Resistance Against Prejudice in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"

“When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.” This is demonstrated quite clearly in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, specifically through the actions of Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley.

According to Tom's testimony (heavily implied to be the correct version of the events), he frequently did little household projects for Mayella Ewell out of the kindness of his heart, feeling sorry for the girl with her impoverished life and neglectful father, who "'didn't seem to help her none'" (Lee 191). In this way, he acted against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order: prejudice against and isolationism from other social groups. In Scout's words, ". . . white people wouldn't have anything to do with [Mayella] because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn't have anything to do with her because she was white . . . Tom Robinson was probably the only person who was ever decent to her." (Lee 192). By opposing these vices, Tom Robinson exhibited true virtue, freely sacrificing his time and energy and finding compassion for someone universally loathed. It's quite a shame that Mayella repays his kindness by giving false testimony about him in court, accusing him of raping her. She uses Tom as a sacrifice to save what little reputation she has.

Atticus takes on Tom's case and does his best to prove the man's innocence. In this way, he selflessly sacrifices his standing in the community in order to fight the all-white jury's prejudice against Tom, a black man. As Link Deas, the owner of the cotton fields says, "'[I] don't see why you touched [this case] in the first place . . . You've got everything to lose from this, Atticus. I mean everything'" (Lee 146). Atticus's reply is, "'Link, that boy might go to the chair, but he's not going till the truth's told . . . And you know what the truth is'" (ibid.). The virtues Atticus shows are self-sacrifice, honesty and integrity.

When Boo Radley saves Scout and Jem from a murderous Bob Ewell, he is not necessarily acting against the dominant social order. After all, I imagine few in Maycomb would condone the murder of innocent children. However, he still displays true virtue, putting himself in a dangerous situation in order to save the two children. He expects nothing in return for his bravery despite risking his life and his quiet way of living; if the locals discovered his heroism, he would become a local celebrity. Indeed, Scout calls revealing his actions to be "'sort of like shootin' a mockingbird'" (Lee 276). Boo has been selfless on many levels, which I believe is a true virtue.

Each of these men live under different circumstances and conditions, particularly because they live in the prejudiced and isolationist South. This leads them to have different degrees of success in their lives. Tom is a black man, and has only managed to obtain the status of a fields worker for Link Deas at the time of his death. Then, an all-white jury convicts him of a crime he did not commit, heavily influenced by their prejudice. He is shot dead when he tries to escape from prison. Atticus, meanwhile, comes from a family of wealthy white cotton growers. As such, he has lead a successful career in law and been elected to the state legislature. The Radleys have traditionally kept to themselves, worshiping at home, and Boo Radley has continued this tradition.x

The Pearl, Greed, and Corruption

On page 129 of the notes in the version of The Pearl which I read, the editor writes that "the artist probes the central mystery of life as he sees it, the paradox of how evil comes out of good, the tear at the heart of laughter, the dream doomed to disappointment in the moment of dreaming, the despair conjoined with hope, with which humanity, if it is wise, must learn to live."

This paradox is realized by the story of Kino and Juana because the great pearl they found, which promised so much for them, ended up only making their lives worse because of the greed of their fellows. Kino dreamed of marrying Juana, buying new clothes and a rifle, and sending his infant son Coyotito to school, where he would learn knowledge which could be passed on to the rest of his people. Sadly, this dream was indeed "doomed to disappointment." During the family's trek to the capital to sell the pearl, a team of trackers shot Coyotito, thinking the child was a young coyote howling. 

The pearl should have brought the family prosperity, but instead, it robbed them of their hut (burned down by people searching for the pearl), their livelihood (someone prevented their escape by breaking their canoe) and most importantly, their son. This great loss could never be filled by the marriage, the new clothes, and the rifle the pearl could still have given the family. Furthermore, the pearl morphed Kino into a monster. He beat Juana when she tried to return the pearl to the sea, he killed a man who tried to steal the pearl from him, and he killed all J three of the trackers. While some of his violence can be justified by self-defence, it was the pearl that forced him into these situations.

Juana understood the paradox of how evil can come from good long before Kino. On page 54, after Kino is attacked (presumably because of the pearl) and before he attempts to sell the pearl, she warns him of the danger the pearl brings: "'This thing is evil,' she cried harshly. 'This pearl is like a sin! It will destroy us,' and her voice rose shrilly. 'Throw it away, Kino....'" Sadly, her predictions were found to be true with Kino's murders, the destruction of their hut and canoe, and Coyotito's death.

