Western Literary Tradition - Essay Example

Moby Dick, The Scarlet Letter, and The Last of the Mohicans are all literary ics written in the 19th century; however, each piece targets a verydifferent audience through its use of characters, themes and symbolism. Moby Dick is a classic tale of good versus evil, in which Ishmael, the protagonist, represents the positive side of the binary; because he is orphaned and an outcast, he has a level of sympathy that is not present in his counterpart. Ahab, the antagonist, is the negative side of the binary, and his obsession with the whale, seen as a symbol for the deadly nature of unnatural ambition, becomes his undoing. Focusing primarily on the actions of the female characters, The Scarlet Letter sets a very different atmosphere from the previous novel. The themes of sin, illegitimacy, marginalization, and repentance are all central to Hester and Pearl’s story. Although the male characters contribute and create the plot, the female characters carry the story, literally and symbolically. In addition, unlike Moby Dick which depicts the clear image of good and bad, Hawthrone’s story outlines the shades of gray that exist within all stories of human existence – Hester can never be perceived as fully good or fully evil because humanity is a mixture of these two components. Finally, The Last of the Mohicans makes historical reference to the Seven Year’s War and the brutal process of colonization and the imperialist mission to literally wipe out the Indigenous populations. In contrast to Moby Dick, the protagonists in The Last of the Mohicans do not win against the evil forces; however, the sentiments of the red-men returning, discussed at the funerals, gives the reader some hope that the real owners of the earth may return one day to inherit it. Although each has a significant place in Western literary tradition, the reception of each book will vastly differ depending on the position of the reader. In light of the fact that our identity, including race, gender, class, and experience, shape the way in which we read a novel, I feel that The Scarlet Letter speaks more clearly to my worldview; whereas, in my opinion, Moby Dick is yet another boy-to-man coming of age story that leaves little room for the feminine voice. Finally, I believe The Last of the Mohicans requires, at least, minimum background knowledge of the processes of colonization in order to fully comprehend the brutality of the mission. The identity of the reader also shapes the relationship between the reader and the written text; therefore, the essay will discuss my interpretation of key sentences or paragraphs from the three novels. Comparing three pieces of work is extremely difficult, especially in a short essay; therefore, I will utilize the introduction and conclusion, and compare the differences between three novels. The purpose of an introduction is to capture the interest of its audience. Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. (Melville, Chapter1). A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and grey steeple-crowned hats, inter-mixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes. (Hawthorne, I. The Prison Door). It was a feature peculiar to the colonial wars of North America, that the toils and dangers of the wilderness were to be encountered before the adverse hosts could meet. (Cooper 7). The first example, from Moby Dick, is the quintessential male-protagonist voice; “Call me Ishmael” is a direct command, in which the pronoun “you” is missing. In this case, Ishmael perceives himself to be the story teller, the active agent, and the director of the narrative; while “you”, the listener, is only the passive receiver of the information. In addition, the image of the penniless man, seeking adventure abroad, is a hybrid between the Christopher Columbus and Horatio Alger myth, in which the lone (male) explorer leaves with nothing except the clothes on his back, to find new lands and become transformed in some capacity, either through an ideological change or a change to his socio-economic status. In contrast, the excerpt from The Scarlet Letter has no central story teller; the descriptive nature of the opening demands the engagement of the reader through their own imagination. In addition, the image of the oak door, studded with spikes symbolically represents an obstacle that will need to be overcome by the protagonist, a figure that has yet to be revealed to the reader. The opening allows the reader to adjust to the setting of the novel before the protagonist takes control of the story. Similarly, the passage from The Last of the Mohicans also avoids the active pronouns and, although the reader is briefly introduced to the characters and the conflicts, the use of the word “hosts” suggest that a communal sharing of story telling will occur between characters. It is obvious that the latter two examples are written from the point-of-view a character(s) that is considered the “other”; which speaks to a larger readership. In contrast to the introduction, the concluding lines of the novels express the central characters’ relationships and opinions on the events in the narrative. The unharming sharks, they glided by as if with