Power and Conquest as a Means to Fulfillment: The Red Badge of Courage vs. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Essay Example

? Power and Conquest as a Means to Fulfillment: The Red Badge of Courage vs. Their Eyes Were Watching God number] ] Power and Conquest as a Means to Fulfillment: “The Red Badge of Courage” vs. “Their Eyes Were Watching God” At a time of economic hardship and social disarray, Americans are in turmoil. Many are clueless as to what future they can expect. The good news is that the discomfort brought about by the instability of social, political and economic affairs has led many Americans to re-evaluate their lives. They have started thinking about what truly matters for them. Some have realized that humanity is more important than profits, that the real judge of happiness does not rely on how much one has stored in their bank account, but rather on what change they can do for others and themselves. The American identity is slowly changing – from a profit-oriented culture, there is a rise in social and environmental movements who are fighting, for equality of humans as well as the health of nature. Things which were often overlooked in the past have become major issues today. This essentially means that the American is growing in consciousness – he is no longer concerned about his own interests, but rather, on the well-being of the whole community. This is is the message of the novels, “Red Badge of Courage” written by Stephen Crane and “Their Eyes are Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston. This paper explores the changing consciousness of the American, one which starts to consider what is best for the community, not through social norms but through self discovery and the understanding of how the self relates to the society. Some may say that such transition is like going back in the past – when people prioritized the needs of the community over their own benefit. But the changes being seen today has its distinctiveness – the change towards the community spirit was not brought about by social programming, but rather, it came from an individual’s conscious deliberation. People are actively seeking for their purpose in life and this has led them to finally concede that each is connected to the whole. Only when the whole learns to work together, can each benefit. This is the message of the Occupy Movements which is not simply about civil disobedience, but rather about creating a new system where every individual is seen, where each skill and weakness is acknowledged. It is not about fighting against one another, but rather, waking up together. Dismantling the Societal Prgramming in “The Red Badge of Courage” Before “The Red Badge of Courage” war novels depicted only the glory of fighting for something one believed in. It was a battle of ideals to determine which world view will prevail. It showed soldiers fit and ready for battle, never to be shaken, and ready to face death. Soldiers in previous war novels were always dignified – they were the greatest of all men, they were ready to brave anything to fight for what they think is right. Crane made it different – instead of making an epic and relating how the battle was fought, he chose to depict the personal experience of his character, Private Henry Fleming, while engaged in the war. And in his narrative, Crane showed how the Americans were programmed by society to believe that their leaders had the answer to everything. Crane does not explain why the war was necessary, but his character, Henry, knows that it was an important event, as illustrated by this line: The youth was in a little trance of astonishment. So they were at last going to fight. On the morrow, perhaps, there would be a battle, and he would be in it. For a time he was obliged to labor to make himself believe. He could not accept with assurance an omen that he was about to mingle in one of those great affairs of the earth. (Crane, 2008) Henry was led to believe that they were engaging in a battle that would shape their nation. Here was his opportunity to make a mark in the world, and as a young man, like most soldiers who fought for the Civil War (Civil War Trust, 2011), this was indeed an opportunity too good to miss. Through this passage, it is obvious that Henry did not yet know the horrors of war. He was an idealistic youth and had only good notions about what the war was about. Of course, it is clear that Henry did not realize that he needs to fight the battle, and that just battle can leave him and his comrades wounded or dead. He thought of the war as something that will bring him glory and honor, the battle will make him a man, as was depicted by this line: “He had burned several times to enlist. Tales of great movements shook the land. They might not be distinctly Homeric, but there seemed to be much glory in them” (Crane, 2008). The “movement” mentioned in this passage was that of the abolitionists who were seeking to free slaves and put an end to slavery altogether. Using history to better understand the novel, one will realize that Henry was Union soldier and that he was fighting against the “immorality” that is slavery. Historical texts show that fighters in the Northern states were recruited to fight against the “moral impasse on issues which Americans in the mid-nineteenth century could no longer avoid or escape” (Carter, 2001, p. 105). Hence, Henry essentially believed that he was protecting the “land of the free” and was paving the way for the equal treatment of all men. Henry, like most youth of his time probably wanted to make a mark in the world. What better way to earn honor, but by fighting for a good cause? In a stroke of genius, Crane managed to make a criticism of war. He showed the common idealistic view of war, and then sought to demolish it by showing how humans internalize the conflict to finally understand what the situation was about. In this passage: “He had…dreamed of battles all his life – of vague and bloody conflicts that had thrilled him with their sweep fire. He had imagined peoples secure in the shadow of his eagle-eyed prowess” (Crane, 2008), it further proves that war was put on a pedestal so that people will see it as a good practice, not one that caused pain and terror to all involved. Moreover, the passage shows that Henry had illusions of his own capacities. He thought he was