Karen Tei Yamashita is an American based Japanese author who has wide knowledge in literature and creative writing. Her book, the tropic of Orange has outlined many critical aspects of literature and creative writing. This book was written to explain magical events that had occurred due to the introduction of oranges in Los Angeles (Gier 10). In this book, the author uses the various jobs done by the characters to outline her ideas. One important theme in this book is the theme of labor. The main reason for this is that it was a contributing factor to some situations that had occurred in the novel.
In this novel, the author tries to express her ideas and her personal opinions towards labor. One important thing to note is that she is aware of the importance of labor in the society. According to her, labor is important since it enables one to survive. In addition to this, labor adds value to the welfare of a person. Engagement in the labor sector makes a person to be busy therefore preventing him from doing illegal and destructive things. Rodriguez is another character who is important in making contributions about labor in the novel. His argument regarding the will to do jobs was in contrast to the thoughts and opinions of some characters in the novel (Karen 159).
The author of this novel explains the various forms of labor using different characters. For instance, Gabriel’s position could not be categorized as physical labor. This is because the nature of his job did not require any use of manpower. For this reason, his position has been categorized as mental labor. The author also points out that there are people who do their jobs diligently while others just talk without working. The latter usually have plans of working but eventually do nothing. Another example of labor that is explained in the novel is the case of Rafaela. In this case, she exercises some kind of physical labor since she is involved in cleaning and making the compound neat every day (Murashige 45).
A close look at this book shows that there were two major forms of labor that were under discussion. These were physical labor and mental labor. The author of this novel seemed to support physical labor more than mental labor. According her, physical labor was important in increasing the level of productivity. The novel further outlines that the United States of America had a higher remuneration of physical laborers than Mexico. The author further adds that people in Mexico seemed to degrade the physical laborers (Gier 26). They thought that engaging in physical labor is lowering one’s dignity.
The value of labor has been taken on different perspectives by the characters in the novel. For instance, the ideas of one character relating to labor differed with others. The ideas of Bobby regarding labor were in contrast to what Rodriguez. Bobby argued that people worked in order to live. This can be broadened to mean that labor is the source of survival. In order to purchase basic commodities, one had to work. The basic commodities would be bought using the money received from labor.
The front page of the book shows that the story involves the growth and sale of oranges. In this book, the future of Los Angeles has been outlined by the use of realism that is magical in nature. Many readers have argued that this has made the book to be more interesting since it has made it unique. More so, the use of magical realism creates more anxiety as the reader goes through the book (Frances 20). This therefore gives the reader the suspense that leads him/her to read more and more until the whole attention captured. The other thing that has made the book to be interesting is the use of symbolism. This has helped to show the reactions of the various participants included in the book. The use of symbols in the book has helped to explain the labor in the orange fields. The actions of the various laborers have been clearly outlined in order to ensure that the reader understands the contents in the book and the context (Gier 15).
The values of creative writing have been outlined in this book especially where she uses personal opinion to analyze the labor activities that are undertaken in the book. The author of this book has intertwined two story lines with the same theme in order to make the book more appealing to the readers. The good thing about this is that it does not cause confusion among them. In addition to this, there has been a connection of words that makes the parallel stories outlined in the book more creative.
In this book, the author explains the labor situation in areas consisting of oranges. Her ideas clearly show that labor availability in this place was not sufficient due to the political, social and environmental problems that were experienced by the workers. For instance, it was difficult for the workers to work in the fields since the environment was mostly sunny (Cheng 20). The author also shows that most of the people who faced these conditions were those who strived to sustain their lives. It is clear from the book that most of the people who underwent harsh labor conditions were the poor and the middle income earners. The rich had the power and capacity to search for better paying jobs that did not call for intensive struggling.
The author also outlines that the labor situation in the Tropic of Orange was somehow harsh. The laborers had to be treated with a sense of command to ensure that they work to the best of their ability. The people who owned these farms were aware that the productivity of the workers will depend on their effort and the time they employ their man power. Due to this, they employed people for long hours during the day. In a day, the laborers used to get little time to have their lunch and take a break before resuming. At some point, this seemed to lower the morale of many workers since they felt like prisoners. On the other hand, the laborers did not want to lose their jobs since it was the only means of livelihood they had. This is the major reason why they abided by the laws of the owners of the farms (Gier 17).
One of the laborers that have been outlined in the book is Arcangel. Apart from being a laborer, Arcangel was also a performer that was based in the north of Mazatlan. The introduction of orange in Los Angeles led to the occurrence of many events. For instance, there were some people who came from other areas to explore the available opportunities that were present in Los Angeles. Many people had big expectations about these events much to their amusements. These expectations did not go well for some of them. The Harbor Freeway crisis is an event that occurred as a result of the introduction of orange in Los Angeles (Cheng 25). Here, the author outlines how some highways of Hollywood were engulfed with disaster.
