indians squatted in the

booths, unnoticing (don’t you think it)

as though they slept there      .25

The use of activities around food to develop plot and character is also part of the style of another American novelist who received a Nobel Prize for literature, William Faulkner (1897-1962).  From the deserts and sparse valleys of the southwest to the lush forests, swamps and meadows of the deep south, American literature, like the perduring literature of every language, has consistently insisted that the physical place and its features are part of the story.  In the following passage from Light in August, Faulkner uses Mrs. McEachern’s attempt to nourish Joe as a reflector for both characters:

He was lying so, on his back, his hands crossed on his breast like a tomb effigy, when he heard again feet on the cramped stairs….

Without turning his head the boy heard Mrs. McEachern toil slowly up the stairs.  He heard her approach across the floor.  He did not look, though after a time her shadow came and fell upon the wall where he could see it, and he saw that she was carrying something.  It was a tray of food.  She set the tray on the bed.  He had not once looked at her.  He had not moved.  “Joe,” she said. He didn’t move.  “Joe,” she said.  She could see that his eyes were open.  She did not touch him.

“I aint hungry,” he said.

She didn’t move.  She stood, her hands folded into her apron.  She didn’t seem to be looking at him, either.  She seemed to be speaking to the wall beyond the bed. “I know what you think.  It aint that.  He never told me to bring it to you.  It was me that thought to do it.  He dont know.  It aint any food he sent you.”  He didn’t move.  His was calm as a graven face, looking up at the steep pitch of the plank ceiling.  “You haven’t eaten today.  Sit up and eat.  It wasn’t him that told me to bring it to you.  He dont know it.  I waited until he was gone and then I fixed it myself.”

He sat up then.  While she watched him he rose from the bed and took the tray and carried it to the corner and turned it upside down, dumping the dishes and the food and all onto the floor.  Then he returned to the bed, carrying the empty tray as though it were a monstrance and he the bearer, his surplice the cut down undergarment which had been bought for a man to wear.  She was watching him now, though she had not moved.  Her hands were still rolled into her apron.  He got back into bed and lay again on his back, his eyes wide and still upon the ceiling.  He could see her motionless shadow, shapeless, a little hunched.  Then it went away.  He did not look, but he could hear her kneel in the corner, gathering the broken dishes back into the tray.  Then she left the room. It was quite still then.26

Faulkner lived and wrote in the Bible Belt.  The Bible Belt signified the fact that most people in the south were fundamentalist Christian Protestants who girded themselves with the spirit of austerity and yearning for an otherworldly paradise of simplicity and peace articulated so strongly by New England writers such as Wylie and Bishop.  Although food occurs frequently in Faulkner’s work, it is rarely ample, elaborate or wasted.  Usually it serves to highlight the physical scarcity and tenuous moral condition of people who live on the edge of a society whose abundance seldom appears in his work:

And Judith.  She lived alone now.  Perhaps she had lived alone ever since that Christmas day last year and then year before last and then three years and then four years ago, since though Sutpen was gone now…she lived in anything but solitude, what with Ellen in bed in the shuttered room, requiring the unremitting attention of a child while she waited with that amazed and passive uncomprehension to die; and she (Judith) and Clytie making and keeping a kitchen garden of sorts to keep them alive; and Wash Jones, living in the abandoned and rotting fishing camp in the river bottom which Sutpen had built after the first woman—Ellen—entered his house and the last deer and bear hunter went out of it, where he now permitted Wash and his daughter and infant granddaughter to live, performing the heavy garden work and supplying Ellen and Judith and then Judith with fish and game now and then, even entering the house now, who until Sutpen went away, had never approached nearer than the scuppernong arbor behind the kitchen where on Sunday afternoons he and Sutpen would drink from the demi-john and the bucket of spring water which Wash fetched from almost a mile away….”27

