Differences between the East and West

In his play, M. Butterfly, David Henry Hwang stresses the differences between the East and the West. One major difference that is emphasized is the gender roles of women.

Women in the East were portrayed as being modest and simple. For example, when Gallimard first starts to kiss Song, she resists and tells him to go gently, justifying her actions by saying, “it all frightens me. I’m a modest Chinese girl”(40). Throughout the play Gallimard puts Song on a pedestal, being the perfect woman for him and her modesty only makes him want her more. This theme of modesty, being only one of the differences between Eastern and Western women, is repeated several other times in the play. After 20 years of being together, modesty can no longer be a valid reason for Song’s prudery, and you have to conclude that modesty must be a trait strongly associated with Eastern women for Gallimard to not question various times throughout their relationship.

Western women, especially in comparison to Eastern women, are shown as outspoken, independent and outwardly confident.  For instance, after Song invites Gallimard into her home, she is disgusted with the way his Western ways are corrupting her and says, “I try to be modern, to speak like a man, to hold a Western woman’s strong face up to my own… The forwardness of my actions makes my skin burn”(30-31). This reaffirms the distinction between East and West by showing the affect the Western way has on Song. She cannot handle being put into such a situation and is disgusted with her actions. After feeling the need to step out of character for Gallimard, Song is ashamed and “she feels inferior to them [Western people]”(31). Because she has been so easily influenced by the West, allowing Gallimard to change her and cause shame to herself, Song feels that she has become a subordinate to those of the west.

Internet and the Prospects of Online Social Networks

            In William Gibson’s novel, Pattern Recognition, one of the major themes is the increasing impact of the Internet and the prospects of online social networks on a person’s life. The growing dependency of the Internet is shown through the main character, Cayce’s life.

From the very beginning of the novel, we learn that Cayce posts regularly on a blog called F:F:F which “has become one of the most consistent places in her life…”(4). This emphasizes her reliance on the Internet for a stable and enjoyable life. She then completes her statement comparing the blog site to “a familiar café that exists somehow outside of geography and time zones”(4). A café is a common place that people meet frequently or go to on a routine basis, which is comparable to the Internet in which people in completely different places around the world can meet and chat. The Internet is a whole new environment that opens up the possibilities for people to meet that would never get the opportunity to before because of distance.

The growing dependency on the Internet comes with risks as well. As Cayce starts to put her opinions and information up on F:F:F, she comes to have a close relationship with another blogger, Parkaboy. It comes to a point where she trusts him as if she has known him in a real relationship, rather than purely through the Internet, and she even goes to Tokyo purely on the information of Parkaboy. “She’s spoken with Parkway twice before, and both times it’s been odd, in the way that initial telephone conversations with people you’ve gotten to know well on the Net, yet have never met, are odd”(139). Although Cayce places all her trust in Parkaboy, she hardly even knows him on a personal basis, so much that she has only heard his voice a couple times. Through the Internet, people begin to trust people that they don’t know in the real world. While it can be good that you can meet new people, it could also be bad because you don’t really know whom you are talking to.

In the book, Pattern Recognition, William Gibson prophesizes about a future where the Internet consumes a person’s life. Through Cayce’s life we see the positive and negative outcomes of the Internet.