I grew up in a small town on the northeast shore of Massachusetts in one of the oldest town in the country. I was surrounded by people with sharp Boston accents who had their own sayings and phrases distinct to that area like in Paule Marshall’s “Poets in the Kitchen.” A word that was used often was “wicked” which mean very, so something might be “wicked funny” or it could be “wicked cold outside.”
My father grew up in Medford, a town just outside of Boston, and my mother grew up in a small town in western Massachusetts near Springfield and lived in a more rural area. It was always interesting to hear the vast differences in speech and manner between the two families. My father’s family is loud, temperamental and all have very thick Boston accents. My mother’s side of the family is more subdued, quieter and has little to no trace of an accent despite being only two hours away from Boston. As a child I always loved to listen to the long and hilarious stories my father’s side of the family had to tell; my father in particular was prone to tall tales in which he would add extra falsities for added entertainment. When I was younger, I found myself doing the same thing while telling stories to my friends in order to get a laugh from them like my dad would.
It wasn’t until I moved to South Florida that I realized what a distinct and interesting place New England was. The houses all looked the same in Florida and the neighbors kept to themselves despite my father’s best efforts. To escape my homesickness and lonely early teen existence, I spent my time reading a wide variety of books like Paule Marshall describes doing. She describes how she “sheltered [herself] from the storm of adolescence in the Macon Street Library” (632).
There have been a number of writers and texts that have influenced my thinking and writing. One of which Marshall herself describes having a preference for; the “…long, full blown, richly detailed 18th and 19th century picaresque tales…” (632). I was particularly influenced by Charles Dickens and 19th century Russian literature like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. I had always thought of myself as a quick reader but reading large, complicate literature like this forced me to slow down and aim not for finishing the book, but for overall comprehension. The more I read, the more I felt the need to write my thoughts down. Being able to comprehend this kind of literature and knowing that I could understand it if I allotted my self enough time made me less intimated by complicated literature or non-fiction.
Another sphere of writing which has been influential in my manner of speaking and writing are court opinions, legal blogs and legal history. Coming of age at the time I did, there have been many basic civil liberty and constitutional rights issues that I found myself being concerned about, but not really knowing why I should be. I stated reading legal blogs like Glenn Greenwald’s “Unclaimed Territory” on Salon.com where he would post links to various court opinions. I bought a legal dictionary and would spend a couple days or weeks deciphering these opinions with excessive note taking which I had become familiar with while reading literature. Considering that I read court opinions as a hobby, I’ve settled on attending law school. I’ve also learned that there is a developing field in law which connects my major, literature, with the law.
Work Cited
Marshall, Paule. Poets in the Kitchen. Callaloo, John Hopkins University Press, Spring 2001.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Death and Disaster in DeLillo’s “White Noise”
In terms of how death is presented in “White Noise”, it seems to read as a 20th century, modern American version of “Anna Karenina,” with a family moving about its daily routine and going through the motions of life as we all do. The disastrous events serve as the shock to the system of routines, and all the characters respond in both an awed and terrified way to them. In once sense there is a feeling of being at the mercy and whim of the unseen forces of the earth and this unknowablity is part of what terrifies both Jack and Babette. This idea is represented in the novel with the airborne toxic event. The sudden changes in movement of the cloud, the new and terrifying symptoms being reported over the radio, and the need for the characters to quickly adapt to new safety routes in a traumatic situation leads Jack to observe that the event is as “a parade of fools” (121). It is this helpless and defenseless feeling of being at the mercy of change that causes both Jack and Babatte to have feelings of dread at different points in their lives. Jack mentions this as a familiar state of mind, describing it as “the old defenseless feeling. Small, weak, death bound, alone” (224). Accompanying these feelings is the presence of the clock and the looming and relentless progression of time. Jack describes staring at his alarm clock, stating how he “watched the number change, the progression of digitals minutes odd to even” (224). The reader feels the ominous presence of time as something which can’t be controlled or stilled, and that will eventually bring about death and demise to everything.
On another level, the disasters are always accompanied by a sense of awe and fascination at the awesome powers of the earth that can kill and destroy. In one instance, Winnie describes to Jack what it might be like to see a grizzly bear in the wild and how mixed feelings of terror and fascination would be present in such a situation. She states that the sight of the bear would give “a renewed sense of self, a fresh awareness of the self….you rediscover yourself” (229). This sense seems to be present in all the characters consciences as they come into contact with disasters or the mere idea of them. It is as if this sense were imbedded with in them, something that is pre-language which is merely apart of being human.
Near the end of the book, Murray mentions how Leo Tolstoy was terrified of death, stating “Tolstoy himself struggled to understand. He feared it terribly” (282). The characters in “White Noise” deal with similar fears and nagging questions that seem unanswerable which the characters of Levin and Anna encounter in “Anna Karenina.” Like Jack, Levin spends the whole novel constantly assessing and questioning himself and his life, leading him to be in a lost and depressed state. While Anna seems to merely react to her life’s situations and tries to fend off and ignore looking too closely at her feelings, thoughts and actions. By the end of the story, Anna commits suicide and Levin has a spiritual awakening. The reader gets the impression that Levin develops this faith in life because he actively tried to understand himself by dissecting and questioning his life, where as Anna was merely reacting to situations and was eventuality overwhelmed. As “White Noise progresses”, Jack seems to be more active in trying to understand what his fear is and continually talks to other characters about it. At one point, he acknowledges that “Fear is self-awareness raised to a higher level” (229). Perhaps what DeLillo is suggesting is that we need to try and understand our death and fear of it instead of trying to ignore it.
Work Cited
Delillo, Don. White Noise. New York, Penguin, 1998.
On another level, the disasters are always accompanied by a sense of awe and fascination at the awesome powers of the earth that can kill and destroy. In one instance, Winnie describes to Jack what it might be like to see a grizzly bear in the wild and how mixed feelings of terror and fascination would be present in such a situation. She states that the sight of the bear would give “a renewed sense of self, a fresh awareness of the self….you rediscover yourself” (229). This sense seems to be present in all the characters consciences as they come into contact with disasters or the mere idea of them. It is as if this sense were imbedded with in them, something that is pre-language which is merely apart of being human.
