Abstract This two-section text critically analyzes Natasha Trethewey's book "Beyond Katrina." In so doing, it examines the text's fulfillment of its subtitle "A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast," the text's overall focus, and the use of poetry; and, in the end, gives a position as to whether or not, the book is recommendable to others.
Beyond Katrina
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines meditation, in basic terms, as "a discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation." In an interview with Jonathan Fink, Trethewey reveals that her text is aimed at recollecting people's historical and collective memory (Hall 85). This is the only sure way to deal with the issue of history-erasure, and have a more complete version. The author's aim, therefore, is to "reclaim and to get as many of those erased stories back into the larger narrative" (Hall 85).
This section's main focus is showing the degree of importance attached to commercialized activities, at the expense of the environment, and people's safety. However, other points of concern are: the state's tendency to forget about the victims of such catastrophes, the change in the social aspect of people's lives after Hurricane Katrina, and the large extent of erasure facing such historical occurrences.
Effect of Commercialized Activities
Gulfport experienced massive economic growth in the late 1940s, attracting a large number of business developers. The rise in business developments brought more opportunities for employment, leading to growth of both the population and commercialized activities. The economic success continued through the 1950s and 60s, before Hurricane Camille struck in 1969. Attempts to revive Gulfport's economic affluence, which had been largely affected by the 1969 Hurricane Camille, saw the passage of the Mississippi Gaming Control Act in 1990 (Trethewey 64). The legislation legalized gambling and consequently saw the development of a significant number of coastal casinos. The resultant growth was extensive. For instance, "between 1992 and 1996, the number of hotel rooms at the coast increased from six thousand to more than nine thousand" (Trethewey 65).
The high economic growth yielded a number of positive results. In addition to the fact that gambling served as a leisure activity for many young people, casino activities, in totality, brought about many opportunities for employment. Most locals got absorbed in the areas of food and client service, management, security, and in the construction and renovation of new and existing buildings (Trethewey 67). Moreover, part of the revenues realized from the casino industry was used for the reformation of the education and police sectors in the coastal region.
However, the economic growth had its share of negative results: inadequate policies to ensure employee safety, and environmental damage. Casino employees worked under degrading conditions, without the fundamental "benefits, including workman's compensation - when any of the workers sustained injuries on the job, they paid for the trip to the emergency room themselves" (Trethewey 65).
By 1998, the effects of gaming activities were quite noticeable. The coastal shoreline was greatly altered as more sites for dockside gambling developed, and the shore was pushed further inwards. The resulting rise in the sea-water level was responsible for the disappearance of wetlands, which play a crucial role in "cleansing polluted water, recharging ground water, and absorbing storm wave energy" (Trethewey 60). In effect, wetland loss was dangerous for both marine and human life, as it "rendered the Mississippi Gulf Coast more susceptible to hurricane devastation" (Trethewey 60).
The poem 'providence' depicts the extent to which Gulfport was exposed to natural disaster. The poem paints a picture of the extremely strong winds witnessed, just before Hurricane Camille struck. Additionally, the haunting images that Treetheway recorded in the notebook allude to this fact. In the author's words, these recordings are evidence enough, that she, "like many people from the Mississippi Gulf Coast are haunted - even at the edges of consciousness -- by the possibility of a natural disaster" (Trethewey 7).
The Change in People's Social Lives
The change in people's interactions after Katrina is shown through Aesha, the girlfriend to the author's brother. Despite the fact that she has a month's claim, she gets evicted from her apartment. In her words "her landlords didn't care -- or couldn't care -- so busy were they dealing with their own difficult circumstances" (Trethewey 29). Additionally, Jones Park, originally a social area, commonly occupied by families that were out to relax and congregate had turned to a muddy deserted plot surrounded by a 'temporary fence' in the form of police netting. With more casinos, the coastal social life had taken a drastic turn; drinking was the new way to socialize.
The Concept of Erasure and Victim Negligence
The administration often tends to forget about the victims of such calamities. The security officer at Beau Rivage casino acknowledges that, two years after Katrina, they (victims) are yet to receive any form of aid "even though the state was required by congress to spend half of its billions to help low-income citizens recover from the storm" (Trethewey 25). Theirs is more of a forgotten story; the state is more focused on erasing the events of the past, and rebuilding the coastal town to what it was before Katrina.
Section Two: 2009
Section two (2009) mainly focuses on the ongoing rebuilding efforts. The section attempts to answer the question; do individual citizens benefit from the ongoing rebuilding efforts? One of the significant features of the rebuilding process is the rise in property taxes, due to the rising demand for land in the area. This has seen a number of natives lose their land as they cannot afford to pay the high rates. The area is slowly becoming more of a commercial, rather than residential town. If the booming casino business and the huge revenues collected from increased property taxes is anything to go by then the coastal town's economy is set to be a great beneficiary of the rebuilding process. However, is this whole rebuilding process of any benefit to the victims of Hurricane Katrina? The author takes three characters: Mr. Tims, Joe, and the local sanctuary, and examines their individual reform vis-a-vis the ongoing Gulfport-rebuilding efforts.
Mr. Tims
Mr. Tims, a long-time friend of the author's family, still runs his small snowball venture in the area. He acknowledges that he has had to rebuild his business a number of times, but this time, the rebuilt town (city) won't let him. Mr. Tims points out that the rule is that "if your business was here before a certain date, you can keep your property. But if you tear it down to do something else, it's gone" (Treetheway 22).
Joe
Joe, like many other Gulfport residents, was determined to get his life back on track. He was determined to rebuild his uncle's rental apartments which had been destroyed by the hurricane. Everything changed when he was ruled ineligible for federal financial aid. He was unqualified "for the kinds of programs that had helped businesses and wealthier citizens get back on their feet" (Trethewey 29). In an attempt to make ends meet, amidst the tough economic times, Joe's reform took a wrong turn and he ended up in jail for drug-trafficking.
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