Fiction is something that is created by the imagination of the author. A story is invented or formed by the author, characters are sketched, the plot and the dialogues are set and a work of fiction is ready to be read. However, a fictional work does not tell a true story. Rather, it immerses people in experiences might never happen in the practical world. A particular story introduces people with many types of characters and new types of places too where the reader can never go actually. A work of fiction inspires people, intrigues them, scares them and engages them with new ideas. It further helps to see the world in an interesting way.
Usually, there are three types of fiction such as the short story, the novel and the novella. As per the views of the famous short story writer Edgar Allan Poe, a short story is rather a piece of fiction which can be finished within half an hour to two hours. Ort short story hardly runs more than 20- 30 pages. Since a short story has a limited length, it focuses more on the plot with minimum characters. On the other hand, a novel is also a work of fiction which contains almost 120 pages. Notably, novels are more complex than the short stories. A novel can be as long as its author wants it to be without any limit of the length. As a contrast, novella is longer than the short stories but shorter than the novels. The length is almost 60- 120 pages. The novellas have more typical characters and storyline than the short stories. Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Jack London’s The Call of the Wild are good examples of novellas.
A short story is formed of few elements such as theme, characters, conflict, plot, and setting. A good short story can be read at a single setting. It must combine the poetic atmosphere and the matter-of-fact description. It shows a decisive moment of life.
The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne describes the life of a Puritan woman named Hester Prynne who commits adultery. Hawthorne uses the repetition of various motifs throughout the novel because he wants to convey to the reader that sin should not prevent a person from living.
From the very beginning of the novel, Hawthorne employs the motifs of flowers and weeds in order to juxtapose Hester with Puritan society. While describing the prison as a gloomy and lifeless setting, Hawthorne notes the presence of a rosebush that has “survived . . . the stern old wilderness” and “has been kept alive in history” (Hawthorne 42). As Hester leaves the prison, she, like the rosebush, stands out because of her beauty and radiating presence. Although the rules of Puritan society forbid adultery, Hester, driven by her passion for Dimmesdale, does not abide. Despite her rebellious nature, Hester finds a way to thrive in a conservative society and even becomes the subject of envy from the townswomen. Hawthorne includes the image of the rosebush several times throughout the novel in order to emphasize that although the townspeople do not initially accept Hester, they eventually come to celebrate her differences. In contrast to the rosebush that symbolizes Hester, the weeds symbolize Chillingworth. While Hester publicly accepts the sin she has committed, Chillingworth tries to exact revenge on Dimmesdale for it. As the novel progresses, Chillingworth changes from noble to evil as a result of his quest for vengeance. Because Chillingworth only lives to torture Dimmesdale, he dies soon after Dimmesdale dies. Hawthorne describes Chillingworth after his death as “an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun” (Hawthorne 222). Unlike Hester who has openly accepted her sin, Chillingworth did not let go of it. Ultimately, doing so resulted in Chillingworth’s demise. Hawthorne uses the motifs of flowers and weeds to demonstrate the importance of accepting sin and not holding on to it.
Hawthorne additionally uses the motifs of darkness and light in order to differentiate between evil and good. One of the most prominent examples of these motifs in the novel occurs in the forest. Pearl, characterized by her innocence and unfiltered speech, tells her mother that the sunshine “runs away and hides” from her because of the scarlet letter on her bosom (Hawthorne 157). The scarlet letter symbolizes the sin of adultery. By wearing the scarlet letter, Hester allows her act of evil to define her. Later in the novel, Hester elects to remove the scarlet letter. She realizes that she must let go of the past and tells Dimmesdale that they should not “linger upon it” (Hawthorne 173). Upon removing the scarlet letter, sunshine pours into the forest on Hester. The light that appears after Hester removes the scarlet letter indicates the possibilities for Hester’s future. The scarlet letter essentially prevented Hester from moving forward in life. By removing the scarlet letter, Hester gained the ability to redefine herself. Hawthorne uses the motifs of darkness and light to show that one must move on from his or her past evils in order to do good.
Besides the motifs of darkness and light, Hawthorne also adds images of colors, namely the colors black and red, in order to assert the importance of individuality. In the opening chapter of the novel, Hawthorne describes the prison as “the black flower of civilized society” (Hawthorne 41). The color black symbolizes the sadness and lack of personality caused by the punishment-based Puritan society. Because of the strict rules that exist within Puritan communities, citizens must often suppress their individuality. Hester, however, refuses to do so and as a result, stands out. Similarly, the rose bush stands out when compared to the surrounding prison. Hawthorne notes that the rosebush symbolizes “some sweet moral blossom” in the prison and acts as a relief in “a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne 42). In accordance with this, Hester becomes a valued member of her community and changes the meaning of the scarlet letter from “Adulterer” to “Able.” Hawthorne uses the motifs of red and black to show the importance of individuality in a strict community.
Undeniably, the various motifs that Hawthorne employs in The Scarlet Letter contribute to the theme that sin should not prevent a person from living. The motifs of flowers and weeds demonstrate the importance of accepting sin and not holding on to it. Similarly, the motifs of darkness and light demonstrate the importance of moving on from past evils in order to do good. Lastly, the motifs of red and black demonstrate that people should encourage individuality rather than suppress it. As proven by Hawthorne, motifs play an integral role in developing the themes in a work of literature.
Sin and the meaning of sin is one of the main themes that appear from the first chapter since the discovery of history and the scarlet letter. However, sin not only means an act against accepted religious norms, but also a rebellion against social traditions. The passionate act of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale that is deemed adultery, and upon being captured, Hester is convicted. However, Dimmesdale remains free due to his position, status, and influence. Hester has to go through grueling isolation due to her daughter, Pearl, who was born out of wedlock. This feeling of sin in Dimmesdale’s case becomes a psychological stigma. She goes through severe depression and trauma to remain silent and save her skin. Therefore, the sense of sin is the main theme of the novel.
The critique of Puritanism is another important theme of the novel, The Scarlet Letter. Hester’s crime is as huge as Dimmesdale’s. However, one is captured and sentenced, while the other is free. Dimmesdale hides his secret due to his position and status. When Hester is released, the anonymous narrator claims that even the Puritan legal code would be dismayed to see this kind of justice. It is because the law is mixed with the commandments of the Bible and human judgment, both are used incorrectly. The contrast between nature and Puritan laws sheds light on the kind of society in which there is discrimination in the case of punishment in letter and spirit, though not on the surface. This is a strong criticism of the puritanism that an innocent girl suffers only because of the supposed sins of her parents.
Hester Prynne’s act of public embarrassment and her reluctance to navigate the grueling social isolation is another major theme of the novel. It seems that Hawthorne has unconsciously put her weight on the feminist side. The projection of Hester as the epitome of an individual who has suffered unjustly shows that The Scarlet Letter is not simply a criticism, but also a condemnation of the moral code of that time. It shows that female strength is not simply a myth; it is also a fact. Hester Prynne’s suffering shows that she has suffered more than an ordinary man could have suffered under such circumstances.
The domination of patriarchy is another theme of the novel, The Scarlet Letter. The novel begins with an anonymous narrator, who tells the story of a woman. Interestingly, the narrator is a man who narrates about the male-dominated society. They have legislated laws, formed religious codes, and have also organized the court for Hester’s trial. There is no other woman except Pearl or those anonymous ladies who come into contact with Hester just to embroider her veil. This makes this novel an unconscious critique of male domination.
Although not very dominant, the theme of redemption looms large in the background of sin and punishment. Hester, though ostracized, earns redemption by helping the poor and working as a seamstress. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, earns redemption when she confesses her crime after giving a passionate final sermon after many years.
Although love does not seem to be a dominant theme, Dimmesdale and Hester love each other during her husband’s absence. The result is the birth of Pearl. It is out of love for Dimmesdale that Hester does not reveal her identity. She is shown as an epitome of love who never tries to expose her lover. Her silent sacrifice wins Dimmesdale in the end, and he agrees to take her to England.
The fresco painting, The Fall and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, created by Michelangelo and painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, depicts the biblical story of Adam and Eve and their sin against God, due to the temptation in the form of a forbidden apple tree known for granting knowledge. The painting presents the viewer with the story all in one piece. On the right side, Adam and Eve are living in a plentiful environment. They reach out towards the middle of the painting where the tree of knowledge is rooted. On the tree sits a man with the lower body of a snake. This man representing Satan himself, holds out an apple from the tree, tempting the two to go against God and take a bite each. As the story goes, they do exactly that. First the fall of Eve closely followed by Adam. The left side then shows them sulking away from the tree and now surrounded by a more barren and somber environment being expelled from The Garden of Eden and onto Earth. This painting as a whole depicts the first sin of men. The end result being shame and regret as evident from their faces on the left side of the painting. All coming from the sin they chose to take part of together. The story of these two sinners and their fate has been told throughout many years including other visions of the story. However, the story isn’t so much about the sin but the outcome of it. Another instance where sin and its effect on humans can be seen is in The Scarlet Letter. The writer of The Scarlet Letter, Nathanial Hawthorne, uses the characters in the book to allude to the conclusion that sin is horrible due to its power to destroy a person.