Another indication of Faulkner’s genius is his ability to see in an event as ordinary as a young man ordering pie and coffee from a waitress with whom he secretly wants some kind of relationship the potential for fine, deep drama.  Faulkner’s preference for scant food and small food items continues to display the themes of scarcity and purity that were inescapable in his social and historical environment.  In the following passage, Faulkner describes Joe, the boy in the passage just presented, who has come to a restaurant to be served by the waitress, in terms that transparently bring into play the signifiers of purity as immaterial dimension and food as binding, burdensome material necessity:

He believed that the men at the back…were laughing at him.  So he sat quite still on the stool, looking down, the dime clutched in his palm.  He did not see the waitress until the two overlarge hands appeared upon the counter opposite him and into sight.  He could see the figured pattern of her dress and the bib of an apron and the two bigknuckled hands lying on the edge of the counter as completely immobile as if they were something she had fetched in from the kitchen.  “Coffee and pie,” he said.

Her voice sounded downcast, quite empty.  “Lemon coconut chocolate.”

In proportion to the height from which her voice came, the hands could not be her hands at all.  “Yes,” Joe said.

The hands did not move.  The voice did not move.  “Lemon coconut chocolate.  Which kind.”  To the others they must have looked quite strange.  Facing one another across the dark, stained, greasecrusted and frictionsmooth counter, they must have looked a little like they were praying:  the youth countryfaced, in clean Spartan clothing, with an awkwardness which invested him with a quality unworldly and innocent; and the woman opposite him, downcast, still, waiting, who because of her smallness partook likewise of that quality of his, of something beyond flesh.  Her face was highboned, gaunt.  The flesh was taut across her

About the Author

What are two to three characteristics of orientalism?

What are two to three characteristics or orientalism? How can orientalism and prejudice contribute to hate crimes against Muslim and Arab Americans.

Orientalism refers to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, and can also refer to a sympathetic stance towards the region by a writer or other person.
Edward Said in his controversial book Orientalism, uses the term to describe a tradition, both academic and artistic, of hostile and deprecatory views of the East by the West, shaped by the attitudes of the era of European imperialism. When used in this sense, it often implies prejudiced outsider interpretations of Eastern cultures. In contrast, the term has also been used by some modern scholars to refer to writers of the Imperialist era who had pro-Eastern attitudes, as opposed to those who saw nothing of value in non-Western cultures.
central idea of Edward Said is Western knowledge about the East is not generated from facts, but through imagined constructs that see all “Eastern” societies as fundamentally similar, all sharing crucial characteristics unlike those of “Western” societies, thus, this ‘a priori’ knowledge established the East as antithetical to the West. Such Eastern knowledge is constructed with literary texts and historical records that often are of limited understanding of the facts of life in the Middle East.
Before Said’s was widely used as the opposite of “occidental”. The comparisons between them generally were unfavorable to the Orient. The word “Orient” fell into disrepute after the word “Orientalism” was coined with the publication of Said’s book Said emphasized the relationship between power and knowledge in scholarly and popular thinking, in particular regarding European views of the Islamic Arab world. Said argued that Orient and Occident worked as oppositional terms, so that the “Orient” was constructed as a negative inversion of Western culture. In particular, Said can be seen to have been influenced by Gramsci’s notion of hegemony in understanding the pervasiveness of Orientalist constructs and representations in Western scholarship and reporting, and their relation to the exercise of power over the ‘Orient’.
Edward Said limited discussion to academic study of Middle Eastern, African and Asian history and culture, he asserted that Orientalism is, and does not merely represent, a significant dimension of modern political and intellectual culture. Said’s discussion of academic Orientalism is almost entirely limited to 19h – 20 century. Most academic Area Studies departments had already abandoned an imperialist or colonialist paradigm of scholarship. He names the work of Bernard Lewis as an example of the continued existence of this paradigm, but acknowledges that it was already somewhat of an exception by the time of his writing . The idea of an “Orient” is a crucial aspect of attempts to define “the West.” Thus, histories of the Greco–Persian Wars may contrast the monarchical government of the Persian Empire with the democratic tradition of Athens, as a way to make a more general comparison between the Greeks and the Persians, and between “the West” and “the East”, or “Europe” and “Asia”, but make no mention of the other Greek city states, most of which were not ruled democratically.
Taking a comparative and historical literary review of European, mainly British and French, scholars and writers looking at, thinking about, talking about, and writing about the peoples of the Middle East, Said sought to lay bare the relations of power between the colonizer and the colonized in those texts. Said’s writings have had far-reaching implications beyond area studies in Middle East, to studies of imperialist Western attitudes to India, China and elsewhere. It was one of the foundational texts of postcolonial studies. Said later developed and modified his ideas .
Many scholars now use Said’s work to attempt to overturn long-held, often taken-for-granted Western ideological biases regarding non-Westerners in scholarly thought. Some post-colonial scholars would even say that the West’s idea of itself was constructed largely by saying what others were not. If “Europe” evolved out of “Christendom” as the “not-Byzantium,” early modern Europe certainly defined itself as the “not-Turkey.”
Said puts forward several definitions of ‘Orientalism’ in the introduction to Orientalism. Some of these have been more widely quoted and influential than others:
•”A way of coming to terms with the Orient that is based on the Orient’s special place in European Western experience.”
•”a style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction made between ‘the Orient’ and (most of the time) ‘the Occident’.”
•”A Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.”
•”…particularly valuable as a sign of European-Atlantic power over the Orient than it is as a verdict discourse about the Orient.”
•”A distribution of geopolitical awareness into aesthetic, scholarly, economic, sociological, historical, and philological texts.”

