Superheroes: The Modern-Day Epic Hero

Superheroes: The Modern-Day Epic Hero

            Everyday tales of heroism are flashed across screens in America daily.  From stories of heroism on the six o’clock news, to blockbusters on the silver screen, it appears that the concept of the epic hero continues to endure, even thousands of years later.  Dictionary.com defines an epic hero as “a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events” (Dictionary.com).  This brave and noble character continues to be a staple in popular culture, particularly in comic-based films.  Many of the heroes portrayed in these films resemble various well-known heroes of past epics.  Because of the prevalence of superhero films, it is important to both compare and contrast the modern-day superhero in film and the classic epic hero exampled by characters such as Beowulf, Siegfried, Sir Gawain, and Roland. 

            The epic hero often possesses traits which society wishes to emulate.  For this reason, these characteristics remain part of pop culture and film.  The first of these characteristics is superiority in skill, strength, and courage.  In the epic poem Beowulf, dated between the eighth and eleventh century, the title character is known far and wide for his superior skills as a warrior.  When the prosperous and peaceful existence of the Danes is threatened by the monster Grendel, Beowulf travels from Scandinavia to Heorot to offer his help to the Danish king Hrothgar.  Hearing of the plight of the Danes and knowing King Hrothgar as a friend to his father, Beowulf sets out to help rid the land of Heorot of Grendel.  King Hrothgar accepts Beowulf’s offer for help stating, “And seamen, too, have said me this/he has thirty men’s heft of grasp in the gripe of his hand/the bold-in-battle. Blessed God/out of his mercy this man hath sent/to Danes of the West” (Beowulf 20).  King Hrothgar accepts Beowulf’s offer for help and has full faith that Grendel will be defeated, because Beowulf’s reputation as one who excels in strength and skills precedes him. In the end, Beowulf lives up to his reputation and defeats Grendel.  All of the Danes praise him stating that, “there was no other in earth’s domain/under vault of heaven, more valiant found/of warriors none more worthy to rule” (Beowulf 40).  For these feats of super human strength and courage, Beowulf is lauded as an epic hero. 

            In the same way, Steve Rogers-better known as Captain America- can be considered an epic hero who exhibits superiority in skill, strength and courage.  Captain America: The First Avenger, is a film produced in 2011 with a storyline very similar to that of Beowulf’s.  Captain America is a superhero that has been, “enhanced to the peak of human perfection” (“Captain America: The First Avenger”).  He is enlisted to help the United States military defeat those who threaten the safety and ideals of the American people.  In the same way that Beowulf is considered an epic hero because of his superior skills, this modern-day super hero can be viewed as an epic hero because of his super human displays of strength and courage.  Another modern-day portrayal of an epic hero in film is Peter Parker, also known as Spiderman.  The first Spiderman film was released in 2002, with a reboot of the franchise being released in 2012.  Peter Parker is a shy and nerdy high school senior who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and begins the transformation into the hero Spiderman.  “Peter finds that his previously impaired vision has improved and that his body has metamorphosized into a more muscular physique. At school, he finds his body producing webbing and that his quickened reflexes let him avoid injury during a confrontation with bully Flash Thompson. Peter discovers he has developed superhuman speed, strength, the ability to stick to surfaces, and a heightened ability to sense danger” (Spider-man).  In the same way that Beowulf and Captain America are lauded as heroes for their super-strength and courage, Spiderman becomes the hero on which everyone relies.  Though the times have changed, many of the characteristics of the epic hero have easily translated to create a modern-day epic hero in film. 

            Aside from excelling in strength and courage, both the classic epic hero and the current superhero fight for a noble cause.  This heroic quality has spanned from the fifth century when The Nibelungenlied began circulating to the early twenty-first century when superhero films began to rise in popularity.  In the epic poem The Nibelungenlied, the hero Siegfried travels to Burgundy with the intent of wooing the King’s sister Kriemhild.  However, he remains in Burgundy for longer than expected in order to help King Gunther save his land from outside threats.  Like Beowulf, Siegfried was known far and wide for his exceptional strength and courage in war.  For this reason, when Gunther’s land was threatened by thirty thousand Danes and Saxons, it was only fitting that Siegfried was asked to help stave off the enemy.  When the issue was presented to Siegfried he replied, “I will win for thee honour and profit or ever thy foemen reach this land.  Had thy stark adversaries thirty thousand warriors at their back, and I but one thousand, I would withstand them-trust me for that” (The Nibelungenlied, 15).  In addition to this noble act, Siegfried also assists King Gunther in winning the hand of Queen Brunhild through a secretive display of strength and skill.  Through both of these actions, it is clear to see why Siegfried is considered an epic hero.  Not only does he possess strength and courage, but he also fights for noble causes, demonstrating the honor, generosity, and dignity necessary to be considered a hero. 

            Likewise, the plotlines in the majority of superhero films today include the hero fighting for a noble cause.  In Captain America: The First Avenger, Dr. Abraham Erskine, who has scouted Rogers for the “super soldier” experiment, presents Rogers with an informal test in order to prove that he possesses the qualities necessary to become Captain America.  Dr. Erskine asks Rogers if he is interested in joining the Army in order to kill Nazis.  Steve Rogers replies, “I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies; I don't care where they're from” (“Captain America”).  Like Siegfried, Steve Rogers fights to protect those who cannot protect themselves.  His statement demonstrates both honor and dignity in his choice to help his country fight against injustice.  In the same way, many of Spiderman’s actions stem from his noble nature.  When Spiderman realizes he has superhuman powers, he dons a mask and begins to do good deeds around his city: foiling robberies, assisting the police, and fighting villains.  He even becomes known as “your friendly neighborhood Spiderman”.  Through the noble acts and characteristics of Steve Rogers and Spiderman, one is able to discern the way in which characteristics of the classic epic hero continue to live on through the modern heroes of cinema. 

