Appearance Versus Essence in Monkey and Tartuffe - Book Report/Review Example

August 2, Human versus Spiritual Essence in “Monkey” and “Tartuffe” Two works of literature explore the discrepancy between appearance and essence: Ch'eng-en's “Journey to the West” or “Monkey” and Molliere's play, “Tartuffe.” “Tartuffe” explores the superficiality of religiousness, while “Journey to the West” examines the ambiguities of disguise and real intentions. This essay studies the unreliability of appearances, re-surfacing of truth, vision of justice, and interplay between essence and appearance, reality and falsehood, truth and disguise and how they affect the readers' understanding of the works themselves and of the social contexts they reflect. Many people are deceived by appearances, because they “want” to be deceived, since appearance is easier to accept than taking effort in examining the essence of others and of life, but justice soon acts upon humanity, either by the measures of the gods, as in the “Monkey” or the actions of people in authority, like in “Tartuffe,” where truth resurfaces either through the awakening of human essence or spiritual essence. People generally want to be deceived, because they would rather consume falsehood than address the reality of unjust appearances; examining essence in others entails a cumbersome critical thinking exercise that not all wants to endure. Orgon has fallen in love with Tartuffe's appearance of a pious man. On the one hand, it shows Orgon's desire for an upright companion. In Act 1, Scene V, Dorine focuses on reporting to Orgon about his wife's illness, but the latter is only interested in knowing about Tartuffe's welfare. He keeps on saying: “And how about Tartuffe?” Dorine hits the mark, when she says earlier in Act 1, Scene II that “[Orgon] calls him [Tartuffe], loves him/ A hundred times as much as mother, son,/Daughter, and wife...” (Moliere). She uses verbal irony to say that her master is interested in his wife's well-being, when in reality, he is focused on absorbing Tartuffe's “poor” conditions (Moliere 1.5). This reflects the sentiments of Moliere's society on the absence of godliness in modern living. On the other hand, Orgon represents humanity's weakness for the false “gods.” In his case, Tartuffe is the false deity that he worships. Orgon admires Tartuffe's religiousness, where in their first meeting, the latter makes “deep-drawn sighs and great ejaculations” to God (Moliere 1.6). The same happens in “Monkey,” where people also concentrate on false icons. As the Monkey King looks for Immortals, Sages, and Buddhas on earth, he sees that “...the people of the world were too concerned with fame and fortune to be interested in their fates...” (Ch'eng-en 13). This is the same materialism that Orgon and his mother hate in the world, nevertheless. They cherish people who go beyond the material sphere of living too. The main difference on this topic of appearance and essence between the two stories is that “Tartuffe” satirizes the virtuous, while “Monkey” exalts and cherishes the “spiritually enlightened.” Cleante tells Orgon that the primary downfall of “religious men” are that they call people with “good eyes” as “atheists” and if these atheists do not “adore their vain grimaces,” they will be judged as having no “faith nor care for sacred things” (Moliere 1.6). Moliere is saying that people are hypocrites to heap criticisms upon atheists, when the latter are more enlightened about human essence. “Monkey,” on the contrary, upholds the religiousness of humanity, because they are the ones with opened eyes. For Ch'eng-en, only when people have reached a state of holiness can they achieve “higher” levels of “being,” such as becoming a Buddha, Immortal, or Sage. The Monkey King leaves his carefree, elite life behind to pursue this “religiousness” that “Tartuffe” condemns. Religiousness focuses on the spiritual essence and the fate after death. Pious people represent the antithesis of humanity who “have no time to stop and think” (Ch'eng-en 14). Since “Monkey” upholds Buddhism, the story revolves around the monk Sanzang, whose mission is to go to the Western Heavens and ask the Buddha for the holy scriptures. This mission shows early Chinese society's esteem for spiritual growth. Some examples of unreliability of appearances are the appearances of lower and upper class, hypocrisy of religiousness, and difference between the false and truthful scriptures. Even maids can be more intelligent than their masters, because they see through appearances, which makes the former have more “essence” or substance in their thinking. Dorine sees the hypocrite that Tartuffe is, while her masters Ogron and Madame Pernelle do not. She tells them that Tartuffe “passes for a saint in your opinion [when] he's nothing but a hypocrite” (Moliere Act 1 Scene 1). Madame Pernelle belittles the maid, because of her social status, but praises Tartuffe, due to the latter's superficial appearance: “I don't know what the servant's character. May be; but