Changing Perspective Towards The Theme of Suffering - Book Report/Review Example

? Changing Perspective Towards The Theme of Suffering WRITE WRITE THE OF YOUR From ancient days, suffering has been considered as an integral part of life. It was believed that Man is doomed to suffer on this earth for the mistake he has committed. Suffering, as a theme for creative writing, has recurred in the writings of almost every culture and civilization. Although the theme has been addressed by many Prophets and creative minds, the treatment of the same has always remained different from each other. It is the study of these treatments and perspectives that is interesting. Delving deep into the subject of suffering, it can be found that the attitude towards this negative aspect of life has always been as much influenced by the writer's personal and social experiences as it is by his/her cultural heritage. Apart from the didactic writing, like "The Book of Job", which was written to provide a righteous guide to religious people and guide the values of a culture and a society, the other selected texts provide a glimpse of the society, its realities, conflicting values and response towards the idea of suffering. Although it would not be correct to generalize it as the perspective of the society towards suffering, it undoubtedly provides a glimpse of changing attitude towards suffering. While Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground", and Franz Kafka's "The Castle" provide an existential perspective to the theme of suffering, Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" and Naguib Mahfouz’s short story “Zaabalawi” introspect it as a disease of mind. Job 13:15 - "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him..." (NIV). "The Book of Job" provides the view of the ancient society towards suffering. A part of the "Wisdom book" of Bible, it tries to establish, through the problem of suffering, the sovereignty of God. Even a righteous man like Job has to suffer to prove his integrity towards God. The main theme that the book addresses is, "Can a favored, righteous person hold on to their faith in God when things go wrong?"and although Job suffers the death of his children and the sores afflicted all over his body by Satan, he holds on to his innocence and faith in the sovereign God. It is interesting to note that Job is visited by three friends who undoubtedly depict the skeptical minds of the society, who try to find a logical relation between Job's suffering and his deeds. However, God's rebuke of his friends at the end suggests that suffering, as it comes in life, should not be questioned. It should be accepted, as pointed out by the fourth visitor Elihu, as a mode of "purification". God chooses to "purify" the soul of its subjects through suffering. Another point that should be noted is, after suffering comes reward. Neither did Job question God's actions nor did he give away his faith and thus at the end, he receives bounty reward from God. The attitude towards suffering thus was one of silent acceptance, believing in the ultimate good. The book preaches, "God is the highest law in the universe and that often his reasons are known only to him." Written shortly after his religious conversion, Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilych" has strong signs of Christian suffering. However, if the suffering discussed in "The Book of Job" was external, the one pointed out by Leo Tolstoy in "The Death of Ivan Ilych" is as much internal as it is external. Sick and dying, Ivan is tormented by the thought "Maybe I did not live as I ought to have done," and suffers in his mind as he does at a physical level. It is interesting to note that the third person author, who from time to time points at the false pomp, glory and recognition that Ivan was happily enjoying, towards the end of the novel, grows sympathetic to the soul that was repenting and suffering. Here again it should be noted that, the author brings in a figure of all good to build a trust in humanity. Gerasim's motto " do unto others as you would have them do unto you” has a religious touch in it. Tolstoy who was himself searching for spirituality in his personal life, painted his anti-hero with the same color. At the end of the novel, as Ivan's suffering reaches its crescendo, "screaming began that continued for three days, and was so terrible that one could not hear it through two closed doors without horror", he desperately tried to find an answer to this suffering and realizes where he has gone wrong. He asks for forgiveness and at the end of the novella, "In place of death there was light." Interesting to note that it is the suffering in his mind that ceases and not his physical suffering but still he is calm and experiences "What Joy!". Ivans last spoken words are " "Death is finished,....It is no more!” The presence of Gerasim makes the reader believe that the suffering is not for all; the righteous will be at peace and happy. Suffering as a disease of soul is depicted in Naguib Mahfouz’s short story "Zaabalawi." The story that traces the journey of the protagonist to find Zaabalawi to cure his illness which he says "no one possesses a remedy" ends with a symbolic suggestion that the cure is not "without" but "within" him. In this story, the suffering does not follow due to some wrong action and is portrayed more as a reason for the quest towards finding Zaabalawi. It is only when the human soul suffers that it seeks for a cure. However, the author does not restrict his idea of suffering to individual suffering and extends it to the suffering and despair of the society. While in his quest for Zaabalawi, the protagonist reaches an inner city which he describes as - "I went to Birgawi Residence which was