invincible, their camp the strongest. He thought they were undefeatable. But he soon realizes his mistake in his first encounter with the enemy: “He waited as if he expected the enemy to suddenly stop, apologize, and retire bowing. It was all a mistake” (Crane, 2008). Because of his unrealistic idea of war, Henry was unprepared for his first battle. He did not realize that war was not a game and that people can get hurt, his friends can die. He heard of battle stories from his comrades, but it was still experience that thought him the lessons. In his moments of shame and guilt for running away from his company, he has heard the voice of the divine. There was a law, he said. Nature had given him a sign” (Crane, 2008). He realized that nature has its way of ensuring the survival of its creations. As animals run away from danger, men too, can scamper away with fear. But then this was also the point when he realized how much man has altered nature. Because courage was such an important virtue in society, he knew that his misdeed won’t be too easily accepted. “The simple questions of the tattered man had been knife thrusts to him. They asserted a society that probes pitilessly at secrets until all is apparent. His late companion’s chance persistency made him feel that he could not keep his crime concealed in his bosom..forever hidden” (Crane, 2008). He has finally realized that society had its own mind, and often, it does not work for the interest of just one man, but rather, for the interest of the larger community. Like many Americans, he has seen what was wrong in the society. Will he do something about it? Perhaps not, because his reputation was at stake, he was accepted in public, “his public deeds were paraded in great and shining prominence” (Crane, 2008), and he wouldn’t want to disparage that, after all that has happened to him in battle. But then, something changed inside him, he has found a special jewel that will enable him to face the battle despite the fear creeping in his whole being. For a time the youth was obliged to reflect in a puzzled and uncertain way. His mind was undergoing a subtle change. It took moments for it to cast off its 6ottleful ways and resume its accustomed course of thought. Gradually his brain emerged from the clogged clouds, and at last he was enabled to more closely comprehend himself and circumstance…Later he began to study his deeds, his failures, and his achievements. (Crane, 2008) Henry has seen himself in a different light. Like the sun shining after being obstructed by the clouds, he has finally seen the reality of his situation. He saw the good and bad in the decision he has made. And through this reflection, Henry realized his mistakes and was compelled to make things right in order to be worthy of the honor bestowed on him. Of course, at this time, he has no illusions of glory, instead, he was accountable only to himself. He knew that his valor may no longer be recognized, and that he can die nameless, but he must be true to himself so that he can say that he did his best for the cause he signed up for. He has found honesty and truth in the face of death, and this made Henry Fleming’s life meaningful, if only for a day: “[H]e mustered force to put the sin at a distance. And at last his eyes seemed to open to some new ways. He found that he could look back upon the brass and bombast of his earlier gospels and see them truly. He was gleeful when he discovered that he now despised them. With this conviction came a store of assurance. He felt a quiet manhood, nonassertive but of sturdy and strong blood. He knew that he would no more quail before his guides wherever they should point. He had been to touch the great death, and found that, after all, it was but the great death. He was a man. (Crane, 2008). Henry, in his last stand, was stripped of the illusions he maintained as a youth. He was finally able to set the dogma apart from the reality, and was able to find a new explanation for everything that happened to him. He found that he despised the programming of society, and the realization that he discovered the truth gave him the assurance that whatever he felt inside was not an indication of who he was as a person. He realized that as long as he acted according to his own dictates, if he acted authentically, then he cannot be judged by any one person. This realization has made him a full man. Dismantling Societal Norms in the “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Janie Crawford, lead character of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” undergoes the same transformation as Henry did. Unlike Henry, however, Janie knew the harsh realities of life. Perhaps this came from the fact that Janie was a black woman and Henry was a white man. From his childhood, Janie had no illusions of glory and honor, instead, she knew that whatever she earned in life, she will also lose. In this passage: “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches” (Hurston, 2004, p.12), it was apparent that Janie knew that life had its ups and downs, and she had to live through each one of them. From Janie’s narration, one discovers that Janie is a black child, “Ah wuzn’t white till ah was round six years old…every got pointed out [in the picture] there wasn’t nobody left except a real dark little girl with long hair standing by Eleanor. Dat’s where Ah wuz s’posed to be” (Hurston, 2004, p.13). And as a black child living in a white household, she got teased a lot and was ostracized by her peers “They’d push me ‘way from de ring plays and make out they couldn’t play wid nobody dat lived on premises” (Hurston, 2004, p.14). Written after the Harlem Renaissance, this sight was common. While blacks were treated much better than in the earlier years, they were still segregated from the whites. They were somewhat “hated” because whites were finally realizing that they shared the same skills, sometimes, even the same personalities. Unlike Henry, Janie became aware of nature’s laws at an earlier age, but her experience with nature was almost as revealing. Under a tree, she discovered leaf buds coming out of brown barren stems. She saw the trees forming a love embrace, “The rose of the world was breathing out a smell. It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed in her sleep…the gold of the sun and the panting breath of the breeze when the