Near the end of the book, Murray mentions how Leo Tolstoy was terrified of death, stating “Tolstoy himself struggled to understand. He feared it terribly” (282). The characters in “White Noise” deal with similar fears and nagging questions that seem unanswerable which the characters of Levin and Anna encounter in “Anna Karenina.” Like Jack, Levin spends the whole novel constantly assessing and questioning himself and his life, leading him to be in a lost and depressed state. While Anna seems to merely react to her life’s situations and tries to fend off and ignore looking too closely at her feelings, thoughts and actions. By the end of the story, Anna commits suicide and Levin has a spiritual awakening. The reader gets the impression that Levin develops this faith in life because he actively tried to understand himself by dissecting and questioning his life, where as Anna was merely reacting to situations and was eventuality overwhelmed. As “White Noise progresses”, Jack seems to be more active in trying to understand what his fear is and continually talks to other characters about it. At one point, he acknowledges that “Fear is self-awareness raised to a higher level” (229). Perhaps what DeLillo is suggesting is that we need to try and understand our death and fear of it instead of trying to ignore it.
Work Cited
Delillo, Don. White Noise. New York, Penguin, 1998.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Louise Erdrich’s Writing Style
Louise Erdrich’s writing style is one that is colloquial, having a lyrical tone that captures the sound and dialect of how the characters speak. Her style is also in the tradition of Native American oral literature. In A. Lavonne Brown Ruoff’s article “Introduction to American Indian Literatures”, Simon Ortiz discusses the importance of oral story telling stating:
"The oral tradition is not just speaking and listening, because what it means to me and other people who have grown up in that tradition is that the whole process,.. Of that society in terms of its history, its culture, its language, its values, and subsequently, it’s literature. So it’s not merely a simple matter of speaking and listening but living that process" (184).
In this way, there is an importance attached to those who’ve grown up in the Native American culture, hearing and telling stories from the past and feeling the need to write them down as a way to preserve them. This can be seen in “Love Medicine” by the structure and format of the story. Each individual story can stand on its own and reads like the narrator is verbally telling the reader the story. The stories themselves interconnect and as the novel progresses, certain questions are answered, characters are made more complete, and details are clearer as different characters give insight into the other characters and their individual views create the story itself. This aspect of the novel also reflects an important idea in the Native American oral tradition; that of the words themselves creating the world around them. To explain this point, Ruoff points to Gary Witherspoon’s work “Language and Art of the Navajo” which presents certain Navajo beliefs explaining that “the Navajo world was brought into being by the gods, who entered the sweathouse and thought the world into existence” (185).
There are a number of ways in which Louise Erdrich writing style is in contrast to the traditional Western ideals of language. The first way this is shown is by Erdrich incorporating traditional Native American language and mixing it with the English prose. This can be seen in the novel with a number of the characters speaking in their native tongue. This occurs in the first story in couple of instances; the first is when King asks Gordie for a cigarette and Gordie replies: “…you don’t say can I have a cigarette. You say ciga swa?” To which Eli replies “Them Michifs ask like that….you got to ask a real old time Indian like me for the right words” (32). The second instance is when Eli comments on being old stating “I’m an old man…Akiwenzii” (34).
Another way that the Erdrich writes against the Western ideals of story telling is by not having an omnipotent narrator who knows everything and who speaks in the same tone and with the same attitude. In “Love Medicine” the story is told from multiple narrators which provide multiple points of view. In this way, the reader can hear different sides of a story or hear a different prospective that provides a more complete view of a story or a character. For example the reader is provided with different views of Lulu, one provided by Nector in an earlier time and the other provided by Lipsha at a later time period. This balance is also provided with the story being told from different perspectives; from both male or female and young or old points of view. The novel also dose not have a linear format as it is not in chronological order and the time periods jump from story to story.
By using multiple narrators, a non-chronological format and by incorporating Native American language and traditions of oral story telling, Erdrich manages to use a European prose like format in a new and different way to reflect her cultures traditions.
Work Citied
Ruoff, Lavonne Brown A. Introduction to American Indian Literatures. New York, MLA, 1990
.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. New York, Harper Perennial, 2009.
"The oral tradition is not just speaking and listening, because what it means to me and other people who have grown up in that tradition is that the whole process,.. Of that society in terms of its history, its culture, its language, its values, and subsequently, it’s literature. So it’s not merely a simple matter of speaking and listening but living that process" (184).
In this way, there is an importance attached to those who’ve grown up in the Native American culture, hearing and telling stories from the past and feeling the need to write them down as a way to preserve them. This can be seen in “Love Medicine” by the structure and format of the story. Each individual story can stand on its own and reads like the narrator is verbally telling the reader the story. The stories themselves interconnect and as the novel progresses, certain questions are answered, characters are made more complete, and details are clearer as different characters give insight into the other characters and their individual views create the story itself. This aspect of the novel also reflects an important idea in the Native American oral tradition; that of the words themselves creating the world around them. To explain this point, Ruoff points to Gary Witherspoon’s work “Language and Art of the Navajo” which presents certain Navajo beliefs explaining that “the Navajo world was brought into being by the gods, who entered the sweathouse and thought the world into existence” (185).
There are a number of ways in which Louise Erdrich writing style is in contrast to the traditional Western ideals of language. The first way this is shown is by Erdrich incorporating traditional Native American language and mixing it with the English prose. This can be seen in the novel with a number of the characters speaking in their native tongue. This occurs in the first story in couple of instances; the first is when King asks Gordie for a cigarette and Gordie replies: “…you don’t say can I have a cigarette. You say ciga swa?” To which Eli replies “Them Michifs ask like that….you got to ask a real old time Indian like me for the right words” (32). The second instance is when Eli comments on being old stating “I’m an old man…Akiwenzii” (34).
Another way that the Erdrich writes against the Western ideals of story telling is by not having an omnipotent narrator who knows everything and who speaks in the same tone and with the same attitude. In “Love Medicine” the story is told from multiple narrators which provide multiple points of view. In this way, the reader can hear different sides of a story or hear a different prospective that provides a more complete view of a story or a character. For example the reader is provided with different views of Lulu, one provided by Nector in an earlier time and the other provided by Lipsha at a later time period. This balance is also provided with the story being told from different perspectives; from both male or female and young or old points of view. The novel also dose not have a linear format as it is not in chronological order and the time periods jump from story to story.
By using multiple narrators, a non-chronological format and by incorporating Native American language and traditions of oral story telling, Erdrich manages to use a European prose like format in a new and different way to reflect her cultures traditions.
Work Citied
Ruoff, Lavonne Brown A. Introduction to American Indian Literatures. New York, MLA, 1990
.
