Today in class Gi Hyun introduced the concept of catharsis. He explained that when considering catharsis it is very important to realize that cathartic writing should not only arouse pity and fear, but use these feelings to "leave an audience feeling not depressed but relieved". Intrinsic to this idea is the stereotype.
In "The Jungle" we are introduced to several very broad stereotypes, for example 'the hobo', 'the prostitute', and 'the boss'. Many variations of the saying 'Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes' summarize what this book seems to promote. This phrase encourages those who hear it to re-examine possibly very established personal views and to evoke perhaps empathetic emotion, in a nutshell, explaining one aspect of catharsis.
Catharsis also deals with the purging or purification however, which can work in different ways. Sometimes the 'purging' applies to the audience while in other situations, it seems we are shown the purification of a character. "Oedipus Rex", as Gi Hyun said, is very good example of this. The audience is first made to feel quite relieved that such horrors have not befallen them, helping to purge them of unhappiness over (perhaps) lesser events in their own lives. As Oedipus gouges his eyes out with Jocasta's pins, he symbolically cleanses himself of the things he has seen. The loss of his eyesight rids Oedipus of all the evil he has seen and committed, however unwittingly.
Jurgis has his own cathartic realization as he travels the country as a hobo. He is a another good example of a character who experiences catharsis as well as displays it in his own life. Jurgis is a strong, young man, who talks "lightly about work" and cannot "imagine how it would feel to be beaten" (Sinclair 17). However by the end of the book we are following a very different man, one whose efforts to care for his family have landed him a two year sentence in a state prison (Sinclair 335). Getting from page 17 to page 335 involves the astounding journey that Jurgis takes. Starting with his family in Packingtown, he encounters much by way of loss (the family's home, Ona, their child). During the time that he lives as a hobo, Jurgis goes through a transition. He at first feels that the hobos are
Just as Jurgis functions as a character that inspires catharsis in readers, he also experiences it, himself. While he lives as a tramp, Jurgis is careful to keep some money for himself, because he feels "terror...at the thought of being out of work in... the wintertime"(Sinclair 201). The fear that Jurgis has of facing the winter and becoming like the others that he travels with is what 'purifies' him. It is what moves him to come back to the city and to try his luck at the factories again.
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ReplyDeleteThank you Cora, I read the posting, and I could think further about the role of catharsis in The Jungle and think about the different composition of tragic moments between past classics and the modern literature.
ReplyDeleteCatharsis, I think, is a main element to encourage the readers to respond to the social issue. In order to understand the people’s problem and their pain, only if we experience the pain by indirect way, can we say what it’s like to be a victim in a society (this is essential requirement to make a bright society and to reduce the pain of people). Moreover, no matter what ideology or strategy or spirit in the world is important, the most important thing is actually how that environment interacts with the people. However, unfortunately, there are bunch of hidden sad stories on the street and in a nation which rarely appear out that we need to reveal the sorrow and the heartbreaking moment of the people, not to repeat the tragedy.
And also as Cora highlights, the composition of tragedy in the novels show us not just purification of the characters but also purification of us. Though the way to depict the tragic frames and the way to induce cathartic effect vary a lot novel to novel, and genre to genre, we can say it is a kind of rhetoric tool to connect between characters and readers to pay attention to the message of the novel.