            Additionally, both the epic hero and the modern-day hero in film can be considered “men of action” that go on epic quests, even in the face of death.  In the classic epic Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Gawain is on a quest to meet his death because of a meeting with a mysterious Green Knight.  At random, a Green Knight challenges all men in Arthur’s court to a “game”.  The Green Knight says he will allow anyone who accepts the challenge to deal a blow to him with an ax; the only caveat being that the participant has to agree to seek out the Green Knight and receive the same blow in a year’s time.  After being the only courageous knight in Arthur’s court to accept the challenge, Sir Gawain’s fate becomes death as the blow to the Green Knight’s neck decapitates him, yet does not kill him.  After the lapse of one year, Gawain sets off on his journey saying, “I to the blow am bound, to-morrow must I fair/To seek the Knight in Green” (“Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” 20).  Though Gawain surely faces death at the hands of the Green Knight’s ax, he still chooses to honor the agreement that was sealed a year earlier by the blow of his ax to the Green Knight.  In the fashion of true epic heroes, Sir Gawain travels on an epic quest, along the way learning many lessons and facing the inevitability of death.       

            In the same way, today’s superheroes in film go on quests of their own, often facing both danger and death.  Captain America goes on a noble quest to assist his Army comrades in the war and to foil the evil plans of Nazi Germany’s Johann Schmidt. Like Sir Gawain, Captain America goes on this larger-than-life quest although danger and death are imminent.  Likewise, Spiderman is on an epic quest, though his is more figurative than literal.  Spiderman does not trek to a far away land like Sir Gawain and Captain America; however, he still experiences a journey of sorts.  Peter Parker’s uncle tells him that “with power comes great responsibility” (Spider-man).  Peter initially disregards the general advice, but when his uncle is murdered he takes the advice to heart. He grows and journeys from a high school student who used his superpowers for fun, to someone who realizes that his powers should be used for a more noble cause than personal use.  At the culmination of his journey, Spiderman has to “take the Green Goblin to task…or else Goblin will kill him.  They come face to face and the war begins in which only one of them will survive at the end” (Spider-man 2002).  The epic quest is another characteristic that both the classic epic hero, such as Sir Gawain, and the modern superheroes, such as Captain America and Spiderman, all display.

            Lastly, it is also important to take a look at how the classic epic hero and the modern superhero differ. The main contrast between the two is in their motives, particularly as it relates to pride and glory and the idea of leaving a lasting legacy.  The Song of Roland opens with Charlemagne’s Christian army battling with King Marsilla’s Muslim army.  When King Marsilla sends a messenger to offer peace, Roland suggests his stepfather Ganelon act as messenger in return.  Enraged by this nomination that endangers his life, Ganelon plots with King Marsilla to ambush Roland and his twelve companions.  Though Roland is outnumbered by the Saracen army, he refuses to run and he refuses to call for help.  On two occasions, his companion Olivier, begs Roland to sound his horn and call for help but Roland refuses.  Roland’s pride for his land as well as his religion leads them into war: "My lords barons, Charles left us here for this;/He is our King, well may we die for him:/To Christendom good service offering./Battle you'll have, you all are bound to it…/So, though you die, blest martyrs shall you live” (“The Song of Roland”).  Not only does pride motivate Roland to fight though they are outnumbered, he also notes the importance of leaving behind a legacy for self, clan, and religion.  In contrast, Captain America and Spiderman do not focus on being heroes for the sake of glory, honor, and legacy.  For example, Captain America fights for a specific cause which is defending those who cannot defend themselves.  He does not concern himself with how he will appear after death, he simply wants to help. The same is true for Spiderman.  Spiderman even wears a mask to protect his identity, shying away from the glory and fame that often accompanies being a hero.  Though the idea of glory and legacy was a reoccurring theme in classic epic poems, it has seemed to fade from the storyline in Hollywood’s heroic tales. 

            In conclusion, though many centuries separate the era of the classic epic and today’s box office superheroes, the epic hero and his characteristics are still relevant and recognizable.  Many of today’s superheroes possess the characteristics necessary to classify them as modern-day epic heroes; characteristics such as superiority in strength and courage, fighting for a noble cause, and embarking on an epic quest.  One of the major differences between the epic hero and the superhero is the epic hero’s concern with glory and legacy, which seems to be lacking in the modern superhero.  Despite the differences, it is apparent that the story of the epic hero remains a popular tradition that continues to be passed down from generation to generation.  And when a superhero movie holds the number one spot for the highest grossing opening weekend in cinema history[1], one can be assured that the epic hero will remain a staple in both classic literature as well as pop-culture.

  

Works Cited

Beowulf. Trans. Gummere. Ed. Jim Manis. Hazelton: The Electronic Classics Series, 2007. PDF    e-book.

“Captain America”. IMDb. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458339/quotes >.

“Captain America: The First Avenger”. Wikipedia. Revised 8 May 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.             <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America:_The_First_Avenger>.

Dictionary.com. Random House, Inc, 2014. Web. 8 May 2014.

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight. Trans. Jessie L. Weston. Cambridge: In parentheses     Publications, 1999. PDF e-book.

“Spider-man”. Wikipedia. Revised 8 May 2014. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man_(2002_film)>.    

“Spider-man 2002”. IMDb. Web. 8 May 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145487/>.

The Nibelungenlied. Trans. Margaret Armour. Cambridge: In parentheses Publications, 1999.        PDF e-book.

The Song of Roland. Trans. Charles Kenneth Moncrieff. PDF e-book.

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[1] Marvel’s The Avengers, grossed $207,438,708 on its opening weekend, May 4^th, 2012.  Captain America is part of this cast. See http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/records/#weekends.

The Introspective Narrator as the Window to the Soul

The Introspective Narrator as the Window to the Soul

            My sister and I are two years apart in age.  Growing up, we drove our mother crazy because we fought like animals almost daily.  At the end of each brawl, we were both allowed to tell (or yell) our side of the story.  Even though I was always sure that I had been slighted as the younger sister, my sister was convinced (wrongly) that she had been disrespected as the elder sister.  Years later, I have learned two lessons from my fights with my sister: First of all, that my sister will always think that she is right.  Secondly, I have learned the importance of perspective and point-of-view. 