In trying to explain the labor situation outlined in the book, it is important to analyze the various types of characters involved. For instance, some of the participants were gangsters who had reformed. This people were feared by the business people since they could affect the sales made. Some of the gangsters were also associated with causing chaos in the towns. The other participants who are important in this book were the homeless. These people were striving to find the best out of the new job in the streets of Los Angeles. Most of them wanted to get enough money to find a place to live. The oranges that had grown in the fields almost grew under normal conditions. This is the major reason why some of the homeless people found it hard to distinguish a good orange from a dangerous one (Frances 29). Some of the homeless people followed the happenings that related to the sale of the oranges in Los Angeles.
The other group of people that has been analyzed in this book is entrepreneurs. The author further outlines how the tropic of cancer was connected to the introduction of the oranges in Los Angeles. The disaster caused in the highways therefore originated from the tropic of cancer (Gier 20). This shows that the oranges from tropic of cancer affected many people who walked along the streets of Los Angeles. However, from the ideas outlined by the author, it is clear that this problem was only partial.
The pattern used in the Tropic of Orange responds to some representations made in immigrations. The reason for this is that there are some people who moved from Los Angeles to the north due to the introduction of orange in Los Angeles. For instance, Rafaela, who was earlier working in Mexico, shifted to another location. In his new place, he joined one of the laborers, named Arcangel (Cheng 26). This example shows that there was some great deal of immigration brought up in the book. In addition to this, the book explains the reasons that made Rafaela to abandon his earlier job. Both Arcangel and Rafaela were happy about the idea of working together.
This book also responds to some representations made by other works in relation to media. A good example of this case is made by taking a brief look at Gabriel. According to the author, Gabriel is a journalist whose work is to report news in some parts of Los Angeles. He is also involved in communicating the events that take place in Los Angeles (Frances 37). He therefore plays a major role in outlining the orange sales that take place in the streets. He covers a story of how the homeless people of Los Angeles sleep in the best available places in order to sustain their lives. He also argues that these people usually sleep in old and abandoned vehicles, mostly Mercedes Benz. He is therefore attributed for bringing many unrelated events together.
This book has also captured the social aspects of the people living in Mexico and Los Angeles. This is outlined by the existence who are jobless and others who have jobs. The author argues that the jobless roamed in the cities looking for any available opportunities (Gier 33). Some of them gazed at the traffic of vehicles to see if there could be anything good that could come out of it. On the other hand, the people who had jobs included Gabriel and Rafael. The people who had jobs came from diverse backgrounds, thereby integrating multicultural practices in the book.
Towards the end of the book, the author tries to bring the various characters together. She has done well to bring together people who are from diverse backgrounds. In addition to this, the book does not cover only one place. It covers Los Angeles as well as some parts of Mexico. This helps the reader to shift his mind and to get the zeal to add more knowledge about the subject matter. We are able to know that the Rafael notices oranges that seem not to be normal in the tropic of cancer. The author tells that Gabriel had planted many trees in the tropic of cancer. After seeing the suspicious oranges, Rafael started doubting the trees planted in the tropic of cancer (Cheng 29).
The book also outlines the trans-national nature of Los Angeles by showing how the oranges were sold in the streets. This is clearly explained by the fact that there existed many buyers as well as sellers in the streets of Los Angeles. The oranges that were from the north were sold in the streets of Los Angeles. There were few people who were aware that the oranges had been poisoned. This is the major reason why there were many buyers who purchased the oranges (Gier 38). The consumption of these oranges led to an accident in one of the busy streets of Los Angeles. This made many motorists to be stranded for a long time. However, the authorities involved cleared the mess and business resumed normality after riots come to an end.
In conclusion, this article is educating to its readers as well as other creative writers that make contributions in literature. This is due to the fact that the author has indirectly warned people to be cautious about the actions they take. This shows that before purchasing items in the market place, one should be very careful to avoid buying things that are harmful to your health. This book should be given a good rating since it has met most of the elements of literature. Many readers have argued that the twisting of ideas and the use of symbolism has made the book so interesting. More so, the creativity used in this novel has made it more famous among the users of literature.
Karen, Yamashita. Tropic of Orange. California. Coffee House Press. 1997. Print.
Cheng, Wendy. Karen Tei Yamashita: A Twist on the Mix. New York. Blake Publishers. 2000. Print.
Gier, Jean. An Interview with Karen Tei Yamashita.Jouvert: Journal of Postcolonial Studies. 1998. Print.
Frances, Tran. Slipping Between the ‘Magical Real’ and the ‘Science-Fictional’ in the Globalized World of Karen Tei Yamashita’s Tropic of Orange. New York. Macktown Press. 2000. Print.
Murashige, Michael. Textbook Site for the Heath Anthology of American Literature. New York. Blake Publishers. 2006. Print.