I think the fact that the couple returned from their ill-fated trek side-by-side, rather than Kino in front of Juana, is symbolic of Kino attaining the understanding of the good/evil paradox that Juana had before. Juana's face was "hard and lined and leathery with fatigue" because of her futile attempts to show her husband the paradox. Kino's "lips were thin and his jaws tight" out of disappointment in himself for being so headstrong about the pearl. He has learned that the dominant social order will not allow rebellion without a fight, and more often than not, the dominant order wins. Their defeat shows in their jerky movements, "like well-made wooden dolls". Finally, Kino's advancement to Juana's level of understanding of the paradox is verified when he throws the pearl back into the ocean himself. If Juana had done it, his learning would have been unconfirmed.

So, how does The Pearl relate to the concept, "When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself"? The outcome of the story is foreshadowed by Juan Tomás' account of the pearl divers who pooled their findings and sent a single one of their number to sell them at the capital, and earn more money than if they sold them in La Paz. This man was never seen or heard from again, and the town priest characterized the incident as punishment for the divers to attempt to "'leave their station'".

Of course, this is a fabrication created by the dominant social order in The Pearl, the colonists. Their primary vice is greed, exemplified by the doctor's refusal to treat Coyotito for free, and the pearl buyers' attempts to cheat Kino. They allow themselves to rule over and take advantage of the natives by keeping them ignorant, and using examples like the priest's to keep them as a lower class of society. With their low status, the natives could also be guilty of greed; it is entirely possible that it was members of Kino's own people who burnt down his hut, broke his canoe, and searched for the pearl in the middle of the night.

Kino's actions were selfish, even if they weren't necessarily bad. He planned to sell the pearl for his family's material gain; he could have planned to equally distribute the wealth among the natives, but there's nothing especially wrong about his preferred course of action. However, he intended for his son to be able to educate all the natives while he went to school, so this could be interpreted as a selfless action. Regardless, while it could be argued that Kino exhibited the virtue of standing strong in the face of oppression and manipulation by guarding the pearl and attempting to sell it at the capital, his struggle also revealed a darker side of him. Kino kills four people over the course of the book in the process of guarding the pearl and his family, who have become a target thanks to the pearl. His obsession with the pearl also leads him to beat his wife when she attempts to throw it away. This corruption seems to outweigh any virtue his struggle depicted.

Ayn Rand's "Anthem" and Objectivism

Ayn Rand

     Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is communicated strongly in Chapter 11 of her novella Anthem. At this point, the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, has escaped from his roots in a collective society emphasizing herd conformity and elimination of the self. He discovers an abandoned home in the mountains with the woman he loves and begins using a word he has been searching for over the course of years: "I." This finally allows him to articulate his ideals:

     "...my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end." (Chapter 11, pg. 109-110)

     "I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others." (Chapter 11, pg. 110)

     Equality's ideals mirror Rand's Objectivism, where an individual's happiness is their highest goal, and where no one should sacrifice themselves for others or sacrifice others for themselves. He is much happierliving for himself in the mountains than as part of the collective society: "Through the years ahead, I shall rebuild the achievements of the past, and open the way to carry them further, the achievements which are open to me, but closed forever to my brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest ones among them." (Chapter 12, pg. 116)

     Rand's philosophy is realized in other parts of the novella.

     Equality's discovery of electricity was precipitated by his individual desire to investigate how natural phenomena worked, experimenting with wires in the tunnel from ages before. He tried to present his findings to the Council of Scholars, but they rejected him based on the values of collectivism. Said one Scholar, "'How dared you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the minds of your brothers?'" (Chapter 7, pg. 80) In a sense, Equality has been sacrificed by the Scholars to preserve social order. Thus, collective values which may have been meant to further society have ended up only holding it back, and Objectivism would have been the better approach.

     An example where happiness is the end itself, in accordance with Objectivism, is Equality's love for Liberty 5-3000, whom he calls "the Golden One." The Council of Eugenics attempts to find a reason for every pairing of two humans, with the intent of sacrificing an individual's choice in the matter in exchange for better offspring. Equality calls the experience at the Palace of Mating, where the selective breeding takes place, to be "ugly and shameful" (Chapter 2, pg. 42). This is in stark contrast with his experience with the Golden One in the Uncharted Forest:

     "And that night we knew that to hold the body of women in our arms is neither ugly nor shameful, but the one ecstasy granted to the race of men." (Chapter 9, pg. 95)

     Remember, he chose to express his love for the Golden One for his own happiness's sake, perhaps at the expense of the gene pool. But surely this experience is preferable to that of the Palace of Mating.