Hester’s guilt shackles her to stay in the town that has condemned her to wear a scarlet letter for what she committed. She feels as if she needs to repent her sin that she is constantly reminded of due to the letter and her daughter Pearl. She has every opportunity to leave all of her past behind and move on to life somewhere where no one will know of her past mistakes. But as Hawthorne states, “The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling to her inmost soul, but could never be broken”(77). One can assume that the iron links are the guilt chaining her to the town that has doomed her. Therefore, sabotaging her chance for a better future.
Hester’s denial to rid the scarlet letter from her bosom when the town gave her the opportunity, revealed that she views the scarlet letter as a reminder to herself of the guilt she wants to repent herself of. One can see this when she chooses to take the scarlet letter off in the forest with Mr. Dimmesdale. Hawthore writes, “The Stigma gone, Hester heaved a long sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit.”(199). Afterward, Pearl refuses to see her as her mother without the scarlet letter. Pearl’s persistence for Hester to put the scarlet letter back on after taking it off in the woods with Mr. Dimmesdale shows that the scarlet letter that is meant to be a reminder to herself of the things she has committed and therefore a permanent showcase of her guilt.
As the years pass, Dimmesdale’s health plummets. This can be connected to the worsening of guilt toward his actions to hide the truth and leave Hester alone in her missionary. An example that reveals that his guilt is slowing him down, is when he runs back home after the therapeutic encounter with Hester. While running through the forest, Hawthore writes, “He could not but recall how feebly, and with what frequent pauses for breath, he had toiled over the same ground only two days before”(212). Hawthore writes this to show the difference between the before and after of his encounter and talk with Hester, lifting his guilt from his shoulders.
The relationship of Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth can be seen as another instance where guilt is used to destroy a man. Chillingworth’s only reason to be close to Dimmesdale is to make his life more miserable than it was on its own. After Chillingworth finds out that Dimmesdale is in fact the father of Pearl, Hawthore writes, “All that guilty sorrow … to be lavished on the very man to whom nothing else could so adequately pay the debt of vengeance”(136). Chillingworth is able to recognize the power guilt has over Dimmesdale and is able to use that knowledge to worsen his state of mind and make him repay what he has done to him.
One of the more salient examples to show that guilt can destroy a man is when Mr. Dimmesdale himself confesses his pain to Hester when they are conversing in the forest. He complained to Hester that he has regretted the choice to live a life in secrecy under the watchful eyes of the Puritan society. When asked by Hester is he had found peace, he goes to say, “None! -nothing but despair! … Hester, I am most miserable!”(187). He continues to say even with the parise from his parishioners he is unable to shake the weight of guilt from his back that had held residence there for the past seven years. This resulted in his dismay and pain.
Another example of an author who writes about the destruction from guilt is Angie Thomas in the book The Hate U Give. Thomas presents many examples where characters are grieving over their guilt and one of the examples include the main character Starr. Starr is raised in a black neighborhood while being schooled in a white school in a richer town. When faced with the death of her friend, she is left to choose whether to join the protest against the police brutality in exchange for her safety and image a school or to stand by and watch. For the beginning of the book she chooses to stay out of the protest. Then in turn making her feel guilty for betraying her own friend and letting his image be ruined. One instance where she particularly feels guilty is when she hangs out with her white boyfriend, Chris. As she holds his hands, she beings to see the scene of her friend’s death and starts to compare them, “A cop as white as Chris points a gun at me. As white as Chris. I flinch and snatch away”(Thomas 85). Through this, one is able to see the impact of the hidden guilt of her choice to stand back in the protest. She is constantly reminded of the horrid moment and it starts to affect her everyday life; consuming her.
As seen through the artwork of Michelangelo and the novels The Scarlet Letter and the Hate U Give. guilt can be a prominent cause to a person’s fall from normalcy and into a dreadful state of mind. In the end, guilt might be seen as something horrible and dangerous to obtain but in retrospect guilt can also be seen as something to keep people human.
Many scholars have provided different definitions of the word injustice. In this paper, injustice will be defined as the absence of fairness and lack of justice in dealing with issues related to people’s rights; it basically includes violation of people’s rights and unfair treatment of people.
This paper will discuss some of the rural injustices in the society as depicted using imagery in the following three short stories: “When I Was in Hsia Village”, “Marriage of Young Blacky,” and “Springs Silkworms.” Rural injustice imagery is an important aspect that these three short stories have used to demonstrate and illustrate some of the prejudices and unreasonable human experiences that take place in the modern Chinese rural societies.
In these three stories, the authors have clearly managed to use characters, styles, and major themes to provide clear evidences that there is rural injustice in the society. These writers have used imagery to illustrate the rural injustice that affects the Chinese rural society. Therefore, this paper will demonstrate how rural injustice is depicted in these three short stories using styles, themes, setting, and characters (Shu-li 94).
In the story of “Marriage of Young Blacky,” there is rural injustice where Yu Fu’s father lost his temper and beat some young men who had come for his daughter-in-law; indeed, this woman had managed to attract a big number of admirers within a few days. As the big crowd surrounded her with gaity and laughter, Yu Fu’s father thought such behavior was improper, and had to do something to save the situation. Indeed, one day when such a crowd had gathered as usual, he lost his temper and gave the young people a good scolding.
This certainly prevented them from coming again, but irritated his daughter-in-law so much that “she cried for a whole day and night, refusing to comb her hair, wash clothes, wash her face, or take any food” (Shu-li 91). This shows that there was injustice as the daughter-in-law was not happy with the beatings given to those young men by Yu Fu’s father. Indeed, she had not complained that those men were a nuisance to her or that she was not interested in them.
Another rural injustice is seen in the story where Hsiao Chin’s mother was gossiping with the neighbors and Chin Wang came to Hsiao Chin to kiss her.
This is illustrated in Marriage of Young Blacky where one Chin Wang made an impromptu visit to Hsiao Chin’s home, in the absence of her father and mother who were in the fields and neighbor’s residence respectively, and insisted of having a good time with her. Although she resisted, the young man was adamant and tried to blackmail her saying, “Stop acting! You would soften enough if you were with Hsiao Erh-hei.
Come on; let me have a go too” (Shu-li 93). This shows how boys were capable of sexual abuse to girls in the rural society. There is also rural injustice where Chin Wang’s father was said to be one of the village farmers who behaved like a tiger, especially due to the alleged tendency to maltreat people in the society when he was a master. The story narrates that, “for a good number of years the old man had mean of the village, and was a past master in maltreating people” (Marriage of Young Blacky 94).
Again, his son Chin Wang and their cousin Hsing Wang were seen mistreating people during village official elections, as illustrated in the story that “the country folk hated them like poison , but nobody dared breathe a word , for fear of rousing the enmity of such formidable enemies” (Shu-li 95). There is also another rural injustice in the story where Chin Wang planned to revenge against Hsiao Chin by claiming that Hsiao Erh-hei avoided the meeting and was not sick with malaria.
He then goes on and plans another meeting in order to embarrass and confront Hsiao Erh-hei and Hsiao Chin, although he does not succeed in his plans. This is illustrated in the story through the statement that “fortunately, the village head knew his job and reproved Hsing Wang, Hsiao Erh-hei really was ill with malaria; it was not just an excuse” (Shu-li 98).
Another rural injustice is illustrated where Third Fairy–maid forced her daughter Hsiao Chin to marry Brigadier Wu against her wish, as she had wanted to marry Hsiao Erh-hei; indeed, “Third-Fairy-maid was terribly upset about all this” (Shu-li 101).
There is rural injustice when girls are forced to marry partners that are chosen to them by their parents against their wish. Indeed, it shows how this young woman, Hsiao Chin, has faced injustice several times, first in a forced kiss from Chin Wang and then her mother’s attempt to force her to marry Brigadier Wu.
There is rural injustice in the story where Chin Wang managed to take Hsiao Chin and Hsiao Erh-hei to the district government because Hsiao Chin had refused to marry Brigadier Wu (Shu-li 102). In addition, using styles such as dreams where Hsiao mother dreamt that a play was being performed in the temple, we see injustice in the rural society, as this dream is later interpreted in the case where Hsiao Erh-hei is tied with Hsiao Chin and taken to the district government office (108).
Lastly, another injustice in the rural Chinese society as depicted in the story is the issue of parents who want their daughters to marry even when underage as in the case of Hsiao Chin, whose mother wanted her to marry Brigadier Wu even before reaching 15years of age (107). Therefore, the author of the short story has managed to show various rural injustices in the Chinese rural society through the use of themes, styles and characters as discussed in this paper.