situated in a thickly populated quarter. I found that time had so eaten into the building that nothing was left of it save an antiquated facade and a courtyard which, despite it being supposedly in the charge of a caretaker, was being used as a rubbish dump." This undoubtedly points towards the suffering of the society as seen by the author/protagonist. Jakarta Alchura while providing a study of the short story mentions how the author of the short story depicts the society of his time. He mentions that the use of the phrase "as rubbish dump" and personification in "time had so eaten into the building", points towards the decaying society as seen by the author. At the same time, the fact that Zaabalawi is known by many, points to others who have sought to find him. However, even in such a situation, the author does not turn the story to depict God as almighty who is punishing the human race for its wrong doings. Instead, Zaabalawi is someone who stays within the society. A calligrapher describes Zaabalawi to the protagonist as a "real man of mystery" who would "visit you so often that people would imagine he was your nearest and dearest, then would disappear as though he’d never existed". Similar to the two works discussed above, the path towards spirituality is considered to be tough." This extraordinary man brings fatigue to all who seek him....It is therefore no longer an easy matter to reach him, but have patience and be sure that you will do so". This symbolizes that the search for one’s inner peace is a difficult one and towards the end of the story the fact that protagonist misses the chance to meet Zaabalawi by sleeping off in a bar points to the fact that it is the slumber of our mind that makes us suffer. Nevertheless, that the protagonist decides to continue his search for Zaabalawi at the end suggests hope. A starkly different approach towards suffering can be found in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground" 1864 which is also considered as the first existential novel by Philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. The suffering here is related to existential crisis which the man from the underground believes he suffers from. Part One of the Book, which is written in monologue, refers from time to time to the idea of inevitable suffering. The protagonist who considers himself as an unfortunately conscious human being says that an individual's suffering becomes a thing of pleasure when it is able to make others suffer. According to the protagonist, Man is addicted to suffering as it makes him feel conscious. Every individual is fully conscious of the path he chooses and the choice of suffering makes him feel more conscious of his being. In the Second part of the novel we find how the underground man, an anti-social creatures tries to take revenge on everyone who had mocked him in the past. However, due to extreme consciousness, he is unable to perform any meaningful action. Towards the end of the novel we find that for the Underground man, "life" is suffering in itself. He craves for "peace" as the pressure of "living life" and interacting with others, according to him, has become too much. The fact that even at the end, the Underground man receives no respite, is suggestive of the writer's view that there is no respite from suffering. If Fyodor Dostoyevsky's underground man knows what is suffering and suffers from its knowledge, the village of "The Castle" never suffer because they are numbed. Although as mentioned by professor George A. Panichas that many critics held that the protagonist K of this unfinished novel was "in pursuit of salvation" (p.83), it is hard to reach such a conclusion given that Kafka was a non-Christian and was himself in conflict with God. Through the surreal world, Kafka actually tries to portray the Chaos and disappointment reigning in the post modern world. Unlike the works mentioned above Kafka here offers no solution to suffering, it is accepted as a mundane reality. There is no chance of salvation as the Castle, which in the story seems to hold sovereign power, is "hidden, veiled in mist and darkness". George A. Panichas in his study of Kafka's "The Castle" mentions that the continuous failed attempts of K to get access to the Castle is a human situation of the post war period. He says, 'For him [K] there is no road to human dignity, no release from a sentence of death, even as "enduring faith" is a platitude in a world that dictates extinction in a "small stone quarry, deserted and desolate." ' (p. 87) The study of all the works point to the fact that there has been a major shift in the perspective of the writers towards suffering. This undoubtedly is the result of changing circumstances like different literary movements, scientific advancements and war. In Post modern world, where Man has become utterly conscious of his choices and knows that even suffering is a result of his choice, there is little hope to find a way out of it. Although Kafka died before finishing "The Castle" many critics believe he suggested to his friend that the story would end with K dying in the village and the castle notifying him on his death bed that his legal claim to live in the village was not valid. This in turn suggests a state of utter hopelessness and despair yet K never thinks of escaping from the village as there is actually no way to escape. References: Alchura, Jakarta. (2007). Literary Analysis Zaabalawi by Naguib Mahfouz. Humanities 360. Retrieved from http://www.humanities360.com/index.php/literary-analysis-zaabalawi-by-naguib- mahfouz-66375/ Panichas, George A. (2004). Kafka’s Afflicted Vision: A Literary-Theological Critique. National Humanities Institute, 18. Retrieved from http://www.nhinet.org/panichas17-1&2.pdf Read More