Explication Essay and Genre Translation

Jackie Bangle

Writing 2: Professor Johnson

11/6/20
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Translation: You’re Such a Doll

I never wanted to speak of this, I pledged to myself I wouldn't. However, for your

safety, I think that it's best if I do. “Godly Fortunes,” was the name of the first building I

wandered into during a family vacation in Carrot, Colorado. I was only 16 at the time and

what 16 year old wouldn't want to dabble in an antique shop? The shop was owned by

this frail and peculiar elderly woman who seemed to be around 200 years old. She carried

around the stench of anchovies like her well being depended on it. Nothing sparked my

interest until these human-like dolls allured my attention. I could not rip my gaze from

these mysterious dolls, it was as if they were holding more than just my attention.

“EXCUSE ME DOLL!” yelped the woman. “I would take a look at something

else if I were you, those are not for sale,” she said this with a cracked voice.

“Well I didn’t want to buy them and what even are those freaky things?” I said

ignorantly. The lady began telling me this whole spiel about how they are “Japanese

Ichimatsu dolls.”​1​ The old hag mentioned how they date back to the medieval times and

are documented in the Shinto and Buddist religions. The creepy dolls are hand crafted

and made with human hair, gross. Traditionally, they were given to parents by affluent

grandparents as toys for their newborn child. I feel bad for the poor babies who had to

receive those disturbing dolls as “presents”. She also said how they would offer

1
​.Fabio R. Gygi, “​Things that Believe Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, and How to Get Rid of Them​,” ​Japanese
Journal of Religious Studies​, no. 2 (2018): 423-452.
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protection against sickness, evil spirits and bad luck by acting as a second body for the

child.​2​ “BORING!” I screamed and my voice echoed for a mile.

“You think a doll with some fresh baby hair could scare me? Try again,” I

scoffed. Belittled, the woman stood speechless. She finally muttered something which

isn’t very appropriate so I will leave it out. Her next move was to pull my arm and lead

me to a secret back-room full of all this religious paraphernalia which ranged from

talisman to amulets. She went on a SECOND TIME about how all these items were

religious pieces and how she has been studying them for years. Her biggest wonder with

these artifacts was whether our beliefs are what bring religion to the surface, connecting

them to the paraphernalia. Or if it is the objects which hold the power and religious

influence.​3​ Then she started to explain the proper way to dispose of these items if needed,

but my stomach began to growl so I walked out the door and wished her farewell. Once I

made it to our vacation house I walked inside and greeted my parents. I received no reply,

but did notice patches of hair all over the floor which I followed to an eerie door. Upon

hesitantly opening that door I saw two Ichimatsu dolls. One appeared identical to my

father and the other my mother. Their soulless bodies with partially shaved heads lay in

the corner of the room. Holding the dolls was the woman from the antique shop. Next to

her sat a glass urn which held the ghosts of my mother and father. She discarded the dolls

and pierced her eyes into mine then proceeded to say “My urn has room for one more

2
​.Fabio R. Gygi, “​Things that Believe Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, and How to Get Rid of Them​,” ​Japanese
Journal of Religious Studies​, no. 2 (2018): 423-452.
3
​.Fabio R. Gygi, “​Things that Believe Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, and How to Get Rid of Them​,” ​Japanese
Journal of Religious Studies​, no. 2 (2018): 423-452.
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ghost, and you would make such a perfect doll.” I knew my answer to that question and

bolted out of the house. I did not stop running until my body gave out on me. Years

passed and my parents were never seen again nor were the dolls or the woman. I spent

years searching for the glass urn in hopes I could one day free my parent’s ghosts. I have

been unable to locate a single trace of that day. Which leaves me with only the words of

that woman. Was it some kind of cognitive spiritual power she had and could I obtain it?

Or could it have been the dolls that behold the inexplicable secrets?

Essay: From Spiritual to Spooky

Could religious artifacts encompass spiritual power? Well, author Fabio R. Gygi

dared to investigate this notion with his peer-reviewed article “Things that Believe

Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, and How to Get Rid of Them.” Written under the discipline

of religion the article's main concentration is whether religious objects are understood as

expressions of cognitively held beliefs, or if belief emerges as the result of practices

involving these religious objects. The research provided by Gygi is incredibly complex,

especially if the reader is unfamiliar with religious terminology stemming from Asia. Just

because something is not easily understood does not mean it should be disregarded,

which is why I took the step to translate this genre. As Lisa Bickmore mentions in her

article “Genre in The Wild,” “genre is simply part of your accustomed toolset.” With the

idea of having a genre in my toolset, I knew I could utilize that tool to work as a​ kind of

text that responds to a particular rhetorical situation.​ This starting point would pave the

way for the building of my conventions. Since the genre I chose for my translation was a
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ghost story, I had to abide by a new set of conventions. Those being a first-person point

of view, sense of horror, a foreboding and informal tone, witty dialogue, hyperboles, and

leaving the reader in uncertainty by never solving the mystery. These new conventions

are what allowed for the structure of a deliberate and attentive rhetorical situation. All

this and the use of reference texts outside of Gygi’s article enabled me to ensure my

genre would execute its needed requirements and carry out an effective translation.

A peer-review article relies on its conventions to maintain a credible stance within

the genre and stay consistent with a discipline. Since the peer-reviewed article was done

in the discipline of religion it produced lots of complex religious jargon such as the terms

methodologically, orthopraxy, and ethnographic vignettes. Expressions such as these may

have never been accessible to the average reader, causing a bit of a roadblock in

communication. Another convention was the formal tone sustained throughout the article.

