Homebase
by: Shawn Wong
The character in Homebase that I would like to reflect on is Rainsford Chan and the position he had taken particularly in chapter five when Mr. Chan meets an old Indian man on the island of Alcatraz. What has attracted me to this particular chapter and encounter is Shawn Wong’s description of the setting of the event described on pages eighty and eighty-one.
There are two main reasons I have chose to blog on this particular character at this particular event in the novel. Both reasons are of personal interest and both reasons give me recall to events taken place in my life. The first, my ex wife and I spent our honeymoon in the San Francisco Bay area and spent a day touring the island of Alcatraz. I can remember four-inch-thick steel reinforced doors. Rainsford states, “I saw the man that Christmas while I was leaning on a four-inch-thick door that led to an isolation cell” (p. 80).
My second reason is a more personal one that troubles me to speak about. Nine years ago I was placed in a holding cell at the Honolulu Police Department to wait for a ride to pick me up. I was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. Reading the setting Rainsford described before his conversation had taken place with the Indian man he was speaking about people shivering, being cold and laying on the concrete floor. The setting was surreal. It had brought that horrendous moment of my life straight to the front of my imagination so blatantly that I could almost feel the cold shivers run up my spine. Homebase is an awesome novel that has brought insight and in some instances confusion to my life. Chapter five has brought me to an area of my personal life that I try to forget. I know first hand and I can empathize with what Rainsford had experience that Christmas of 1969. More than empathize I could have been him that night of my life.
The old man Rainsford was carrying on a conversation with chain smoked. At one point the Indian man went for a cigarette and could not locate a match. Finally the old man asks Rainsford for a match and he replies, “Here’s a whole box. Keep warm. Merry Christmas” (p. 84). I imagine in this situation these men were in something as simple as a match had to of been a cherished item of interest for those men and women in that situation. It shows me the kind-hearted nature that Rainsford Chan exudes towards the people he chooses to bring into his heart.
I really enjoyed this book. I was asked in another class I am taking at Miami to keep a journal on a novel of my choice. I asked if the novel could be one that we are reading for another class and the instructor said that was permissible and so I chose Homebase. I have found a number of confusing comments in this book. My motivation for journaling on this novel is to work out the confusion and receive a better understanding of the work.
In closing I want to express that it touches me even more how the author waited until the end of the novel to leave such an impact on me. This chapter alone will be the cornerstone that will always remind me of the novel Homebase by Shawn Wong.
Wow, I'm so glad you enjoyed this novel enough to choose it for your journal! :)
ReplyDeleteI love this chapter; it's probably my favorite. I think the inter-ethnic connection established by the two men, along with the connection of the two islands, both used for painful imprisonment, is so powerful. And the Native American character teaches Rainsford some things about his identity, history, and home that he needs to know. Love it.
Steven,
ReplyDeleteFirst I'd like to say thank you for sharing one of your personal experiences that remains somewhat painful for you. I know for myself, I have had several experiences that I would like to permanently block out of my memory but at times I will read something, see something, or even smell something that will bring those memories flooding back into the forefront of my mind. I like that you were able to relate so well to that scene in the book. By drawing on personal experience, you were able to project yourself into the book and better relate to the character. I think there is something to be said for being on an island; on top of that, Alcatraz used to house some of the worst criminals this country had-I wonder if there is any hidden symbolism in that particular location being used that I'm missing. It is isolating. It is not attached in any way to the mainland. It is adrift. I think that alone can symbolize how Rainford felt. He was alone, adrift in his search for self and "home", and isolated from mainstream America. As with many of the characters we have read about, since they do not look "American" it is assumed that they are not.
Well done!