It has been said that there are two sides to every story.  Luckily in literature, there are often multiple sides to a tale.  This is why the narrator is such a vital figure to not only the plot of a story, but also vital to the technical composition of a novel overall.  Essayist and critic Percy Lubbock touched on the importance of the narrator when he stated, “The whole intricate question of method in the craft of fiction, I take to be governed by the question of the point-of-view—the question of the relation in which the narrator stands to the story.  He tells it as he sees it, in the first place” (251).  Lubbock is demonstrating, specifically, the power possessed by the first person narrator who allows the reader to enter his or her world. More importantly, the narrator allows the reader to enter their mind, and it is through their introspective thoughts that the reader is given an up close and personal view of the important themes stressed in the novel.  Though it now seems commonplace to have a story told by a narrator who is a completely separate entity from the author, this was not always the case, as the idea of a “narrator” is a fairly modern concept.  Because the narrator is a fairly modern concept, it is necessary to examine the evolution of the introspective narrator in literature.  In addition, it is important to view how the introspective narrator affords the reader a greater opportunity to address universal themes through the narrator’s personal struggles.

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is often “regarded as one of the foundational novels of literary realism…one of the central examples of novelistic realism, exerting a powerful influence on the tradition of the novel” (Robinson Crusoe).  The author is describing Robinson Crusoe as a work that challenged the status quo of the novel and eventually influenced the way novels were crafted.  Published in April of 1719, Robinson Crusoe stands out as one of the foremost novels that models the characteristics of literary realism, including the concept of the narrator as a being separate from the author.  During the Renaissance Ages, it was usually assumed, and rightfully so, that the voice portrayed in poems or works of drama was that of the author.  Robinson Crusoe broke from the tradition of Renaissance drama and poetry that focused on well-established conventions such as choices in style, subject matter, and tone by creating identify through the narrator.  Through this progression from Renaissance literature to literary realism, “characters [became] the centre of interest as opposed to the plot” represented through “simplicity and respect, but little elaboration” (Realism).  The early concept of the narrator was not as refined as the modern narrator; however, characters became responsible for more than just moving the story along.  Specifically, Robinson Crusoe gave Defoe a vehicle through which shared universal experiences could be dissected.

Robinson Crusoe is the story of a young wanderer who finds himself the sole inhabitant of an island after a storm at sea leaves him shipwrecked.  More importantly, the novel addresses many universal themes, one of them being the importance of one’s inner relationship with self.  The importance of self-awareness has long been a theme in literature.  In Renaissance literature, self-actualization and the realization of one’s potential was a topic covered by many authors and playwrights.  However, it was revolutionary to have a being, aside from the author, speaking of such themes, especially when this being is speaking to his or herself.  When Robinson Crusoe is ship wrecked, he becomes very introspective because he is forced to withdraw from society and look inside of himself for all of his needs.  Crusoe’s inner dialogue is seen when he ponders on his solitary life as,

better than sociable, for when I began to regret the want of Conversation, I would ask

myself whether…conversing mutually with my own thoughts, and, as I hope I may say,

with even God himself by Ejaculations, was not better than the utmost Enjoyment of

humane Society in the World (Defoe 107). 

Though Crusoe struggles with loneliness and want of company (another universal theme), he retreats into his inner being and discovers that being alone with his thoughts could be more satisfying than any of the pleasures that society could offer.  The fact that this invaluable lesson was delivered through a simple character, was revolutionary and would open the door for many authors to mimic and improve upon the use of the introspective narrator.

Published over a century later in 1847, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre improves upon the use of the introspective narrator through the coming of age story of the title character.  Like Daniel Defoe, Charlotte Brontë is considered an innovator who further expanded the use of the narrator in the novel.  “Called the first historian of the private consciousness, Charlotte Bronte has also been seen rightly as the ancestor of the 20th-century interior novelists such as Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf” (Burt, 224).  Brontë not only pioneered the use of a narrator that allowed the reader access to their innermost thoughts, but she also led the way for others to do the same (particularly Virginia Woolf whose contributions will later be discussed).  The novel Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman that follows the life and experiences of the title character as she discovers herself.  The revolutionary part of the novel is that the reader is not only able to follow Jane Eyre’s experiences as the plot unfolds, but the reader is also able to follow Jane’s emotional experiences through her narration.  This is seen early on in the novel when Jane is a young girl under the care of her aunt, Mrs. Reid, who resents Jane’s presence in her home.  When Jane finally stands up to her aunt by telling her how deceitful and unkind she has been, she reflects on the exchange, thinking to herself, “Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt.  It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty” (Bronte, 20).  By allowing the reader access to the innermost thoughts of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë contributes to the evolution of the narrator, moving from Defoe’s “simple” narrator in Robinson Crusoe to a more introverted narrator in Jane Eyre.  However, one must recognize that the complete evolution of the narrator had not yet come to fruition.  Though the character Jane allows the readers into the recesses of her mind, it is important to keep in mind that the element of storytelling is still very prominent in the narrator.  For example, at the beginning of the final chapter, Jane breaks from some of the earlier use of stream of consciousness and introspective dialogue to speak directly to the reader saying, “Reader, I married him” (Bronte, 289).  Like Robinson Crusoe, Jane is not a fully developed entity in herself because she is acting as a narrator who is shaping a story to be told, rather than allowing thoughts to flow freely as will be seen in more modern literature. Ultimately, Jane Eyre’s inner and outer dialogue displays the evolution of the narrator, as well as areas for growth towards what we now consider the modern narrator.  Regardless of the progress of the narrator, what remains constant is the ability of the narrator to address human experiences in a more relatable manner. 

The coming of age story of Jane Eyre touches on many relevant universal themes, including the theme of social standing and classifications.  When the story begins, Jane is an orphan being cared for by a resentful aunt.  The story traces her meager existence as a student and employee at Lowood School, and eventually as a governess at Thornfield Manor owned by a gentleman named Rochester.  Jane is not only fully aware of her social standing, or lack thereof, but she also scoffs at the idea that her social standing defines her person.  This is seen when Jane begins to fall in love with Rochester and speaks to him regarding their differing social classes:

Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong-- I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!  And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you (Bronte, 161).