Erdrich, Louise. Love Medicine. New York, Harper Perennial, 2009.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Adah Price
I enjoy reading Adah’s entries because of her engaging insights to the atmosphere of the Congo and to her own development there. She is an interesting character who thoughts and physical deformation play a central role in the moral of the story.
The first thing which is apparent about Adah is her sensitively to the sensations of the world. She has a similar curiosity about her surroundings as Leah does and she describes the world as being “a-boggle with colors and shapes” (30). This sensitivity suggests that she does not view her self as being as separate from her surroundings as the other characters in the story do. This is conveyed by her tendency to equate human actions and emotions with a state of nature. She states how the “sky bleeds” (30) and also characterizes people with animal or nature characteristics. For example, when she is describing the way the woman of the village wrap and unwrap a piece of cloth around their bodies, she states that “they resemble flocks of butterflies opening and closing their wings”(137). When she describes the Pygmies and their movements, she describes how they “grow still as tree trunks” (137) when they notice someone they don’t know. Despite her non belief in her father’s version of God, she does seem to have a spiritual understanding that is similar to brother Fowles, whose love and appreciation of nature and knowledge are similar to her own. She sees everything as having some kind of life force and this idea of non-separateness becomes clearer to her as the story progress. A particular instance where this happens is when she is describing the idea of nommo, muntu, and the significance of the Congolese words having multiple meanings and its connection to the idea of unity. This idea is shown when she states, “Here in the Congo…..there is no special difference between living people, dead people, children not yet born, and gods - these are all muntu…it would be simple [to understand] except that being here is not the same as existing”(209).
Another ways which Adah is similar to brother Fowles is an idea that is central to one of the main themes of the novel; the issue of translation and the danger of miscommunication. When Brother Fowles is talking to Nathan about scripture he asks allowed “who translated this?”(251). It is this question which Adah contemplates and physically represents with her emphasis on not speaking. There is a well known saying in Christianity which states “do not take the lords name in vain.” This is usually associated with an emphasis on not swearing but perhaps serves as a kind of warning as well; one that urges not to be so quick to associate one’s own thoughts and actions with Christianity, least one miscommunications the teaching and creates a misunderstanding that could be very dangerous. There is a similar warning expressed in Buddhism which Shunryu Suzuki describes stating that “The more you understand our thinking, the more you find it difficult to talk about…. the best way is just to practice without saying anything…there is apt to be misunderstanding” (90). This seems to be very similar to Adah’s view on translation and communication as she says of her self that “It is true I do not speak as well as I can think. But that is true of most people, as nearly as I can tell”(34).
In conclusion, Adah is a vital part of story as many of her insights, experiences and her physical state point to larger themes and morals in the novel.
Work Citied
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York, Harper Perennial, 2005.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Boston and London, Weatherhill, 2007.
The first thing which is apparent about Adah is her sensitively to the sensations of the world. She has a similar curiosity about her surroundings as Leah does and she describes the world as being “a-boggle with colors and shapes” (30). This sensitivity suggests that she does not view her self as being as separate from her surroundings as the other characters in the story do. This is conveyed by her tendency to equate human actions and emotions with a state of nature. She states how the “sky bleeds” (30) and also characterizes people with animal or nature characteristics. For example, when she is describing the way the woman of the village wrap and unwrap a piece of cloth around their bodies, she states that “they resemble flocks of butterflies opening and closing their wings”(137). When she describes the Pygmies and their movements, she describes how they “grow still as tree trunks” (137) when they notice someone they don’t know. Despite her non belief in her father’s version of God, she does seem to have a spiritual understanding that is similar to brother Fowles, whose love and appreciation of nature and knowledge are similar to her own. She sees everything as having some kind of life force and this idea of non-separateness becomes clearer to her as the story progress. A particular instance where this happens is when she is describing the idea of nommo, muntu, and the significance of the Congolese words having multiple meanings and its connection to the idea of unity. This idea is shown when she states, “Here in the Congo…..there is no special difference between living people, dead people, children not yet born, and gods - these are all muntu…it would be simple [to understand] except that being here is not the same as existing”(209).
Another ways which Adah is similar to brother Fowles is an idea that is central to one of the main themes of the novel; the issue of translation and the danger of miscommunication. When Brother Fowles is talking to Nathan about scripture he asks allowed “who translated this?”(251). It is this question which Adah contemplates and physically represents with her emphasis on not speaking. There is a well known saying in Christianity which states “do not take the lords name in vain.” This is usually associated with an emphasis on not swearing but perhaps serves as a kind of warning as well; one that urges not to be so quick to associate one’s own thoughts and actions with Christianity, least one miscommunications the teaching and creates a misunderstanding that could be very dangerous. There is a similar warning expressed in Buddhism which Shunryu Suzuki describes stating that “The more you understand our thinking, the more you find it difficult to talk about…. the best way is just to practice without saying anything…there is apt to be misunderstanding” (90). This seems to be very similar to Adah’s view on translation and communication as she says of her self that “It is true I do not speak as well as I can think. But that is true of most people, as nearly as I can tell”(34).
In conclusion, Adah is a vital part of story as many of her insights, experiences and her physical state point to larger themes and morals in the novel.
Work Citied
Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. New York, Harper Perennial, 2005.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Boston and London, Weatherhill, 2007.
Friday, October 23, 2009
The function of the epistolary format in The Color Purple.
The form that Alice Walker uses to write The Color Purple is in a series of letters called an epistolary. It allows the author the “opportunity to present the feelings and reactions without the intrusion of the author and gives a sense of immediacy, because the letters are usually written in the thick of the action” (196).
A reason why the novel is written in this way is to perhaps give the idea of a confession like slave narrative. There have been a number of critics who have called The Color Purple an allegory of slavery. As Winifred Morgan states in his article The Color Purple as Allegory, “The common narrative pattern encountered in slave narratives- an innately good, morally superior person is unjustly confined and maltreated by a corrupt individual; through heroic efforts, the victim escapes and lives to tell the tale…”(178). This description of a slave narrative almost reads like the plot of the novel, in which a helpless and kindhearted girl is severely mistreated by her father and husband but through the strength of others and the discovery of her own strong self will, she escapes from her oppressive situation. Morgan further explains” although not born a slave, as the novel opens, for all practical intents and purposes, Celie is a salve” (181). This is certainly evident in the beginning of the novel, particularly when her father is handing her off to Mr. and her father makes her turn around so Mr. can inspect her as if he were inspecting an animal. This experience calls up the “reasons slave women were bought - their ability to endure hard physical labor and their potential as sexual objects” (180). As this cruel and degrading instance is indicative of the way slaves were treated, perhaps what Walker is suggesting is that not much changed for black woman after the end of slavery and that they are still being treated in an unjust manner.
