The musical style of Heart is a lonely hunter - Essay Example

The Musical Style of “the Heart is a Lonely Hunter” Introduction Music plays a crucial role as a literary tool in the development of McCullers’ novel “the Heart is a Lonely Hunter” as the musical theme or the theme of ‘music’ significantly rings the entire structure of the novel and the character-development in it. In the novel it is evident that the author explores the universal appeal of music and its relationship with human being both in the psychological level and the structural level. Both the themes and the contrapuntal themes of the work appear in a both contrastive and harmonizing setting where the characters of the novel interact with each other in order the structure as an organic whole. In this regard McCullers herself characterizes the novel as a fugue in the musical features of the novel recurs in three parts of the novel. McCullers novel is musical in its characteristics in two senses: first the novel possesses a tuneful and harmonious structure; second it deals with the polyphonic characteristics of words, phrases and the greater unit of the structure of the novel (Fuller 57). The phonic tones and of tunes of words not only exists in the concrete form but also in the abstract sense. Evidently the phonic features both in abstract and concrete senses have been fused with its tuneful and harmonious structure, as it is noted in the Big Readers’ Guide”, “The novel’s rhythmic language is sometimes harmonious — as in the sweet, sad duets between Mick and Singer — and at other times cacophonous, as in Jake and Dr. Copeland’s final argument” (Big Read, 2). The Novel’s Structure: a Three Part Fugue The entire structure of the novel appears to be a three part fugue that closely follows the polyphonic actions with a number of symbolic voices including a central voice. The fugal characters of “the Heart is a Lonely Hunter” function in a contrastive, but rhythmic, way to demonstrate the dominant relationship between John Singer’s mute heart with the outside world and then necessarily the other characters come with the contrapuntal theme to contribute to the development of the major theme of the novel. Following the structure of a fugue, the novel deals with an extensive theme of man’s struggle against the loneliness of his inner being. This theme of man’s revolt against the painful solitude is introduced in the first part of the novel through the character of John Singer. The theme that McCullers attempts to express through the metaphorical voice of John Singer’s voice –John Singer’s voice is to be taken its metaphorical sense as he is mute- is as following, “Man’s revolt”, as McCullers and Margarita G. Smith says, “against his inner isolation and his urge to express himself as fully as possible” (124). Remarkably John’s voice is joined and support by other major characters such as Mick Kelly, Dr. Copeland, Biff Brannon. Indeed the first part of the novel also poses the rhetorical question whether man is capable of overcoming his inner isolation. This question is answered in the following part of the fugue like structure of the novel. Contrapuntal Composition and Coda of the Novel In a series presentation of the characters’ struggles with their shortcoming of self expression this revolt of man becomes intensified in the second part. The struggles of other characters that are presented in the part of the fugal structure of the novel not only intensify but recur in a musical manner (Fuller 60). John Singer is the author’s versatile projection of man’s inner loneliness. Indeed John’s incapability to speak provides the author with a unique opportunity to signify as the reflections of other characters struggles. The pain agony of John Singer arises from his inability to communicate with the people of the world. In this regard, McCullers and Smith say, “Singer is…..the symbol of isolation and thwarted expression” (126). Ironically enough Singer though he cannot speak turns into the metaphorical voice of who struggle with their own solitude. In context of the novel he is the effective projection of the other four characters. In the same manner the Mick Kelly’s passion for music and its conflict with the reality becomes intensified in this part. John Singer’s seclusion and lack of communication with the outside world once again is expressed in the voice of Jake Blount because he thinks that no one in the world tries to understand him and his socialist view. Indeed the second part of the fugal structure of the novel deals with the inevitable failure of the character that is deteriorated by their situational entrapment. Now the struggles and the inner conflicts of the characters appear in the third part of the novel. This part of the novel possesses much of the characteristic of the Coda of a fugue. It functions in a way that it contributes to some added meaning to the structure of the novel. Like the modulating function of a coda, this part returns the tonality to the major theme of the novel. In this part the struggles of the characters to communicate the world end in utter failure. Music as a Symbol in the Novel Music itself plays the role of a significant symbol in the novel, “the Heart is a Lonely Hunter”. Mick Kelly’s passion for music contributes to the development of the novel to a great extent. Kelly’s passion for music is evident in the following line, “She could not listen good enough to hear it all. The music boiled inside her.” (McCullers 118). As her economic condition is not well-to-do enough to buy and at the same time, her contemporary society does not allow her to have a violin, it significantly keeps her inbound. For Kelly music is a symbol of greater life. The world, which Mick belongs to, is full of violence that is in utter contrast with Mick’s ambition for music a symbol of greater life. While music symbolizes the serenity of life, Mick’s failure to achieve the violin signifies the counter exposition of the struggling state of the characters expressed in Singer’s loneliness. In the fugal composition of the structure of the novel the symbol of the violin and Mick’s passion for it play the modulation role, as the theme of the novel recurs through it. Again Mick’s passion is evident in the novel, “"But all the time—no matter what she was doing—there was music…she hummed to herself…. she listened quietly to the songs inside her. There were all kinds of music in her thoughts."” (McCullers 89). Themes and Contrapuntal Themes in the Novel The presence of the contrapuntal themes in the novel rather contributes to the musicality of the novel. In the contrapuntal composition of the theme and structure each of characters can be considered as a musical instrument that is assigned with a unique tone and style. These characters with their musical tone work out the theme of the novel the contrapuntal variation and inversion of the tonality. Whereas the main theme, “man’s revolt against his inner isolation” (McCullers & Smith, 124) of the novel is expressed through the voice of John Singer’s struggle with his incapability of speaking, the same is recurred through other characters’ voices. Other characters express the same theme of isolation but in a contrapuntal tone. Therefore the novel is endowed with the musical characteristics. Throughout the middle half of the novel, such contrapuntal themes are expressed in the dilemmas of John Singer, Mick Kelly and other characters. Conclusion The novel “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” is entirely composed with a musical style. In the contrapuntal composition of the novel, the subject or the main theme is often voiced with one or two or three characters at a time. For example the theme of revolt against loneliness is voiced with all the characters, John Singer, Dr. Copeland, Biff Brannon, and Jake Blount. All of them suffer from lack of proper communication. There is also another contrapuntal theme in the novel (Fuller 59). It is that the characters mistake Singer’s muteness for his understanding of their feelings. The contrapuntal theme occurs their flawed assumptions of Singer that is contrive with the main theme of the novel. In this regard, McCullers and Smith say, “it is the story of five isolated, lonely people in their search for expression and spiritual integration with something greater than themselves” (125). Works Cited The Big Read, “The Big Readers’ Guide”, 20 Jan. 2009. 2 Nov. 2009 Fuller, Janice. ÒThe Conventions of Counterpoint and Fugue in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." The Mississippi Quarterly. 41 (1987):55 - 67. McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005 McCullers, Carson and Smith, Margarita G. The Mortgaged Heart: Selected Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003 Read More