Because the novel is set during the Victorian period in England, Jane Eyre is subject to rules of social hierarchy.  However, she scoffs at these rules when she says the aforementioned quote to Rochester.  At this point in the novel, she realizes the unfairness and double standard of the social classification system.  The only reason she is not considered a match for Rochester is due to her financial standing and occupation as governess.  However, on many accounts she is Rochester’s equal in intellect and manners.  As an introspective narrator, Jane is better able to address the issue of class because the reader has been allowed almost unlimited access to the experience and emotions of the narrator.  The reader is able to connect to the narrator as a separate being with a story, as opposed to an author with a specific message for the reader.  As the introspective narrator continues to evolve, the reader is allowed to escape through the narrator’s stream of conscious thoughts as will be seen in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway. 

            Written in 1925, Mrs. Dalloway broke the mold for what had become the modern narrator and narrative novel.  Unlike the aforementioned individual stories which span years, Mrs. Dalloway takes place in solely one day and tells the story of many narrators.  The amazing part of this novel is that despite being offered the perspective of many narrators, the reader is still able to make a connection to each narrator because of the ability to enter into each character’s thoughts.  Set on a Wednesday in June 1923, Mrs. Dalloway follows the ordinary events of Clarissa Dalloway as she prepares to host a party.  Although Clarissa is the main character, Mrs. Dalloway seamlessly switches from the perspective of one character to the next, breaking with the tradition of allowing a single author or narrator to put forth a story.  This literary style of expressions of uninterrupted thoughts and feelings can be described as stream of consciousness.   By following the mundane activities, more specifically the mundane thoughts of individuals, Woolf revolutionizes the use of the introspective narrator.  Liesl Olson describes Woolf’s use of stream of consciousness in Mrs. Dalloway as asking the reader to “examine an ordinary mind on an ordinary day” (43).  By giving the reader access to the inner most workings of the human mind, the narrator is no longer someone who is attempting to tell a story.  The narrator is now someone (and in this novel’s case multiple someones) who is simply existing.  The reader is allowed access to the fleeting thoughts and seemingly unconnected ideas that one experiences on a daily basis, with the narrator becoming a completely introspective being who recalls memories and has random thoughts without the intention of telling a story.  Woolf is able to reconcile both extraordinary moments (those moments which are easy to recall and therefore used in retelling of stories) as well as ordinary moments of simply being.  The seamless way that Woolf blends both extraordinary moments of storytelling with ordinary moments of introspective narration demonstrates the evolution of the narrator within the novel.  Like the aforementioned novels, this revolutionary use of narration allows the reader to connect with the narrators, therefore connect to universal themes on a more personal level. 

           

            One of the major themes of Mrs. Dalloway is the idea of attempting to find the balance between communication and privacy, specifically touching on the lack of privacy experienced in life.  As the main character, Clarissa Dalloway, prepares for the party she is hosting, she allows her mind to wander and she recalls a particular experience in her young adulthood with Sally Seton.  It is an experience that years later, Clarissa thinks of with fondness.  She describes this memory stating,

She and Sally fell a little behind.  Then came the most exquisite moment of her whole life

passing a stone urn with flowers in it.  Sally stopped; picked a flower; kissed her on the

lips.  The whole word might have turned upside down!  The others disappeared; there she

was alone with Sally (Woolf, 52).

The young girls are hardly given time to take in the moment before they are interrupted by their friend Peter Walsh, who is vying for Clarissa’s affection.  Through her recollection, Clarissa allows the reader into the deepest recesses of her mind, where she allows her precious memories to reside.  In his article Virginia Woolf’s Idea of Privacy, Joshua Rothman expounds upon this scene by describing the personal privacy that each individual holds within their thoughts.  He discusses the idea of privacy stating, “Many people accept the idea that each of us has a certain resolute innerness—a kernel of selfhood that we can’t share with others…What interested Woolf was the way that we become aware of that innerness” (Rothman).  Through introspective narration, Woolf leads the reader to an awareness of that innerness.  She allows the reader to witness the exquisiteness of those ordinary thoughts that we hold as sacred, those thoughts that remain special because they remain tucked away in privacy.  The article goes on to discuss these moments as “a gift” that people should cherish and attempt to hold as dear, special, memories.

            However, as important as the theme of privacy was to Woolf, she also stressed the importance of trying to find a balance between communication and privacy.  In Rothman’s Virginia Woolf’s Idea of Privacy, he speaks of this privacy as a gift that should remain unopened and protected, “not just from others’ prying eyes, but from your own” (Rothman).   He also argues that there are both “costs and benefits to maintaining this kind of inner privacy”.  This balance of communication and privacy is seen from the perspective of Clarissa’s husband, Richard Dalloway.  On an ordinary day, Richard Dalloway decides to purchases a dozen red roses to surprise Clarissa with a romantic gesture.  He plans to present the flowers to Clarissa and say “I love you” which is an unusual action for Richard.  However, during his walk home, the reader is allowed access to his fleeting thoughts and what started as a romantic act becomes an awkward and all too honest inner dialogue.  Richard thinks it “…a miracle he should have married Clarissa” in the first place (Dalloway, 62).  Ultimately, Richard presents Clarissa with the flowers but does not speak to her of his thoughts of love nor regret.  These thoughts within Richard’s innerness straddle the thin line between privacy and communication because he chooses to keep these inner thoughts from “prying eyes”.  Paradoxically, through the introspective narration in the novel, the reader is provided firsthand access to the very information meant to be veiled.  Furthermore, it is through this introspective view, that one can see how Woolf challenges the status quo of English society.  This revolutionary use of stream of consciousness led to a less chronological and more realistic story telling.  Unlike Robinson Crusoe and Jane Eyre that had a logical, progressive movement, Mrs. Dalloway advances as a gushing flow of ideas, emotions, and multiple realities, allowing the reader to be swept away by the themes that seemed to be effortlessly hidden within an ordinary mind on an ordinary day.

