Character Conflictions Experience is the hidden inspiration in all of literature. Every letter, word, and sentence formed, every plot imagined, and every conflict conceived has a trace amount of its creator’s past ingrained within it. But most of all, authors reflect themselves in the characters they create. The protagonist of any story embodies certain traits and qualities of his or her creator; the virtues and vices, ambitions and failures, strengths and weaknesses of an author are integral parts of their characters lives. When authors’ experiences differ, so do their characters, as seen with Welty and King. Both authors had distinct upbringings, each with their own forms of hardship. The contrasting nature of these authors’ struggles is why their characters are the antithetical. As a result of these …show more content…
distinct hurdles and their influences, King’s characters have the strength to confront their challenges, and Welty’s do not.
The obstacles that Welty and King faced are in diametric opposition -- not only were the challenges different, but the types of challenges differ. Welty’s greatest demon was a form of internal conflict: self-inhibition. Becoming an author takes confidence, and that can be difficult, even crippling, if one has self doubt. Since writing is a reflective form of art, writers are forced to express themselves on the page, even if that means digging up rotten memories, revealing traumatic experiences, or exposing insecurities. Welty says “I am a
writer who came of a sheltered life. A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within” (Welty 104). Welty says it takes courage to write. She acknowledges that it took a certain amount of daring to overcome her self-inflicted fears. As a result of these fears, her characters are challenged by the same types of inhibition, hesitation, and meekness, all of which exist within their heads. King’s problems are different, and instead of existing solely within the mind, they take physical forms. They are external, and they come in the shape of bottles, pills, and vans. Alcoholism and addiction to the painless euphoria of heavy drug use crippled King for years. He mentions in an interview, “When I gave up dope and alcohol, my immediate feeling was 'I've saved my life, but there'll be a price because I'll have nothing that buzzes me any more'. But I enjoyed my kids. My wife loved me and I loved her. And eventually the writing came back and I discovered that the writing was enough. Stupid thing is that probably it always had been.” Drugs destroyed parts of his life and family and took from him years of sanity. Like other obstacles King faced, his substance abuse caused him physical harm. The types of problems his characters face live outside of their imaginations; sometimes they take shape of homicidal maniacs, and other times they disguise themselves as half-empty bottles of liquor waiting to be finished . Different obstacles call for different solutions and different ways of thinking. These divergent thoughts compel King’s characters to do what Welty’s characters cannot: take action. Sister and John Dykstra, from “Why I live at the P.O.” and “Rest Stop”, are prime examples of this contrast. Welty’s character Sister is sabotaged her rival: Stella-Rondo. She is subject to slanderous claims that, one by one, turn her family against her. After initially trying to refute them, she gives up. With her whole family against her, Sister ends the story by running away from her problems (quite literally) and seeking shelter at the P.O. Her passivity allows her to avoid confrontation with her problems. She lacks the confidence to speak out against Stella-Rondo and tell her family the truth. She needs the strength to act, but she does not have it. King’s character, Dystokia, is also tempted by inaction. After pulling over at a rest stop, Dystokia overhears a man beating his pregnant wife. He is terrified at first, and considers fleeing. He thinks, “Go back to your car, John. Go back to your car, get in behind the wheel, and drive away from here… Do it. Do it now. You’re a writer, not a fighter” (King 155). He almost runs away from his problems, just like Sister. But the brutally physical nature of his dilemma -- the cringe-inducing sounds of drunken fists and desperate pleas -- drives him to act. He switches identities to Hardin (an alter ego of his) and confronts the problem head on. He fights his problems, and Sister does not. Even when confronting similar issues, Welty’s and King’s characters act in dissimilar ways. Livvie and Emily, from Welty’s “Livvie” and King’s “The Gingerbread Girl”, face the same struggle: escape. Livvie, a young pretty indecisive girl lives with her husband Solomon. She feels trapped with Solomon, confined to a house, and cannot explore the world. She’s not happy, but she is content. The only thing stopping her from escape is self doubt. She runs away from her problems, not by actually running away because that would actually solve them, but by staying. Waiting. And eventually her problems do get solved, but not by herself. Her passivity reflects the internal struggles which paralyze her. She would rather wither in resignation then act for self-preservation. Like Sister, she submerges herself in mental toils, but never finds the will to act. Similar to Livvie, Emily also wants to escape her situation. The only thing stopping her is duct tape. But when given the chance, she faces her captor, and confronts her problems by running away. She doesn’t just wait for death, she moves. Emily writhes through pain and suffering and has the courage to actually do something. She is strong. Welty’s and King’s characters are the antithesis of each other. The demons they face, reflective of King’s and Welty’s experiences, alter the way they think and act. But this shouldn’t be surprising. If characters are reflections of their authors, then it is only logical that Emily and Livvie and Dystrokia and Sister differ so much. Their creators’ pasts resonate within them and manifest themselves in the form of action or inaction. Welty’s internal struggles reflect themselves in characters plagued by self-inhibition. They are weak. King’s triumph over the external challenges of his life reveal that his characters have something that Welty’s are incapable of possessing: vitality. King’s characters have the will to live.
