Modernism and Religion
'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner, 'Native Son' by Richard Wright, and 'A Raisin in the Sun' by Lorraine Hansberry are all modernist books dealing with many social questions, including religion. In each case, it seems the younger generations tend to reject the religious--primarily Christian--beliefs of their parents. Caddy acts promiscuously while Jason wallows in greed, Bigger outright refuses God and kills without conscious, and Beneatha declares God a false and unnecessary concept that shifts credit for good away from men and women. There is also a certain mold for the "religious" parents: Mrs. Compson is a self-pitying busy-body, Mrs. Thomas is out of touch with her children, and Lena is almost being phased out. What does this suggest about Modernism? Is religion used to widen the gap between the parents and children? Is there a reason the individuals that claim to be Christian are all women? Are the children rejecting God as a part of rejecting their parents or is it part of some new philosophy?
3 comments:
This rejection of religion seems to demonstrate the younger generations desire to control their own lives. Each character rejects God because he or she wants to feel in control of the events encountered and feel the future can be altered if the right steps are taken. This was a very progressive opinion at the time, as much of the older generation left their lives in God's hands. The rejection of God sorted the characters in the story who were stuck in the past, from those who were looking for a new beginning.
The use of the mother figure as the religious advocator in each book may be attributed to common Christian symbolism. The Virgin Mary is a great symbol of religion as the mother of Jesus Christ. We see many of the main characters of these stories as being crucified by their trials and tribulations. Prof. Schaub spoke of the Passion that each character of "The Sound and the Fury" underwent through each section of the novel and this may be a theme commonly used in Modernism. By using the mother of these main characters as a figure that unsuccessfully urges salvation, we can see a strong contrast to the savior figure that the traditional Virgin Mother represents. It's possible this is part of the writer's intention because this makes the strong statement that religion may not be the answer to these protagonist's problems.
While I agree that the modernist writers seem to be using religion as a relic of an older time, i would hardly concede that they view it as outdated and necessarily bad. The characters who refuse to espouse religion are also inherently flawed. The Compson children are depressed, idiotic, or downright morally bankrupt. Bigger Thomas knows no freedom but murder. Walter knows no pride until the end of the play. I feel that religion is used to emphasize the inherent disconnect between the generations, but is not the reason for that disconnect.
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