            Thus far, the use of the introspective narrator has evolved from a character who was used to move a story along, to multiple characters used to address universal themes.  Published in 1952, the novel Invisible Man continues to revolutionize the use of the narrator by not even identifying the narrator.  Though the narrator is telling his story, the reader is never formally introduced to the narrator who feels that he lacks identity, and is therefore invisible.  This technical decision breaks from the previous novels discussed, where the main narrator’s name is given to the title of the book.  Another evolution in the use of introspective narration follows along the lines of stream of consciousness.  In Ellison’s Invisible Man, the line is blurred between who the narratee is.  In both Jane Eyre and Robinson Crusoe, there is no doubt that the novels were crafted specifically to relate a story to the reader.  However, like Mrs. Dalloway, Invisible Man follows the innermost thoughts of the narrator, without any specific message to be had.  In his essay The Narrator/Narratee Relationship in Invisible Man, Michael Fabre touches on this subject saying, “it is difficult to characterize the narratee because the narrator does not direct his narration explicitly towards anyone—he may be his own narratee in a sort of soliloquy” (Fabre ?).  The narrator becomes the narratee because it is almost as if the reader is listening in on a private conversation that the narrator is having with himself.   This is in direct contrast to previous works such as Jane Eyre where the narrator has a direct audience and purpose.  In Invisible Man, it isn’t until the very end that there seems to be a direct purpose in the narrator’s words.  The Invisible Man calls the reader to action, saying, “Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you” (Ellison, 205).  The narrator uses this to draw the reader into his plight, suggesting that the issue of identity might resonate among everyman.  Aside from this direct address, the rest of the novel is as if the narrator is speaking to himself the entire novel. The narrator is now representing an even greater focus on the inner self and self-consciousness.  In addition, this Invisible Man represents a shift in narrative style based on social events, specifically the modernist movement, where modernists began to use writing as a social outlet to address global themes.

            The theme represented in Ellison’s Invisible Man, is stated directly in the title: invisibility, or lack of identity.  It is through the inner dialogue of a narrator who himself lacks identity, that the reader is able to connect with him and his message.  The narrator opens his soliloquy by stating, “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me” (Ellison 1).  This quote demonstrates the main theme of the novel which is the lack of individual identity due to stereotypes and racism.  The narrator considers himself invisible because there are those who are blinded by racial stereotypes, and he feels that he will never truly be seen for who he is.  Though not physically invisible, the sentiments of the narrator reflect the feelings of many African Americans in the 1950s, particularly due to the many advances in the Civil Rights movement.  This new found focus on the individual and consciousness reflects W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1903 theory of “double consciousness,” which discusses the difficulty of reconciling both an African history and an American upbringing.  Again, this novel follows the modernist movement in that it was now a common occurrence for the narrator and the author to be two completely separate entities, although the issues addressed spoke to everyman.  It is through the personal conversation that the narrator has with himself that readers are able to more intimately connect with the universal theme, and the idea of self is fully understood. 

            The use of the narrator in novels has evolved tremendously over the last few centuries.  The narrator has advanced from a story teller to one who connected to the reader by allowing the reader to see the story through their own eyes, experiences, and emotions.  Robinson Crusoe was innovative in that it was one of the first novels that introduced the importance of the narrator’s musings.  Jane Eyre followed suit, however, both novels still followed traditions in storytelling.  Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, was extremely revolutionary because it introduced stream of consciousness, where the reader was asked to examine “an ordinary life on an ordinary day”.  Lastly, Invisible Man offers the same intimacy as Mrs. Dalloway, through a narrator who remains unknown.  Through all of these introspective narrators, the reader is able to relate to the universal themes that are both directly and indirectly addressed through perspective.  Literature has done what I was never able to do in my fights with my sister: it offers a voice and a perspective for those who might not otherwise be heard; and like Ellison’s invisible narrator, it is possible that the narrator might speak for you one day as well. 

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London: Service & Paton, 1897. Kindle file.

Burt, Daniel S. The Literary 100. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print.

Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. London: Seely Service & Co., 1919. Kindle file.

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Random House, Inc, 1947. Print.

Fabre, Michel. “The Narrator/Narratee Relationship in Invisible Man.” Callaloo. 25: 1985. 535-

543. Print.

Lubbock, Percy. The Craft of Fiction. Charleston: BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2007. Print.

Olson, Liesl M. “Virginia Woolf’s “cotton wool of daily life.” Journal of Modern Literature 26.2

(2003): 42-66. Print.

Realism. Writers History Literature Portal, 2008. Web. 30 Nov 2014.

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Woolf, Virginia.  Mrs. Dalloway. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc, 1925. Print.

The Lost Generation, Found

The Lost Generation, Found

As a high school teacher in the twenty-first century, I often shake my head at my students and wonder if there is any hope for this generation.  They cannot see because their faces are buried in their cellphones, watching videos clips of the latest brawl on You Tube ; they cannot hear because their headphones are glued to their ears, filling their minds with lyrics about drugs, sex, and material possessions.  As musician Jack White once said, “this generation is so dead” (Eells).  Jack White even wrote a song, This Protector, about being a guardian of tradition against the effects of modern progress.  The same sentiments were uttered almost one hundred years ago when Gertrude Stein said to Ernest Hemingway, “you are all a lost generation” (Moveable Feast 37).  This term was used to describe a disillusioned generation that was considered to have strayed from a “traditional” value system in favor of an aimless, self-indulgent lifestyle.  On the contrary, it is my belief that the writers of the lost generation were not valueless and empty as once described.  Through their innovative thinking and their creative works, the lost generation found a sense of identity and purpose of their own. 