The second story that depicts the availability of rural injustices is “Spring Silkworms.” In this story, there is rural injustice where Tung Pao’s grandfather and Old Master Chen had been forced by Long Hairsrs to work as captives for seven years in a secluded place without payment and against their wish or consent. The story ends by, “because they raised a crop of spring silkworms, the people in old Tung Pao’s village got deeper into debt” (145). This shows how the villagers were suffering.
This is illustrated in the book where it states that “years ago Long Hairs campaigning through the countryside had captured Tung Pao’s grandfather and Old Master Chen and kept them working as prisoners for nearly seven years in the same camp” (Tun 11). Another injustice is seen where we are told that Old Tung Pao’s father once killed a young long-haired man on patrol and continuing to state, ‘what Old Tung Pao could not understand was why the fall of the house of Chen should affect his own family” (Tun 12).
Besides, there is also rural injustice in the story where villagers had bad attitude and prejudice towards foreigners to a point of petitioning the government to repatriate them; the story states that, “in the village, his attitude towards foreigners was well known, the new Kuomintang government says it wants to” throw out” the foreign devils” (Tun 14). This shows that in rural areas, foreigners were not valued and were mistreated by others, thus showing injustice towards these foreigners, most of whom were innocent.
Furthermore, due to exploitation and other mistreatments, there was poverty in the village, as women and children had little to eat, while “their clothes were old and torn” (Tun 17). Therefore, in this story, the writer has clearly shown some of the rural injustices in the Chinese society using characters and themes such as poverty and cultural beliefs.
The last story that demonstrates the presence of rural injustice is “When I Was in Hsia Village.” In this story, we see injustice in the village where we are told of existing political turmoil in the village and some elementary school, which were destroyed by other people. The story illustrates this by stating, “These used to be an elementary school, but last year the Jap devils destroyed it” (Ling 269).
Another injustice in Hsia village is illustrated where people have to go and hide due to turmoil at political department. There are also rural injustices where girls are involved in prostitution in Hsia village as illustrated in the story – “it’s said that she has slept with at least a hundred men” (Ling 271). This shows that there are sexual injustices taking place in the village (Ling 278), especially in relation to the circumstances that lead to girls to turn to prostitution.
In addition, rural injustice is seen where Japanese attack Hsia village some time back and some people were killed. The author illustrates this by stating, “Liu Erh-ma said, talking about the Japanese attack on Hsia village a year and a half before” (Ling 272).
Lastly, there was also a lot of suffering in the village due to severe living conditions and political interferences that were common in the villages (Ling 277). Therefore, using appropriate themes such as suffering, prostitution, religion, and political instability, the writer of the short story, “When I Was in Hsia Village,” has been able to successfully show some on the rural injustices in modern Chinese society.
In conclusion, this paper has discussed some of the rural injustices as exhibited and evidenced in the three short stories including “When I Was in Hsia Village,” “Marriage of Young Blacky”, and “Springs Silkworms”. As seen above, injustice involves the infringement of civil rights and inequitable treatment to other people; thus, rural injustice is the violation of basic human rights and deficiency of fairness in the rural society.
From the three short stories, we have seen and found out that some of the common rural injustices in the society include marriage challenges, prostitution, and bad leadership, poverty due to exploitation, colonialism, and poor cultural beliefs. In the story of “ Marriage of Young Blacky “, the author has managed to show us various rural injustices in the Chinese rural society through the use of themes, styles, and characters as discussed in this paper.
Secondly, we have discussed some of the rural injustices as depicted in the short story,” Spring Silkworms”, with the injustice that stands out being foreigner’s discrimination. Besides, this shows that foreigners were not valued and were mistreated by others in the village.
Furthermore, due to exploitation and other mistreatments, there was poverty in the village, as women and children had little to eat and no clothe to wear. Lastly, in the story “When I Was in Hsia Village,” appropriate themes such suffering, prostitution, religion and political instability have been used to demonstrate the existence of injustice in the society. Indeed, the writer of this last short story has been able to successfully show some on the rural injustices in modern Chinese society.
Finally, although the writers of these three short stories have highlighted various injustices to the society in the past, it is important that other writers use literature to depict current happenings in the society. Again, writers should use literature to create more awareness to the members of the society about how to eliminate and prevent potential injustice.
Literary writers should also be creative and use words that are more appealing and styles of writing that would make their literary works more interesting to read. Lastly, short stories are among the most humorous and enjoyable pieces of literary works; therefore, the writers should combine good use of characters, themes, literary styles, and settings, including the plot of the story in order to make their writings more interesting and globally accepted
Works Cited
Ling, Ting. When I Was in Hsia Village. (Attached article)
Shu-li, Chao. Marriage of Young Blacky. (Attached article)
The modern Chinese fiction is closely associated with concentrating on the rural settings and countryside to discuss important social topics and issues. The relationships between people within the rural settings develop according to the traditional social patterns and principles, but it is important to pay attention to the degree of closeness between rural inhabitants and to the role of the definite activities in their life.
Thus, the concept of justice can also be discussed with references to the discussion of the countryside life’s details. Furthermore, it is necessary to state that the people’s perception of injustice is more acute within the rural settings, where the personal boundaries between people are rather obscure.
The focus of this paper is on representing the issue of rural injustice in Ding Ling’s “When I was in Hsia Village”, Zhao Shuli’s “Hsiao Erh-Hei’s marriage”, and Mao Dun’s “Spring Silkworms” and on analyzing the use of the authors’ realistic approach and tone to discuss the idea.
Therefore, the specific aspects of the countryside are discussed in these works with references to the idea of rural injustice which should be examined with the help of focusing on the authors’ manipulation of the matter-of-fact tone and depictions.
In spite of the fact that in their works, Ding Ling, Zhao Shuli, and Mao Dun discuss different topics and concentrate on various aspects of the rural life, these authors use individual approaches to emphasizing their realistic tone in the discussion of the problematic idea of the rural injustice because the focus on the unmediated realism is necessary to reflect injustice as the part of the rural population’s everyday reality.
While living at the rural territories, the protagonists depicted in the works of the modern Chinese authors have to face injustice in different forms almost each day. In this case, the rural injustice has the roots in the people’s unjust behaviors, ignorance, and aggression against the other people.
Chen-chen, the female character of Ding Ling’s “When I was in Hsia Village”, experiences the obvious injustice with references to the villagers’ negative attitudes to this young woman. During the days after returning back from the Japanese territories, Chen-chen has to realize all the sides of the people’s injustice and unfairness related to judging her with references to the villagers’ words and actions.
Thus, the villagers are inclined to talk that Chen-chen is useless as the community’s member; she cannot face the people as the equal one because of her ignorance related to the chastity norms and the community’s values; and she should be discussed as the real punishment for her family because of her provocative behaviour.
The villagers’ attitude toward Chen-chen can be represented in the phrase said by one of the community’s members, “Such a shameful woman should not be allowed to return” (Ling 271).
Paying attention to the description and characterization of Chen-chen as ‘a shameful woman’, it is possible to refer to the majority’s opinion and to take the opposition which is similar to the viewpoint of many people from Chen-chen’s community.
However, such an approach cannot be discussed as the just one in relation to the aspects of Chen-chen’s behaviour and sources of the public’s hatred and ignorance.
All the negative characteristics given to Chen-chen by the villagers can be discussed as the examples of the rural injustice because these people cannot look at the situation from the other point and understand the significant role of Chen-chen’s behaviour for the rural community.
Realism in Ding Ling’s work is accentuated in all the used techniques and approaches to write the story. Thus, the author chooses the technique of reportage to represent the story of Chen-chen, and she relies on the use of the realistic tone in order to describe and emphasize all the details of the community’s settings and of the villagers’ attitude to the young woman.
To illustrate the particular aspects and examples of the rural injustice, Ding Ling refers to the words of Chen-chen which describe her personal attitude to the problem. Thus, Chen-chen states: “Nobody treats me the way they used to.
Have I changed? I’ve thought about this a great deal, and I don’t think I’ve changed at all” (Ling 274). Chen-chen becomes the direct object of the villagers’ unjust and prejudiced behaviours because these people do not understand the woman’s sacrifices which contributed to their personal wellbeing.
To emphasize this fact, Ding Ling strengthens her realistic tone with the help of using the reportage as a narration technique. Instead of being grateful in relation to Chen-chen because of her sacrifices, the villagers are inclined to ostracize the woman.
Thus, these villagers are realistically described to be focused on prejudice and superstitions. Rural injustice reflected in personal relations becomes the clear result of such prejudice and false visions.