China/korea Join Forces Photo Mugs Korean Peoples Army troops join forces with the Chinese Peoples Volunteers. ….

Dance Of The Lion/korea Photo Mugs Dance of the Lion. The dancer in a lions costume is followed through the streets. ….

Inchon, Korea Photo Mugs A major seaport of Korea, formerly known as Chemulpo to some, Jinsen to others. Also a Korean nobleman in his distinctive hat. ….

Jumong Vol. 1 $50.99 JUMONG VOL 1 – DVD Movie…

Sad Love Story $119.98 SAD LOVE STORY – DVD Movie…

Korean History Channel

South Korea – the Blend of Modern and the Tradition

South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and is between the Yellow Sea and the East Sea. Koreans trace their history back to Gojoseon kingdom in 2333 BC and has seen the vicissitudes of time to emerge as what one sees in the present. The country is homogenous with the population with Korean ethnicity and the rest few as the foreign migrant workers. South Korea Today is one of the worlds technologically and scientifically advanced nation.

The country has hosted the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and FIFA World Cup 2002 that has displayed the culture and modernity of the nation. South Korea is a land of ancient traditions that is reflected in various forms. Here there are the ancient ruins, the scenic beauty, and the modernity all in a tranquil blend.

The tourist attractions include the Korean peninsula region with the mountains that is a treasure trove for the traveler who wants to be away from the crowded destinations. The capital Seoul is the most visited area and is the 10th largest city in the world. The city also has got to offer the tourist a variety of attractions to bring them back again. The nightlife that is vibrant and the variety of popular Korean cuisines is nothing but the many unforgettable experiences.

The southeastern region has the many archeological treasures that include Gyeongju (ancient capital of Silla kingdom) dates back to 57 BC. The area is nothing but an open air museum with many tombs, temples, that are attracts travelers. For those of you who want a romantic getaway the Jeju Island also called the little Hawaii has the mesmerizing scenic beauty and the tranquility of the nature. The beaches, the national parks, the man made attractions show cases that every traveler would find something here. The visit would enrich knowledge of the culture of this great place and also the people who are hospitable.

South Korea hotels cater to the needs of the travelers according to their style and budget. The luxury hotels offer modern amenities and excellent services to make the stay memorable. While the budget and the discount hotels offer accommodation that is good value for money.