The lost generation is a term used to describe the group of young individuals who came to age after World War I.  More specifically, it described the American expatriates and members of the literary community that settled in France along and around the Left Bank Paris.  The term was first introduced in Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast when Ernest Hemingway recounted an exchange between Gertrude Stein and a mechanic at an auto garage.  When Stein’s car was not repaired in a satisfactory manor, the manager of the shop scolded the ex-soldier by saying, “you are all a generation perdue,” perdue being the French equivalent of the English word lost (Moveable Feast 38).  Gertrude Stein continued the sentiment by saying to Hemingway, “All of you young people who served in the war, You are a lost generation…you have no respect for anything.  You drink yourselves to death” (Moveable Feast 39).  The term was not just a commentary on the insolence or the recklessness of the post-war generation; instead, “The generation was ‘lost’ in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of its spiritual alienation from a U.S.” (Lost Generation).  From the outside looking in, this generation had gone astray by blatantly disregarding tradition, morals, and ideals that were the cornerstone of American culture.  However, the artists of the lost generation did not look from the outside in; they dared to see the world from the inside out.  That is, they dared to see the world from a different perspective, one that was uniquely their own.  So while some may argue that this generation was “lost” because they veered from tradition, I argue that they were found because they made their own way.  Through an analysis of the works of three writers who embraced the term, Nancy Cunard, Zelda Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, I will demonstrate that the lost generation should be viewed as a group of visionaries, rather than a group who had lost sight of what was important. 

Even before being a visionary in her writing, Nancy Cunard was a visionary in her personal life.  In 1896, Nancy Clara Cunard was born into a life of wealth, privilege, and luxury as part of the British aristocracy.  Her great grandfather, Samuel Cunard, was the founder of the renowned Cunard shipping line which her father, Sir Bache Cunard, eventually owned.  Her mother, Maude Cunard (later known as Lady Cunard), had the reputation of being one who had an affinity for hosting and socializing, and who had a keen interest in both the arts and the artists.  Being a carrier of a surname that possessed great social standing and prestige, it was assumed that Cunard was to behave within the confines of a specific aristocratic code of conduct.  As a young lady, Cunard was expected to follow the Victorian values that placed women in their own sphere of marriage, domestic life, and childbearing.  However, from an early age, Cunard questioned the narrow guidelines that determined how a young lady should or should not behave.  Her primary source of knowledge, her parents, were not only absent often, but they were both known to be emotionally abusive and unfaithful.  “She was expected to obey strict rules and prohibitions, while her father passively watched her mother break the most elemental bonds of married life—mutual trust and respect” (Gordon 1).  From a very young age, Cunard questioned the values and traditions that were to guide her youth. 

At the age when young society women were “coming out” and presenting themselves as viable marriage candidates, Cunard was rebelling in the artistic communities of London.  In the mid 1920s, Cunard “plunged into the bohemian life of London…Intellectually and creatively nurtured by the distinguished artists she met, she was also bolstered by her friends…to rebel against convention and authority.  She seemed to have found satisfaction in her new independence” (Gordon 51).  It was during this time that Cunard forged her own way (perhaps not financially) and experimented to discover, for herself, what it meant to be young, artistic, sexual, and a woman.  In 1920, Cunard leaves London for Paris, where she believed her artistic thirst could be better satisfied.  Here, she enmeshes herself in the Left Bank community, surrounding herself with likeminded young innovators in the artistic community.  Cunard’s mother feared that her daughter’s lifestyle was aimless and lacking in morality, and she often told Nancy that she would amount to nothing.  The outside world considered Cunard to be lost: lacking direction, lacking values, and defiant in the face of tradition.  However, none of this would deter Cunard who was beginning to find herself through the nurturing and creative environment of the Left Bank. 

Cunard would become a staple in the Left Bank scene of innovators, befriending and romancing artists such as T.S. Elliot, Pablo Neruda, and Samuel Beckett.  During the 1920s and 1930s, Cunard tirelessly published poetry, wrote political pamphlets, and even opened and ran a printing press known as The Hours.  Despite her celebrity and despite her passion, Cunard can be described as, “one of the biggest stars you've never heard of” ( Weber).  Despite her earnest attempts, Cunard’s peers (and most scholars thereafter) never recognized her as a successful poet.  In 1921, she published her first collection entitled Outlaws which was met with little enthusiasm.  In the introduction to Poems of Nancy Cunard, John Lucas writes that though Cunard had an “original” mind, her verse was “for the most part inept where not downright bad” (12).  In 1923 she published Sublunary, which John Lucas suggests shows that she did not take her peers’ advice to “work on her craft” (13).  In 1925, she published Parallax, which once again was met with criticisms of Cunard’s ability and skill as a poet.  Despite her frustrations at being recognized more for her aesthetic appeal than her poetry, Cunard refused to stop writing because it was through her writing that she was able to become self-aware, in spite of her successes or her failures.  Cunard refused to succumb “to the inertia of the staid” or give “into the cultural entropy that she saw could envelope those once young and wild at heart” (“Unit 3”).  There is no doubt that Cunard questioned her ability and her place in the world; but she questioned, and that is more than can be said for many of her aristocratic equals.  While some may view this as Cunard going astray or losing her way, I applaud her tenacity and fearlessness in the face of discovery.   

One may be tempted to write Cunard off as not only a bad poet, but also as a “spoiled little rich girl” who made much ado about rather trivial matters.  However, Cunard proved herself to be an adept journalist with a revolutionary view on many topics.  What’s more, the issues that Cunard supported seemed to add the importance and necessity to her life which she often questioned in her poetry.  In the early 1930s, she met Henry Crowder, an African-American Jazz musician from Harlem, and over the next few years they became both lovers and collaborators.  It is her relationship with Crowder that brought to light not only the art of the Harlem Renaissance, but also the social issues and injustices at the heart of the movement.  Not only was it the bigotry and racial inequalities that resonated with Cunard, but it was the sense of forceful coercion (of which Cunard was also once a victim) that caused Cunard to truly sympathize with the movement and its supporters.  In 1931 she penned the anti-racist essay Black Man and White Ladyship, which tells the story of her mother’s (referred to as Ladyship) disbelief and shame surrounding her daughter’s interracial dealings.  She suggests that both her mother’s American upbringing and her aristocratic standing led to her bigotry stating, “Her Ladyship’s own snobbery is quite simple.  If a thing is done she will, with a few negligible exceptions, do it too.  And the last person she has talked to is generally right, providing he is someone” (Cunard 186).  This is an example of how conformity, under the guise of tradition, leads to a thoughtless and unexamined existence, a life which Cunard refused to live. Many mistook her questioning nature for purposelessness, but even if Cunard left this world with questions unanswered, she refused tradition and instead created her own rules.  It was through her continued self-examination and outpouring of work that led me to view Cunard as not one who is lost, but one who has been found.