The focus on superstitions as the possible source for injustice is also reflected in Zhao Shuli’s “Hsiao Erh-Hei’s marriage”. Shuli’s main characters, the couple of young people who refuse to marry according to the traditional norms, are judged by the rural community’s members because of their unconventional behaviors.
The author depicts injustice in relation to the villagers’ actions and behaviors while stating that “no villager dared speak up for the young couple” (Shuli 103).
Referring to these words, Zhao Shuli accentuates the public’s fear to be judged unjustly because of their actions and opinions, but these villagers can also be discussed as the embodiments of the rural and social injustice because they are inclined to persecute persons who express a kind of courage to go against the traditional norms which are based on prejudice and superstitions.
Zhao Shuli focuses on this controversy in the people’s vision of justice while discussing the possibility to influence the people’s wills and actions.
Moreover, the focus on the public’s fear is accentuated one more time, with references to resolving the problematic situation of the traditional marriage. Thus, the author repeats that “nobody dared speak up. People were afraid of reprisals if they failed to bring the charge home to the Wang cousins.
Some chicken-hearted villager even whispered “Tolerance means peace” (Shuli 113). Zhao Shuli draws the readers’ attention to the fact that ‘tolerance means peace’ while using the obvious irony as the literary device because, in this case, tolerance is closely associated with the idea of the rural justice which is not observed in the villagers’ behaviors.
To represent the variety of the villagers’ characters who are rather selfish, prejudiced, and ignorant, Zhao Shuli uses his specific variant of the realistic tone which is emphasized with manipulating the colloquial or ‘peasant’ style and manner of writing.
From this point, the characters and situations seem to be extremely real because protagonists are characterized by using the speech patterns which are typical for the rural territories, and situations are depicted in the most comprehensible manner. As a result, the fact of the observed rural injustice can be perceived by the readers more clearly.
Thus, Zhao Shuli’s realistic or the matter-of-fact tone and the use of the colloquial style to accentuate this tone contribute to discussing the idea of rural injustice in the depicted village because this injustice is also rooted in the people’s prejudice and superstitions.
In the works written by Ding Ling and Zhao Shuli, rural injustice can be discussed as the product of the people’s relations influenced by their viewpoints, traditions, and visions. In “Spring Silkworms”, Mao Dun discusses the concept of rural injustice as the product of the external forces’ impact because these forces can become threatening for the rural population.
In this case, injustice is more related to the social and economic issues which play the important role in the Chinese rural communities while influencing all the spheres of the people’s life. Old Tung Pao’s family and many other villagers become the victims of the foreigners’ intrusion into their economic and everyday life. As a result, these people face injustice related to the issues of the labor exploitation in the field of the sericulture.
To emphasize the experienced injustice, the author uses a lot of realistic depictions to illustrate the state of villagers. Thus, Mao Dun describes the women and children participating in sericulture, stating that “none of these women or children looked really healthy. Since the coming of spring, they had been eating only half their fill; their clothes were old and torn. As a matter of fact, they weren’t much better off than beggars” (Dun 18).
From this point, the villagers could not be described as healthy and satisfied while developing the sericulture in the region, and these people could not expect that the foreigners’ rules would change the situation for better.
Referring to the threat of the ‘free markets’ for the members of Old Tung Pao’s community, Mao Dun reveals the instances of the social injustice with the help of depicting the villagers’ value system in a realistic and rather dramatic tone. Being the master of critical realism, Mao Dun combines the realistic techniques to describe the landscape and nature or people with the elements of irony and drama in his tone.
Thus, the depictions of “the peaceful green countryside” and of the sun’s rays which “forced open the tender, finger-like, little buds” are changed with the realistic depictions of villagers working in the filed of the sericulture as ‘beggars’ (Dun 13-17).
From this perspective, it is possible to note that the detailed description of the agrarian landscape with a lot of the realistic features and elements is chosen by Mao Dun in order to accentuate the idea of injustice with references to this rural background. In spite of the fact that the author often refers to the use of comparisons, his tone can be generally discussed as matter-of-fact.
Thus, a lot of rural scenes seem to be depicted close to reality that is why the readers’ strong reflection on the idea of injustice discussed in the story becomes more evident. Mao Dun’s reference to the idea of the rural injustice is based on the economic and social background.
In this situation, the authorities and foreign producers within the sphere of sericulture can be described as the causes for observing injustice in the rural communities. Focusing on Mao Dun’s specific writing style and tone, it is possible to note that the matter-of-fact tone with the elements of irony and drama is effective to reflect the idea of injustice in the literary work completely.
Ding Ling’s “When I was in Hsia Village”, Zhao Shuli’s “Hsiao Erh-Hei’s marriage”, and Mao Dun’s “Spring Silkworms” are the good examples of the modern Chinese literature focused on the rural problems and issues. Injustice in different forms is the topic and pattern depicted in many literary works written by the Chinese authors.
That is why, it is relevant to pay attention to the discussion of this topic with references to the authors’ works which are different in their themes and presenting the idea of injustice, but these works are similar in relation to focusing on the realistic tone to discuss the pattern in detail.
Although Ding Ling, Zhao Shuli, and Mao Dun choose to concentrate on realism as their method, the authors’ writing styles can be considered as rather different because Ding Ling develops her realistic tone with references to the focus on the personality, Zhao Shuli combines the matter-of-fact tone with the colloquial style reflected in the characters’ speech and descriptions, and Mao Dun refers to combining the realistic tone with the elements of irony.
As a result, Ding Ling’s approach is effective to represent injustice with references to personality; Zhao Shuli’s approach is successful to focus on the injustice based on superstitions, and Mao Dun’s technique is effective to represent the social injustice.
Works Cited
Dun, Mao. Spring Silkworms and Other Stories. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1956. Print.
Ling, Ding. “When I was in Hsia Village”. Modern Chinese Stories and Novellas, 1919-1949.
Ed. Joseph Lau, Cen Hsia, and Leo Lee. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981. 268-278. Print.
Shuli, Zhao. Rhymes of Li Yu-tsai and Other Stories. USA: Foreign Languages Press, 1955. Print.
Science fiction as a genre is rich in ideas and technologies offered by different authors. Sometimes it is possible to encounter bold and incredible inventions that are supposed to be used by people in the future. At the same time, some phenomena once described in science fiction, for instance, various automated mechanisms, or more obviously robots, have long been used in the modern world. Some of the favorite themes of the authors of this genre are space travel to other planets and interstellar contact with aliens. In this category of science fiction, it is often possible to find references to faster-than-light travel, that is, nearly instantaneous flight over long distances. This technology, as McGuirk (2018) notes, was described in the works of Lem, Asimov, and other outstanding science fiction writers. Nevertheless, its plausibility is still doubted today, and the proof is the fact that so far, no means have been found to overcome the light barrier and reach such speed.
Making use of the phenomenon of faster-than-light travel was typical for writers of the 20th century. According to Dourish and Bell (2014), authors began actively using this hypothetical technology after the conquest of space, and one of the first science fiction writers who mentioned it was Isaac Asimov. Dourish and Bell (2014, p. 770) argue that “science fiction shapes popular imaginings of the future.” This statement is quite justified since the topic of finding viable means to overcome the speed of light is still relevant today. Despite Albert Einstein’s insistence that faster-than-light travel was theoretically possible based on his theory of relativity, no significant discoveries were made (Long 2016).
Thompson (2017, para. 2) devotes his article to this issue, but he is confident that “physics is very strict about nothing moving faster than the speed of light.” A similar opinion is held by Baraniuk (2016, para. 43), who notes that “if things could travel faster than light, they would disobey these fundamental laws that describe how the Universe works.” Furthermore, Sutter (2017) claimed that even in the case of overcoming the speed of light, the result would be undesirable because of wormholes. Certainly, the development of such a technology would bring many benefits, and discoveries could be made. However, the laws that are known today present obstacles to the creation of such technology, and therefore faster-than-light travel remains nothing more than fiction.
Current Status/Recent Developments
Even though the technology for faster-than-light travel has not been developed in any sense, attempts have been made. According to Baraniuk (2016, para. 13), “in the early 1960s, William Bertozzi at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology experimented with accelerating electrons at greater and greater velocities.” This work was aimed at finding an alternative energy source that could provide a space vehicle with the appropriate capacity to overcome the speed of light. Nevertheless, studies that had the potential to lead to innovations were not successful. It was proved that electrons were not able to move above a speed of 300,000 km/s, which refuted the possibility of faster-than-light travel (Baraniuk 2016, para. 15).
Attempts are still being made to find a way for faster-than-light travel. Sutter (2017), who considers wormholes in the context of this topic, notes that they should not only be extremely powerful but also stable. Otherwise, flights making use of wormholes would be meaningless since short-range movement in space would not lead to any results concerning the efficacy of wormholes as applied technology. Accordingly, to find a potential solution, a fuel source must be discovered that could provide spaceships with enough energy to overcome the light barrier. At the moment, there is no such energy source, which therefore nullifies all the efforts of inventors in this direction.