The different types of hotels in South Korea like the resorts, the 5 Star hotel, apartments, the backpacker, the budget and the discount cater to the needs of the visitors. The hotels are located strategically and cater to the needs of the business and the leisure travelers.

About the Author

For all those who want more information on South Korea Hotels and for online reservation facility visit AsiaRooms.

can you write the summary about the history of Japan, Korea and China?

summary will contain at least 3 pages, and you can talk about the differences between those countries in their culture, food, clothes, language etc…and if you can include how they develop such as japan and korea are influenced by china. please help it urgent!!!!!

Are you kidding? My Chinese history class alone was divided into three trimesters and that only took us up to 1900. Is this something you should have done over break and put off? I suggest you start reading: http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/pro-history.htm

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/japan/pro-history.htm

http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/china/pro-history.htm

PROTECTED BY A KOREAN WAR VET Coffee Mug in Metallic Colors T-ShirtFrenzy offers over 30,000 designs on tons of products to offer millions of variations. You can search our store for something for everyone on your gift list or shop for yourself (our personal favorite). Please contact us with questions….

Korean War P-51 Mustang Mug …

Korean War Veterans – Awareness Magnet $3.50 Support our Korean War Veterans with this 4″ x 8″ magnetic sign. This sign adheres firmly to any flat metal surface. Great for display on your car or refrigerator….

Shiloh $3.14 When a mistreated beagle pup follows 11-year-old Marty Preston (Blake Heron) home one day, it sparks a passion in the boy that leads him into a web of moral and emotional turmoil. Marty knows the dog belongs to his irascible neighbor, Judd Travers (a spittin’ mean performance by Scott Wilson); he also knows Judd breaks local gaming laws and abuses his hounds. But Marty’s father (Michael Moria…

M.A.S.H. (1970 Film) $9.28 M*A*S*H (Soundtrack) by Johnny MandelThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply….

The Korean War part1

The Whosie-Whatsit War: How the French and Indian War Shaped US History

To call the French and Indian War America’s “forgotten war” would be misleading, since that doesn’t leave any good nicknames for the Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, or the Korean War. Otherwise, the title fits; the hugely influential French and Indian war, fought between Britain, France, several Native American nations, and the colonials, is responsible for the fact that, among other things, the US is down here and French Canada is way up there.

Up until the war started in 1754, Britain’s then-small strip of North American colonies was hemmed in on all sides by the Atlantic, the French to the north and west, and the Spanish down in Florida and parts of Georgia and Alabama. In fact, more territory in what is now the US had been claimed by France than by Britain. Imagine a French modern-day Missouri. Or Kentucky. Or Minnesota, don’tcha know. In the meantime, the Native Americans remaining in the areas had been forced to take sides – though many groups, such as the Iroquois League, made the most of the encroachment by negotiating secret agreements with both parties.

The trouble all started when a dispute arose over the Ohio Valley area. In 1753, at just 21 years of age, George Washington was assigned by the British governor of Virginia to go tell the French to skedaddle. With no military training or prior experience, he led his men through 500 miles of wilderness to complete his mission – only to be rebuffed by the French. Within a year, he was ordered to return to the Forks of the Ohio to build a competing British fort, only this time, he would be accompanied by Tanaghrisson, governor of the Delawares, Shawnees, and Mingos of the Ohio Valley. Along the way, Washington entered into a skirmish with the French just outside of modern-day Pittsburgh. The British won and everything went swimmingly until Tanaghrisson decided to slaughter the captured French officer and his wounded soldiers during negotiations.

Thus (unofficially) began the French and Indian War, which would ultimately result in the British takeover of all French territory in North America. The Brits fared horribly for the first few years due to an arrogant unwillingness to align themselves with natives and an overall snootiness toward their “inferior” colonial subjects. (Note to self: ranking colonial officers below British infantry is not a morale booster.) Actually, Britain’s decisive victory couldn’t have been achieved without the fact that Prussia happened to invade the Austrian protectorate of Saxony in 1756.