Another reason why Walker might have chosen to write the novel in this way is that Celie’s letters to herself allow her to find her voice and an audience to comfort her and help her. Molly Hite explains this by stating that “the drama of Celie’s epistolary self creation revolves around the discovery of a female audience that finally fulfills the ideal of co-respondence…The process of finding her speaking voice is a process of finding her audience”(130). This can be seen with Celie’s interactions with the other female characters in the books as she relates to them and the reader compares the nature of each of the other female characters to Celie. The females of the novel allow Celie to asses her self and her possibilities and her character slowly begins to change as the story moves on and the other females influence becomes more apparent. This first happens with Sophie, who is a strong and tough women and the opposite of Celie. The first time Celie seems to talk about her self and her condition is with Sophie, as she states that Celie is like her mother stating that “she never stand up for her self”(41). But it is Shug who has the strongest influence on Cecile and acts as a sympathetic listener and also encourages her to talk about her past and to realize that she has the power to stand up for herself. Carla Kaplan suggests that “without a sympathetic audience, such as Shug, Celie might never have been able to go from her first self-effacing statement “I am” to her later declaration, “I’m here” (130).
An advantage to having the story written in an epistolary format is that it effectively dramatizes the need to tell a story. In the case of Celie, this is made even more important because “finding a listener and finding her voice are inextricably related”(130) and the letters and her exchanges with the other characters in the novel leads her to have more dignity and a stronger sense of self.
Work Cited
Kaplan, Carla. The Erotics of Talk: Women’s Writing and Feminist Paradigms. New York, Oxford, 1996.
Morgan, Winifred. The Color Purple as Allegory. Southern Writers at Century’s End. Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 1997.
Harmon, William and Holman, Hugh. A Handbook to Literature. 10th edition, Upper Saddle River, Pearson, 2006.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, Harvest, 2003.
A reason why the novel is written in this way is to perhaps give the idea of a confession like slave narrative. There have been a number of critics who have called The Color Purple an allegory of slavery. As Winifred Morgan states in his article The Color Purple as Allegory, “The common narrative pattern encountered in slave narratives- an innately good, morally superior person is unjustly confined and maltreated by a corrupt individual; through heroic efforts, the victim escapes and lives to tell the tale…”(178). This description of a slave narrative almost reads like the plot of the novel, in which a helpless and kindhearted girl is severely mistreated by her father and husband but through the strength of others and the discovery of her own strong self will, she escapes from her oppressive situation. Morgan further explains” although not born a slave, as the novel opens, for all practical intents and purposes, Celie is a salve” (181). This is certainly evident in the beginning of the novel, particularly when her father is handing her off to Mr. and her father makes her turn around so Mr. can inspect her as if he were inspecting an animal. This experience calls up the “reasons slave women were bought - their ability to endure hard physical labor and their potential as sexual objects” (180). As this cruel and degrading instance is indicative of the way slaves were treated, perhaps what Walker is suggesting is that not much changed for black woman after the end of slavery and that they are still being treated in an unjust manner.
Another reason why Walker might have chosen to write the novel in this way is that Celie’s letters to herself allow her to find her voice and an audience to comfort her and help her. Molly Hite explains this by stating that “the drama of Celie’s epistolary self creation revolves around the discovery of a female audience that finally fulfills the ideal of co-respondence…The process of finding her speaking voice is a process of finding her audience”(130). This can be seen with Celie’s interactions with the other female characters in the books as she relates to them and the reader compares the nature of each of the other female characters to Celie. The females of the novel allow Celie to asses her self and her possibilities and her character slowly begins to change as the story moves on and the other females influence becomes more apparent. This first happens with Sophie, who is a strong and tough women and the opposite of Celie. The first time Celie seems to talk about her self and her condition is with Sophie, as she states that Celie is like her mother stating that “she never stand up for her self”(41). But it is Shug who has the strongest influence on Cecile and acts as a sympathetic listener and also encourages her to talk about her past and to realize that she has the power to stand up for herself. Carla Kaplan suggests that “without a sympathetic audience, such as Shug, Celie might never have been able to go from her first self-effacing statement “I am” to her later declaration, “I’m here” (130).
An advantage to having the story written in an epistolary format is that it effectively dramatizes the need to tell a story. In the case of Celie, this is made even more important because “finding a listener and finding her voice are inextricably related”(130) and the letters and her exchanges with the other characters in the novel leads her to have more dignity and a stronger sense of self.
Work Cited
Kaplan, Carla. The Erotics of Talk: Women’s Writing and Feminist Paradigms. New York, Oxford, 1996.
Morgan, Winifred. The Color Purple as Allegory. Southern Writers at Century’s End. Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 1997.
Harmon, William and Holman, Hugh. A Handbook to Literature. 10th edition, Upper Saddle River, Pearson, 2006.
Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. New York, Harvest, 2003.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Walt Whitman's Influence on Allen Ginsberg
There are a number of ways that Walt Whitman’s influence can be seen in Allen Ginsberg’s work Howl, including a similar style of format and flow, a similar reaction from the literary world and a concern with American ideals and its people.
A significant influence that Whitman has for Ginsberg is the fact that Whitman had been a breakaway from the literary establishment of his time, with his long winded style, sexual exploration and the presentation of himself as the everyman rather than a highly cultivated elite poet. In his book American Scream, John Raskin explains that “As late as 1955, Whitman was still largely untaught in college poetry classes and still largely unappreciated in academic circles, though he had a solid reputation in the nonconformist world”(20). This seems to closely relate to Ginsberg’s own experience in the literary world as well as both the writers were not acknowledged for a significant period of time after they began writing.
Howl also has a similar style and flow reminiscent of Whitman. Raskin speaks of Ginsberg’s style sating that “like Whitman he wrote long poems with long prose like lines and long catalogues of things, people and events”(20). This idea is particularly conveyed with the first poem in the text. Like Whitman, Ginsberg presents a sprawling view of the country, taking the reader form the chaotic underbelly of New York, to Denver to San Francisco and everywhere in between.
