The Naturalism of Stephen Crane and Flannery OConnor - Term Paper Example

Stephen Crane and Flannery O’Connor Teacher               The Naturalism of Stephen Crane and Flannery O’Connor People do everything to escape from reality and to avoid facing their fears. They cling to religion, religious people, and God in order to do this. However, what they may not realize is that they may just be trusting too much and in the process, they fail to accept reality and act with wisdom. The best course of action is still to face reality no matter how bitter it is. The naturalism in Stephen Crane’s “Open Boat” and “A god in wrath” as well as in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People” somehow illustrates my own personal beliefs in fate, the unfairness of this world and the indifference of God. Stephen Crane’s “Open Boat” inspires me in such a way that it reflects my idea of fate and the indifference of God. The story has four men stranded in the middle of the ocean in a small boat. They all have remained hopeful despite the adversities they have encountered only to realize in the middle of the story that neither God nor nature ever cared for them. These men catch sight of a shore some 20 miles away from where they are as there was a lighthouse from a visible distance. However, they realize that the people in those places do not even see them. They have traveled so far and worked so hard to survive only to realize that their chances of drowning are now greater and worse. Then, with rage, they then turn against fate. This is reflected when one says, “If I am going to be drowned, then why not before I had even savored life like this? Fate is therefore unfair and preposterous!” (Crane, “Open Boat” 1994). They say this because these men have worked so hard to almost the point of exhaustion just to be able to see a shore where nobody seems to see them and whose distance they seem unable to reach. They feel so cheated for they believe that after long hours of trying to survive, they deserve their reward of being rescued. Surely, if there were just an order in the universe, then they would be rewarded for all their efforts. They are all therefore made to believe that whoever struggles and makes an effort would sooner or later be rewarded. However, life is unfair, as I have always believed it. The four men’s unmet expectations make them hate fate because they realize that nature is indifferent to them. Nature is somehow giving them a message that the sun will keep on rising and setting even if they have to die. These men want some sympathy from nature for they believe they deserve it at that point in their lives, but they finally realize that nature or God is not what they think He is. In the same way that I believe life is, nature or God is indifferent to us and our troubles. Perhaps, some people are lucky and so they believe God helps them. Most people may actually not be helped at all by God but perhaps believe that God is giving them trials in their lives. Everyone is free to believe what he wants, anyway, and for everyone else who cannot accept the idea of an indifferent God, they merely appease themselves by saying that there is a reason for all these things. Perhaps, there is, but I choose to believe there isn’t or I am more inclined to think that there might not be any. This “reason” is merely something that people use in order to mask their fear that life has actually no meaning at all. I am courageous enough to believe otherwise, and my belief in fate reflects my courage. The poem “A god in wrath” by Stephen Crane also reflects the same principles as “Open Boat” only that the former reveals the cruelty of God and the indifference of other people towards those who suffer. In the poem, the very fact that a god is punishing the man is perhaps teaching us that no man can ever escape a god’s wrath and so a man who is suffering from it will surely suffer till the end. This is pessimism at its worst, and a proof of God’s cruelty. Another indication of pessimism in the poem is the presence of a crowd of people who are not shown to help the man and are somehow implied as helpless creatures that do nothing but observe and add to the man’s injury by saying “Ah, what a wicked man!” (Crane, “A god in wrath” 1994). The man in “A God in Wrath” is already in deep suffering when “All people came running” (Crane, “A god in wrath” 1994). Nevertheless, although he “screamed and struggled,” the crowd, instead of helping him, condemns him more by calling him wicked (Crane, “A god in wrath” 1994). In real life, one can see people who not only ignore those who ask for their help but even regard them as evil. This is the society that I believe in. Although there are a few exceptions, most men and women will refuse to help someone in need unless perhaps they are on TV or those who need help are their immediate family. What is worse is that there are people who, aside from not helping, would even choose to condemn those who seek help from them. Perhaps the man’s last hope is the people who “came running” (Crane, “A god in wrath” 2014). Perhaps, as he watches them, he smiles at the fact that all of them seem to come to his aid. Unfortunately, he finds out later on that the people who come running actually do nothing but say “Ah, what a wicked man!” (Crane, “A god in wrath” 2014). Crane here shows that no amount of screams and struggles from the man, or every man in general, can change the course of nature, the will of a cruel god, an indifferent crowd or man’s destiny to suffer. In the same way, I believe that God can be unfair and many human beings just try to make the situation worse. Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” also reflects my beliefs about the true significance of religion and the natural evil inherent in people. I believe that one reason why some people believe that God is indifferent is because most people are indifferent themselves. Most people hide behind the mask of religion in order to conceal their evil nature, and religion can never make them less evil in any way. In the story, the hypocritical grandmother is actually selfish and uncaring despite her declaration of her deep connection with Jesus Christ towards the end of the story. Several times in the story, the grandmother would show kindness while saying, “If you would pray…Jesus would help you” (O’Connor, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” 2014). However, the reason why she asked the Misfit to pray is because she is perhaps hoping that by mentioning God, he will spare her life. She also tells him, “Why you’re one of my babies. You’re one of my own children” (O’Connor, “A Good Man” 2014). Nevertheless, everything here is obviously just selfish manipulation. The grandmother also has a discriminating and critical nature. In fact, she is really one of those old Southerners who are disgusted at Blacks. When the car they are in passes by a black kid, she tells her grandchildren, “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!...wouldn’t that make a picture, now?” (O’Connor). The grandmother even adds an insulting remark about the economic state of Black people: “Little riggers in the country don’t have things like we do (O’Connor). This is clearly an example of blatant hypocrisy from someone who proclaims the power of prayer and claims goodness in the name of Jesus Christ. This grandmother is also vain and pretentious. Her vanity shows when she puts on “a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet…so that anyone would know at once that she was a lady” (O’Connor, “A Good Man” 2014). Moreover, she is also a liar. In fact, she tells her grandchildren a lie when she says there is a plantation house with “a secret panel [where] all the family silver was hidden” (O’Connor, “A Good Man” 2014). The truth, however, is that she simply wants to delay the trip for selfish reasons. Aside from the selfish, vain, pretentious and hypocritical of the grandmother, another value reflected by the story is the injustice that the family has suffered. This injustice reflects my previously mentioned belief that God is indifferent to human beings. Although the grandmother and the other members of her family are actually not completely morally good at all and may have simply died because of punishment, their deaths are nevertheless unjust. The family is still one helpless family whose members have somehow become the victims of fate. Despite their human flaws, the characters – especially the children – are considered innocent and their deaths are therefore unjust. O’Connor somehow reflects through the story his beliefs in a world that is unjust and in a God who is indifferent. In the same way, I believe that God may not exactly care about the survival even of innocent children or the life of a helpless old woman. God may not also care about giving second chances to people. He may therefore decree anytime that one’s life should end even without exactly teaching this person a lesson. There is therefore no mercy. The point is that whether the death of innocent people is part of a grand design or not, it cannot be denied that based on human perspective, this is cruel and horrible. Those who do not admit this human emotion or those who do not wish to accept such a belief would always take refuge in the idea of God’s reason, God’s wisdom or God’s trials and challenges. After all, man always has a strange way of appeasing himself and rationalizing pain. In O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” blatant hypocrisy is still the rule that governs seemingly religious people. This definitely further reflects my belief that people are not only indifferent to their fellowman’s needs but are also using religion either to project a false good image or to fool people into following their desires. In the story, the character Manley Pointer is the perfect impostor. Pointer is described as a polite, good-natured and humorous young gentleman who sells Bibles, but one who is extremely manipulative. Pointer tells Mrs. Hopewell, “I know that you’re a good woman [because] friends have told me” (O’Connor, “Good Country People” 2014). He also elicits sympathy from people when he says, “I got this heart condition [and] I may not live long” (O’Connor, “Good Country People” 2014). Pointer is an extremely good impostor and a professional liar with his gentle voice and kind words, and he even projected a seemingly pure and untainted image of innocence in front of Hulga, who is a most incredulous and cynical character. However, Pointer finally reveals his true identity when he admits to Hulga, “I hope you don’t think…that I believe in that crap! [Holy Bible]” (O’Connor, “Good Country” 2014). Pointer has therefore simply disguised himself as a seller of Bibles. This seemingly polite and kind Bible seller in fact turns out to be an violent, neurotic, mentally-deranged man who collects items from the women he encounters. This is such a negative portrayal of religion and religious people and perfectly reflects my beliefs in the hypocrisy of people in general. Moreover, another negative reference to religion in the story is that Pointer has also brought with him a “hollow and contained pocket flask of whiskey [and] a pack of cards,…” (O’Connor, “Good Country” 2014). This is therefore a perfect symbol of the evil that hides itself under the cloak of religion. The story “Open Boat” and the poem “A god in wrath” by Stephen Crane and the stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor all reflect my beliefs regarding the nature of human beings and of God. Many humans are hypocritical, selfish, pretentious, manipulative and indifferent, in the same way that God may be cruel and indifferent. In this world, there are many people who constantly use God’s reason, God’s will or God’s trials as a basis for everything that they do. Nevertheless, what they do not realize is that it is sometimes merely an effort to escape reality, especially the reality of the evil that resides in them. Perhaps, until humans decide to face their own fears and unless they accept the truth about themselves, about humans in general and about God, they will not be able to be totally honest with themselves and change for the better. References Crane, S. (2014). A god in wrath. Retrieved from PoemHunter: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-god-in-wrath-2/ Crane, S. (2014). Open Boat. Retrieved from American English: http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the-open-boat.pdf O’Connor, F. (2014). A Good Man is Hard to Find. Retrieved from the University of Central Florida: https://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html O’Connor, F. (2014). Good Country People. Retrieved from Yuku: http://voodoopoets.yuku.com/topic/688/OConnore-Good-Country-People Read More