Pessimism in The Mayor of Casterbidge

Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge is a story of tragic hero who from hay-trusser becomes the mayor of Casterbridge and dies again being a hay-trusser which obviously adds to pessimism. Moreover, the recurrence of coincidences and play of fate upon characters do reinforce pessimism. Likewise, the images and symbols such as dark places, rain, skimitty-ride, dead caged bird etc. all contribute to pessimism. In subtle study, setting, character portrayal etc. do indicate pessimism in the novel.

            When once ends where one had begun, everything whatever done in between loses significance nullifying importance of attempts made brings pessimism in one's life. Michael is seen as a hay-trusser at the beginning of the novel. After 18 years, he's shown to be the mayor of Casterbridge, a prestigious, famous, well-to-do, well mannered, popular or successful person. But when the novel ends, Michael dies a death of hay-trusser. In this way, Michael's journey ended where it began from. Whatever happened in between was as if just dreams dreamt in broad day-light or at least, they aren't pleasing, they are just traumas. On the other hand, Michael falls because of hubris. He didn’t' cause his fall consciously or because of vice. His fall was because of his excessive pride, jealousy, anger, ego etc. if he had fallen because of obvious vices, we wouldn't have sympathy over him. But he falls despite having so many virtues. In this way, his ending in the same place where he began and our sympathy towards him adds pessimism.

The novel is full of coincidences. From selling of Susan and Elizabeth to Michael's fall all are not planned, programmed or motivated. They just happen in the course of time. Susan and Elizabeth weren't sold and bought purposefully or with a plan. Had Newon not happened to be crossing through when people at furmity were joking with Susan's selling and buying it would have been just a joke. But it was a coincidence that Newson was crossing through he same way. Michael's becoming of mayor is also not planned but circumstantial. Farfrae's becoming of the manager is also coincidence as he overheard Michael's announcement of someone who could handle wheat and corn problems well when he was passing by the same way. There are a lot of such coincidences which signify that people don't have control over their lives. They are a lot of such coincidences which signify that people don't have control over their lives. And when life runs circumstantially, people become mere passive recipients, such a situation of human beings is really pessimistic.

The image of rain also adds to pessimism. The rain represents gloominess and tear. The rain on national day foreshadows Michael's ruin, gloominess and tear. The amphitheatre, where Michael and Susan met was also dark. The darkness foreshadows their dark future where Susan dies and Michael falls. Likewise, the dead caged bird symbolizes Michael's imprisonment in the cage of fate. He is guided by chances and coincidences. Just like the bird is caged and can't move freely so as Michael is caged by fate, chance and coincidences. He also can't move independently. In the same manner, skimmity-ride symbolizes public condemnation. Since the characters are highly deterministic, the condemnation brings pessimism in their life. 

Huck Finn As A Trickster 

By satirizing civilization, education, superiority of white, intelligence and logicality of adults, Mark Twain in his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn prevents the protagonist as coming-of-the-age, highly reactive or circumstantial yet realist and practical by showing him as a trickster. The whole novel revolved around the tricks of Huck. Actually, the novel becomes adventurous because of Huck's tricks. Tom's slipping away from room to join Tom Sawyer's gang. His taking oath of secrecy by bribing one of friends, his selling of fortune to refrain his father away from it, his staging own death and running away from the cabin, his disguising as a girl and collecting information that Jim was being searched, his stealing away the boats of robbers, saving Jim from slave catchers by telling that his father was sick with smallpox his pretending to be Tom at Phelps are the few examples of Huck’s trickiness.

At the opening of the novel, Huck, finding difficult to adjust to the new environment, one night, when Tom signals him with Cat’s mew-yaw sound, he slips away from the room to join Tom Sawyer’s gang. His trick lies in being able to trick so called civilized people. Likewise, at the time of taking oat of secrecy amongst his friends in the came he bribes one of his friends and takes oath. Here, also he is over smart than friends of the same age. Most importantly, he sells his fortune or 1 dollar to Judge Thatcher who agrees to safeguard his money instead of buying it. His trickiness lies in refraining his father away from the money and making Thatcher keep it safely. The most ideal trick he does is his staging of his own death to slip away from the cabin at Illinois shore and to get rid of tortures of his drunkard father. He is able to make people believe that he was dead. Even Tom, the idea master, is convinced that Huck is dead. After this trick he moves to a totally free world.