Another local celebrity on the Left Bank Paris, by way of her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald, was Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald who is described as “a complete mixture of Southern belle, Jazz Age wild child, wife, mother, and seriously ambitious artist” (Gray).  Unlike Cunard, Zelda grew up in America and was accepting of the traditional values that were inherited.  Born to a well-off family, much of Zelda’s time was spent at country club events and ballet recitals where she was often the most sought after Southern belle in Montgomery.  Despite the fact that Zelda was very talented and intelligent, like many other young women in the early 1900s, Zelda’s main purpose in life was to find a suitable mate, particularly one who could support her and provide her with a life of luxury and comfort.  From an early age, Zelda felt that marriage, children, and stability were the key to a happy life.  It was these ideals that caused Zelda to overlook the advances of Scott Fitzgerald, who at the time was nothing more than an Army second lieutenant with no wealth and no prospect for success.  However, after the success of Scott’s first novel This Side of Paradise in 1920, Zelda had a change of heart and the pair married in New York.  Scott’s success was immediate, and the couple gained notoriety as the “golden couple”, living a life of fame, fortune, and fun (Gray).  In 1922, Scott published The Beautiful and the Damned and further solidified himself as a literary celebrity. 

Though this was the type of life that Zelda had always been taught to desire, there was a dissatisfaction growing within her.  Zelda, who was used to being in the spotlight on her own accord, was now forced into the shadows of her husband’s fame and talent.  A gifted writer in her own right, there is often more debate over the extent to which Zelda played a role in Scott’s writing, than there is attention paid to Zelda’s solo works.  In 1925, bolstered by wealth and success, the couple moved to Paris where the Jazz Age was in full swing and where their fame had preceded them.  By this time, the envy, resentment, and frustrations of being overlooked and unappreciated had caused a rift in the Fitzgerald’s’ marriage.  To make matters worse, Zelda was  often portrayed in the media as unruly, insane, and a detriment to Scott’s fragile character, thanks in part to Ernest Hemingway. Despite the fact that Zelda was living the life that she had been taught to desire (she had a successful husband, a beautiful child, and financial security), she often felt oppressed, confined, and coerced into a life where she had no voice and no audience.  Clay argues that, “she seems undone by having no solid foundation to hold onto” (3).  At this juncture in her life, Zelda is indeed lost.    

  The Fitzgerald’s continued to live a transient life, going from Paris to Hollywood, and eventually to Philadelphia, all the while carrying with them the baggage of their strained and tumultuous relationship.  However,  Zelda began to crave a life and an identity of her own and on her own terms.  It is because of this desire that Zelda began to experiment with creative outputs like painting, writing and ballet in an attempt to find her voice.  At the age of twenty seven, Zelda returned to the ballet world where, despite her late age, she became a success.  Zelda became engrossed in the world of dance, committing to the craft so much so that both her doctors and her husband labeled it an “obsession”.  However, Clay discusses the theory that Zelda’s passion was an attempt at individuality, stating, “Zelda’s commitment to dancing had more to do with Zelda’s desire to become independent of Scott and his need to control her” (3).  Zelda no longer wished to be confined by the limits proposed by the traditional label of “wife”.  Zelda craved individuality, and it was through ballet and the control of her own body that she was able to achieve this. 

Despite her success as a dancer, Zelda’s mental and emotional state was fragile, with her behavior becoming more and more erratic, unpredictable, and strange.  No one truly knows the extent of her illness (she was diagnosed as schizophrenic though people argue that she was more likely manic-depressive), but in 1932 Zelda was hospitalized at the psychiatric clinic at Johns Hopkins.  Ever the fighter, it is during this six week stay that Zelda wrote her first and only novel, Save Me the Waltz.  Not only does Zelda complete her first novel, but she also submits it to Scribners publishing, without Scott’s knowledge.  For Zelda, “art constituted a viable attempt to break free of the roles in which she was cast” (4).  This was Zelda’s last ditch effort to establish herself as both an artist and an individual detached from her title as the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Despite the poor sales and reception of the novel, Zelda should be considered an innovator who had the courage to break from tradition for the sake of her happiness and sanity.  Zelda continued to suffer with mental illness until her death in 1948, but she should be remembered more for her literal and figurative attempt at telling the story in her own words. 

Finally, it seems necessary to discuss the man to whom the term “lost generation” was directly addressed: Ernest Miller Hemingway.  Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1891 in Cicero (now Oak Park), Illinois.  From what is known about Hemingway’s past, it appears that he had a very traditional upbringing, being raised in an upper-middle class conservative family in the suburbs.  Bound by his upbringing, Hemingway was expected to adhere to the “norms” for young men of his day: to go to school with the hopes of obtaining an education and securing a job for his future wife and kids.  Hemingway could not stand to “think [his] life [was] going so fast and [he was] not really living it,” a sentiment he would later pen in The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway 18).  So at just eighteen years old, Hemingway opted to relocate to Kansas City where he looked to fulfill his need for travel and adventure.  It was here that he attempted to join the military, but because of an eye condition, volunteered to drive ambulances for the Red Cross as the next best option.  At this time, Hemingway was wide-eyed with excitement at the opportunity to see all that the world had to offer.  However, the realities of war and mortality set in when Hemingway sustained a serious leg injury when his trench was bombed just a month into his deployment.  After a lengthy recovery in Milan, a return to the states, and a swift marriage, the enchantment of the world seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer for Hemingway who felt restrained by his life in Illinois.  Luckily for Hemingway, he received an employment opportunity that afforded him the chance to travel to Paris as a correspondent for a newspaper, and in 1921 he and his wife Hadley boarded a ship bound for Paris.  This transient lifestyle and constant quest for adventure was in direct contrast to the traditional conservative lifestyle that was expected of him.  Many viewed his defiance towards tradition as a lack of respect, and as a sign of one with no direction in life; but never one for conformity, Hemingway was determined to make his own rules, not only as it pertained to his life, but also as it pertained to his literature.  