Before you start getting any wild ideas about Chaos Theory, keep in mind that Britain and France were engaged in the Seven Years’ War back in Europe, and that Prussia and Austria were British and French allies, respectively. Prussia’s invasion therefore forced Britain and France to commit themselves to fighting on the European mainland, giving their colonial subjects more freedom to duke it out amongst themselves. By 1758, after Britain had done some serious rethinking of how to treat its colonials, so many eager North American troops had enlisted that Britain’s forces swelled to 50,000 – which was roughly equal to the entire white population of the French territories. That, plus a little help from their ole friend smallpox, allowed the British to handily defeat its French and native rivals, winning Canada and all the land east of the Mississippi in the process.

In exchange for restoring Cuba to French-allied Spain, Britain also received the Spanish holdings in the Florida area. But according to Britain’s Proclamation of 1763, all land west of the Appalachians was to be preserved as Native American soil. The British had hoped to stem the westward tide of colonial settlers, but instead, the Proclamation just pissed everyone off. Fortunately for the colonials, the French were pretty bitter about their North American defeat, which came in mighty handy when the American Revolution rolled around just over a decade later. And thanks to George Washington’s intensive wilderness training, the rest was US history

.

About the Author

Shmoop is an online study guide for English Literature, Poetry and US history. Its content is written by Ph.D. and Masters students from top universities, like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale who have also taught at the high school and college levels. Teachers and students should feel confident to cite Shmoop.

To what extent was truman justified in not choosing to drop atomic bombs in the korean war?

This is a research topic I’m roughly investigating on at the moment. I’ve gotten several points why he chose to do so (problems with the soviet union etc). Are there any other reasonable points why it would have been beneficial to use atomic bombs in the korean war?
Thanks for your response Hall606.
but my teacher always emphasizes on not to discuss what would have happened, although it is reasonable for some issues.

When us Americans used the two Atomic weapons in 1945, no one country could retaliate but by the Korean war the Russians had perfected the Atomic bomb and might have used it on us had we drooped it in Korea. This stalemate is a classic example of how having an advantage in war is so important. Another example of this is when Regain became president Iran turned the hostages lose by the next day and that is because Regain more or less said, “he would not “blank” with them”. Today that would not happen because Iran is getting cocky and that is because they are close to having Atomic weapons. Sadly, in today’s world, any country who does not posses any kind of Atomic weapons or Atomic power will get no respect. Sad isn’t it?? The bottom line is Truman knew what he was doing the first time he used the Atomic weapons and he knew what he was doing when he did not use them during the Korean war. My opinion.

China/korea Join Forces Photo Mugs Korean Peoples Army troops join forces with the Chinese Peoples Volunteers. ….

Dance Of The Lion/korea Photo Mugs Dance of the Lion. The dancer in a lions costume is followed through the streets. ….

Inchon, Korea Photo Mugs A major seaport of Korea, formerly known as Chemulpo to some, Jinsen to others. Also a Korean nobleman in his distinctive hat. ….

Jumong Vol. 1 $50.99 JUMONG VOL 1 – DVD Movie…

Sad Love Story $119.98 SAD LOVE STORY – DVD Movie…

Korean history – cultural plagiarism

Discover the Charms of Seoul, Korea

The biggest as well as the capital city of the Republic of Korea (South Korea,) Seoul is an intriguing destination, situated in the mid western region of the Korean Peninsula, on the Han River, near the North Korean border, otherwise known as the de-militarised zone (DMZ), which in turn is a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. Spread over an area of 605 sq km, Seoul has been designated with the status of a Special City, and is directly under the administration of the national government.

Seoul’s history dates back to as early as 18 BC when Paekche Kingdom made Wiryeseong, which is today’s southeastern Seoul, as its capital. Later, Seoul became the capital of the Goryeo era during the 11th century. Seoul was then known as Southern Capital, which was later renamed Hanyang in 1394 when the Joseon dynasty made Seoul its capital.

