James and Butler

Uncle was one of the most captivating and interesting reads I have come across this semester. The most important technique was the use of a child's voice to narrate a story through his (6-year-old-boy) perspective. Using this tone, Winston James skillfully captivates the reader's attention, emulating the excitement and anxiety that Jake (the 6-year-old narrator) is experiencing throughout the short story. Uncle reflects on the psyche of children, how readily they are influenced, how easily they can be misunderstood, and how much actually goes on inside their innocent minds.

While reading the short story, I was initially shocked at Jake's casual recounting of his experiences with his older brother Vince, who masturbates in front of him and plays Barber, a game in which Vince "shaves" Jake with his penis. To Jake, Vince's penis is magical as it can change size. Again, just as we read in the story about Josh in his psychoanalysis session, size is very important to young boys. Size matters to them. Vince is amazing because he can grow his dick to a larger size, a size that Jake is unable to achieve. Similarly, Jake describes his uncle in awe, explaining that he has to "look up and up" to see his face, for Uncle James is very tall. At the same time, Jake's exploration of the penis and its significance sheds light on how our perception of the penis (and sex, gender, and so on) are shaped by the environment rather than innate thought processes. Jake is learning that a big penis is a better penis.

The main idea of the short story, however, revolves around how much of what a child says can really be interpreted as the truth. Near the end of the short story, Jake's mother walks in on him and his uncle and thinks that Jake was being sexually abused. In reality however, Jake was actually crying for deeper reasons, urinating all over the bathroom, including on his uncle. Nevertheless, at the end, his mom interprets his tears and urination as evidence of sexual abuse by his uncle. Little does she know that Jake actually is sexually harassed by his older brother Vince. Can we really take children testimony into account in a court of law? Leading questions and biases can lead to answers deviant from the truth (just as his mother's preconceived suspicion of sexual harassment led her to interpret Jake's silence as evidence of the abuse). Since much of Jake's thought processes were stemming from his unconscious anxieties and desires, perhaps psychoanalysis can be used in order to learn the truth.

The truth, in regards to gender identity, is what Butler deals with in her essay, challenging the notion of any sort of permanence or normativity. Why must someone come out of the closet? Are they allowed to go in? Butler argues that the words "I am" suggest a sense of permanence and immovability. Is somebody always heterosexual or homosexual? Should the words heterosexual and homosexual even be used, since defining such terms leads to the notion that people are either this or that.

Butler, using a very academic and persuasive tone and diction, points out that gender identity and gender roles are really a drag. We are not one thing or another, but we play gender roles. Her arguments lead us to reflect on the spectrum of gender that we discussed in class. Also she alerts us about the use of language ("I am," "pretend") that reflects on heteronormative mindsets. In most psychology textbooks, language and thought are studied together, as one cannot exist without the other. Therefore, perhaps Butler is challenging some phrases in our language in order to enable us to change our thoughts regarding gender.