The Living Portrait

The most brilliant writers are able to take a piece of writing and make it more that a cluster of words bound together by a spine and covers. A true writer, according to James Joyce, is able to take a piece of writing and make it into a work of art. In his novel, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce presents his artistic writing in order for the reader to fully understand and enjoy his autobiography and his battle with religion. Throughout the novel, there are several passages that are simply beautiful and are works of art themselves. However, there are bigger portions that fully exemplify the true nature of being an artist. As Joyce's protagonist, Stephen battles his identity with religion, he also battles the females in his life. For example, his mother is overbearing and pushy by sending him off to boarding school and wishing he could be someone he is not. He is constantly teased by all the other boys at the school and chooses to isolate himself. Also, he succumbs to his lustful desires by sleeping with a prostitute although it is against the teachings of the Catholic Church to do such actions. Finally, at the end of the novel, Stephen confronts Emma, a girl he has been mystified by for some time, and proves to himself that she is unable to control him any longer. By breaking away from his oppression from women, Stphen breaks away from his religion. Joyce could have merely said, "I broke away from Catholicism as a young man and turned to art instead". But how simply plain would it be compared to creating an interwined image of metaphors and descriptions? A true artist takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary, and Joyce proves it with this portrait of himself. He is not just a man, but a living example of the truths of art he believes.

Our "Beloved" Beliefs

Sometimes the idea that we believe or hold onto in our lives is the very thing that brings us down or causes us to lose faith. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Sethe carries her past like a religion. She is unable to break free from the beliefs of her past which causes her to lose anything she ever was able to control in her life. When she was younger, Sethe was forced to endure the hardships of slavery and abuse through several forms. Her back reveals hideous scars from the whippings she succumbed to while on the plantation and when she was pregnant, two men stole her breast milk. This action not only destroyed the small amount of dignity she had for herself, it also stole her child’s life source. Because of these fragments of her past that Sethe is unable to let go of, she chooses to murder her daughter so she will not have to live the terribe life of a slave. The pain of the events on the plantation, the guilt of taking the life of her own child, and her inability to let these events go is what causes Sethe to become a hermit in her own home and fail at loving her only remaining daughter, Denver.
Sethe’s past has become her belief system. Just like anyone who has firm beliefs, she is unwavering in sticking with it. However, these have negative side effects. Imagine someone who is so consumed by their own beliefs that they are unable to hear, let alone respect, another perspective. Their only truth is their identity, and they forget to experience what this whole world has to offer. Sethe was caught in this trap by never allowing herself to move on from the horrors of her past in order to have a happier future. Morrison does create an image of hope by the end of Beloved, though. Once Sethe accepts and breaks from her past, she is able to move forward to a life filled with love. The past always stays with her, but she is no longer a “slave” to the memories. Morrison’s message could potentially be this: though what you believe will always be a part of your identity, we have the choice to break from our demons and move forward.

The Jail Bird's Fatal Flaw

When someone of faith cries "Thank God!" or "Praise the Lord!", usually that moment is one of extreme joy and thanksgiving for a positive turn of events. However, when the world goes downhill for people, the reaction can become completely opposite. Not only to people curse the name of God for their fate, some even denouce the existance of a God at all. Camus's character, Meursault, is an example of this human trend. After suffering through the death of his mother, Meusault kills an Arab man and is sent into prison for this crime. When in prison, a lawyer comes to him, telling him to repent by holding up a crucifix and describing how the man on that cross gave the gift of the greatest sacrifice. Meursault chooses to ignore the lawyer's plea, leaving the man frustrated with the criminal. Most of us look at this situation and accuse Meursault of being a heartless heathen that deserves his time in prison and possibly more. But in the grand scheme of things, who is to blame him for his doubt? The existance of a God may seem unclear after the endurance of a terrible event. Camus suggests that maybe we judge too harshly and too quickly on fragile subjects such as redemption. In The Stranger, Meursault's character may be Camus's idea of human nature in general: people are unable to come to terms with the idea of redemption or mercy from a greater being during a tramatizing moment in life.

