In his essay \u201cThe Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality\u201d, Hayden White explores the central elements constituting a narrative. He states that a full narrative is achieved by \u201cexplicitly invoking the idea of a social system to serve as a fixed reference point by which the flow of ephemeral events can be endowed with specifically moral meaning\u201d (White, 25). I would like to examine the contents of the finding aid on each \u201cbox\u201d of collection about Japanese American internment, and argue that while the descriptions of certain box manifest certain traits within White\u2019s judgement of a narrative, none can be defined as a full narrative.<\/p>\n
Time reference can be found in each \u201cbox\u201d of collections in the titles of the materials, but to a varying degree. Box 1 contains quarterly and semi-annual report on internment camps, and therefore lists the most accurate dates in chronological order, from \u201c1942 October 1\u201d to \u201c1946 June 30\u201d. Other 3 Boxes all have materials that are only labeled with year, and none of them is recorded chronologically. Therefore, only Box 1 exhibits the \u201cflow of events\u201d as described by White.<\/p>\n
The characteristic of \u201ca social system . . . as a fixed reference point\u201d can also only be seen in Box 1. The reports on the internment camp build upon the framework of \u201cgeneral aspects of life in interment camps\u201d, while the materials in other boxes describe a variety of social situations of Japanese internees.<\/p>\n
Finally, \u201cmoral meaning\u201d is implicated in the descriptions in Box 1. Words like \u201cfears and anxieties\u201d and \u201cdisturbance\u201d, which suggest the fragile mental states of the internees and invoke readers\u2019 sympathy for their circumstance, are implicitly taking a moral standpoint over the internment of Japanese Americans.<\/p>\n
Based on the examination of connections between the descriptions of materials within the boxes of collections and the statement made by White, one may come to the conclusion that the descriptions in Box 1 constitute a complete narrative. However, one important element mentioned by White is missing. The descriptions in Box 1 do not \u201cso much conclude as simply terminate\u201d (White, 21). The description of the last material within the box simply states that the \u201creport documents the end\u201d of the agency that handled the interment of Japanese Americans, which implied the end of interment. However, the descriptions simple end without elaborating on the conclusions like the effects of the agency\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the descriptions in Box 1 serves as an incomplete historical narrative that draws the general picture of the hardships of Japanese American internment but fails to wrap up as a story. An addition of conclusion such as the emotions of the internees or the social impacts of ending the internment can lead to the completion of the narrative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In his essay \u201cThe Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality\u201d, Hayden White explores the central elements constituting a narrative. He states that a full narrative is achieved by … Continue reading “Week 2 Post: Narrative in the Finding Aid on Collection about Japanese American Internment”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}