It is noteworthy that the desire to overcome the light barrier is even considered to be theoretically impossible by some authors. As Thompson (2017, para. 7) remarks, “it seems likely that warp drives and hyperspace shall forever exist only in the realm of science fiction.” At the same time, even despite the development of modern technologies and progress in space exploration, experiments of this type continue to be unsuccessful. This fact confirms that at the moment, neither theoretical nor experimental hypotheses have proved to be correct.
Technological Limitations and Future Potential
To make the technology of faster-than-light travel a reality, it is necessary to not only search for an appropriate energy source but also to work on the construction of modern vehicles. According to Baraniuk (2016, para. 18), “as objects travel faster and faster, they get heavier and heavier – the heavier they get, the harder it is to achieve acceleration.” Consequently, changes must be made in the traditional construction of spacecraft to minimize their weight without at the same time losing the necessary protection. This work may have more practical application because due to technical progress, new forms of spacecraft are being created, and external vehicle structures can be equipped with the most modern materials that make it possible to reduce the total weight. It is possible that in the coming years, scientists will be able to develop appropriate technology and ensure that new formats of spacecraft design will become more widely accepted.
The project under consideration has many technological limitations. As Long (2016) remarks, in assuming that reaching and overcoming the speed of light is possible, theories of space and time would be refuted, which is impossible in the present state of modern physics. Modern scientists and researchers probably do not yet have sufficient knowledge to develop a plan for the motion of spacecraft at such a barely conceivable speed. However, even in the context of existing information, it is difficult to suggest that faster-than-light travel might become real. If the exploration of outer space and other planets and galaxies continues, valuable minerals may be found that would permit the creation of the necessary type of fuel. Nevertheless, sufficient financing would be required for this work, and in the next few decades, any significant progress is unlikely to be made. Perhaps in the future people will learn to use energy necessarily, but today, faster-than-light travel is impossible from nearly all points of view.
Conclusion
By the laws of physics that are known today, faster-than-light travel is nothing but science fiction, and up to now, no significant discoveries have been made in this area. Scientists have tried to find opportunities for developing this technology, but the laws of the universe do not allow it. Science fiction writers have used this theme in their works quite often. Nevertheless, when considering this issue from the standpoint of modern science, traveling faster than the speed of light is impossible. The search for potential energy sources and work on the design of space vehicles are necessary for potentially making progress.
Reference List
Baraniuk, C 2016, ‘The real reasons nothing can ever go faster than light’, BBC. Web.
Dourish, P & Bell, G 2014, ‘Resistance is futile: reading science fiction alongside ubiquitous computing’, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 769-778.
Long, KF 2016, ‘Unstable equilibrium hypothesis: a consideration of ultra-relativistic and faster than light interstellar spaceflight’, Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, vol. 69, pp. 97-101.
McGuirk, C 2018, ‘Stanislaw Lem, Philip K. Dick, and American science fiction’, Science Fiction Studies, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 211-215.
As it is in the world since time immemorial, human beings have struggled with their disunified self identity. This is owed to the diversified compelling circumstances in our society.
We have allowed ourselves to be controlled by highly capitalistic thinking in our quest for self authenticity that we can no longer identify ourselves. However, as we find out ultimately, each individual is unique in his/her own way and one does not have to conform or be like others in order to be complete as individuals.
As James Hollis stipulates in ‘What Matters Most,’ we are here to be eccentric, different, perhaps strange, perhaps merely to add our small piece, our little clunky, chunky selves, to the great mosaic of being” (Johnson 35). This essay examines the concept of dual identity, its implications and the extents an individual goes to establish self authenticity in a society characterized by stratification and disunity.
Dual identity
Dual identity or double consciousness refers to the various ways individuals have at their disposal that can enable them defined and understand who they are and how they fit into their surrounding.
Most importantly, it refers to person with a multifaceted identify; an individual whose identity is challenged by discrepancies that exist in the social norms and the day to day hustles faced by the individual. It alludes to the way one perceives himself and also how the person is envisioned by others.
The Souls of Black Folk
In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois (26) describes the concept by looking at the life of the blacks in the United States at a time when racism was at its worst.
Through his metaphor of the veil, Du Bois advances that all black Americans wear this veil owing to their perception of the universe and its capabilities which is very different form the way the whites look at it. This veil is the color problem.
He presents dual identity in; the ability of the white Americans to effectively generalize the blacks by compelling them into not standing up for their people when they know the truth of the situation (politically), the racial segregation of the blacks from the predominant society regardless of whether the were Americans or not and most importantly the inner struggle that the black has to contend with; being black and American at the same time.
While dual identity may be a blessing for the black American, Du Bois however observes that it is dangerous when an individual reconciles himself into being accepted as he is perceived to be or molding one’s identity to fit that which others perceive him to be.
The black Americans are stripped of their real identities and look at themselves through the stereotyped disdain of the whites. The black is torn between being black and American at the same time. He cannot see himself as he is but perceives himself through the point of view of others which Du Bois argues, is tainted by disdain and pity.
The black American is conscious of his being black and American; something which creates both psychological and social strain not only within the individual but also on groups. While he considers himself an American, he still feels like an outsider because of his skin color. Consequently, their consciences are split, compelling them to identify themselves twice.
This is the precarious and detrimental position the black American is thrust into that greatly affects their perception of what is acceptable and what is not. Consequently, they have come to accept that the whites’ perception of who they are is the right one.
The whites look at the black masses as ignorant, destructive and incapable of good. This has seriously affected their individuality and character. According to Du Bois (28), the life of a black American is characterized by conflict. There is this struggle for recognition and the attempt to blend his dual identity to become a better version of his real self with the hope of conserving the African in them.
Du Bois strives for a society in which a black is given the opportunity to not only be black but also American without being segregated against by others and without being limited.
The American society is divided along various lines. Du Bois viewed racism, a product of slavery as a problem in the American society but also stipulated that the t times individuals are to blame for the way they are regarded by others.
To him, double consciousness is letting one self to be perceived through other people’s eyes. This is especially damaging when they let their conduct and character be affected or swayed by those perceptions. People become discriminated against and generalized by their color with many perceiving them as indolent, ignorant and destructive. This is a negative perception which kills their self worth.
The solution to this problem of color bar is for the back person to be given the opportunity to choose representation by voting, accessing quality education and being accorded fair treatment just like the other Americans.
In “Of the Dawn of Freedom”, he argues against Washington’s policies on how to handle the African American problem by arguing that education for the blacks should not just be industrial but should also academic so that they can also raise leaders and teachers within themselves.
While the black church may at one time have played the saving role from the miseries of slavery, it is now seen by Du Bois as a shortcoming that requires blacks to be emancipated from.
He views it as the only obstacle standing between blacks and their total liberation; a liberation that focuses on economic growth and empowerment. Instead of the black church overly dwelling on political movements, it ought to seek to improve the economic condition of the blacks in the society.
Yekl
The quest for self authenticity and the struggle with dual identity and acceptance is also portrayed by Abraham Cahan in Yekl; a story of a young Jew living in Russia and later the United States of America.
Faced with the hopelessness resulting from the crimes against the Jews and the Russian government’s nonchalance towards the situation, the Jews realize their position in the Russian society as that of lesser citizens in spite of their struggles to fit in.
Yekl, more than anyone else, strives to be accepted into the Russian society. He knows the most words in Russian compared to other boys. However, his efforts to be incorporated are dwarfed by the killings aimed against the Jews.
His father’s blacksmith workshop, the family source of livelihood, is adversely affected. The pressure compels the boy to go to America where he hopes to make enough money and ultimately be reunited with his family (Cahan 12).
His life in America is characterized by a series of ironies. As Jake, Yekl strives to deal with his situation as an immigrant by attempting to be an American as much as he can. This ultimately drives him to be unfriendly towards others like him.
His idea of fitting in is to strip himself of his Jewish roots. He is obsessed with the idea of being a real American that he actually thinks he ought to get rid of the Jewish in him and take in his idea of what being American is. What Yekl contends with is dual identity.
His problem lies with the failure to accept that he is eminently Jew by nature and embrace his Jewish culture whether he is granted full American citizenry and privileges (Cahan 16). He fails to understand that he can be fully American as a Jew and does not need to be fully assimilated.
Jake uses language to be incorporated into first the Russian then the American society. He believes that by learning and mustering the language and by selectively using some words, he can be accepted easily. His hostility towards fellow immigrants and his reference to them as “greenhorn” is an attempt to show that he is superior to them.
