The individual efforts to traverse a world that does not accommodate one’s social relation to society as a whole is a unique experience. The literary works, which include, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, Signs Preceding the End of the World , by Yuri Herrera, and  Excess- the factory by Leslie Kaplan each provide unique narratives that contribute to the broader idea of “Self and Other”. This idea of “Self and Other” explores the idea of individualism in the midst of otherness, has a sense of ambiguity which is evident throughout the selected works as the works have minimal relation in regards to subject matter, whether it be gender, race, or culture they each come together to combat a social order that represses divergency. 

 

The poetic novel Citizen, by Claudia Rankine, sheds light on the issue of racial prejudice which couldn’t be any more transparent. The short narratives offer insights into the reality of a marginalized group living within a world structured to accommodate the broader domain of society, white America. For instance “ at the front door the bell is a small round disc that you press firmly. When the door finally opens, the woman standing there yells, at the top of her lungs. get away from my house! What are you doing in my yard?… Do you have an appointment? She says back. Then she pauses. Everything pauses. Oh, she says followed by, oh, yes that’s right. I am sorry.”(Page 18) the reaction of the therapist exemplifies the unfortunate reality that African Americans endure. The context of the situation involves the narrator simply attending their therapy appointment, which should be a typical encounter without any inconvenience. However, this is far from the case as the narrator is greeted in a hostile manner that is reserved for those of ill doing, but the therapist’ subconscious biases took full swing. The mannerisms of the therapist are due in part to longstanding stereotypes and generalizations that cloud African American communities, who are portrayed as figures attributed with that of violence and irrespective behavior. Claudia Rankine’s Poetic Novel delves into the thematics of self and other as the African American community is an entity outside the confines of mainstream society as issues continue to be pervasive. Throughout the first section of the novel, the narrator runs through profusions of microaggressions that are told through the second person. While the majority of the microaggressions are essentially the experiences of the narrator, the one instance in which a microaggression isn’t targeted towards is when the narrator recollects a crucial occurrence in which they take the backseat. As the narrator states “your friend is speaking to your neighbor when you arrive home. The four police cars are gone. Your neighbor has apologized to your friend and is now apologizing to you… you clumsily tell your friend that the next time he wants to talk on the phone he should just go in the backyard. He looks at you a long minute before saying he can speak on the phone whenever he wants. Yes, of course you say. Yes, of course.”(page 15) what may have appeared as something insignificant to the narrator which is evident when they recklessly tell their friend to take the call elsewhere, it exhibits the saddening reality that the African American community must face within a country that preaches freedom and equality, yet its African American citizens must live with the reality that the color of their skin evokes fear and violence. Despite the narrator also being African American, their advice to take the call someplace else may at face value seem like mere advice, but hidden beneath those few words it essentially tells the narrator’s friend that they come off menacingly simply because of their skin color. The narrator threw out all logic of reasoning and chose to adhere to the whims of a social order that seeks to repress and establish a discriminant form of social control. The narrator unknowingly becomes not the victim, but the aggressor.  

 

Yuri Herrera’s Signs Preceding the End of the World, explores the journey of a young Mexican girl crossing through the Mexican-American Border in search of her brother who’s gone to reclaim land in the north. As Makina pursues her goal, she falls to the whims of a society that is vastly different to her own. The slow descent into this foreign land alters her scope of reality.  A notable instance of a gradual change to the environment is the experiences of her brother. For instance “it’s really lonely here, but there’s lots of stuff, I’m going to bring you some when I come. I just have to take care of this and then I’ll be back, you’ll see… and the third if it existed, might’ve made the same claim, this way: I said I was fine so stop asking” essentially, Makinas brother had conformed to the culture of the north in an instant. Through the brace of letters, Makina’s brother displayed the archetypal immigrant coming to the north. like any other immigrant there’s a sense of enthusiasm in a foreign land renowned with chance and opportunity. However, Makinas brother had lost his individuality along the way falling steeply into the sociocultural environment of the north which is evident through his final letter in which he starkly responded with “ I’m fine. I have a job now.”. What had been a descriptive letter took a sharp 180 degree turn to a letter of merely a few words which assert the gradual change that immigrants face in the midst of a new culture. The single most important event that transpired was the detainment of Makina along with her fellow comrades. What ensued was the culmination of the shared frustrations and struggles that mexican immigrants faced. For example “we are to blame for this destruction, we who don’t speak your tongue… We who came to take your jobs and who dream of wiping your shit, who long to work all hours… We are the dark, the short, the greasy, the shifty, the fat, the anemic. We the barbarians”(page 99-100) the repetitiveness of Makinas use of  “we” is the vital aspect as she emphasizes that these struggles and experiences aren’t merely her own, rather they are the struggles that the broader domain of Mexican immigrants experience on a constant basis because of the perpetuation of stigmas against Mexican immigrants. The issue of immigration continues to be a constant and controversial issue within the United States, simply on the premise of legality, but they are as human as American citizens, yet are the subjects of a government that will not validate them and will consistently undermine their existence as well as their efforts to sustain themselves. 

