life in a nutshell...

Once upon a time there was a girl named Brie.  She was a blonde-haired girl who lived in the small town of Chico, California with her Mom, Dad, and Brother.  She was a shy girl in elementary and middle school but as she grew up she became confident in herself and became very outgoing.  In High School she was a typical girl - a cheerleader who was interested in art, music, hanging out with her friends, and going to High school dances.  During her senior year of High school her parents divorced.  When she moved away for college, she rebelled and partied.  As a consequence she moved back to her hometown where she enjoyed the crazy college life for a while but eventually grew up and began to focus.  She now lives in Chico, goes to school, has a job and an internship, and looks forward to the future and where it might take her.

My life in a nutshell seems pretty much like it flows in a linear direction.  I am sure if you were to look at it in more detail there would be story lines that stem from "my life in nutshell" and that would take my life a little off course.  A little off course but not as to say it is chaotic or follows "the chaos theory".  The chaos theory describes the behavior of certain, nonlinear dynamical systems that may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions.  As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random.  This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved.  Therefore, if I understand the theory correctly we are all subject to the chaos theory, and those who believe this theory probably feel that our every move is affected by it. 

Jasmine, a novel by Barahti Mukherjee is written in nonlinear form.  The story is not described as mine was from start to finish, a straight line, from beginning to end.  Barahti Mukherjee writes her story from a different angle than other writers (like myself) who write in simple, traditional story-telling manner. I think this nonlinear type of story-telling is interesting.  It keeps the reader on their toes and focused because if you miss a beat you will be lost and confused on where the novel is going.  If you space out for 2 pages, you will be reading about a girl named Kali, instead of a girl named Jasmine.  Just like in watching a film where this type of story-telling is used, if you don't pay attention you will be lost and the story will not make sense in the end.  This type of story-telling seems like it would be more challenging for an author then the traditional, linear, beginning to end type of story.  It seems also as though some stories are just supposed to be told this way.  The line must curve certain ways and twist and tangle - like a roller coaster - in order for the story to be understood correctly by the reader.  I liked how one person described it in class.  He said something along the lines of this:  its like a zig-zag line, but if you zoom in really close its a small straight line (or so the story is a small, linear story inside of a big chaotic, nonlinear story).

The archetypal American themes of fluidity, movement, and transformation as other authors follow are not prevalent in this novel unless you zoom in real close to follow one story line or focus on one of Jasmines many identities.  This novel is written and the characters are brought about in ways which don't involve linear fluidity. It is neither a good thing or a bad thing, it just depends on the reader and what style of writing he or she prefers.  Also, what style of characters he or she prefers.  Jasmine is not a character who grows and learns, she is one who changes and forgets her past.  Jasmine's life story could only be told the way that Mukherjee told it because it is told in the nonlinear way that Jasmine lived her life.

I am not a big reader so in reading novels I like things to be clearer or more linear.  However, I love watching movies and therefore when watching a film I like to be drawn in with uncertainty and possibly with a little confusion as it poses as a challenge for me to figure out what is going on, where the story is going, and what everything is meaning.  I like when it jumps around from scene to scene but all comes together and makes sense in the end.  Also, I like characters who are a little confusing (and maybe a little bit chaotic) because their stories are exciting and adventurous, and the character will connect to a viewer (or reader) who share the same attributes.

What comes together for me in the end of Jasmine, by Barahti Mukurjee is that the character who was originally named Jyoti that goes on to live the identities of Jasmine, Kali, Jazzy, Jase and Jane - is affected by the traumatizing events in her life and therefore chooses to accept her nicknames as new identities to help her forget about her past.  She consumes each name and identity and does not look back or if she does, she looks back at that person as a stranger.  "I whisper the name Jase, Jase, Jase, as if I am calling someone I once knew." P. 215.   It seems to me that Jasmine will always be wanting that adventure and will always be wanting to take that risk of becoming someone new and abandoning her old self.  She will always be a part of the chaos theory and her life will always be like a roller coaster - twisting, turning, looping...until the ride ends.

The adventure seeker in Jasmine versus those who lack that chaotic side, could be an underlying message in this book...some people are meant to live a lifestyle of chaotic-ness.  Some people will never stick to their roots and will never return home. Some people are free birds and are meant to be just that. On the contrary, some people love the place in which they grew up and feel connected to their home so deeply that they forget there is a whole world out there that could potentially become their home.  Its not a bad thing, they just find comfort staying in one place. I guess the more I think about it the more I understand why Jasmine feels like she could change her identity as much as she wants, because she can.  And just because all of us adventure seekers do it without changing our names, doesn't mean we don't do it. And just because we do it, doesn't mean we forget our past.  I hope in the future "my life in a nutshell" gets a little more chaotic.