His use of English and “Yankee” style is also an attempt to overawe the less incorporated immigrants. While the writer attempts to indicate that Jake has only accepted the guise of American civilization, Jake actually thinks it is genuine and so do the immigrants (Cahan 19).
This becomes conflicting for Jake as it reaches a time when his attempts to Americanize by using “Yankee” style reveal his bad English. The mixture of Yiddish and English are clear indications that linguistically, he will never be fully American.
He does not understand that unlike in Russia, a Jew in America did not have to adopt the language and the ways of the Russians to be assimilated. That was just an anti Semitic strategy to get rid of the Jews by constricting them in illiteracy and relegating them as lesser citizens in the Russian society. In America though, one did not have to be assimilated to attend school or college.
Jake fails to understand that America is made up of many ethnic groups which are all considered American regardless of their levels of assimilation. He fails to differentiate the Russia and America cultures; Russian which condoned transgressions against the Jews and America.
From a victim in Russia, he becomes the discriminator in his attempts to be a Native American forgetting that he is subjecting his own kind (the less incorporated immigrants) to the same type of suffering the Jews went through in Russia.
The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man
James Weldon Johnson describes the concept of dual identity or double consciousness through the story of a mulatto, the “Ex-Colored Man” who lived in racial America after the Reconstruction period.
The conflict with his identity arises when he is caught between accepting his black roots through ragtime music and going though life unnoticed as an insignificant ordinary white man in a society besotted with color.
Living a protected and a more privileged life than his counterparts, the Ex Colored Man is exposed as a child into a life of the privileged black people and the kind whites.
His world is changed by the death of his mother subjecting him to a life previously unknown to him: life of the lower class black. He however fits in well as he passes and is able to deal with all classes of blacks. His experience leads him into identifying three categories of blacks; the despondent class, the submissive class, and the autonomous workman.
To him, the despondent blacks were the poor who despised the whites; the submissive worked for the whites while the later did well by themselves and did not need the white man. His light skin allows him the privilege to associate with the all white.
Johnson indicates that despite the long tiring hours of working for The Rich White Gentleman playing ragtime to entertain white men, he would ignore his tired body just to put a smile on the white men’s faces. He is passed around to other people’s parties and he is enchanted by the lives of the whites.
He becomes a slave and also a friend of the white man. He embarks on a mission to use his talent to help the poor Africans in order to fill the empty space in his life.
This freedom to interact and be friends with the white man and the Ex Colored Man’s allegiance also indicate that the man was indirectly affected by the implications of slavery as there is that clear relationship between a master and a slave (Du Bois 20).
His intentions of moving South, forming a black American musical style and restoring the black man’s honor are noble. While in the South, he helplessly bears witness to a horrible lynching of a black man, a scene which is etched on his mind for a very long time. This was but one of the many scenes that prevailed in the whole south. This scene made the Ex Colored Man opts to go by as white (Johnson 37).
He did not want to identify himself with blacks who could allow themselves to be treated so inhumanely and those who could do such heinous crimes to others. He chooses to abandon the black race and refuses to be identified as black to the rest of the world and instead goes ahead to live life as a white man.
We observe however that the Ex Colored Man, despite his satisfying life as a white man, still has regrets for giving up his other heritage; the black heritage. This implies that had the Ex Colored Man embraced his black roots, he may have been a better man.
His double conscience and its contradictions is portrayed in his being accepted as white despite his black roots which are manifested in his skills for black music.
However, his fear of being a black makes him abandon his talent which he had planned to use to save and change the position of the black race in exchange for the convenience and privileges being a white man. He was forced by society at that time to take the best of the situations and live with it no matter the consequences (Johnson 35).
The Ex Colored Man chose to marry a white wife to foster his position as a white. Nevertheless, his life is full of ironic twists.
Conclusion
Race is the mother of many social problems affecting the world today. Du Bois, Johnson and Cahan bring together an amalgamation of history, fiction and personal experience that clearly indicate the dilemma that race or color poses to individuals and the society at large.
They both address the historical problem of racism not just for the African American but for other ethnic groups and the struggles they have to contend with to fit in the society.
While it is natural for an individual to seek a better life for him/herself, the social stratifications that exist in our society do not make the choices easy for the individual.
All the writers attempt to tell us how it felt like to be caught in the racial dilemma and an individual’s efforts to advance and emancipate one self from the dilemma.
Self authenticity requires that individuals mature psychologically, acknowledge and develop our uniqueness. Otherwise, we will always struggle to conform to the demands of society which are in many instances too overwhelming yet we can simply be accepted as we are.
Works Cited
Cahan, Abraham. Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto and The imported bridegroom, and other stories. London: Courier Dover Publications, 1970. Print.
Johnson, James Weldon. The Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man. Hill and Wang publishers. 1991. Print.
Du Bois, William. The Souls of Black Folks, norton critical edition, ed. Henry louis Gates Jr. and terri Hulme oliver. NY: New York: New York publishers. 1999. Print.
The elements of literature connote the aspects that make up a piece or work of literature such as a poem, biography, prose, epic, story or play. To be able to write a complete work of literature, a writer, poet, or playwright needs to use certain elements of literature to make the work have meaning.
The basic elements of literature found in most writings include the plot, setting, character, structure, conflicts, point of view and theme. These elements however differ from the various types of literature work. For example the literature elements found in novels or short stories might differ from those found in poetry or prose (Bhattacharyya, 2010).
DiYanni in his work mostly focuses on theme as the main element of literature in his analysis of various works. Theme is the central idea or basic meaning that is underlying in a story, poem, novel or play. The theme is identified in terms of looking at the characters in a literary work or the author’s perspective or view of the literature piece. The theme is seen to reflect the society or world as a whole (Werre, 2003).
DiYanni (2007) explores the theme of denial in his comparisons of literature by Faulknet, Miller and Poe. He notes that denial is very prominent in the story of” A Rose for Emily” and in the play “Death of a Salesman” and in the poem “The Raven”. Within the play, the story and the poem each, the theme of denial is prominent because of the central character’s refusal to accept the reality.
This creates a dreamlike situation that enables them to remain indifferent to the truth about their lives and surroundings. This state of denial is however seen to be a momentary solution to their problems.
In his theme analysis of “A Rose for Emily”, the main character, Emily Grierson is seen to be withdrawn into her own unrealistic dream world. The people in the town she lives in feel that disrupting her unrealistic world will upset her causing her to react in a negative way. When her lover, Homer, tries to threaten her unrealistic world, she kills him and hides his body in an upper bedroom in her house. Homer’s body is discovered well after Emily’s death and funeral (DiYanni, 2007).
Diyanni further analyses Emily’s character and her creation of the unrealistic world by looking at her actions that revealed she was in denial. In the story, we are told of how Emily keeps her father’s body for three days denying that he is dead and also denying the townspeople his body.
Her denial was evident in her refusal to believe that her father was dead despite persuasion from doctors and ministers who had called on her to dispose of the body. Emily’s other denial was that she saw her marriage to Homer Barron and his existence to never have been real. This is evident in the quote:
“The man himself lay in the bed…… The body had apparently once lain in the attitude of an embrace, but now the long sleep that outlasts love has cuckolded him” (DiYanni, 2007, p.84).
In the story, the town gets free postal delivery services which require that every town’s member have a mailbox and house numbers attached to their house. All the townspeople agree to have the mailboxes and numbers attached to their houses except Emily. She refuses to get a mailbox and house numbers hanged on her house which is see to be a form of denial. Other than the mail services, she refuses to pay tax to the local government (DiYanni, 2007).
The townspeople also experience some denial where in a traditional stance; they claim that Emily is no longer a member of the upper social class because she does not possess the qualities to belong to that group. The townspeople believed the Grierson family held themselves in high esteem, more than what they truly were.
The townspeople also deny that they have a right and obligation to inform Emily that there is a foul stench around her house. They withdraw from the reality by covering up the smell with sprinklings of lime around her house and all the outer buildings. The townspeople also deny that Emily and Homer could be in a love relationship because they think it would be improper for a lady like her to have a relationship with a day laborer from the North.
They also deny that a lady from the Grierson family with such a high standing in society would take a person like Homer Barron seriously. They even go to the extent of denying the relationship by saying that grief would not cause a real lady to forget her high ranking social status in the town’s society (DiYanni, 2007).
DiYanni’s next analysis of the theme of denial is in Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman. The main character of the play, Willy Loman, lives in a delusional world in which he is successful and adored by the people around him.
Willy’s wife Linda and their two sons, Happy and Biff, support Willy’s unrealistic world because they do not want to disrupt his dreamlike state, claiming that he will eventually realize the truth on his own. Willy’s denial occurs when he denies that he is a mediocre salesman in the first Act of scene three. He claims that he is known in all of New of England in a conversation with his two sons (Diyanni, 2007).
