Abdallahtourbah

Apathy and Suffering in literature[edit]

"It isn't fair it isn't right". It is what Shirley Jackson expressed through the character Mrs Hutchison in her story "The lottery". This provided, Literary can be unfair and also dramatic sometimes it can be of no hope for readers no matter the lens the reader adapts (psychological, biographical, marxist, feminist....). Literature doesn't necessarily end up happily for the hero of the story. Sometimes, the authors can take the perspective of hurting the main character to show readers a stronger morale behind each story. For example Literature may resonate with suffering, the suffering of one's to save the rest, a suffering costing sacrifice of people who died for no reason. In literature, suffering costs the life of a person due to several reasons such as injustice, traditions, the reasons for not acting harsh. Justice however is absent of representation in many texts showing injustice take the following examples:

The Caged Bird by Maya Angelou "his wings are clipped and his feet are tied"[1]

The Falling Girl by Dino Buzzati "Glancing upwards she saw the pinnacle of the skyscraper in all its cruel power. It was almost completely dark"[2]

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson "Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar"[3]

Showing injustice to innocents is an act of injustice itself. It is true that some have been less fortunate in Angelou's poem since birds represent freedom with their wings and the bird gets caged fighting for his freedom. Or even the unfairness in Buzzati story deciding to suffer by descending the stairs from bright to dark and from dark to suffering. Or could it be the unlucky decision in Jackson's story to be the chosen one for the yearly sacrifices among the villagers due to tradition? The suffering not caused by committing crime or acting maliciously is unfair. Leaving the matter to life cycle or to the unfortunate reason of being the chosen one in the writers story, thus the atmosphere around the scene is expected to be boiling. However none of the people around resisted to that injustice but left them heartless to express themselves or form a group to revolve against the rules. The author considered death normal for citizens in a way that they easily left the situation without the slight expression of shame on the viewers face just like The Lottery [3] "A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone."". This proves that not only the ritual or tradition of killing someone for the ritual's sake was successfully done but also the villagers standing viewing what is going on without acting against it is the key weakness of these villagers if they valued the sacrifice of the women they would have acted against the tradition of repeating the same processs on randomly chosen people. In addition, the crowd instead of fighting against the law or resisting they seem hopeless about fighting "The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, "I hope it's not Nancy,"" Indeed everyone was just seperated by their own thoughts of it being chosen. But humans as said fight for their honor, the fact that the people in that story don't fight for their values the ritual will never stop just like in this story. Another story of sacrifice is the fact that women decide to go down from top of society to the bottom without a main reason descending the building quick to reach the ground where the goal is to feel painful because she felt hopeless and depressed not just her but many girls are falling too in The Falling Girl [2]. In a feminist point of view we can notice women are the one who are falling signifying injustice in genders for the author since there is no men falling down in that story. However "She laughed, hovering, happy (but meanwhile she was falling): “No, thanks, friends. I can’t. I’m in a hurry.”" this figure shows that the persons asking her about where she wats to go care to know have feelings so they are humans. but on the other way around "“It’s always like that,” the man muttered. “At these low floors only falling old women pass by. You can see beautiful girls from the hundred floor up. Those apartments don’t cost so much for nothing.”" that proves that some other are not feeling bbad about them going down the road due to the fact it has become a habitude to the neighbors But why don't they find a solution for her problems? "you can hear the thud when they touch the ground" meaning that their choice was chosen and the people who tried to convince them or trying to give hope failed that's why the guy took as a habitude to let them go down without any curiosity so probably the non human part comes through habitude or experience. Finally at last in The Caged Bird[1] a poem of two different types of birds having a conversation of freedom with a caged bird feeling pain "the caged bird sings of freedom", "his feet are tied" fighting for freedom as for the free bird feeling happy majestic and doesn't care to interact or help the other bird "The free bird thinks of another breeze","and he names the sky his own." the free bird cares about dominance selfishness and feeling superior but how can a bird not help his fellow companion who got caged and gives the poor bird no mind, what caused that injustice that for he is deserved? the fact that makes this bird not a living being is his non care to the other bird the overselfishness and the no help to give is what puts this being a non living being. So why does some characters in story have to be the ones who makes the situation harder by putting a question mark on humanity itself with the selfishness, non help, no resistance, no pity, feeling dominant... After all literatures is what opens our eyes to life experience, an experience of suffering.