Shambhavi's Shells

     The inequality faced by women in stories such as Pachinko , Cat in the rain , and Story of an Hour was not only forced upon them, but in a way it was reinforced by the women's misconceptions of their place in society.      As many are aware today, the oppression against women has been something enforced by society, especially men and patriarchal beliefs. What some may not know is that women have also brought the misconception upon themselves. In Pachinko , Sunja was constantly told by the women around her that she needed to devote herself to her husband “otherwise another woman will”. Yangjin, Sunja’s mother, herself was devoted to Sunja’s father, and enforced this thought process on Sunja too. To someone young and innocent, another woman’s words, especially someone the young girl looked up to, would be taken heavily, and possibly influence her mindset and perspective. In Pachinko , Sunja later meets Kyunghee, who has been in a patriarchal relationship with a dominating husb

      Under a diving board at what seems to be a community center, I bump into a girl who appears to be around 5'10 in height, East Asian, slender, with long black hair, and wearing a school's swim and dive merch. "Oh I'm so sorry, my name is ....." "I'm sorry could you repeat that?"      No response.     The mysterious girl turns around and walks into the locker room where I follow her but cannot seem to find her.     On my way up the stairs to leave the community center I see the girl again, this time at the top of a flight of stairs. I run up the stairs towards her but she walks away and turns a corner and now I've lost her again.     I walk out further to a set of bleachers where again at the top I see the figure of the girl. This time I ask the janitor nearby. "I keep running into this girl but every time I approach her she disappears."     "Look shes up on the bleachers"     As I turn my head towards the bleachers, the g

       "Stop shaking your leg; you'll shake the luck out" ( Crying in H mart ) these are words I've heard too often.     I grew up in a fairly Indian household where superstitions were a part of my daily life. "Don't cut your nails at night" or "Don't shake your legs" was something that I heard often and even unconsciously follow to this day.      While reading Crying in H mart , the author's mother reminded me of my mom at times, especially with how she brought up superstitions and other reminders to make sure Michelle, the author, presented herself the best she could.      While this quote at first might not be seen as beautiful, the words Michelle's mother uses are not something complex that has multiple meanings and takes hours to understand, rather they are simple words that come from a mother worried for her daughter's luck and future.     When this line first came up, I felt more connected to the book than I was before.