Violence in Literature - Essay Example

? s Violence in Literature Violence has become a strong aspect in literatures produced during the 20th and 21st century. As the number of global and communal conflicts increase, authors have used these elements to stir shock, empathy and sympathy amongst their readers. Similar thematic pattern is followed in “John Crow’s Devil” by Marlon James and “Farming of bones” by Edwidge Danticat. The books are fundamentally based on the same premise as the plots of both stories carry heavy elements of violence in them; however, the essence of the violence varies and the substance will systematically discuss the literary differences in the way violence is depicted in both the novels. John Crow’s devil is set against a religious backdrop in a fictional town of Gibbeah in Jamaica, which is known to be a very religious society. The plot revolves around two main protagonists; the first is an alcoholic priest, who is referred to in the story as the “Rum preacher”, whereas the other character is the exact antithesis of the “Rum preacher” in his teachings and beliefs, and is called the “Apostle York”. The events of the story takes place five years before the Jamaicans finally got independence and clearly sheds light on the violent aspect of society which was motivated by religious matters. The story is told from the perspective of two young women, Lucinda and a widow; both these women have strange soft corners for the Young apostle York and the um Preacher, respectively. The Rum Preacher, who appears to be highly sinful on the surface as a result of his alcoholism, is later evicted from the church by the Apostle York, who is on a mission to tear down the kingdom of Satan. He referred to the Rum preacher as a ‘spawn of the devil’. The Rum preacher propagates the message of peace and redemption, whereas the Apostle York believes in completely opposite notions involving a violent and bloody action against those who transgress upon the commands given by God. (James, 2005) They propagate two different images of God, one a passive and a forgiving God; however, the other propagates a message of violence and a God, who demands compliance through fear and domination. The villagers then burn all the animals, including cows, goats and other beasts as they were believed to be carrying the mark of the devil. The violence that erupts as a result of the Apostle York’s preaching can be deemed psychological as well. This is vastly because the fear that had been instilled in them resulted in dire circumstances for all of then as there was no concept of redemption amongst the people, the society became highly dichotomized into sinners and the righteous. (James, 2005) The violence sheds light on Jamaican society as well and the rampant superstitious ideology that pervades the mind of almost every Jamaican individual. There are various ideas about witchcraft and devilry, and similar to the events that transpired during the notorious ‘Salem witch hunt’, many people were slaughtered under the suspicion of partaking in witchcraft or fraternizing with the devil. At one point, the rum preacher, who had sworn vengeance against the Apostle, is confronted by angry villagers with a mission to exterminate all that are known to be transgressing the commands of the lord, which were actually triggered by individuals suffering form internal conflicts of their own as they were struggling to find their sexual identity. Marlon James added a beautiful psychological perspective to this in the light of Freudian conflicts that individuals face at certain points in their life. The author has given a new dimension to carnage and religious fanaticism to explain the behavior and the violent acts that were carried out by the people against the sinners. The book carries number of references to the actual 1970’s massacre that took place in Jamaica and hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives in the violent surge that shook the country and its people. However, the protagonist and their sexual identities add a more personal dimension to the plot outline. It further shows how violence is not only motivated by the sentiments of a particular group but also the double standards of people, who are in a position of authority. Double standards in terms of the fact that both characters are revealed to be flawed and their contrasting ideology depict individual differences that affect how they view themselves and their flaws. The rum preacher propagates the message of forgiveness in order to console himself and assuage his sexual transgression, whereas the Apostle is revealed to be a homosexual man suffering from syphilis. As a result the apostle’s drive to tear down the empire of Satan is an act of self-loathing and hate, as he attempts to redeem himself by exterminating all those that are sinners in his view. Marlon James has not only depicted the intensity of violent acts that man is capable of committing but also sheds light on the psychology behind these acts and describes how internal conflicts play a role in the individual acting out in deviant as a way to resolve his conflicts. The acts of violence that are portrayed in the story are justified by people, as they deem it a good deed to rid the world of sinners. However, the divide is along the line of the people’s deeds and involves a magical twist to the story, when people start accusing each other of practice devilry and witchcraft. On the other hand, the story Farming of bones by Edward Danticat is based on actual events that took place during the 1930’s in the Dominican Republic, when Rafael Trujillo ordered the entire military to exterminate all the Haitians residing in the country. The plot of story is based on true