inaudible voice of it all came to her…She had been summoned to behold a revelation!” (Hurston, 2004, p.15). What awakened in her young self was a sense of the spiritual, the same one that overpowered Henry in his last stand. She knew that in nature, she will discover the truth. So unlike Henry, who discovered it too late, she set out in a quest to find herself. This is a movement that’s slowly becoming apparent in modern America – more and more people are awakening to the realization that here is more to life. Perhaps the difference between Henry and Janie was that Henry loved a comfortable life while Janie awoke to a harsh reality. Henry’s initial decisions were based on social programming while Janie was more realistic because she knew exactly what she was getting into. Unlike Henry, Janie knew that man had to fulfill a purpose and this purpose couldn’t be achieved so easily: “Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood” (Hurston, 1937, p. 145). If man wanted to be granted with glory and honor, one had to be ready to live through the entire battle and take out the most important lessons in life. Janie and Henry also had a lot of differences, but the most glaring of which is race. Though the story was past the time of slavery and during the height of the Negro movement, blacks were still oppressed as can be seen in this line, “Honey, de white man is de ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe its some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we see” (Hurston, 2004, p. 19). Black men earned little rights, but only those which were given them by the white man. Hence, the black man was still not seen as the equal of the white man. If the black man had little rights in the society, black women had none, “De nigger woman is de mule uh de world” (Hurston, 2004, p. 20), and it was this that Janie experienced all her life. She married a nice man, Jonie, one who had high hopes, “Ah aimed tuh be uh big voice” (Hurston, 2004, p.57) and with the power earned by his husband, and by association, Janie would also become a “big woman”. For a woman who wanted to have intimate connections with the world and the society, Janie had a lot of trouble. As a black woman, she was discriminated against because she had none. When she and her husband rose in power, she was an authority and could not mingle with the other women: “The wife of the Mayor was not just another woman as she had supposed. She slept with authority and so she was part of it in the town mind. She couldn’t get but so close to most of them in spirit” (Hurston, 2004, p. 57). Janie was always in the sidelines, her skills, never to be appreciated because she was just a wife. Tea Cake was different from Jonie because he engaged Janie in conversation. He was interested in what Janie had to say, and talked to her always like an equal. Though he had his own misdeeds, Janie loved her in earnest, or perhaps it was because she was still blinded by her need to be close to someone. With Tea Cake, Janie could bond with someone, but she would get hurt and learn more about herself in the process. In the hardships that she experienced, Janie realized what was important in her life, and she finally found the love and connection she was looking for in her early years. She didn’t need a man to give her identity, like what her elders told her in the past, she didn’t need a powerful man to make her a powerful woman. She realized in the end that she only had to be a powerful woman and imbibe the characteristics in order for her to be recognized by the world. So in the midst of all the criticisms against her, “She ain’t even worth talkin’ after…She sits high, but she looks low”, she stood high among all the women. Women were envious of her because she dared to conquer the world against all the conventions of the time, “The women took the faded shirt and muddy overalls and laid them away for remembrance. It was a weapon against and if it turned out of no significance, still it was a hope that she might fall to their level some day”(Hurston, 2004, p. 5). She was the empowered woman, hated and revered because of her courage. She wore dirty overalls in a society which allotted pants only to men and valued cleanliness in women. She dared runaway with a younger man when it was scorned. And the best of all is that she dared come back when she knew that she will be persecuted. Such is the power of the human spirit, especially when it has found itself. Janie, in her quest, found that life was difficult, but that it was good. The lessons she learned was enough to make her happy for the rest of her life, even when the love of her life has gone. And in her old age, she was ready to surrender her life too, and move on to greater depths: “Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see” (Hurston, 1937, p. 231). The American Society as Depicted by the Two Novels “The Red Badge of Courage” and “Their Eyes Were Watching God” are commentaries about the American society, the social programming it does, the bias it has against race and gender, its emphasis on superficial values such as glory and honor which is not backed up by qualitative internal change. It is a testament of how far the American culture has strayed away from its true purpose, and how difficult it would be for the American to find the right path. These two books are also the testimony that change is possible, despite all the difficulties one had to face. If one truly wanted to understand what it meant to be an American, then one must be read to struggle. But in a rapidly globalizing world, it is not simply about being an American, but rather, about being human. And both two novels show that to be human means to live despite the adversity. Only then will one understand how life works. Works Cited Ahlstrom, S. E., & Hall, D. D. (2004). A religious history of the American people. Yale University Press. Carter, S. L. (2000). God’s name in vain: The wrongs and rights of religion in politics. Perseus Books Group. Civil War Trust. (2011). Who Fought? CivilWar.Org. Retrieved December 4, 2011, from http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/warfare-and-logistics/warfare/who-fought.html Crane, S. (2008). The Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/73/73-h/73-h.htm Hurston, Z. N. (2004). Their Eyes Were Watching God. Harper Perennial Modern Classics.  Read More