When he was on Jackson’s Island, he disguises himself as a girl and goes to a village nearby where he tricks a woman and acquires information of Jim’s search. His trick is evident as he is able to trick a woman. On their course to Ohio, Huck steals a robbers’ boat. Robbers are themselves very cunning but Huck is found to be smarter than them. He saves Jim from slave catchers by telling a lie that it was not Jim on the raft, rather it was his ill father with smallpox. And toward the ending of the novel, he pretends to be tom when he reaches at the house of Tom’s uncle and aunt.

            In this way, Huck is able to outwit adult, educated, or so called civilized people. In a sense he is in the state of coming-of-the-age. That’s why, all his cunning actions are seen as tricks. If these actions were done by a professional, they wouldn’t be called tricks. But since a boy of 13 is doing all these, they are tricks. Likewise, Huck’s trickiness lies in his instant, swift, spontaneous and right reactions to the circumstances. He reacts to them rightly without any pre-plan, practice, intension, knowledge, experience, purpose etc. Because of all these Huck is called a trickster. 

Irony and satire in Hard Times

            Charles Dickens' Hard Times depicts a picture of Victorian times in which there was an alarming contrast between the owners and workers of industries, among whom the workers were at hard tiems because of labour-exploitation. Dickens uses irony and satire to show Victorian society's hypocrisy, avarice, lutilitarianism, labour exploitation by industries. Dickens' irony lies in his portrayal of some characters such as Mr. Bounderby, Mrs. Sparist, James Harthouse, Tom Gradgrind whose appearance and reality constrast. On the other hand, Dickens satires against Victorian society's values on fact guided education, utilitarianism, capitalism, industrialism or against Victorian morality and hypocrisy.

            Dickens wants to expose mainly Victorian society's hypocrisy though the use of irony. Mr. Bounderby claims to be a self-made person. He has fabulated a story of his own success. He says that he was born and abandoned in a ditch by his mother. He was raised by his alcoholic grandmother but in reality he had become rich by disowning his mother. His mother hadn't abandoned him rather he had abandoned her. In this way, the irony lies in the contrast between his appearance and reality. Likewise, Mrs. Sparsit is the housekeeper to Mr. Bounderby. Though she appears to be in the service of Mr. Bounderby, she always wants to be his wife by breaking the relationship between Mr. Bounderby and Louisa. She also contrasts in her appearance and reality. Another character James Harthouse is also a hypocrite. He seems good, gentle, civilized, educated aristocrat but he secretly plans to seduce Louisa. In Harthouse also irony can be found as he shows difference between his appearance and reality. Finally, Tom Gradgrind is also ironic character. He is the manager of Mr. Bounderby's bank. He is supposed to manage the bank. But he robs the bank. Although in appearance he is the prestigious manager, in reality he is the robber of the bank. Thus, irony is evident in his dualist character.

            Dickens aims the novel to satire mainly against Victorian society's hypocrisy, avarice, fact-guided education, utilitarianism, labour exploitation. Through dualistic characters of Mr. Bounderby, James Harthouse, Mrs. Sparsit, Tom Gradgrind, Dickens wants to show Victorian people's hypocrisy. And obviously Dickens aims at satirizing such dualistic character of people. More importantly he satires against fact-guided education which produced a robber like Tom, a disastrous character like Lousia. The very advocate of fact Mr. Gradgrind suffers the consequences of his own philosophy of fact and utility and at last adopts fancy. Although industrialism and capitalism promised labourer's betterment, it actually turned out to be exploiter of the laborers like Stephen Blackpool. Obviously by showing cruel and avaricious Bounderby and poor Blackpool, Dickens wants to satire against industrialism and capitalism.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin as a rebellious novel

Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a slave narrative. It depicts evils of slavery which compel people to rebel against it. Therefore, the novel abounds in elements of rebellion in various forms such as Uncle Tom rebels through his Christian doctrine of forgiveness and love. Some slaves like Eliza Harris, George Harris, Emmeline, Cassy etc. rebel by escaping. Some white female characters like Mrs. Shelby, Mrs. Bird, Eva etc. fight through either love or Christianity. George Shelby rebels by freeing his slaves by paying and employing them. Moreover, the publication of the novel just after two years of passing of the Fugitive Slave Law 1850 is also a rebel.

The protagonist, Uncle Tom’s rebellion is the most significant one because he rebels spiritually, not physically. He’s guided by Christian doctrine of love and forgiveness. Christianity believes that war against war produces counter war. If the ‘force’ or power has enslaved the blacks and created disharmony in the society, using the ‘very force’ harmony can’t be brought in the society. The complete harmony in the society comes through only love and forgiveness. Obviously, Uncle Tom was guided by this dogma. Therefore, in howsoever difficult situation also he didn’t rebel using force. He was strong and intelligent enough to run away but he didn’t. At the opening of the novel, a rather weaker woman Eliza became successful to run away. Of course, Uncle Tom could have also escaped but he chose to rebel against slavery through patience, tolerance, love and forgiveness so that not only would he be free, but the whole slaves in America. He could have escaped when Haley was taking him to Deep South as he was given relative freedom but he didn’t. Moreover, he happily accepted the death when Simon Legree beat him. His acceptance was not out of cowardice, weakness, his mistakes but because he wanted to transform those white masters with his undaunting tolerance and patience, unconditional love and forgiveness.

Just contrary to Uncle Tom, some slaves such as Eliza, George Harris, Emmeline, Cassy etc. rebel against slavery by running away from their master’s hold. At the opening of the novel, Mr. Shelby sells Uncle Tom and Harry to Haley. To avoid selling of small Harry and not to let him become another victim of slavery, Eliza runs away with him from Kentucky plantation. Her husband George also runs away to start new kind of life with his family in Canada. Towards the end of the novel, Cassy and Emmeline also run away from Legree’s plantation in Louisiana to avoid their master’s sexual exploitation. Obviously, the escaping of all these slaves wasn’t for their selfishness but an indication of rebellion against slavery. They had to escape singly because they were scattered in such a way that a union among them was not possible. So, before powerful white authority, they couldn’t do anything at individual level except escaping.

At rather subtle level, some white female characters’ reaction can be also taken as rebellion against slavery. For example, Mrs. Shelby wanted to retain Harry back being ready to offer her jewelry. Mrs. Bird wanted to give Eliza and her son shelter. More importantly, though very little girl, Eva showed propound amount of love, and care to the blacks. She indiscriminately treated them and requested her father to free all the slaves he had. In this way, these female characters rebelled through their love, and Christian belief.

Probably the most practical rebellion is of George Shelby. Towards the end of the novel, he set out to search Uncle Tom to buy his freedom as he had promised. But as he reached Louisiana, Uncle Tom had already died. Then, in his replace, he freed all the slaves he had in his plantation. He didn’t just set them free by giving legal authority go to the North. He wanted to make them economically independent. So he started treating them as employees and began paying them salary. He also preserved Uncle Tom’s ‘cabin’ to remind coming generation of ‘evils of slavery’ and ‘Uncle Tom’s Christian doctrine of love, forgiveness, patience and tolerance’.

Finally, the publication of the novel after two years of the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law 1850 is obviously rebellion against slavery. Stowe rebelled by publicizing the evils of slavery and rebellion against it by both blacks and whites. His intention after writing the novel must have been especially against the Fugitive Slave Law 1850 and the slavery as a whole. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as a love story

Hawthorne's famous novel The Scarlet Letter has the setting of rigid Puritan society where the orthodox Puritan morality was more important than any individual relations. However, the novel can e also viewed as a love story. The relationship between Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale wasn't merely guided by sexual passion, neither was it to fulfill some social or moral duties. it was purely based on love. 