He further exaggerates the circumstance of his denial when he claims that he can park his car in any London street and no one would touch it because the police would protect it like it was their own. He also appears to be delusional when he claims that he never has to wait in line to see a buyer.
Willy’s denial from reality is also evident where he is has an antagonistic view towards anyone or anything that wants to threaten his unrealistic world. This is evident when Willy tells off Bernard for saying that his son is about to fail school and also when he chases his son Biff out of the house for calling Willy a fake after discovering that he has a mistress .
Willy’s wife Linda also faces some denial when she refuses to accept the fact that her husband tried to kill himself. These is evidenced where she writes a letter claiming that all the car accidents Willy had been involved were not accidents at all. She first removes and later replaces a rubber hose from behind the water heater that Willy used to try and kill himself with because she feels that removing the hose might insult Willy.
Linda also contradicts the self-depreciating remarks that her husband makes. She is noted to say that her husband is the handsomest man in the world and that he doesn’t talk too much, he is just a man with a lively personality. She is also quoted as saying “There’s nothing to make up dear. You’re doing fine” (DiYanni, 2007).
Linda summarizes the things that have pushed her husband into denial as being his old buyers who were also happy to see him and brought him constant business when he was a younger salesman. Now his buyers were either dead or retired. She also says that Willy drives for seven hundred miles without making any money from his long and tiring journey.
To counter his wife’s statement about his fruitless sales journeys, Willy lies to his wife that the fifty dollars he borrows from Charley is the salary he makes when he goes on his seven hundred mile journey.
Willy’s sons are also in denial that there is something wrong with their father. They perpetuate Willy’s delusions by playacting out one of their father’s daydreams in which they are both successful businessmen. Happy is seen to be telling his brother about how they are going to sell start a sporting good line known as the Loman Line that will be worth a million dollars.
On the other hand, Happy’s brother Biff is pretending to go for a job interview with Oliver who is his former boss. The job will make him to be a successful salesman for sports goods (DiYanni, 2007).
When Biff confronts him with the rubber hose he used to try and kill himself with, Willy faces a nervous breakdown. Biff wants his father to acknowledge the fact that he was trying to commit suicide and he also confronts his father on the fact that Willy is not a successful salesman. He wants his father to accept the fact that he is a failure and a thief.
In the events that lead up to his death, Willy has a last argument with his son after which he drives off in his car and later crashes it. This scene is viewed to be a reflection of Willy driving away from the truth and reality of himself and his mediocre life.
The next theme of denial to be analyzed is Poe’s poem “The Raven”. The narrator of the poem attempts to deny the fact that his love, Lenore, is dead. He is faced with denial when he is made angry by the raven’s declarations that his lover Lenore no longer exists which in the end makes him view the raven as nothing more than just a bird.
In stanza two of the poem, the narrator denies that his Love Lenore is gone where he states” Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow-sorrow for the lost Lenore” (DiYanni, 2007, p.1173).
In the fifth stanza of the poem, the narrator faces denial when he states in the poem that he gazed down the hallway and stood there reveling in the fact that his lover was no longer among the living. His denial is in evidence again in the eighth and ninth stanzas when he refuses to accept the fact that he is lonely. The stanzas in the poem also reveal that the presence of the raven is seen to be a distraction from the narrator’s experience of solitude and loneliness after the loss of his lover.
His denial of loneliness is also in evidence in the tenth stanza where he believes that the raven will leave at some point, likening its departure to that of his friends, his hopes and dreams. The narrator is in denial when he refuses to accept the fact that the raven is only just a bird. This is evident in the fifteenth and sixteenth stanza where he labels the raven to be a prophet of doom. He also likens the bird to a fiend and a devil.
DiYanni compares the different characters of the play, poem and story noting that the narrator of the poem, Emily Grierson and Willy Loman are all similar in that they allow outside influences and their unrealistic worlds to affect their decisions. DiYanni also notes that all the three characters are lonely with the narrator being lonely from the death of his lover, Emily Grierson loosing both her father and Homer and Willy being the lone salesman trying to make a living.
The characters are also lonely in that they live in their own delusional worlds which make it difficult for them to relate with the other characters in their lives, creating situations that are filled with tension and antagonism (DiYanni, 2007).
The aspect of the main characters in the play, poem and story placing some distance between them and the truth creates a situation where they are unreceptive and antagonize anyone who tries to threaten and distort the truth about their unrealistic world. In each of the three works, death is seen to be a consequence of each characters extreme denial.
In the case of Willy, the removal of denial from his life in the play gives him the motivation to commit suicide. Emily Grierson murders Homer as a result of a withdrawal from her unrealistic life while the narrator looses his sanity when he strains himself to question the reality of the raven (DiYanni, 2007),
Another similarity of the three works is seen when the family of Willy helps to perpetuate his fantasies because they believe they have no right to interfere with his unrealistic world. This is similar to when the townspeople help to perpetuate Emily’s delusions. All the three characters deny reality because the truth to them will mean having to reevaluate their ambitions, goals, priorities which would mean redefining their happiness.
Emily, Willy and the narrator use physical and violent outbursts as a way of showing their defiance and resistance to the fictional and factual true predicaments of their lives. The three characters also run from the truth about their unrealistic worlds by either committing murder as was the case with Emily killing Homer or committing vehicular suicide as done by Willy or becoming mentally insane as evidenced by the narrator questioning whether the raven was truly a bird (DiYanni, 2007).
The theme of denial in most of the works analyzed by DiYanni has revealed the fact that the character in focus by the author will most often face denial in the form of refusing to accept that their surroundings are real. The characters also refuse to accept that the existence of their friends and family members are real.
They refuse to deal with their emotions and deny any confrontations with the people that are close to them. The characters are seen to violently refuse any person or thing that tries to threaten their world or alter their chosen view of reality. An intrusion into their dreamlike worlds results in disastrous consequences which are more than likely death or suicide.
References
Bhattacharyya, A. (2010) Elements of Literature. Web.
DiYanni, R. (2007) Literature, reading fiction, poetry, and drama. 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.
For this particular study two works of fiction and one of poetry will be used. In the fiction genre the proponent of this study will examine the work of Sherman Alexie, a short story entitled Indian Education and another short story by Jamaica Kincaid entitled Girl.
In the poetry genre Langston Hughe’s A Dream Deferred will be examined more closely and together these three works will be analyzed using an element of literature. Furthermore, these three will be compared side-by-side to determine any connection, any common denominator. And finally these three works by these three authors will be read for pure enjoyment to appreciate literature and how it can inform, entertain, and move the soul.
Plot
The element of literature that will be used to study these three works is plot. In short stories it is how the authors arranged events to provide information needed to understand a story. It can also be understood as the way the author arranges the events, information given in the story to create a particular effect on the reader. This should make the reader want to read more. In a more simplified explanation, a plot is the beginning, middle, and end of a fictionalized short story.
When it comes to poetry it is not easy to determine the plot especially when the poem in question cannot be considered a narrative poem and something that only contains a few lines, such as Hughes’ A Dream Deferred. In this case it is helpful to know that a poem’s plot can also be understood as the way the author tries to argue a point (Drury, year).
In A Dream Deferred the argumentation did not go full circle because it did not contain any information concerning the gathering of evidence and chains of reasoning but at least it began and ended the poem with a prelude to argue about the possible impact of a dream deferred.
Indian Education
Looking first at Sherman Alexie’s work one can automatically see that the author used a clever way of arranging information and events by using the events surrounding his student days as he went through grade school – specifically from First Grade to Twelfth Grade.
In this manner one can see how he has metamorphosed from a small and insecure little boy into someone who tried to rectify his life by taking charge and eventually graduating with honors and recipient to numerous awards and scholarships while his friends, neighbors and classmates back in the reservation continues to struggle even as they graduate from High School because they have little prospects considering who they are and where they are at.
Thus, the story is not just about the triumphs of Alexie, the typical story of a little boy who defied the odds and overcame every obstacle thrown his way. The plot of the story consistently highlighted the discrimination, poverty, hopelessness that many experienced in the Indian reservation. Alexie also constructed the plot in such a way that as the humiliation, frustration, and anger escalated with each grade level, one can also find different villains at each different stage.
For example in First Grade it was the other Indian boys who bullied him no end up until he found a friend. This is very ironic because they are a people oppressed and instead of helping each other they are fighting and hurting one another. In the Second Grade the villain was a mean teacher who made his life miserable and it was his first major taste of what injustice is all about.
In the Third Grade and Fourth Grade he was always in the firing line either as a guilty participant in some prank or an innocent bystander caught in the collateral damage. There was a bright spot in this stage of his development process though because it is during the Fourth Grade that he received an encouragement that he can be a solution rather than a mere spectator to the Indian Reservation problem that was about to go down the dumps.