 

Leslie Kaplans Excess — The Factory raises the issues pertaining to life as a factory worker. The experiences and deliberations illustrated through the narrator’s perspective are merely categorical as much of the workforce experiences a sense of insignificance and monotony. The self is lost within a world that works outside the constructs of time as workers exact the same movement endlessly for every shift. For instance “You work nine hours, making holes in parts with a machine. You place the part, bring down the lever, take out the part, and raise the lever again. There’s paper everywhere. Time is outside, in things.” Essentially, the process described is simplistic in nature that requires minimal effort, yet the nature surrounding a factory place is lifeless. There isn’t any room for improvement or room for ambition whatsoever due to the fact that a factory employs a substantial amount of workers assigned to do a simple task repetitively. When the narrator remarks “ time is outside, in things” they personify the construct of time signaling the strenuous and extensive investments that workers make in order to produce a product. The narrator longs to escape a reality in which they have to sacrifice their personal ambitions as well as time in order to merely survive in society.   

 

The self’ preservation within a societal structure that reeks of uniformity and inescapability is a central theme of the broader idea of Self and Other. The three central texts which are, Yuri Herrera Signs Preceding The End of The World, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, and Leslie Kaplans Excess — The factory, each have differing subject focus’, but each share the fundamental aspect of what it means to be undermined and cast away from a social hierarchy that negates their fundamental agency. There are a multitude of instances present within Herrera’ Signs Preceding The End of The World and Kaplan’ Excess — the Factory that exhibit innate agency being stripped of. For instance “one of the first to strike it rich after going north came back to the village all full of himself, all la-di-da, all fancy clothes and watches and new words he was able to say into his new phone.” (page 44)Makinas recollection of this instance in of itself is a manifestation of being immersed into a culture and social order that is ubiquitous throughout society.  The essence of community and the cultural values that resonate with Mexican culture and society have dissipated into the thin air leaving a new persona fabricated from the typical lavish lifestyle of the North. The poeticism of Excess — The Factory illustrates this conforming and helplessness demeanor that the narrator makes ever so present, illustrating the bleakness of everyday life conceding to a life of being a factory worker. For example “ You’re in the workshop with the assembly line. You’re sitting down. The line is going to start. Palpable air, blank memory. You’re there, you’re sitting. Stool. Cartons. The ceiling is very high. There are pillars. The workshop floats a little. Thick air, high ceiling. The line moves on, flat, in the middle of the boxes.” The essence of this quote shows the almost mechanical and robotic lifestyle the narrator appears to have. Their vivacious descriptions pertaining to their environment isn’t purposeless, rather it serves as a testament to the stripping of the narrators’ innate agency. So much of the narrator’s time is spent living within and working in a factory that once they have re-entered the bound of social reality it’s as if they hadn’t left the factory. The narrator lives life through the lens of insignificance due to his lives’ investment in a factory. 

 

The manner in which all three text convey this broad idea of self and other is not only different, whether it be poeticism, or through a single narrative, rather through the submersion of different social groups within society.The written works of yuri herrera Signs Preceding The End of The World, and Leslie Kaplans Excess — The Factory explore the protagonists in traversing their reality whether it be in an attempt to maintain their individuality or longing to break the monotonous circle of life. The manner in which each text approaches this idea of nonconformity is vastly different. For instance, in Yuri Herrera’ Signs Preceding The End of The World, the protagonist endures a long trip along the Mexican-American border vowing to not lose sight of their objective despite the intoxicating ambience of the north. However as the novel progressed the protagonist seemingly adheres to the archetypal mexican immigrant. Whilst Herreras novel regards getting lost within mainstream society, Leslie Kaplans Excess — The Factory, tackles the issues and insight of an individual that has seemingly lost all motion of life and time within the realm of a factory. The narrator, unlike the protagonist from Herrera’s novel does not gradually transcend the lines of otherness, rather, their selfhood is stripped of them due to the taxing nature that is a factory job. Claudia Rankine’s citizen subject focus was in complete contrast to the other two novels as it dealt with the reduction of african americans in day to day life in the united states, enduring the masses of microaggressions or even overt racism that displays the normalization of these attitudes towards african americans. 

 

Whilst all three texts share a multitude of similarities and differences they each have their own unique resonation to the central idea of “self and other”. What’s most interesting to see within the three works is the relationship between mainstream society and marginalized groups that endure a loss of agency and/or othered to the confines of the outer rim of society. For instance Herreras Signs Preceding The End of The World and kaplans Excess — The Factory  explores identity in a drastically different manner, for instance,  Makina was a figurehead of her village, a bridge of communication for her people , but her journey to the United States was a slow ascension to the inevitable conformity to the culture of the north. Meanwhile, the narrator of Excess — The Factory was at a standstill in life lacking any sense of individualistic thought. One of the path either resulted in losing individuality or at a starting point of lacking individuality. Citizen, drifted in a different direction from the other two works as the individual self is undermined through a string of microaggressions directed towards the narrator. Furthermore, the most interesting aspect is the selection of marginalized groups which further evokes and propels this idea of self and other through a plethora of other social groups which is not restricted to simply one social group. 

 

The essence of comparing all three texts is to illustrate the broadness and applicability of “Self and Other” within a multitude of situations. Being lost and falling in accordance to the whims of a social order is an essential aspect that all three pieces of literary works tackle whether it be finding individuality in the midst of uniformity or eventual social conformity. Though a major point of conflict in the world of the past, a sense of agency hasn’t been any stronger with the coming generations of human civilized society.