Community Conflict Within Literature

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Character vs. Community: Conflict within Literature American literature within the nineteenth-century had many themes, one of which was the portrayal of conflict of an individual in regards to the community. This sort of literary conflict often extended to confrontations with traditions, institutions, or the laws and customs of one’s culture. This specific theme can be found within two select literary works, The Warrior Woman by Maxine Hong Kingston and James Baldwin’s work Going To Meet The Man. Each of these works contains a character that enacts this conflict within the confines of the work and provides the reader with the importance of the conflict with community. By establishing the importance of the conflict in its social, racial, political or historical context, each writer makes a statement about his or her character’s place in America. James Baldwin’s story Going To Meet The Man is a work of literature that is starkly realistic in its portrayal of the harsh realities of the Old South, especially for African Americans during the 1960’s. Published in 1965, this story follows the character of a white male named Jesse in the South. It opens with the scene depicting Jesse lying with his wife in bed one night as he ruminates and discusses the day’s events with his half-sleep spouse. Frustrated by his own impotence during a few feeble attempts at lovemaking, Jesse starts to rant about African Americans and launches into his story with the lines “Goddamn the niggers. The black stinking coons. You’d think they’d learn. Wouldn’t you think they’d learn? I mean, wouldn’t you?” (Baldwin 425). With these beginning lines Baldwin effectively sets the tone and mood of the story with a shock to the reader as well. In his ... ... middle of paper ... ...missive Chinese woman through her character in the story. In the social context, Chinese culture does not view women equal to men and as such, women are expected to be submissive and “good” women. Through her construction of this story as well as her imaginations concerning her aunt, Kingston is battling the stereotype mentioned by Outka as well as the order for her not to speak about her aunt. Both The Warrior Woman and Going To Meet The Man are stories that display the central theme in nineteenth-century American literature of the individual in conflict with the community. Likewise, both authors use their characters and the conflict within their respective stories as a way to make a statement about their character’s place in America. By maintaining the importance of the conflict in the social, racial and historical context, both writers generate powerful stories.

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