Bel Canto Discussion (seeing) PDF

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Seeing Life Anew: Explore the Elements of Communication in Ann Patchett's Bel Canto The novel Bel Canto written by Ann Patchett discusses the passion in the face of death, which gives the main characters an opportunity to see their mundane lives in a new way. Gen Watanabe has an overwhelming talent in languages but fails to translate emotions through his words. Roxane Coss enjoys being the center of attention and receives lots of admiration from her audience, alas she sees herself only as a singing puppet. In the novel’s life-threatening scenario, Gen Watanabe is the first character who makes a noticeable change while his normal life is taken away. Gen Watanabe is an important character in the novel because he facilitates communication between people involved in the hostage event. Even though Gen has a great talent for languages, he has difficulties expressing his personal thoughts and emotions. When the government intervenes in the hostage event, Gen is irreplaceable for numerous purposes such as “...needed by Mr. Hosokawa, who wanted another ten words and their pronunciations...needed by the other hostages...needed to read the newspaper to them if they did not read in Spanish...needed by Messner to translate the negotiations” (Patchett 131). Although Gen is significant in terms of impeding direct communication, people only appreciate his language skill as their tool rather than his other values. Patchett emphasizes Gen’s value to people who need him as “They appropriated his services. They liked the idea of having a secretary” (Patchett 131). It is obvious that Gen is seen as an interpreter who serves others instead of a person in his own right. The first evidence of Gen’s transformation is his reflection on Fyodorov’s intense love towards painting and opera. Patchett writes, “to translate such feelings into words was another matter entirely” (Patchett 208), which shows that Gen’s starts to realize the difference between information and emotion in communication, both are important but he cannot successfully deliver the emotion through words, therefore he sees his translation as an impediment to some conversations. Another transformation in his way of seeing life is shown in his growing attachment towards one of the terrorists, Carmen. When Gen acknowledges that the government is

about to take action which is likely to end with the deaths of the terrorists, his reaction is opposite to his past habit as a translator. Rather than consider whether he should speak and what should be said, Gen kisses Carmen without any concerning their situation at risk. Patchett writes in the novel that “Gen should have said something more, and Carmen should have listened more, but instead she kissed him because the important thing was to forget. That kiss was like a lake, deep and clear, and they swam into it” (Patchett 305). Gen is forced out of his normal life and conveys his emotion through action rather than language. The hostage event gives Gen an opportunity to learn the importance of sensational expressions in communication, as well as there could be as much virtue in willful forgetfulness as careful decisions. On the other hand, the soprano Roxane Coss is an influential character to the novel, who unites people of all backgrounds together even though the environment is depressing. At the beginning of the novel, Roxane’s stardom is an essential characteristic of her identity, she is flattered by the admiration of her audience. However, as she mentions during a conversation with Gen, “Most of the time we’re loved for what we can do rather than for who we are” (Patchett 224), she sees herself as a puppet that sings and others adore until the box of music sheets is delivered to the mansion. Roxane’s singing is a critical part of communication that emotionally addresses people because music is universally accessible, whereas words require time-consuming translations. The message that direct word delivers is far more limited than music, especially in the situation of the novel because “Music penetrates into every corner of the house and is even audible in the streets surrounding it, whereas verbal semantics is available only through the bottleneck of the single interpreter” (Alexander, 18). As for her daily singing practice which the terrorists and other hostages claim and enjoy, this is evidence of her change in terms of her way of seeing life, that she is in control of her own life and no longer being threatened by the terrorists. The author establishes a character development focused on Roxane as she changes from a small woman with a huge personality into a woman with huge power. Patchett highlights the emotional strength of Roxane’s singing as the narrator states in the novel, “But after Mess-

ner brought the box into the house everything changed. The terrorists continued to block the doors and carry guns, but now Roxane Coss was in charge” (Patchett 162). This shows that music brings the guests’ and terrorists’ feeling together into a mutual connection. With the theme of the power of art to build community, “music is introduced as the art which has brought the international dramatis personae together and which gradually proceeds to knit the terrorists and their hostages into a community” (Alexander, 5). The opera is an alternative language, also a symbol of emotional communication which is as powerful as words, and the hostage event gives Roxanne an opportunity to realize that her performance is worth more than the sounds people listen to. In conclusion, Patchett discusses the proximity of death and fear encourages people to love more passionately, giving them the opportunity to see the world in a new way. The main characters in the novel Bel Canto, Gen Watanabe and Roxane Coss both find approaches to make their communication more powerful, as Watanabe learns to speak without unnecessary concerns and Coss discovers that art can be a form of a universal language which creates solidarity. Overall, altered changes to people’s mundane lives might provide them an opportunity to see the world from a new perspective and find the hidden virtues around them.

Work Cited

Alexander, Vera. "Sounds of Otherness: The Representation of Music in Ann Patchett's Bel Canto." Double Dialogues. 10 (2009): n. pag. Web. Summer 2009. 20 Nov. 2015. Patchett, Ann. Bel Canto by Patchett, Ann [Paperback]. Harper Perennial, 2005.

Response to Matthew Caven

I agree with the point you made on the character Gen Watanabe that at the beginning of the novel, both the hostages and the terrorists treat him as a tool. Even though he is the only person who speaks many different languages and seems to be able to communicate with everyone, there still is a barrier between Gen and other people not only because of his stiffness, but also his inability to see himself as a man without the influence of people he serves. I also like the part where you mentioned “small acts of kindness” in the interaction between the terrorists and the hostages which lead to Gen’s change. Gen is the character who has the strongest connection to word expressions among all other characters in the novel, it is contradictory to his character that he is significantly influenced by the action rather than words of others. Especially near the end of the novel, the infatuation between Gen and Carmen is mostly shown through their actions rather than words they speak to each other. I think it is quite interesting that Patchett first makes this character a symbol of direct word communication, but it is the action of others that affects him the most....