events but revolves around the struggle of two fictional Haitian lovers. The story is from the perspective of Annabelle, who loses all her family members in the massacre and is separated from her lover, Sebastian. She faces number of hardships in order to survive in the midst of bloodthirsty soldiers running amok to rid the Dominican Republic of Haitians. (Danticat, 2008) She narrowly escapes the fate of thousands of other Haitian along with Yves, who is Sebastian’s close friend. At one pint, both of them captured and tortured for days; however, when they are at the verge of death they are rescued and then are taken to a monastery, where the nuns nurse them back to health. She then learns the heroic and horrific survivor stories and finally leaves with Yves. Yves takes Annabelle to his home and they start to forget about the horror they had to face in the Dominican Republic. Annabelle meets Sebastian’s mother and comes to know of his death and is devastated. She tries to find solace in the arms of Yves, but both of them are unable to do so. (Danticat, 2008) The story describes real events that left thousands of Haitians dead and destitute; it is one of the bloodiest and goriest events in the history of civilization. The massacre is described in a highly graphic tone and the protagonist’s emotional and physical trauma sheds light on how adversely the scenes of gore and blood must have had on the people. Like the story discussed above by Marlon James, there is a strong psychological component in the story that depicts how violence affects people. Annabelle and Yves were ordinary Haitian workers in the Dominican Republic but due to the flawed and corrupt political ideology of a leader, they faced extra ordinary circumstance. They lost all the people that were close to them and Annabelle lost her lover in the massacre. Whereas, the story John Crow’s devil describes how violence can be perpetrated in the society. The two stories depict two different facets of Violence. Violence has been a key component of society and there are a number of events in the history of civilization that describe the ability of all individuals to partake in violent activities. Violence has existed on all fronts of the society, but the authors have chosen two of the most integral fronts of society that directly or directly affects all members of the society that is religious and political. (Polik, 2005) The violent actions in the story “Farming of bones” is plain political and the massacre was orders in order make a clear demarcation between the two segments of population that is the Haitians and the Dominicans. The motive behind the violence was not only to punish the Haitians for any kind of misdeed but indeed it was to show them the power of the Dominican government and establish more control over the land. The massacre led to intense relationship between the two countries. The major theme that not only the story but the actual event also carried was to show the power of violence and how it can be used in politics top overpower people. Both stories depict very different aspects of violence as a key phenomenon, it further shows that people are easily manipulated and are capable of carrying out the most heinous and horrific form of violence against another human beings. Violence is the usual outcome of hate and hate is only triggered when there is a divide in the society. The divide was brought about by the Apostle York and the Dominican ruler. In John Crow’s devil, the apostle divides the society in to sinners and the virtuous ones and there main motivation to carry out such activities was to gain the favor of God and punish all the wrongdoers. Though, the people thought that they were actually doing a highly commendable deed by punishing all the sinners but in fact they were only acting on the whimsical orders of a man who himself was deeply flawed. (Polik, 2005) The Apostle wanted to instigate such intense hatred against sinners because of his own transgressions and that was his way of beseeching God for redemption. On the other hand, the violence in Danticat’s novel was to punish the Haitian’s for their thefts, whereas Rafael Trujillo; the then-Dominican ruler wanted to threaten the Haitians and demonstrate the power he had to exterminate the people over there, to establish greater control over the population. Which is why the Haitians were massacred using Machetes that is the most brutal possible way to make a profound division between the Dominicans and the Haitians. Violence has been a key feature of human nature but the perception and response of violence varies from culture. (Roorda, 1998) The aforementioned authors have used different literary and societal tools to depict violence in their stories, but essentially they carry the same message about the nature of human beings. Both the novels shed light on different aspects of human behavior as well, as mentioned earlier the novels follow the same thematic pattern; however, one novel depicts the psychology of the perpetrator whereas, the other describes the ordeal of the victims. Furthermore, both novels take heavy inspiration from actual, which shows that violence is not only fictional and literary concept but exists in the real world as well. Hence, the only real differences between how the violence takes place in both novels is the circumstances that trigger the events. Works Cited Danticat, Edward. Farming of bones: a Novel. Paw Prints. 2008 James, Marlon. John Crow’s devil. Akashic Books. 2005 Polik, James. John Crow’s Devil: Spiritual Combat. The New York Times. 2005 Roorda, Eric. The dictator next door: the good neighbor policy and Trujillo regime in the Dominican republic, 1930-1945. Duke University Press. 1998 Read More