Another similarity between the poets was their subject matter. Raskin states that like Whitman, Ginsberg “wrote for American and about America” (20). But Ginsberg did not have an optimistic view of his country and what it was or could be like is evident in Whitman’s poems. Something which is readily apparent in some of Whitman’s poems is a warm love of his fellow man and a kind of trust and feeling of solidarity with the masses he came into contact with on the streets of the towns and cities of the country. Raskin points out that “…unlike Whitman, Ginsberg often did not trust the masses …he knew full well, the masses could be manipulated” (21). Yet at the same time, Ginsberg is certainly concerned about his fellow citizens and a Footnote to Howl expresses this. As Ginsberg cries “Everything is holy! everybody’s Holy!...Holy the vast lamb of the middle class!...Holy New York Holy San Francisco…” (27-28), it sound as if he is making an ecstatic and urgent plea for Americans to come to a recognition that their country, the world and themselves are holy; That they are not merely disposable objects that consume products, that they are sacred and are worthy of not being under constant threat of nuclear annihilation.
Further more, he felt that it was a poets “democratic duty” (23) to write about the problems and faults with the country and expose them to the public, as America was founded on dissent. The very structure of our government was set up for its people to question it, protest it, and change the laws if need be in order to protect the people form totalitarian absolute rule. Like wise, Howl is very much in the tradition of American patriotism, if patriotism is not having blind faith the government or having a Manichean view of it. Ginsberg acknowledges this duty, stating “It occurs to me that I am America” (41). The poem itself indicates a profound rift within the nation and a questioning of its current ideals, but more importantly the reaction to the poem certainly indicates the recognition of these faults and the need to break away from the old way of thinking. John Raskin speaks of this identification stating that Howl “conferred a strange power…It bound us together and gave us a sense of identity” (xi).
In conclusion, Howl is clearly a myriad of various influences; a kind a fusion between the “world weariness of T.S. Elliot and the innocent wildness of Walt Whitman” (244). It still has the power to shake American’s notions of themselves and their country, with its tenacious energy and thought provoking statements of life in America.
Work Cited
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Book, San Francisco, 1956.
Raskin, John. American Scream : Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1984.
A significant influence that Whitman has for Ginsberg is the fact that Whitman had been a breakaway from the literary establishment of his time, with his long winded style, sexual exploration and the presentation of himself as the everyman rather than a highly cultivated elite poet. In his book American Scream, John Raskin explains that “As late as 1955, Whitman was still largely untaught in college poetry classes and still largely unappreciated in academic circles, though he had a solid reputation in the nonconformist world”(20). This seems to closely relate to Ginsberg’s own experience in the literary world as well as both the writers were not acknowledged for a significant period of time after they began writing.
Howl also has a similar style and flow reminiscent of Whitman. Raskin speaks of Ginsberg’s style sating that “like Whitman he wrote long poems with long prose like lines and long catalogues of things, people and events”(20). This idea is particularly conveyed with the first poem in the text. Like Whitman, Ginsberg presents a sprawling view of the country, taking the reader form the chaotic underbelly of New York, to Denver to San Francisco and everywhere in between.
Another similarity between the poets was their subject matter. Raskin states that like Whitman, Ginsberg “wrote for American and about America” (20). But Ginsberg did not have an optimistic view of his country and what it was or could be like is evident in Whitman’s poems. Something which is readily apparent in some of Whitman’s poems is a warm love of his fellow man and a kind of trust and feeling of solidarity with the masses he came into contact with on the streets of the towns and cities of the country. Raskin points out that “…unlike Whitman, Ginsberg often did not trust the masses …he knew full well, the masses could be manipulated” (21). Yet at the same time, Ginsberg is certainly concerned about his fellow citizens and a Footnote to Howl expresses this. As Ginsberg cries “Everything is holy! everybody’s Holy!...Holy the vast lamb of the middle class!...Holy New York Holy San Francisco…” (27-28), it sound as if he is making an ecstatic and urgent plea for Americans to come to a recognition that their country, the world and themselves are holy; That they are not merely disposable objects that consume products, that they are sacred and are worthy of not being under constant threat of nuclear annihilation.
Further more, he felt that it was a poets “democratic duty” (23) to write about the problems and faults with the country and expose them to the public, as America was founded on dissent. The very structure of our government was set up for its people to question it, protest it, and change the laws if need be in order to protect the people form totalitarian absolute rule. Like wise, Howl is very much in the tradition of American patriotism, if patriotism is not having blind faith the government or having a Manichean view of it. Ginsberg acknowledges this duty, stating “It occurs to me that I am America” (41). The poem itself indicates a profound rift within the nation and a questioning of its current ideals, but more importantly the reaction to the poem certainly indicates the recognition of these faults and the need to break away from the old way of thinking. John Raskin speaks of this identification stating that Howl “conferred a strange power…It bound us together and gave us a sense of identity” (xi).
In conclusion, Howl is clearly a myriad of various influences; a kind a fusion between the “world weariness of T.S. Elliot and the innocent wildness of Walt Whitman” (244). It still has the power to shake American’s notions of themselves and their country, with its tenacious energy and thought provoking statements of life in America.
Work Cited
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. City Lights Book, San Francisco, 1956.
Raskin, John. American Scream : Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and the Making of the Beat Generation. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1984.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God is in a similar vein with Herman Hess’s stories of an individual going on a spiritual journey to try and understand themselves and their existence. The final line from the prologue of his book Demian states “We can understand one another; but each of us is able to interrupt himself to himself alone” (2). This encapsulates Janie’s path to a better understanding of herself through her relationships with the men in the novel and through an understanding of nature.
In the beginning of the novel, Janie is a young girl who is unsure of herself and how she fits in the world, yet she has an intense desire to gain some kind of understanding of her existence. How to go about this is beyond her and she doesn’t even know what she is exactly looking to find. This desire first manifests itself when she is sitting under a blossoming pear tree where she witnesses the harmony and oneness of nature. Janie speaks of seeing a “bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom….she had been summoned to behold a revelation” (11). She feels like she can attain this similar feeling of oneness but how to go about this she does not know. This idea is expressed as Janie is looking to all the harmonious relationships she sees in nature yet no answer for her self. At this point in the story, she feels both somewhat inside yet outside of this new world brought on by her revelation. Yet she feels the desire to begin searching; it is as if the outside world of nature is giving her clues and urging her to keep looking. Janie expresses this as a feeling that “an answer is seeking her, but where? When? How?”(11).
