AMNESIA

Adrienne Cecile Rich

Adrienne Cecile Rich was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 16, 1929, the elder of two daughters. Her father, Dr. Arnold Rich, was a medical professor at John Hopkins University, and her mother, Helen Jones, was trained as a concert pianist though she abandoned this career to devote herself to her domestic responsibilities and to teach. Rich’s father, a man of science, was extremely well versed in the humanities and steeped Rich in the tradition of his favorite English poets, such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and John Keats. Her relationship with her father dominated both her upbringing and her subsequent poetic career.

In 1953, she married Harvard University economist Alfred H. Conrad. Two years later, she published her second volume of poetry, The Diamond Cutters. After having three sons before the age of thirty, Rich gradually changed both her life and her poetry.  Throughout the 1960s she wrote several collections, including Snapshots of a Daughter-in-law (1963) and Leaflets (1969). The content of her work became increasingly confrontational—exploring such themes as women's role in society, racism, and the Vietnam War. The style of these poems also revealed a shift from careful metric patterns to free verse. In 1970, Rich left her husband, who committed suicide later that year.        

Adrienne Rich is an important figure of feminist literature. 'Amnesia' is an important topic of her writing. She has written essay on Amnesia in which she requests feminists to become historically conscious, to become strong enough to fight against the weakness such as amnesia and nostalgia. She also emphasizes on the significance of the feminist literature in transforming received ideas of America and American culture. Amnesia (forgetfulness/blankness) uses references to the 1941 movie Citizen Kane to provide focus for her poem. The poem is a critique of American Dream that brought fragmentation in both American culture and individuals. The dream that chased away the past happiness and familial (ancestral) reliability no longer dwelled in the Americans. After it has distanced man from man, it has now split the man from his own self. America no longer remains a land of pure galore.

The speaker anticipates ‘when we are getting to that scene…” of “the mother handing over her son” to the doomed fate of chasing a so called ‘American Dream’ of self prosperity and economic security. She is certain that a very uncertain future is waiting to devour (consume/destroy) the little innocent joys of her family.

The speaker is a representative voice of a woman/mother whose world is confined within the frame of the window. She has no access to the world outside the window i.e. into the outer world ruled by men. Her voice is unheard, and is in fact, ignored to cease in the cold damp snow like everything that is made blurred including her self-identity. The speaker views the outer atmosphere through the window, where her son is being robbed from her by the so-called patriarchal culture. The snow outside the house symbolizes the harsh world awaiting her and her innocent son. As the snow buries everything underneath it, so does the culture. As the poem is titled Amnesia, the speaker warns the readers not to forget their past lest (in case) they will loose their identity.

CITIZEN KANE

                  

Citizen Kane, released in 1941 and directed by Orson Welles presents multimillionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion, Florida, Xanadu, speaking a single word: "Rosebud". He was the greatest newspaper tycoon who ever lived. His wealth was so immense that he built himself the most lavish home ever known, Xanadu - which is where he died. The newsreel (documentary) tells the story of Kane's humble beginnings and his rise to prominence as a media tycoon and controversial public figure. He ultimately lost everything, and retreated from the public eye until his death. In an attempt to figure out the meaning of this word, a reporter named Jerry Thompson tracks down the people who worked and lived with Kane; they tell their stories in a series of flashbacks that reveal much about Kane's life but not enough to unlock the riddle of his dying breath.