James and Butler

While reading "Uncle" by Winston James, although initially shocked, I kept thinking about everything that someone could learn by examining the subconious of a 6 year old. Everything within the reading seemed to point to our society's definition of a man, who he should be, and what he should look like. In Jake's mind, height, muscles, hair, and penis size were the defining chacteristics of how he thought he was suppossed to look, how he thought a man was suppossed to look. The intense influence that his bother (and their 'games') had on him as well as his feelings about his uncle, suggest the influence of the environment on the child's behavior. Jake is learning from everything around him and realizing how inadaquate he is compared to both his brother and his uncle; yet what he doesn't realize is that he is only a child and therefore suppossed to be less developed. This examinatin of the psyche of a child shows easily they can beinfluenced, how they can be misunderstood, and even how much they can be confused by their own thoughts. Judith Butler comments on this idea as she says that "As a young person, I suffered for a long time, and I suspect many people have, from being told, explicitly or implicitly, that what I "am" is a copy, an imitation, a derivative example, a shadow of the real." Throughout the story, Jake compared himself and older brother and his uncle imitating what they did and what they looked like in an attempt to try and be who he thought he was suppossed to be-them. He thought that because he was smaller and shorter he was doing something wrong. Jake constantly wonders if what he thinks about and the things that happen to him are the same things that happen to his uncle; Jake is constantly looking for the approval of those around him to justify his thoughts and the actions of his body.

While thinking about the psyche of a child, I also began to wonder about the validity of their claims of the truth. I had, for a long time, thought that the innocence of a child made their claims believeable and validated their thoughts. But I never really stopped to consider the idea that maybe a child isn't as innocent as everyone thinks. Although they may be too naive to realize what they are thinking about/doing, children are always learning from those around them and immitating their environment. One of the first things I ever learned about children was that they would always copy what they are shown; whether it be good or bad. "Uncle" opened my eyes to the idea that children try to please those around them by copying others actions and putting their feelings of fear and guilt aside in hopes that they will not be punished for things they think are bad. One interesting thing I thought about while reading "Uncle" was Jake's constant attempts to hide his actions and feeling from those around him and to keep his brothers secrets because of an innate sense of guilt that he seemed to have inside him.