Who was once a hero, was now the villain in many regards; he was the protagonist at first, and after, became the antagonist after his fortune took over his morality. Henry Ford had well-meaning intentions at first. Truly wanting to connect the world, he wanted to create a car that everyone can afford and be able to enjoy. Although he achieved his goal of creating this car, the model T, several unintentional controversial ideologies were established along with it.
Since the emergence of literature, thousands upon thousands of characters have graced our imaginations. From trouble maker Bart Simpson of the celebrated cartoon television series The Simpsons to Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen’s renowned novel Pride and Prejudice, the world has witnessed a plethora of characters in literature. Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, and Billy Collins, distinguished American poet, as well as countless other authors, share the utilization of characters in their literary works. The manner in which these authors use the literary element of characters varies immensely.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
In many short stories, characters face binding situations in their lives that make them realize more about themselves when they finally overcome such factors. These lively binding factors can result based on the instructions imposed by culture, custom, or society. They are able to over come these situations be realizing a greater potential for themselves outside of the normality of their lives. Characters find such realizations through certain hardships such as tragedy and insanity.
Stylistically, the book is arranged in rotating chapters. Every fourth chapter is devoted to each individual character and their continuation alo...
In three dynamic pieces of literature, the desperate yet hopeful characters gallantly endure the struggles of achieving their dreams as they experience the pain of desolation and the life-fulfilling happiness of a friendly companion. Through hostile resentment, the intense repulsion created by generations of territorial disputes tears apart two vengeful foes, Ulrich and Georg, in Saki’s captivating tale. Whereas in Remarque’s gory war novel, the pure terror of battle brutally slaughters the once innocent minds of soldiers as they undergo changes in their heart and soul within themselves. Although impervious to the influence of the reclusive residents tied to the ranch, as they quest for their shared aspirations, George and Lennie forge an invincible friendship in Steinbeck’s calamitous novelette.
In the beginning chapters of Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion, focuses more on the main character, Maria Weyth. Maria Wyeth is a woman who was raised in Nevada by her mother and father. Do to her degenerate gambling father, the whole family decides to move to New York. There transition from Nevada to New York was not only focused on Maria’s father’s gambling, but also was for Maria’s acting school. Maria’s parents encouraged her to pursue an acting career in New York. As they being to adapt to the city environment, Maria’s family begin to fade away. Maria’s mother then father pass away. In a relationship with film producer Carter Lang, Maria begins to tumble downwards. Kate, Maria’s 4 year-old daughter, does not live with Maria nor with
The central figures in these three works are all undoubtedly flawed, each one in a very different way. They may have responded to their positions in life, or the circumstances in which they find themselves may have brought out traits that already existed. Whichever applies to each individual, or the peculiar combination of the two that is specific to them, it effects the outcome of their lives. Their reaction to these defects, and the control or lack of it that they apply to these qualities, is also central to the narrative that drives these texts. The exploration of the characters of these men and their particular idiosyncrasies is the thread that runs throughout all of the works.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
How important is an individual that most often than not authors focus on the growth of one over the growth of the many? Is it because the growth of one symbolizes the growth of all? Or is the focus on the individual due to the image it presents which is the growth in us? In any event, this outlook of individualism is widespread in literature and different genres and techniques excavate the development of the individual. Another factor that comes into play in the development of the character is the situation and the effects of the environment. Within William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest and Michael Cervantes Saavedra’s satire Don Quixote are two different characters molded and formed or in both cases malformed to incorporate their capsules which are the genres and settings that imprison them.
When reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” or Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener,” the audience might notice how they are stories of men who become detached from the society after a notable change in how they act towards the world. However, while Bartleby’s disconnection stems from work-related changes, Young Goodman Brown’s disconnection is caused by a “spiritual” experience. I want to focus on how many things these characters have in common, to show what may have caused their change of view in the societies around them.
Abrams, M.H. and Greenblatt, Stephen eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Sixth Edition Volume1. Ed. M.H.Abrams. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, Inc., 1993.
Paris, Bernard J. Imagined Human Beings: A Psychological Approach to Character and Conflict in Literature. New York: New York University Press. 1997.
... Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. D. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. 1166-86. Print.