     Now, with the evidence presented by Anthem, my English teacher surmised that, perhaps, when a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself; an expression of Objectivism, of sorts. In Anthem, Equality does away with the collective society's grip on him and begins to rediscover humankind's progress with his loved one. Moreover, he plans to aid others in finding his happiness:

     "I shall call to me all the men and the women whose spirit has not been killed within them and who suffer under the yoke of their brothers. They will follow me and I shall lead them to my fortress. And here, in this uncharted wilderness, I and they, my chosen friends, my fellow-builders, shall write the first chapter in the new history of man." (Chapter 12, pg. 118)

     It is not difficult to interpret these actions, performed simply because he wished to, as virtues: desire for progress, commitment to family, and most of all, wishing to bring others to his own level.

     This exhibition of selfishness resulted in a win-win situation for Equality and the people he plans to bring with him to the mountains. The problem with Objectivism and the idea that when a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vices of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself is that selfish actions do not always result in these win-win situations.

     Suppose Equality felt no need to have other people with him in his new society. Still going the length to rescue them from the collective society would be a lose-win situation, where Equality has to put his life on the line in order to rescue people he has no need of being with. This, I believe, is true selflessness, although the end result is the same as the selfish actions described in Anthem.

     But consider this same version of Equality, who felt no need to have other people with him in his society. What if he just didn't rescue the other people? This would be a win-lose situation, where Equality is spared the danger and trouble of rescuing the people, but the people are still stuck in the collective society. It's hard to find virtue in this last scenario, since he is leaving these people - some of whom clearly wish to escape due to their unexplained cries - to the collective society. Yet, if this is how Equality felt, Objectivism and my teacher's supposition would both endorse this course of action. This is in stark contrast with the modern-day virtue of fulfilling your duty to your fellow humans.

     Thus, virtue is always demonstrated when acting selflessly, but not always when acting selfishly. Therefore, my teacher's supposition is only true in specific cases, but substituting selfless for selfish would make the statement true.

Hiccup's Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call

(See previous post about How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 by Cressida Cowell to learn more about Hiccup and his ordinary world)

Hiccup's ordinary world is disrupted when he's required to complete the Dragon Initiation Test. Gobber the Belch, the warrior in charge of the Test, serves as the Herald for this Call to Adventure. He presents the challenge of capturing a dragon from a cave of three thousand of them to Hiccup, and announces the significant changes that will occur if he succeeds:

1. He will have a dragon to hunt with.
2. He will become a fully-fledged Hairy Hooligan.

If he fails the test, he will be exiled. As mentioned before, Hiccup is terrified of exile. He's not foolhardy, though, and his brief thought processes represent his Refusal of the Call:

"Hiccup swallowed hard. He happened to know considerably more about dragons than anybody else there. ...And what Hiccup had learned about dragons told him that walking into a cave with three thousand dragons in it was an act of madness."

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 7

Hiccup isn't reluctant because he's unwilling to accept these changes. His own sense of self-preservation that makes him scared of exile also makes him scared of the Call to Adventure. He has insecurity that he will not survive this challenge.

Hiccup's Ordinary World

Hiccup is under pressure to become a "Hero":
masculine and powerful

"Hiccup spent the whole of the winter on Berk in various states of 'very cold,' ranging from 'fairly chilly' to 'absolutely freezing.' At night, too many layers were considered sissy, so Hiccup generally lay awake for a couple of hours until he had shivered himself into a light sleep."

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 80

My new book is How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 by Cressida Cowell. The protagonist, Hiccup, is the 10-year-old heir to the chiefdom of the Hairy Hooligans, a Viking tribe. His ordinary world is living on the bleak, cold Isle of Berk in a harsh society where "Heroism" is prized most. The Heroes of his tribe are like ancient Greek Heroes: masculine and powerful. Hiccup is neither, but his peers, tribe, and family pressure him to embody their idea of "Hero". If he fails his tests, he will be exiled. In the words of a tribe elder:

"'The Hairy Hooligan Tribe has no use for FAILURES. Only the strong can belong.'"