As the story moves on, Janie begins relationships with men, feeling that these relationships will help her on her quest that she can’t quite define. Although all the men try to control or define her in some way, she continues to develop her sense of identity according to her own ideas, even if the changes occur more frequently in her thoughts than in her actions. The first real decision followed by an action that she makes on her own comes about when she chooses to leave Logan and runaway with Joe. Joe embodies change, new developments and leaving the past behind for a new beginning. At this point in Janie’s character development, Joe represents this desire taking place in her. This idea is expressed with the lines “A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her…the change would do her good.”(32).
Unfortunately, Joe tries to mold her into what he thinks she should be and therefore controls and stifles her. Her independent feelings are suppressed but not entirely gone and they burst through with her final conversation with Joe. She attempts to convey to him “what kinda person [she] is.”(85). She expresses her resentment towards Joe for never really encouraging or being interested in her development as person with the line “mah own mind had to be squeezed and crowded tuh make room for yours in me” (86).
After Joe’s death, there is a sense of rebirth and renewal for Janie. She grows fond of “this freedom feeling” (90) and laughs off all the men telling her she needs assistance. Janie expresses her new feeling by dismissing her many suitors who wish to marry her and take care of her by stating “these men didn’t represent a thing she wanted to know about” (90). At this point, Janie feels more assured and confident in her sense of self and she doesn’t feel the need to yield to what is socially expected of her as the Mayor’s widow, hence her relationship with Tea Cake. For the first time, Janie experiences the passion and love she longed for when she was a girl under a pear tree bearing witness to the harmony of nature. She expresses this awakening by stating that Tea Cake had “taught me the maiden language all over” (115) and that he inspired her to “utilize [herself] all over” (112). Although Tea Cake treats her more equally than her first two husbands, he still has a sense of having some kind of authority over her. For example, he states that Janie will eat and live from the money that he makes (128) and that she is “wherever Ah wants tuh be” (148).
In the end, Janie ends up alone, yet she is not unfulfilled or longing for another companion. She is content with her life’s journey and the reader gets the sense that her experiences have helped her to gain a better and more complete understanding of herself and her existence.
Work Cited
Hesse, Herman. Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth. New York, Harper & Row, 1999.
Hutston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York, Harper & Row, 2006.
In the beginning of the novel, Janie is a young girl who is unsure of herself and how she fits in the world, yet she has an intense desire to gain some kind of understanding of her existence. How to go about this is beyond her and she doesn’t even know what she is exactly looking to find. This desire first manifests itself when she is sitting under a blossoming pear tree where she witnesses the harmony and oneness of nature. Janie speaks of seeing a “bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom….she had been summoned to behold a revelation” (11). She feels like she can attain this similar feeling of oneness but how to go about this she does not know. This idea is expressed as Janie is looking to all the harmonious relationships she sees in nature yet no answer for her self. At this point in the story, she feels both somewhat inside yet outside of this new world brought on by her revelation. Yet she feels the desire to begin searching; it is as if the outside world of nature is giving her clues and urging her to keep looking. Janie expresses this as a feeling that “an answer is seeking her, but where? When? How?”(11).
As the story moves on, Janie begins relationships with men, feeling that these relationships will help her on her quest that she can’t quite define. Although all the men try to control or define her in some way, she continues to develop her sense of identity according to her own ideas, even if the changes occur more frequently in her thoughts than in her actions. The first real decision followed by an action that she makes on her own comes about when she chooses to leave Logan and runaway with Joe. Joe embodies change, new developments and leaving the past behind for a new beginning. At this point in Janie’s character development, Joe represents this desire taking place in her. This idea is expressed with the lines “A feeling of sudden newness and change came over her…the change would do her good.”(32).
Unfortunately, Joe tries to mold her into what he thinks she should be and therefore controls and stifles her. Her independent feelings are suppressed but not entirely gone and they burst through with her final conversation with Joe. She attempts to convey to him “what kinda person [she] is.”(85). She expresses her resentment towards Joe for never really encouraging or being interested in her development as person with the line “mah own mind had to be squeezed and crowded tuh make room for yours in me” (86).
After Joe’s death, there is a sense of rebirth and renewal for Janie. She grows fond of “this freedom feeling” (90) and laughs off all the men telling her she needs assistance. Janie expresses her new feeling by dismissing her many suitors who wish to marry her and take care of her by stating “these men didn’t represent a thing she wanted to know about” (90). At this point, Janie feels more assured and confident in her sense of self and she doesn’t feel the need to yield to what is socially expected of her as the Mayor’s widow, hence her relationship with Tea Cake. For the first time, Janie experiences the passion and love she longed for when she was a girl under a pear tree bearing witness to the harmony of nature. She expresses this awakening by stating that Tea Cake had “taught me the maiden language all over” (115) and that he inspired her to “utilize [herself] all over” (112). Although Tea Cake treats her more equally than her first two husbands, he still has a sense of having some kind of authority over her. For example, he states that Janie will eat and live from the money that he makes (128) and that she is “wherever Ah wants tuh be” (148).
In the end, Janie ends up alone, yet she is not unfulfilled or longing for another companion. She is content with her life’s journey and the reader gets the sense that her experiences have helped her to gain a better and more complete understanding of herself and her existence.
Work Cited
Hesse, Herman. Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth. New York, Harper & Row, 1999.
Hutston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York, Harper & Row, 2006.
Friday, September 25, 2009
The way in which Ernest Hemingway’s novel is representative of the Avant Garde movement in American literature is with his use of gaps and fragmentation in the dialogue of the novel, the implementation of the idea of there being no absolute truths and that there has been a breakdown of traditional religious belief systems due to the disillusioning effects of World War One.
With the dialogue between the characters, emotional responses are suggested rather that fully explained even when the characters seemed to be engaged in an intimate conversation. For example when Bill and Jake are on their fishing trip, there is a lot more being suggested under the surface of their short lines and snippets of conversation. For instance when Bill asks Jake about “this Brett business” (128), this central theme of the novel, Jake and Brett’s relationship, is spoken of for not even half a page. Yet the reader still gets the sense that the Jake is going over the subject and is having emotional response to what’s being said, but Hemingway does not tell the reader exactly what those response are, but instead leaves us to fill in the gaps. But for the reader this does not happen readily, as knowledge of the characters nature is also not fully explained but is shown through the characters dialogue with each other and with their actions throughout the story.