padlocks on their mouths; the savage sea-hawks sailed with sheathed beaks. On the second day, a sail drew near, nearer, and picked me up at last. It was the devious-cruising Rachel, that in her retracing search after her missing children, only found another orphan. (Melville, Epilogue) So said Hester Prynne, and glanced her sad eyes downward at the scarlet letter. And, after many, many years, a new grave was delved, near an old and sunken one, in that burial-ground beside which Kings Chapel has since been built. It was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. Yet one tomb-stone served for both. All around, there were monuments carved with armorial bearings; and on this simple slab of slate—as the curious investigator may still discern, and perplex himself with the purport—there appeared the semblance of an engraved escutcheon. It bore a device, a heralds wording of which may serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so sombre is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow:— "ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES" (Hawthorne, Conclusion). ‘Is it enough,’ he said. ‘Go, children of the Lenape, the anger of the Manitou is not done. Why should Tamenund stay? The pale faces are masters of the earth and the time of the red men has not yet come again. My day has been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of Unamis happy and strong; and yet, before the night has come, have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans.’ (Cooper 558). Once again, Moby Dick concludes in the expected way; in classic male protagonist stories, the last character, usually defined as good winning over evil, is left alone, and either rejects the world and becomes a ‘man’, or regresses back to childhood, and begs for maternal care. In this case, Ishmael is the orphan child being rescued by the motherly ship to be nurtured and cared for. This conclusion reinforces gender roles, in which the male character is the creator of reality, and the female character is the nurturing care-giver who is destined to make a brief appearance at the end, when the male character needs a symbolic ‘pat on the back’ for conquering evil. In contrast, The Scarlet Letter ends by giving the reader an authentic conclusion; the grave, built for two, is the final end to the Hester-Dimmesdale romance, in which they can be together, if only in death. In addition, decorating the tomb with an A represents the duality in human nature, in which every person is full of vice and virtue, but the prominent placing of the A in public view demonstrates that we must not be ashamed of this truth. If we were fully good, there would be no need for the concept of God, which would serve as a challenge to the ideology of human existence. Finally, The Last of the Mohicans leaves the reader with the hope that, at some point in the uncertain future, Indigenous peoples will return to the land as its rightful owners. In addition, Cooper concludes his story by condemning violence; the statement, ‘It is enough,’ suggests that the return of the ‘red men’ will not be colored by the blood of the ‘pale-faced masters’. In contrast to Moby Dick, which ends in cataclysmic disaster, The Scarlet Letter and The Last of the Mohicans chooses a more realistic conclusion through physical death and, eventual, rebirth or return of the next generation. On the one hand, I had a strong aversion to Moby Dick because it did not speak to the reality of my life. It was a classic coming-of-age, overcoming all odds, good triumphs over evil tale that speaks to a specific kind of reader. I remember having the same reaction to J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye; I simply could not relate to Holden Caulfield, as I cannot related to Ishmael, especially as he rejects his past life to continue on in the solitude of himself. I find these types of novels to be representative of a ‘Great Man’s History’, which does not address the multiple realities of readers from different social, cultural, political, economic, and gender positions. On the other hand, I believe that The Scarlet Letter is a story in which all readers can relate; Hester represents sin and redemption, Pearl lives in unapologetic freedom, Dimmesdale cowers in the face of responsibility, and Chillingworth is the voice of truth. In each person, there is a piece of Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, which is why the story, the themes, and the overall intention of this book reaches a wider audience than Moby Dick or The Last of the Mohicans. Works Cited Cooper, James Fenimore. (1826). The Last of the Mohicans. H.C. Carey & I.Lea. Web. Retrieved December 10, 2010, from Planet Books: http://www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Last-of-the-Mohicans.pdf Hawthorne, Nathaniel. (1850). The Scarlet Letter. Ticknor, Reed & Fields. Web. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from Project Gutenberg EBook: http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/33/pg33.html Melville, Herman. (1851). Moby Dick. Richard Bentley. Web. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from The Literature Network: http://www.online-literature.com/melville/mobydick/137/ Read More