In a Jail Cell

To think that a man convicted of manslaughter could possibly be capable of salvation from God may seem impossible to some; Dostoesky's Crime and Punishment strives to break that common assumption. Raskolnikov, the protagonist, proves to be a man of selfish and egotistical ways with the murder of two innocent women. He also believes that there is no God, and worships nothings except his own pride. By the end of the novel, however, the plot takes a different path than one would expect. From the title of the novel, we assume that the character involved in the Crime will eventually experience the Punishment. Raskolnikov doesn't run from the crime; he even turns himself in and accepts his time in prison peacefully. In his jail cell, he picks up the New Testament that his love Sonia had brought his on his own accord. Though Raskolnikov has committed two terrible crimes, he still has the capacity to change his ways and accept a higher power. Sonia is also an important part of Raskolnikov's conversion. Without her presence and deep love for her religion, Raskolnikov would never have seen God at all through her. However, it was Raskolnikov's ultimate decision change his ways and convert. Through this entire plot, I believe Dostoevsky's ultimate purpose was to illustrate that it is never too late for anyone to change their ways and accept a belief into their lives for the greater good. Better late than never.

The Storm Within

For most people in this world, the beliefs we hold when we are young change by the time we have matured. Influences on those people's thoughts become less intense as they come to think for themselves. It could even be a catastrophic event that causes someone to change his mind. As for Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear, he had all of these things going for him. Not only has he become pompous and arrogant with age, the daughters that he trusted the most betray him and leave him in a storm to rage at his bad fortune. He yells, "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks! You sulph'rous and thought-executing fires, Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts, Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder, Strike flat the thick rotundity o' th' world, Crack Nature's moulds, all germains spill at once, That makes ingrateful man!" (3, 2, 1-11). After this huge moment in Lear's life, though, he comes to change his views and ways. He realizes what true love really means, and there is no way to quantify that love.

Shakespeare poses an important message with Lear's insanity. He proves that in order to overcome despair, one must meet it face to face. A person's belief may change as they come to realize what was inside them all long.

Believing in Fate vs. Oedipus Cont.

This picture reminded me of how Oedipus's view of his beliefs/religion changed so drastically from the beginning of the play to the end. When he could see, he was a completely different person compared to when he couldn't see. When he could see, he was blind to his imperfections; when he was blinded, he could see them clearly. Oedipus's eyes are very symbolic, so I thought this image was fitting.

Believing in Fate vs. Oedipus

When I initially thought of the character Oedipus before reading the play by Sophocles, I thought he was just one severely unlucky guy (killing his father and marrying his mother)! Little did I know that these unfortunate moments where not mere coincidence. They were the makings of fate that ultimately led Oedipus to view what he refers to as "god" differently from the beginning to the end.

At the beginning of the play, Oedipus comes off as very proud and arrogant towards the gods. He slanders the gods in his response to Teiresias, an elderly, blind man who is reffered to as "the holy prophet" for his psychic abilities. Teiresias tells Oedipus that he holds the blame for the murder of his father. Oedipus refuses to believe him and says, "Has your mystic mummery ever approached the truth?...or the gods, for the matter of that?" (Sophocles, 375-382). At this point in the play, Oedipus believes that his fate is in his own hands no matter what.

The tragedy progesses and Oedipus eventually figures out he never avoids his fate all along, his mother/wife hangs herself, etc. Oedipus blinds himself and in his blindness finds the truth. Before isolating himself due of his crimes, he gives one final blessing to his children: "But as it is, I have only this prayer for you: Live hwere you can, be as happy as you can - Happier, please God, than God has made your father" (Sophocles, 1456-1458). As Oedipus's character changed, so did his view of the gods and control of his own fate. He realizes that the gods really do matter.

Ultimately, Oedipus's beliefs change as his perspective on life changes. Before he was blinded, he believed that the gods don't matter and he is in control. All of this changes after he blinds himself and "sees" how he ultimately has no control over his fate. In the end, Almighty Fate won the tragic showdown against the Headstrong King.