The idea of there being no absolute truths and the break down of traditional religious beliefs can be conveyed through Jakes struggle to find meaning and values in this new world where the old values have disintegrated. Jake’s struggle can be seen with the line, “Perhaps as you went along you did learn something. I did not care what it was all about. All I wanted to know was how to live in it”(152). In the Victorian age, there was this idea that as an individual and as a society, there were theses absolute truths that could be understood and that were provided by the established religious tradition. Daniel Joseph Singal speaks of these Victorian ideals in his article “Towards a Definition of American Modernism” by stating that “at the core of [the Victorian] culture stood a distinctive set of bedrock assumptions. These include a belief in a predicable universe presided over by a benevolent God and governed by immutable natural laws” and that human beings were capable or arriving at fixed truths about life (114). While fishing with Bill in Spain, Jake speaks of being a technical Catholic (128-129). This idea of being technically apart of a religious tradition perhaps is one of the reasons why the old ways of thinking about religion fell apart. The Victorian mindset seemed to be that one is born into this religious tradition and this tradition is the very foundation of society so one should try and live according to these ideals; ideals that one can supposedly gain or learn simply by adhering to the established rules in which their civilized society has interpreted this religious wisdom. Yet many of these Christian nations, with centuries of religious wisdom, ended up in a gigantic slaughter so there is clearly something wrong. The idea that there is a shift happening in thinking and reasoning is summed up in the line “Maybe if you found out how to live in it you learned what from what it was all about”(152). What this idea is suggesting is that maybe we’ve been gong about this backwards. Perhaps we shouldn’t assume that there are these fixed ideas about the meaning of life that are obvious to the “civilized” and that are clearly found or provided for by simply being apart of an established religious order. Perhaps we should work the other way around, as is suggested by Jake, instead of starting with an absolute conclusion, perhaps we should try and learn how to live in life and from that, maybe we will form some idea about what our values are instead of just assuming they are intact or easy to identify.
This book represents the gigantic shifts in attitudes, values and reasoning that became about after the First World War. But as the lives of these characters indicate, the shift is not an easy one. As constraining and narrow as the old dogmatic and absolute truths of the Victorian generation are, the prospect of not having any central meaning to life, of having to develop ones own values from the wisdom gained through life’s lessons is a daunting task. Yet the new ideas that are being to emerge at this time will continue to develop and help to shape America in the twentieth century.
Work Cited
Singal, Daniel Joseph. Towards a Definition of American Modernism. American Quarterly 1981.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York, Scribner, 2006
With the dialogue between the characters, emotional responses are suggested rather that fully explained even when the characters seemed to be engaged in an intimate conversation. For example when Bill and Jake are on their fishing trip, there is a lot more being suggested under the surface of their short lines and snippets of conversation. For instance when Bill asks Jake about “this Brett business” (128), this central theme of the novel, Jake and Brett’s relationship, is spoken of for not even half a page. Yet the reader still gets the sense that the Jake is going over the subject and is having emotional response to what’s being said, but Hemingway does not tell the reader exactly what those response are, but instead leaves us to fill in the gaps. But for the reader this does not happen readily, as knowledge of the characters nature is also not fully explained but is shown through the characters dialogue with each other and with their actions throughout the story.
The idea of there being no absolute truths and the break down of traditional religious beliefs can be conveyed through Jakes struggle to find meaning and values in this new world where the old values have disintegrated. Jake’s struggle can be seen with the line, “Perhaps as you went along you did learn something. I did not care what it was all about. All I wanted to know was how to live in it”(152). In the Victorian age, there was this idea that as an individual and as a society, there were theses absolute truths that could be understood and that were provided by the established religious tradition. Daniel Joseph Singal speaks of these Victorian ideals in his article “Towards a Definition of American Modernism” by stating that “at the core of [the Victorian] culture stood a distinctive set of bedrock assumptions. These include a belief in a predicable universe presided over by a benevolent God and governed by immutable natural laws” and that human beings were capable or arriving at fixed truths about life (114). While fishing with Bill in Spain, Jake speaks of being a technical Catholic (128-129). This idea of being technically apart of a religious tradition perhaps is one of the reasons why the old ways of thinking about religion fell apart. The Victorian mindset seemed to be that one is born into this religious tradition and this tradition is the very foundation of society so one should try and live according to these ideals; ideals that one can supposedly gain or learn simply by adhering to the established rules in which their civilized society has interpreted this religious wisdom. Yet many of these Christian nations, with centuries of religious wisdom, ended up in a gigantic slaughter so there is clearly something wrong. The idea that there is a shift happening in thinking and reasoning is summed up in the line “Maybe if you found out how to live in it you learned what from what it was all about”(152). What this idea is suggesting is that maybe we’ve been gong about this backwards. Perhaps we shouldn’t assume that there are these fixed ideas about the meaning of life that are obvious to the “civilized” and that are clearly found or provided for by simply being apart of an established religious order. Perhaps we should work the other way around, as is suggested by Jake, instead of starting with an absolute conclusion, perhaps we should try and learn how to live in life and from that, maybe we will form some idea about what our values are instead of just assuming they are intact or easy to identify.
This book represents the gigantic shifts in attitudes, values and reasoning that became about after the First World War. But as the lives of these characters indicate, the shift is not an easy one. As constraining and narrow as the old dogmatic and absolute truths of the Victorian generation are, the prospect of not having any central meaning to life, of having to develop ones own values from the wisdom gained through life’s lessons is a daunting task. Yet the new ideas that are being to emerge at this time will continue to develop and help to shape America in the twentieth century.
Work Cited
Singal, Daniel Joseph. Towards a Definition of American Modernism. American Quarterly 1981.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York, Scribner, 2006
Friday, September 4, 2009
Renee Pariseau
Amory Dwight Mayo’s article from Universalist Quarterly analyzes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s abilities as a writer. The article deals with the common themes, trends and messages running throughout all his works, such as how Hawthorne portrays nature, historical periods and events, human nature, spirituality and sin. The few criticisms are left at the end of the article, concerning Hawthorne’s excessive use of symbolism and his lack of fully developed characters.