In 1924 Hemingway published in our time, a collection of vignettes, and received little attention until F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a review praising Hemingway’s work.  Hemingway was now in a prime position within the literary community to publish his first full novel The Sun Also Rises which was released in 1926 to immediate praise and fanfare.  The Sun Also Rises was considered to be a ground-breaking novel that presented a style quiet different from many of his counterparts.  Many of the other authors and poets had a style that was heavy-handed, wordy, and laced with imagery and poetic flourishes.  Hemingway instead used his journalism skills to create a style that was simple and purposeful in both diction and syntax.  Readers would come to know Hemingway for his distinctive style, allowing Hemingway to find a sense of identity through his writing.  His style can be described in three different manners, all of which point to his simplistic and disciplined style:

First, short and simple sentence constructions, with heavy use of parallelism, which convey the effect of control, terseness, and blunt honesty; second, purged diction which above all eschews the use of bookish, latinate, or abstract words and thus achieves the effect of being heard or spoken or transcribed from reality rather than appearing as a construct of the imagination (in brief, verisimilitude); and third, skillful use of repetition and a kind of verbal counterpoint, which operate either by pairing or juxtaposing opposites, or else by running the same word or phrase through a series of shifting meanings and inflections. (Poetry Foundation)

This can be seen in a seen in The Sun Also Rises where the narrator Jake describes the weather in Pamplona:

In the morning it was raining.  A fog had come over the mountains from the sea.  You could not see the tops of the mountains.  The plateau was dull and gloomy, and the shapes of the trees and the houses were changed.  I walked out beyond the town to look at the weather.  The bad weather was coming in over the mountains from the sea. (Hemingway 136)

This passage perfectly demonstrates Hemingway’s individuality and innovative style.  Firstly, though the sentences seem simplistic, there is a discipline in the abruptness of his sentences.  Secondly, his omission of abstract words gives the reader the impression that Jake is reciting this information from reality versus imagination.  Lastly, the use of repetition in the recounting of the weather sets up a juxtaposition between the certainty of the weather and the frenzied events taking place in Pamplona.  Hemingway’s style was purposeful and innovative because like Cunard and Zelda, Hemingway was searching for a way to avoid conformity and find a voice for himself through his writing. 

Hemingway’s style was always consistent, remaining the same from his first novel to his last.  Between  the release of The Sun Also Rises in 1926 and Hemingway’s death in 1961, Hemingway experienced many successes and failures, including publication of more novels and collections, a divorce and subsequent marriage, a battle with alcoholism, and bouts with mental illness.  But shortly before his suicide in 1961, Hemingway penned his memoir, A Moveable Feast, inspired by the rediscovery of relics from his younger years in Paris, the years which can be described as “ young and wild and hungry and happy years with Hadley—truly, as he acknowledges, the best years of his life” (“Unit 5”).  A Moveable Feast is the culmination of a life fully lived and a life fully realized.  In particular, it is a reminder of how Hemingway veered from tradition in both style and meaning.  Hemingway directly describes his writing process stating:

If I started to write elaborately, or like someone introducing or presenting something, I found that I could cut that scrollwork or ornament out and throw it away and start with the first true simple declarative sentence I had written.... I decided that I would write one story about each thing that I knew about. I was trying to do this all the time I was writing, and it was good and severe discipline. (Hemingway 19)

Hemingway describes how he purposefully crafted his writing to be simple yet sophisticated.  For Hemingway, it was an attempt at creating an individual style in order to avoid following the status quo.  His discipline, purposefulness, and self-awareness are in direct opposition to the term “lost generation”.    

            Aside from his style, Hemingway also attempted to find himself through the themes in his works.  For Hemingway, “His writing was his way of approaching his identity—of discovering himself in the projected metaphors of his experience. He believed that if he could see himself clear and whole, his vision might be useful to others who also lived in this world.” (Poetry Foundation).  Through A Moveable Feast, Hemingway attempts self-discovery with the intent being to allow his readers to view not only the events of his life, but also to view who he was as an individual.  This can be seen when Hemingway described his though process during the times when he experienced difficulty writing:

I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, 'Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say (Hemingway 18)

Hemingway’s writing was an attempt at self-discovery through the truth that was all around him.  By tearing down and building up the intricacies of his existence, Hemingway found a way to define what was true for him.  This is once again an example of how he refused to accept what was common belief and instead created meaning through self-discovery and art.  Ernest Hemingway continued to make his own rules to the very end.  Feeling that he had had his fill of the world, Hemingway chose to exit on July 2, 1961.

             An associate of mine once said that every generation believes that the following generation has experienced a decline in values, morals, intelligence, or respect.  My mother used to say, “children these days” while shaking her head in disbelief, in much the same way that I do today.  People are often too quick to label individuals as “trouble-makers” or to write off an entire generation because they choose to do things in a different manner.  The Lost Generation was a group that was unfairly labeled because of their deliberate attempts at individuality.  Cunard, Zelda, and Hemingway were only a few of the artists on the Left Bank who believed a traditional life meant a life of oppression and conformity; they instead found their own truth by finding individuality through art.  Therefore, before one chooses to label a generation as “dead” or “lost”, one should instead try to see them as innovators.  There is much to be seen from those who choose to walk a different path.

Works Cited

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“Ernest Hemingway.” The Poetry Foundation. Poetry Magazine, n.d. Web. 5 May 2015.

Gordon, Lois. Nancy Cunard Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist. New York: Columbia University       Press, 2007. Print. 

Gray, Nancy. “Zelda comes into her own.” Rev. of Zelda Fitzgerald: Her Voice in Paradise, Sally

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Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. New York: Scribner, 1964. PDF.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 1926. Print.

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Loots, Christopher. Unit 5 Lecture: Hemingway. Retrieved from Lecture Notes

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Weber, Caroline. “Nancy Cunard: A troubled heiress with an ideological mission.” The New York

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