In 1948, Seoul became the capital city of South Korea. Additionally, Seoul witnessed several wars and destruction during various phases of its history. But, Seoul has been now transformed into an international destination, with a sound commerce and sports scene. Despite its modern soaring buildings and sophisticated expressways, Seoul still retains its old world charm.

For those who want to enjoy the traditional culture of Korea, a visit to Seoul’s Insa-dong would be a great experience. Situated in the middle of the city, Insa-dong is an exciting as well as colorful place with alleys on either site.

All of the alleys seen here are packed with traditional restaurants and teahouses, cafes, and shops, where both traditional and precious items are put for sale. It is also home to a number of interesting art galleries such as Gana Art Gallery, Gana Art Center, and Hakgojae Gallery, which is the center of folk art. One of the best ways to tour these galleries is via the Art Center Bus, which takes you to more than 10 much famed art galleries in the region.

Of the marvelous attractions in Seoul that deserve a special mention is the Gyeongbok Palace, also known as Northern Palace. Built in 1395 by Taejo Seonggye Lee of the Joseon Dynasty, Gyeongbok is perhaps the most beautiful of all palaces in the area.

Sprawling over an area of 495,000 the palace’s highlights cover Geunjeongjeon – the main hall, Gyeonghoeru – the banquet pavilion, and Hyangwonjeong, which is island developed within a pond. Also, within the palace is the National Folk Museum, with some rare artifacts.

Another fabulous palace in Seoul is Deoksugung, which has to its credit an amazing mix of temples and gardens. Also, a great palace in the area is Changdeokgung Palace, which still serves as the residence of Royals. However, a guided tour is the required to take a visit to Changdeokgung Palace, the oldest palace in the city. Seoul’s incredible attractions also include a variety of ancient shrines and pagodas, such as Chongmyo Shrine and Chogyesa Temple. A specialty is that many of the shrines in Seoul are graced with beautiful Buddhist art.

Your visit to Seoul would not be complete without taking a tour to Dongdaemun Market, which is dubbed as the ‘Mecca of Fashion.’ With a large collection of shopping malls, Dongdaemun Market is a place to shop a full range of clothing items and that too at cheap prices. Both retail and wholesale shops can be seen here, and few among them are Freya Town, Doosan Tower, Migliore, Designer’s Club, Nuzzon, Migliore Valley, and Gwanghee Fashion Mall. Also, found in the vicinity is Dongdaemun Stadium, which is a great place to shop sporting materials.

Another popular market place in the area is Namdaemun Market, where everything from men and women’s apparels, children’s wear, and shoes to kitchenware, indigenous items, and imported goods can be shopped. Since this market area has such a great number of shopping malls, it is recommended to plan in advance prior to shopping.

A must-see attraction in Seoul is Mt. Namsan, a 252 m mountain located in the heart of the city. Mt Namsan and its surrounding areas have been maintained as a public park. Among the highlights of this symbolic mountain are the Palgakjeong Pavilion, Seoul Tower, Namsan Library, and a marine aquarium, and a botanical garden. You can reach the summit either via the hiking trail or through a cable car ride. Namsangol Traditional Korean Village is close to the mountain.

Other not to miss attraction in the area are War Memorial, National Theater, Korea House, Myong-dong Catholic Cathedral, Sejong Cultural Center, and Sejong Cultural Center.

About the Author

The Accor Group manages Hotels with the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, All Seasons, Ibis, Formule 1, Grand Mercure brands and offers services to corporate clients and public institutions: 23 million people in nearly 40 countries use a broad range of services engineered and managed by Accor Services.

which country has a longer history,china and korea?

who can tell me? Korea is country of more than 5000 years history?

China of course. One of the first four civilizations started in China. The civilization just spread to Korea.