It was a major turning point in his life because as one will take a step backwards and analyze the story one can see that his life began to change for the better. It was in the Fifth Grade when he discovered the beauty and power of basketball. Nevertheless, the villains are still there ready to pounce on him.
In one occasion the villain was not human, but a temptation in the form of a “rubber cement from a paper bag” and his cousin the victim of the said villain went round and round the merry go round his ears rang, mouth dry and his mind blank (Alexie, 1993). And then he was up again when he was in Sixth Grade because he found a best-friend and ally.
In the Seventh and Eight Grade he discovered that villains are not only found in schools and the school playground but they can also be the unknown force called discrimination and this is a debilitating force powered by the hatred and bigotry of many members of the community, the state, the nation. They spew venom without even verifying the facts and made judgments based on biased information.
In the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Grade he realized that racists will judge him solely based on the color of his skin and nothing more. He also learned one more thing, that for those living in the Indian Reservations and even Indians who are trying to get away from it all, the number one villain that they need to contend with is not the environment and the people who tried to pull them down or those who judge them harshly, their number one enemy is the way they treat themselves.
He mentioned his father early on in the story who had a bad habit of downing a gallon of vodka a day – though it seems like an exaggeration one can get the picture. It is true that people must not condemn others but based on how the story has unfolded the author also pointed to the necessity of the Indians pulling themselves out of the gutter.
In the last and final stage, in the Twelfth Grade this is the resolution. The author demonstrated that the nation, the state and the community may try to force Indians to do something that the do not like and to make them feel that they are second-class citizens but they can do something to rectify it.
They can be like the author who blazed a trail for others. He defied the odds by becoming educated, by becoming a scholar. But at the end of the story he found it difficult to rejoice because looking back, his people are in a path to self-destruction.
Kincaid the Girl
The challenge of understanding plot in this short story is obvious to the reader. The author tells a story using only one sentence. It is a unique and interesting way of telling a tale but Kincaid had to sacrifice a few elements of plot in order to pull it off. First it is hard to find out the setting and time. No one knew where the story happened and at the same time nothing much is revealed about the character. More importantly there was not even a semblance of a dialogue between two characters.
It is clear though that a mother is speaking to a daughter but it is a one way street. The daughter tried to interact but the mother knew nothing about it because her daughter was only able to reason in her head. This also gave the reader a difficult time trying to adjust every time the girl tried to interject her own thoughts and opinions.
Nevertheless, the causality or the reason for writing the piece and the reason why the reader must continue with the story is clear even from the beginning. It is a mother’s set of instructions given to her daughter on how to become a fine woman acceptable in society and able to make her parents proud.
Dream Deferred
Langston Hughes began the poem right at the very beginning; he started his argument by asking a question: “What happens to a dream deferred” (Hughes, 1996).
And then he developed the piece using more questions and zero answers. As mentioned earlier the plot of this poem can be seen as the start of an argumentation that has no resolution. The author asked a question but instead of answering it the next lines in the poem were all clarifications in the form of questions. However, one way to interpret this poem is to see the questions as answers.
Thus, when the author asked: “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” he was not merely asking he was also giving suggestions and probably an answer. If one will use this analogy then a dream deferred is a dream that will undergo a slow and agonizing death. First it will dry up, then it will fester like a sore dripping with all the bad odor and decaying fluids. It will stink like a rotten meat while parts of it will shrink and sag and the it is gone.
Common Denominator
If one will compare the two short stories and the poem one can argue that there is indeed a common denominator: poverty and despair and in the short stories one can even add the element of anger simmering just beneath the surface. The reason why Indian Education is such a pitiful state is due to poverty.
If all the Indians were as fortunate as the author they could have had the chance and the opportunity to transfer to a much better school were the teachers are kinder and has a better world view as compared to the teachers sent to the reservation. These teachers are understandably rude because they may also resent the fact that they were sent to a far away place far from their homes and forced to co-mingle with people with different traditions and culture.
Poverty is the reason why the Indians were faced to make decisions as the author eloquently puts it. There are two things in the story that reinforces this view and these are illustrated using two words: HUD and reservation. They have no place to live and they have no other place to go. They do not have the means to make money so that they can experience respect and dignity once again. Their land was taken from them and many of them do not have the skills suited to a modern economy. And so they have to live in the reservation.
As a result they do not have the ability to send their children to a good school and at the same time they do not have the capability to build a home that is suited for the family they simply had to rely on the government to build a house for them. All of these things had crippled the Indian man, he can no longer stand proudly just like their ancestors and the warriors of an era long gone.
Poverty breeds despair and the men took solace in alcohol. Alcoholism is a constant feature in the story from the time that the author mentioned the voracious appetite of his father for vodka, a very strong drink, to the time he talked about a young man who died from alcohol abuse – crashing his car into an innocent tree – and finally when the graduates, from the government run school in the Indian reservation deciding to meet frequently in the tavern instead of finding work and changing their destiny.
There is also an anger that tries to break free and yet the author realized that it has to be pushed below the surface. So many times he wanted to explode bewildered and frustrated by the racist comments, by the condemnation, and by the generalization made by others who had not even an iota of information to be able to understand the context of the struggles and various problems faced by those living in the reservations.
Poverty is also very much evident in Kincaid’s piece. Poverty is the reason why the mother was a little bit paranoid in teaching her daughter how to behave because they cannot afford to make mistakes. The strict rules, the forceful discipline that does not even allow her daughter to speak one word is due to extreme poverty.
The things that the mother wanted the girl to perform is a direct result of their poverty – they cannot afford to buy ready-to-wear-clothes, there is no money to buy food already cooked or prepared by someone, there is no way to pay the services of a laundry woman or go to a Laundromat to clean the clothes, there is no money to go to the supermarket to buy okra. It was the duty of the girl to produce and take care of these things.
Despair is seen in the way the girl or the daughter tried to reason out but her thoughts have no room in the house. There is no other source of information considered valid but that of her mother. It must be pointed out though that not everything about the story is a paranoia and child labor. The author also tried to show that she grew up in a particular culture where the mother transmits to the next generation – in this case mother to daughter – the necessary lessons of life that will guide her to womanhood. Thus, in the monologue the mother tried to enforce rules that will hopefully transform her daughter into a fine lady highly respected in society and able to become a productive citizen of the community or at least a dutiful wife like the mother in the story.
Nevertheless, it can also be argued that anger is simmering just beneath the surface considering that every aspect of her life was controlled and also the fact that she was forced to work doing not only household chores but the gathering and cooking of food. This is the work of an adult but the daughter had to endure all of that and more.
Poverty can be the reason for the dream that was deferred. Although the author did not provide enough information to make a solid conclusion one of the major reasons that a person is unable to achieve dreams is due to extreme poverty. Another possible reason for a dream to be deferred is injustice and other social factors that prevent a person from realizing his dream or from competing in a level field. Racism can be also a factor why injustice exists in the dream crushing world of Langston Hughes.
Lessons Learned
There are at least two memorable lines in Alexie’s story. The first one states: “Sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers” and the second one states: “That was the year my father drank a gallon of vodka a day and the same year that my mother started two hundred different quilts but never finished any” (Alexie, 1993). The first statement is like a two-edged sword it cuts through racism as well as a rebuke to the Indians who prefer to live a life of mediocrity.
The author demanded equality and respect for his heritage but at the same time there is something in him that says do not create a link between me and the drunkard who killed himself by ramming his car into a tree – we may have the same features but we are not related – this he desperately wanted the world to understand.
The second statement encapsulates the despair and the frustration that everyone felt while living in the Indian reservation. The alcohol was a way of escape while the quilt was a way to reconnect with the past, a continuous attempt to preserve their heritage even if they feel that it is not really that important and so the mother is not that inspired to go to the next level when it comes to improving her business and in the words of the author does not even finish what was started.
The poem of Hughes and Kincaid’s short story can be linked together by the idea labeled as a dream deferred. The girl in the story have her own idea about how to live life and how to determine his future but it seems that society and her mother had already chosen a path for her. While she is still alive and while the culture and traditions of her land continue to be dominant force then she simply had to accept that her dream has to be deferred.
Conclusion
The works of Alexie, Kincaid, and Hughes talk about poverty and despair, in a way that people will listen. They did not present cold hard facts, statistics and demographics about poverty and the feeling of hopelessness among the people – they illustrated, it they described using vivid terms and analogy that makes their message come alive in the mind.
The reader was moved and vowed never to participate in racist actions and words. The proponent of this study was moved to take a closer look at the lives of marginalized people and the things that they had to go through on a daily basis and why many of them has lost hope and surrendered to the notion that their dreams will forever be deferred.
References
Alexie, S. (2010). “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.” Web.
Annenberg Media. (2010). “What Goes into a Plot?” Web.
DiYanni, R. (2007). Literature, Reading fiction, Poetry, and Drama (Ashford Custom 6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.