To do this Gygi avoided colloquialisms, slang, and idioms to keep his creditable stance

which remained incessant throughout his piece. For example here is the religious jargon

and formal tone being utilized in Gygi’s article “The following two ethnographic

vignettes illustrate some of the tensions surrounding the disposal of religious objects.”

The final convention I am addressing within the peer-reviewed article is the use of proper

citation throughout the writing, including quotes, footnotes, and a bibliography. Without

proper citation there would be no credit given to Gygi’s multiple references and the

author would be at fault for plagiarism. All of these conventions are what make a

peer-review article sustainable.

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Conventions are responsible for the creation of the article’s rhetorical situation. The

purpose is rather broad terms is to investigate the relationship between spiritual

paraphernalia and varying religious beliefs while standing by orthopraxy. The audience

of Gygi’s article would tend to be those who identify with religion and want to seek

further knowledge on Asain religious beliefs. Or students in a religious studies class and

possibly anyone curious about ideas that call to the spiritual world. The constraints within

this piece of writing would be a disconnect between how the author illustrates his

research and how the audience decodes it. Gygi even mentions how “attitudes towards

certain subjects differ greatly among certain people,” therefore causing inevitable

constraints. This could lead to a misinterpretation of religious beliefs causing a spread of

untrue practices.

The translation of a new genre comes with the consideration of fresh conventions

and a new rhetorical situation. Before I even began my translation I observed multiple

ghost stories and tried to take the aspects that I found the most compelling. I used an

article titled “12 Terrifying Ghost Stories You Shouldn’t Read Alone,” provided by

HuffPost. After reading through these stories I found my favorites to be “Ghost Bro” and

“The Whispers,” due to their conventions of mystery, a sense of anticipation, and focus

on the unknown. Both these stories end with no true explanation which is what makes

them daunting and leaves the audience uneasy. I used these stories as my reference as I

began to configure my translation.

With 24 pages of a peer-review article and a new genre, I had to narrow down my

main idea. I decided to focus predominantly on Japanese Ichimatsu dolls and a little on
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the main question of Gygi’s article. I incorporated the purpose of the dolls, what goes

into making them, and why they are considered salient and spiritual. I excluded specific

details mentioned by Gygi such as “how photographers would often substitute real

children with dolls so that it was easier to handle when it came to long exposures,” as

well as the deeper proposals of body substitution. In addition to that, I limited the overall

theories from Gygi that I included as a way of not overpowering my ghost story genre.

By focusing on one key idea within the article I was able to more effectively convey that

concept.

Once I decided on my main idea of the dolls my story came down to its new

conventions and rhetorical situation. I disregarded the religious jargon (aside from the

Ichimatsu dolls) and took a more familiar approach within my writing. This would allow

me to communicate with a broader audience, therefore spreading Gygi’s research to those

other than religious scholars. I converted to a first-person point of view and simplified

Gygi’s concepts to frightening dolls with a historical past. One convention that stayed

constant between mine and Gygi’s writing was the use of footnote citations. Another

convention I disregarded was the formal tone, this was replaced by an informal and

foreboding tone. I added in witty dialogue, hyperboles, and a couple of humorous

remarks. This all went along with the most important conventions within a ghost story

such as the sense of horror and leaving the reader in uncertainty by never solving the

mystery. I incorporated these conventions by basing my story on these chilling dolls,

which throughout the tale become more and more mysterious. There is a build-up of

anticipation when the story escalates, but in the end, the reader is left to wonder about a
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true conclusion. This all leads to an almost completely altered rhetorical situation. Due to

this, my audience is now thrill-seekers possibly with a taste for religious spirituality. I am

predicting they are between the ages of 16-45 just because they will need an average

literacy level to grasp the concept of the dolls. Younger children are most likely not going

to read due to its high levels of spookiness and the elderly are probably out gardening,

not reading ghost stories online. My purpose has now shifted to scaring those who dare to

read as well worn and educate them of spiritual and religious wonders. The constraints I

face are my audience possibly not picking up Gygi’s research due to the delivery through

my ghost story. Although I did take the needed time to simplify the concepts and do not

believe that will pose an underlying issue.

It takes careful consideration and understanding of two genres to translate a

peer-reviewed article into a ghost story. This is exactly what I strongly believe I was

effectively able to do. I took the time to dissect the conventions and rhetorical situation of

the peer-reviewed article first. Then studied outside references and grabbed hold of my

new genre which followed an entirely new set of conventions and altered rhetorical

situation. This led me to compose a thrilling ghost story while breaking down key

elements of a concept written by Fabio R. Gygi in his peer-reviewed article “Things that

Believe Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, and How to Get Rid of Them.” While it might not be

the most common conversion of genres, the process was both entertaining and beneficial

in honing a writer’s skills.

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Works Cited

Gygi, Fabio R. “Things That Believe: Talismans, Amulets, Dolls, And How To Get Rid

of Them.” Japanese Journal Of Religious Studies 45, no. 2 (2018).

https:doi.org/10.188874/jjrs.45.2.2018.423-452.

“12 Terrifying Ghost Stories You Shouldn’t Read Alone.” HuffPost. HuffPost,
November

8, 2017. ​https://www.hufffpost.com/entry/ghost-stories_b_8296528​.

Bickmore, Lisa. “GENRE in the WILD: Understanding Genre Within Rhetorical

(Eco)Systems.” Go to the cover page of Open English @ SLCC. Open English @
SLCC, August 1, 2016.
https://openenglishatslcc.pressbooks.com/chapter/genre-in-the-wild-understanding-
genre-within-rhetorical-ecosystems/​.