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 9

Despite struggling in this society, Hiccup is terrified of exile. Not only would he die living without his tribe, but deep down, he hopes that he can be the Hero everyone wants him to be, so his ordinary world would be a pleasant place to live. He doesn't want this chance taken away.

Image source:
A back like this isn't built by repeating your favorite lat pulldown routine for years on end. Digital image. T NATION | The Intelligent and Relentless Pursuit of Muscle. Testosterone, LLC, 1998-2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Famous Last Words: Fact Or Fiction?

Sir Harry Oakes

"Hugh Selwyn Mauberly"
by Ezra Pound

A Spitfire warplane

Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley features a World War II scheme designed to secure world domination. Findley writes very realistically, referencing real people and events. But how much is fact, and how much is fiction?

Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, the protagonist, is fictitious. However, Findley based him off Ezra Pound's poem of the same name. Hugh Selwyn Mauberley was Pound's brainchild, and in Findley's world, Mauberley's genius is a product of Pound's teaching.

In reality, Sir Harry Oakes was murdered at the same time and place as specified in Famous Last Words. In the book and real life, Oakes's killer was never caught.

The "Spitfire Bazaar", hosted by the Duchess of Windsor to purchase a Spitfire warplane, is an imagined event. However, the Spitfire was a real WWII-era plane.

Findley has cleverly blended fiction with history. That I needed to research these things is a testament to Findley's genius.

References:
Shields, E.F. "The Perfect Voice: Mauberley as Narrator in Timothy Findley's 'Famous Last Words'". Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review 119 (1988): 84-98. Print.

"Niagara Falls - Sir Harry Oakes: a History." Niagara Falls Thunder Alley. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Price, Alfred. "Battle of Britain: August 18, 1940 - a Day That Saw Some of the Heaviest Fighting - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. The Telegraph, 28 July 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Image sources:
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound. Digital image. ManyBooks.net - Ad-free EBooks for Your IPad, Kindle, or EBook Reader. ManyBooks.net, 19 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Sir Harry Oakes. Digital image. Niagara Parks Canada: Niagara Falls Tourism and Vacation Packages. Niagara Parks Canada. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Spitfire fighter planes played a decisive role in the Battle of Britain. Digital image. BBC - Homepage. BBC, 28 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Character Archetypes Within O'Brien from George Orwell's "1984"

WARNING: HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

"The old civilizations claimed that they were founded on love or justice. Ours is founded upon hatred. In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph, and self-abasement. Everything else we shall destroy - everything."

-George Orwell, 1984 279 (Speaker is O'Brien)

O'Brien is a Party member (see previous posts on 1984). He emerges as the Herald, announcing the Call to Adventure to Winston, the Hero. He does this by revealing his membership in the Brotherhood, a resistance movement. He becomes Winston's Mentor in the ways of the Brotherhood:

"The Brotherhood cannot be wiped out because it is not an organization in the ordinary sense. Nothing holds it together except an idea which is indestructible. You will never have anything to sustain you, except the idea. You will get no comradeship and no encouragement."

-George Orwell, 1984 179 (Speaker is O'Brien)

Then, O'Brien equips Winston with a book containing Party secrets.

After, O'Brien radically transforms. While imprisoned by the Thought Police, Winston finds O'Brien in jail as well, but on the other side of the bars.

"'They've [the Party] got you too!,' [Winston] cried.
"'They got me a long time ago,' said O'Brien with a mild, almost regretful irony."

-George Orwell 1984 250-251

O'Brien evolves into the Shadow, torturing Winston to change into a faithful Party member. Winston resists, saying that the Party's vision is impossible.

"'I don't know -- I don't care. Somehow you will fail. Something will defeat you. Life will defeat you.'

"'We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable. Or perhaps you have returned to your old idea that the proletarians or the slaves will arise and overthrow us. Put it out of your mind. They are helpless, like the animals. Humanity is the Party. The others are outside -- irrelevant.'"

-George Orwell, 1984 282

The fight between the Hero and Shadow has only one victor, and O'Brien finally breaks Winston.

O'Brien's constant redefining makes him a Shapeshifter. He starts out a pleasant member of the Inner Party, then a rebel, and finally a symbol of pure evil, and Winston's ultimate opponent.