Toward a New Consciousness; Three Protagonists Journeys into Self-Awareness - Essay Example

Toward a New Consciousness; Three Protagonist’s Journeys into Self-Awareness In many novels, the main character journeys into themselves in some way. For Emma, Asher and Huck, that journey teaches them about who they are. For Emma, the protagonist in Emma by Jane Austen; her journey to self-awareness helps her rise above her behavior. For Asher Lev, the protagonist in My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok; his journey to discovery leads him to look how his life as an artist and his life as a Jew can connect. For Huck, the protagonist in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; the journey to self discovery teaches him not only about himself, but also about how the right decision is not always the one society prefers. It is through literary device that the journeys these characters make towards self awareness becomes clear. First, the journey is always aided by the actions of a secondary character, who is used to push the main character towards change. Second, the authors use a coming to consciousness theme, in which the character suddenly realizes something about themselves that severely alters their self-awareness. Third, the change to self-awareness significantly alters the path of the novel, leading the reader to recognize that this change was not just an internal coming to consciousness, but a life-altering event. Through these three literary devices, the author is able to make clear the increased self-awareness and new beginnings of the novel’s protagonist. Each protagonist makes their way to self-awareness from a very different point. For Emma, the journey to self-awareness is not an easy one. As the town matchmaker, Emma makes it her business to help everyone else find a soul mate, while insisting that she is not interested in marriage. It is not until late in the novel that she realizes that her meddling has harmed her friends. For Asher, the journey to self-awareness leads him to recognize a conflict between his religion and family, and his artwork. This journey teaches him that he must value who he is, and the statement he must make, even though it may not be the easiest choice. Huckleberry Finn, or Huck, has a very different journey than Emma or Asher. He is still a child, still learning what society expects of him, and has to learn that society’s values, and his own values may not always be in agreement, and that he must learn to trust himself. For each protagonist, there is a secondary character used to help them make the step into self-awareness. In Emma, that character is Mr. Knightley, who tells her that she should not meddle. Indeed, Emma herself realizes that he is right not to meddle “She had many a hint from Mr. Knightley and some from her own heart, as to her deficiency…” (Austen 111), but is afraid to recognize the repercussions of her understanding. However, Mr. Knightley continues his quest to stop Emma from meddling, and eventually gets through to her consciousness. For Asher, his secondary character is well known artist Jacob Kahn, who becomes the primary external influence in his life and teaches him that his art must be a part of who he is. His art leads him to break rules of his religion and to ignore the values that he had been taught by his family and religion. While he teaches Asher to be true to his art, he also tries to teach him to be true to himself. He reminds Asher “Asher Lev, an artist who deceives himself is a fraud and a whore. You did that because you were ashamed…Asher Lev, an artist is a person first” (Potok 257). Asher has to realize that his art, and his religion are both a primary part of who he is, and find a way to connect the two to be truly himself. For Huck, the youngest of the three protagonists, it is Jim who plays the most influential role in his change. Jim is a black slave, who, while Huck has always been taught that slaves are nothing, Huck can not help but respect, which makes him question the whole concept of slaves being no better than animals. However, living with Jim teaches Huck that people are people, and that he needs to respect everyone. He argues with Huck over the difference between men and animals, saying "Is a cat a man, Huck?"  "No." "Well, den, dey aint no sense in a cat talkin like a man. Is a cow a man? -- er is a cow a cat?"  "No, she aint either of them."   "Well, den, she aint got no business to talk like either one er the yuther of em. Is a Frenchman a man?" "Yes."  "WELL, den! Dad blame it, why doan he talk like a man? You answer me dat!" (Twain 107). and although Huck does not understand Jim’s argument, he also can not find a way to argue with it, and just lets it go. Throughout the novel there is a clear coming to consciousness theme, in which the peak of the novel marks the change in the protagonists’ understanding of themselves. Emma, at a key point in the novel, thinks to herself ““the first error, and the worst, lay at her door. It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active a part in bringing two people together. It was adventuring too far, assuming too much…” (Austen 298). For Emma, this moment marks the point at which she realizes her actions have only hurt others, and not helped. For Asher, the moment of change comes much closer to the end, when he has been banished from his home. He realizes that his art must show what he feels, even if it will bother others. “But it would have made me a whore to leave it incomplete…I would not be the whore to my own existance” (Potok 328). When Asher realizes that he must paint what he feels, he suddenly feels free to paint what is inside him. For Huck, this realization comes when he understands that Jim is a person. He can not just accept what society has told him, that Jim is just a slave, and needs no respect. “It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warnt ever sorry for it afterwards, neither. I didnt do him no more mean tricks, and I wouldnt done that one if Id a knowed it would make him feel that way”(Twain 115). Huck recognizes that he must treat Jim as a person, and respect him. For Huck, this turning point helps him realize that he can make decisions on his own. Finally, the change in self-awareness is made obvious through the change in the character’s behavior, and actions, suggesting that life will now be different for them. For Emma, this change comes when she realizes her meddling has hurt her closest friend. “Mr. Knightley had spoken prophetically when he said once, “Emma, you have been no friend to Harriet Smith.” She was afraid she had done her nothing but disservice” (Austen 293). In this change, Emma realizes that she needs to stop her meddling, and focus instead on her own life. For Asher Lev, this change comes when he returns home, and talks to the Rebbe, who tells him to leave. “I was demonic and divine. Asher Lev, son of Aryeh and Rivkeh Lev, was the child of the Master of the Universe and the Other Side. Asher Lev paints good pictures and hurts people he loves. Then be a great painter, Asher Lev; that will be the only justification for all the pain you will cause” (Potok 367). Asher Lev realizes that he must be true to himself, no matter what the cost. For Huck, the only option for him is to leave, since his views no longer match those of his society. He explains to Tom “I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally shes going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I cant stand it. I been there before” (Twain 1985). While Huck’s journey leads him to mistrust society, he is also still very young, and has many journeys ahead of him still. In each of these three books, the character has made a startling discovery about themselves. Through a secondary character, Emma learns that she needs to trust in others more, and trust less in her own sense of right and wrong. Asher learns that in abandoning himself to his desires, he has will also lose much of what he loves about his life. Huck learns that society does not always know what is right and wrong, and that he must learn to trust his own judgment, but also must rely on others. All three protagonists learned that personal desire can lead to downfall, if not held in check to the desire to others. The reader sees these changes in both the climax of the novel, and in the characters abrupt change in behavior. In Emma, My Name is Asher Lev, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the journeys of the protagonists led them to increased self awareness of social issues, internal desires, and interpersonal relationships. Like all novels, these characters learned about themselves. However, they not only learned about themselves, but how others can impact the journey to self-awareness. Works Cited Austen, Jane. (1992). Emma. New York, NY: Random House. Potok, Chaim. (1972). My Name is Asher Lev. New York, NY: Random House. Twain, Mark (1985). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York, NY: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc.. Read More