The novel has focused on adulterous relationship between hester and Dimmesdale. But it appears to be so if we see from Puritan moralities. If they were guided by sexual passion only, they could have discarded and disgraced each other very easily. Hester could have confessed Dimmesdale as her fellow sinner. But she never did it. Rather, she was ready to face social condemnation, outcast, discrimination and punishment for the sake of her love to Dimmesdale. She would have been in other kinds of advantages if she had confessed but she didn't forsake love for those things. Therefore, she didn't confess. 

On the other hand, Dimmesdale was on of the judges. if he hadn't loved Hester, he could have made very harsh decision against her so that she would never vex him or the cause would be never opened again. But he always had sympathy and love over every judgment made on her.  It was due to his love to her. In this way, if we see the asis of their relationship we come to know that it was love. Therefore, this novel is a love story. 

Similarly, this novel can be viewed as a love story because love has been shown as a transforming element, not Puritan beliefs of suffering and confession as transforming forces. The concept of severe punishment for the act of adultery was for confession and confession was for transformation. But this concept hasn't worked in the novel. However severe punishment was given to Hester, she never confessed. Yet, she has not only transformed herself but Dimmesdale and the whole society's view to her as well. It wasn't due to the suffering, neither because confession but because of love. 

In the same way, Dimmesdale didn’t' confess according to Puritan or Christian doctrine of suffering and psychology of guilt. He gave himself much suffering. He obviously had a psychology of guilt, yet he didn't confess. At last he confessed after he met Hester in the jungle where she openly expressed her love to him. Previously, he was doubtful over her love to him. But when he knew that she loved him, he was immediately transformed. His confession was the result of this transformation. Actually a true confession happens when one is in love. Because love is the only relation where couples remain true to each other. In this way, since the novel has love as transforming element, it's not a Christian novel, but a love story. 

LET THE BUD BLOOM

       Dedication is required to accomplish any work. Without interest to do something is like building mansion of sand. Students should choose the subject of their interest. Succumbing to the interest of parents and studying the subject chosen by elders results in dire consequences. We shouldn’t compel children to study the subject against their will.

Children are forced to do what their parents think. Especially after S.L.C. (School Leaving Certificate) children are pressurized to read the subject of the choice of their elders. They adopt the concept that sending children to read so called prestigious subject has connection with their social status. They choose the subject for their children themselves without the consent of their children. Parents do not care about the interest of their children.  A student who wants to dedicate his whole life in literature is forced to become doctor. Having intense interest in literature and not getting his/her desire fulfilled ruined the life of student along with the parents. Because of such decision by seniors causes loss of a good literary figure and the life of that student faces a lot of miseries.    Students have to suppress their desires in front of parents because parents take the decision of their children as if they know everything about the interest and choice of their children. They take it for granted that they have given birth to them so that they never take any decision which doesn’t suit to their children. But in the case of student they have to give up their field of interest for the sake of their elders. They have to walk on the way as they ask them to walk. Students feel being puppet at the time of choosing subject or their higher study. Children are supposed to be a means of prestige by their parents. They just care about social status. They never give concern about the field that children like to go and enjoy. What parents should keep in their mind is that no discipline is bad at all, if a child has interest in a so called low prestigious field s/he should be allowed to go in that field, enhance their talent and give adequate time to develop themselves. What we are doing is making decision ourselves neglecting the choices of our children. For the better future let them give liberty to choose the field in which they can enjoy.

In every aspects of life it is very important to make decision by tracing out the field of interest that one does have. Doing something without interest is like trying to find out the source of water in the rock. Doing anything without any dedication doesn’t satisfy us because we do the work for other to satisfy others, sacrificing our desires, does this give pleasure to us? When we get pleasure doing any work that gives satisfaction and it paves way to success. So, let the children choose their discipline of their interest and dig out the best of the best.