I can guarantee the master, a holy man” (Moliere 1.1). Madame Pernelle believes that Tartuffe is a holy man and tells Tartuffe's detractors: “He wants to guide you on the way to heaven” (Moliere 1.1). “Monkey” focuses on the other lower class, the animals versus the upper class of the human race. The Monkey King has just entered earth to search for immortality, which can be learned from the Immortals, Buddhas, and Sages. The Monkey King realizes, however, that the people are not concerned of more important issues: “He observed that the people of the world were too concerned with fame and fortune to be interested in their fates” (Ch'eng-en 13). These people are not worried of the King of Hell and no longer stop and reflect on their future, in the same way that the Monkey King does (Ch'eng-en 13). Indeed, when the Monkey King meets a woodcutter, this man is more concerned of the material needs of his family than the improvement of his conduct. “Monkey” exemplifies the conflict between physical human nature and spiritual nature. The story emphasizes, however, that the Monkey King wants to be immortal for selfish, self-aggrandizement reasons. By these reasons alone, he is unfit for immortality in the beginning of the story. Furthermore, “Monkey” again highlights its moralistic theme. It differentiates the false from truthful scriptures. The Bodhisattva reveals to Sanzang that his knowledge of the vehicles is limited to the “Little Vehicle,” which is why he must travel to the West to learn about “the Great Vehicle that will raise the dead up to Heaven, deliver sufferers from their torments, and free souls from” reincarnation (Ch'eng-en 186). These examples of appearances demonstrate the superficiality of the “physical” and the importance of the “inner” essences. Justice soon acts upon humanity, either by the measures of the gods, as in the “Monkey” or the actions of people in authority, like in “Tartuffe,” where truth resurfaces, because characters achieve the grace of human or spiritual essence. “Monkey” underlines the power of the gods to execute human and heavenly justice. When the Monkey King's arrogance hurt the Dragon Kings and Peach fairies, they all report to the Jade Emperor to correct these wrongs. Even after the provision of the grand title of Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the Monkey King continues with his evil deeds, and so the gods and the Buddha exact an equal penalty for the Monkey King. The Monkey King, however, slowly realizes his spiritual essence in his journey to the West. In “Tartuffe,” the people are the ones who resurface the truth. Tartuffe exposes his evil essence, when he professes love to Elmire in secrecy and tells her: “Though pious, I am none the less a man” who desires a married woman (Moliere 3.3). Damis overhears everything and tells Orgon, who acts like a deaf to the truth. He prefers the appearance of piety to the harsh reality that he has seen essence in a man of no essence. People, furthermore, serve justice in “Tartuffe,” while justice represents the fit between one's deeds and resulting rewards and punishments in the Heaven or Hell, according to “Monkey.” “Monkey” says that the punishment in hell fits the life lived on earth: “...They offended against Heaven by not being loyal or filial... so fell down here./The Grinding Hell, the Pounding Hell, the Hell of Drawing and Quartering...”(Ch'eng-en 157). Different layers of hell await the sinner in the “Monkey.” “Tartuffe” asserts that people do not have to wait for the afterlife to suffer for their sins. The last scene demonstrates the reversal of Tartuffe's fortune. Apparently, the prince “knows the false, and views it with disgust” (Moliere 5.7). He realizes the appearance of Tartuffe and fixes Orgon's life for him by giving him back his property. This represents justice in human terms. In addition, “Monkey” highlights justice through rewards in the afterlife. Xiang Liang lives a pious life, where he gives his extra money and possessions to monks: “Although he was only a pious pauper in this world, he owned mountains of jade and gold in the other one” (Ch'eng-en 170). Justice in “Tartuffe” is more pragmatic than spiritual, when Orgon has his free life and property restored to him. Because the prince reinstates his property, Orgon kneels to him and not to the gods. Appearances deceive, but many times, people will rather choose blindness over seeking the truth. “Tartuffe” shows that people will learn the truth and give justice on their own, without spiritual guidance. “Monkey” teaches the essence of godliness in searching for truth. In both stories, justice equals one's merits or misdeeds, but “Monkey” ensures the fairness and harshness of justice in the afterlife too. These stories remark that appearances are fleeting, and only the essence of goodness can be rewarded, in this life or the next, or even in both. Works Cited Ch'eng-en, Wu. Monkey (Journey to The West). Web. 31 July 2011 . Moliere, Jean Baptiste Poquelin. Tartuffe. Web. 31 July 2011 . Read More