At a first glance, the title of the article would tend to suggest that the conflict of "Black and White Christs", would be a racial tension rather then what it is translated to in Laurie Champion's explanation. Rather then the color pertaining to ethnic strain, the black and white correspond (in my opinion) to a positive or a negative, very similar to the dark/light conflict in The Scarlet Letter. Though it is unfathomable for any believer to see Christ as a negative, Champion explicates that the death of certain characters is unnatural, and there for a negative. While Christs death benefited society, the death or downfall of some characters in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter doesn't benefit anyone , which in her opinion, is the exact opposite of Christ. "As Mary asserts, 'the 'protagonists' disbelief in god and from the symbolic...collapse of god (Antonapoulos) and Christ (Singer) is McCullers's strong implicator that god and Christianity are non-existent' (28-29)".
This isn't to say that racial tension isn't an aspect of her argument, because in fact it is the basis of it, but i feel like there is more here then that...I cant figure out a way to explain the connection between racial tension and Christ without disagreeing with myself.
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Greg, that's a really interesting idea. I think you will find that keeping this idea in mind as you CAREFULLY READ AND ANNOTATE part 2 will be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the all caps. Just emphasizing what you (all) need to do for Monday.
Good point Greg, I didn't see that before. I also truly think that McCuller's says something of her own views of humanity through her portrayal of "christ" figures in the book. While in the stories of the Bible, (which can be interpreted in many ways and are not verified to be actually true), Christ dies for the salvation of humanity, in the book the "sacrifices" by both Willie and Singer do not have any redemptive significance. McCullers is saying that humanity has no savior, and like Champion says, "Spiritual loneliness and human isolation "crucifies" all members of society" (52). To put it more simply, humans must survive without saviors because in reality, there is no saving grace from the inevitable isolation and loneliness that each individual faces. To go back to your question, Greg, racism is but one of many problems faced by individuals in society, and McCullers asserts that there is no way to save people from such injustice, even through such incredible measures as crucifixion (Willie). People must just learn to face these problems and live their life dealing with them the best that they can, because there is no God, or savior, to help them.
ReplyDeleteI know my thoughts are somewhat disorganized, but Greg I hope that you can somewhat see what I am trying to say.
Luke, perhaps it is the fact that humanity cannot live without saviors, that has Willie's death being so black. Since he did not in effect act as a savior, it is almost as if his death was worthless, and therefore, humanities existence looks just as bleak. The black might not only correspond to Willie himself or his death, but perhaps the fate of humanity. While "white" is generally a pure, or optimistic color, black is very much the opposite and tends to be associated with death and negativity. I understand what you are saying with regards to racism, and I in fact couldn’t agree more. I was already thinking that the conflict of racism was proof that saviors do not exist, and why McCuller’s mainly imposes “black Christ’s” on the reader. Seeing as how we haven’t seen reference to too many “White Christ’s” (unless I missed it), it would seem that McCuller’s doesn’t have much faith in humanity at all.
ReplyDeleteWhat do ya’ think Ms. Parrish? Is McCuller’s a complete pessimist, or does she know something that we don’t…?
I actually think that you might be right in saying that McCullers does not have much faith in humanity, but is is more a lack of faith in humanity or a lack of faith in a divine savior? It almost seems like she leaves some hope for humanity in the text, as she does show some "good" with the characters such as Mick and Portia. However, I feel that she does believe that humanity must find its own way, for they cannot and will not be assisted by a martyr or God, which are to her nonexistent. In a way, I feel that any faith that she has at all must rest with the willpower and positive aspects of humanity itself.
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