The author makes the argument that Hawthorne’s most profound gift was his ability to communicate the wisdom and time honored truths in Christianity (264). Hawthorne expresses this spirituality in the nature of his characters. They are the surface for showcasing how the desire and will of human nature interacts and struggles with spiritual law and fate. In particular, Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth are all struggling with their hearts desires and coping with the consequences of sin. The general moral in the telling of these characters stories is that sin leads not only to more sin, but misery and corruption of their selves and others. With Hester, as Mayo indicates, her first sin is that of marrying a man which she did not love, so that when she does find love with Dimmesdale, her desires carry her to commit adultery. This then leads to the destruction of both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth (269). Dimmesdale’s cowardice to speak the truth due to “the dread of public exposure”(101) causes him to physically and mentally deteriorate. While the demon of Revenge takes over Chillingworth and leads him to inflict harm on the reverend in a vain attempt at retribution for his own hurt and sorrow.
Yet, as is clearly evident in The Scarlet Letter, the sin itself can lead a character to a higher and more fully realized spiritual purpose and understanding. As Mayo indicates
“…a certain experience in sin enlarges the spiritual energies and the power to move the souls of men to noble results” (269).This is especially apparent with Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. For Hester, the scarlet letter casts her out of a society based on men’s idea of absolute truth and rule and she is forced to forge her own path. On this dark and lonely path she develops a stronger sense of self. Hawthorne speaks of Hester having “…wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness….the tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free” (128).
I’m no theological excerpt but I have a great respect for spirituality and religion. From my own limited contact with Christianity and Buddhism, the namesake of these religions didn’t seem to be following an absolute set of rules; they seemed to have set out on their own paths and had fully experienced truth in their own course through life. This seems similar to Hester’s story.
As for Dimmesdale, the people of the town do respond to him in a genuine way. Despite his false position, the reader gets the impression that when he preaches, he’s speaking what he believes in his heart to be the valuable and inspirational insight of Christianity. Dimmesdale is in stark contrast to the other authority figures, such as Governor Bellingham and John Wilson, whose view of Christianity comes off as an exclusive club in which they have the top seat and have the privilege and divine right to tell everyone how to live. Although Dimmesdale does not acknowledge his sin publicly, it is clearly with him and in his mind at all time and affects his very manner and way of preaching. The public can sense the wound in his soul and he does not act higher than them, he is one of them and they clearly love him. Hawthorne expresses this idea stating that his sin being the “very burden it was…gave him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind; so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs…”(94).
In conclusion I very much agree with the arguments presented by Mayo as to the strengths and weakness of Hawthorne’s writing abilities. Mayo speaks of Hawthorne as analyzing rather that creating his characters (265). An author such as Tolstoy develops his characters to the point where the reader can readily grasp why a character might be acting or reacting in a certain way because the reader is so well acquainted with the nature and disposition of that character. Where Hawthorne is certainly on par with Tolstoy is in his ability to convey the beautiful, timeless, and manageable truths of spirituality.
Work citied
Mayo, Amory Dwight. The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Universalist Quarterly. New York, Norton, 2004.
Hawthorne, Nathanial. The Scarlet Letter. New York, Norton, 2004
Amory Dwight Mayo’s article from Universalist Quarterly analyzes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s abilities as a writer. The article deals with the common themes, trends and messages running throughout all his works, such as how Hawthorne portrays nature, historical periods and events, human nature, spirituality and sin. The few criticisms are left at the end of the article, concerning Hawthorne’s excessive use of symbolism and his lack of fully developed characters.
The author makes the argument that Hawthorne’s most profound gift was his ability to communicate the wisdom and time honored truths in Christianity (264). Hawthorne expresses this spirituality in the nature of his characters. They are the surface for showcasing how the desire and will of human nature interacts and struggles with spiritual law and fate. In particular, Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth are all struggling with their hearts desires and coping with the consequences of sin. The general moral in the telling of these characters stories is that sin leads not only to more sin, but misery and corruption of their selves and others. With Hester, as Mayo indicates, her first sin is that of marrying a man which she did not love, so that when she does find love with Dimmesdale, her desires carry her to commit adultery. This then leads to the destruction of both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth (269). Dimmesdale’s cowardice to speak the truth due to “the dread of public exposure”(101) causes him to physically and mentally deteriorate. While the demon of Revenge takes over Chillingworth and leads him to inflict harm on the reverend in a vain attempt at retribution for his own hurt and sorrow.
Yet, as is clearly evident in The Scarlet Letter, the sin itself can lead a character to a higher and more fully realized spiritual purpose and understanding. As Mayo indicates
“…a certain experience in sin enlarges the spiritual energies and the power to move the souls of men to noble results” (269).This is especially apparent with Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. For Hester, the scarlet letter casts her out of a society based on men’s idea of absolute truth and rule and she is forced to forge her own path. On this dark and lonely path she develops a stronger sense of self. Hawthorne speaks of Hester having “…wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness….the tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free” (128).
I’m no theological excerpt but I have a great respect for spirituality and religion. From my own limited contact with Christianity and Buddhism, the namesake of these religions didn’t seem to be following an absolute set of rules; they seemed to have set out on their own paths and had fully experienced truth in their own course through life. This seems similar to Hester’s story.
As for Dimmesdale, the people of the town do respond to him in a genuine way. Despite his false position, the reader gets the impression that when he preaches, he’s speaking what he believes in his heart to be the valuable and inspirational insight of Christianity. Dimmesdale is in stark contrast to the other authority figures, such as Governor Bellingham and John Wilson, whose view of Christianity comes off as an exclusive club in which they have the top seat and have the privilege and divine right to tell everyone how to live. Although Dimmesdale does not acknowledge his sin publicly, it is clearly with him and in his mind at all time and affects his very manner and way of preaching. The public can sense the wound in his soul and he does not act higher than them, he is one of them and they clearly love him. Hawthorne expresses this idea stating that his sin being the “very burden it was…gave him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind; so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs…”(94).
In conclusion I very much agree with the arguments presented by Mayo as to the strengths and weakness of Hawthorne’s writing abilities. Mayo speaks of Hawthorne as analyzing rather that creating his characters (265). An author such as Tolstoy develops his characters to the point where the reader can readily grasp why a character might be acting or reacting in a certain way because the reader is so well acquainted with the nature and disposition of that character. Where Hawthorne is certainly on par with Tolstoy is in his ability to convey the beautiful, timeless, and manageable truths of spirituality.
Work citied
Mayo, Amory Dwight. The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Universalist Quarterly. New York, Norton, 2004.
Hawthorne, Nathanial. The Scarlet Letter. New York, Norton, 2004
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