Next week, in honor of Halloween, we will continue reading works concerning evil, duality, and Ol' Scratch himself.
We will begin today with Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," a didactic tale satirizing the underlying greed of the Puritan world.
The story is a uniquely American take on the Faustian myth: an archetypal story in which the protagonist sells his or her soul to obtain something desirable from the devil.
We'll come back to this story in a moment.
Interestingly enough, the Faustian myth has woven itself into the fabric of American Music.
This is Robert Johnson, the most influential blues guitarist of the 20th century. He lived a short, mysterious life, but in those 27 years (FYI: He is the founding member of the 27 club, whose most recent inductee was Amy Winehouse), he managed to revolutionize the blues guitar. According to his contemporaries, Robert got really good really fast. In 1936, Robert penned the song, "Cross Road Blues." In the song, Robert claims to have sold his soul to the devil for his musical abilities.
Hey, remember this scene from O' Brother Where Art Thou?
The Coen's just changed Robert's name to Tommy. Anyhow, here's the real "Cross Road Blues":
My musical hero, Bob Dylan is aware of this myth's prominence in American music.
He alluded that he himself followed in Robert Johnson's footsteps during a 2004 60 Minutes interview:
Back to "The Devil and Tom Walker."
In 1937, the story was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film: The Devil and Daniel Webster.The plot of the film is loosely based on Irving's short story, but the main character, a down-on-his-luck farmer who sells his soul for two cents, has a chance to win his soul back. But to do so, he must be tried by Ol' Scratch and Judge Hathorne (Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandfather, or as you all know him, the idiot judge from The Crucible.). The lawyer, Daniel Webster, agrees to be the protagonist's defense attorney. The following is his closing statement:
Miller wrote the following about Puritan society in the Act One Overture of The Crucible:
"...the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies. It was forged for a necessary purpose and accomplished that purpose. But all organization is and must be grounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition..."
Let us remember: the Puritans were fighting to survive in the harsh environment that was the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. As Miller puts it, "...the people were forced to fight the land like heroes for every grain of corn, and no man had very much time for fooling around."
Thus, it was literally conform or die in those days.
In his book of essays on horror, Danse Macabre, Stephen King writes: "The writer of horror fiction is neither more nor less than an agent of the *status quo."
*status quo: a Latin phrase which as come to mean, "the way things currently are"
He explains this idea more fully:
"We love and need the concept of monstrosity because it is a reaffirmation of the order we all crave as human beings... and let me further suggest that it is not the physical or mental *aberration in itself which horrifies us, but rather the lack of order which these aberrations seem to imply."
*Aberration: a departure from what is normal.
Thus, in the days of the Puritans, aberrations were frightening because they were literally associated with death. However, King argues that we continue to be frightened by aberrations and anything that interrupts the status quo.
In his essay, "Are you Now or Were You Ever," Arthur Miller describes the fear of Communism as a "free-floating apprehension." In my opinion, Americans in the 1950's feared Communism because they felt that it was an invisible, intangible force that possessed the power to transform their loved ones into enemies--a force akin to the corrupting power of the devil in 1692.
Your Task: Respond to each of the following four questions in a response posted to this blog post. Your responses must be posted before class on Monday (10/27).
Do we continue to be frightened by aberration in America--is this still reflected in contemporary horror? Give me an example.
Does this idea of aberration help to explain the underlying terror portrayed in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Explain.
How did this same sense of fear affect the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts?
Why do you think that I elected to show The Invasion of the Body Snatchers in conjunction with The Crucible?
"What is your solution?" Affleck asked of Maher and Harris. "Just condemn Islam? We've killed more Muslims than they've killed us by an awful lot."
On Friday night, actor, political activist, and future Batman, Ben Affleck, appeared on the HBO program, Real Time with Bill Maher. The host and the actor got into a heated debate regarding Islam, and the United States' role in addressing the issue posed by the terrorist group, ISIS.
You can all decide whose viewpoint you agree with more, but the Affleck comment listed above, got me thinking about The Crucible and our on-going discussion of duality.
Affleck's comment reflects the duality of America's role as a foreign policy interventionist. Put simply, our actions overseas have two sides.
To some, our nation acts in defense of democratic principles and freedoms.
To others, our acts of war kill innocent civilians and further destabilize nations.
In The Crucible, duality--moreover the rejection of the concept--fuels the hysteria and violence of the witch trials. Miller was onto something: when Americans are not willing to accept, discuss, and debate human duality, things seem to deteriorate rather quickly.
Ah, progress.
This week, we will continue our ongoing discussion of Puritanism and duality.
As a class, we will read aloud and discuss Act IV of the play. I'm hoping to finish by Friday.
Independently, you will be responsible for reading the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story, "The Minister's Black Veil." The short story must be read and the accompanying questions must be completed by Friday, October 10th.
Copies of both the story and the questions will be distributed tomorrow (10/7)
Momentarily, let us leave behind our discussion of the Puritans and the Massachusetts Bay Colony and discuss another region of the United States: the American South.
I am a longtime fan of Athens, Georgia's own Drive-By Truckers, an independent, smart, and raucous rock and roll band fronted by the one and only Patterson Hood.
Patterson is the second guy from the left.
For nearly 20 years, Patterson and crew have been writing songs about the complexities, intricacies, and contradictions of the south. Patterson has spent a good portion of his career attempting to rectify his own progressive politics with his love of a land that ofttimes stands directly opposed to his views.
Recently, Patterson wrote an essay about this complex relationship for the website, The Bitter Southener, entitled, "The New(er) South."
Patterson even coined a term for this relationship: "the duality of the Southern thing."
In a song written from the perspective of the devil, Patterson fully explores this "duality" by examining the lives of three great Alabama Icons: Ronnie Van Zandt, Bear Bryant, and George Wallace.
"The Three Great Alabama Icons"
Puritans, Batman, and rock and roll in one post? Yes! We did it! Ah, America.
Batman is pensive.
Your Task:
Explain what you think Patterson means by "the duality of the Southern thing."
Reference both the song and the essay in your response.
If you're really stuck, explain why you feel that Patterson believes George Wallace is deserving of hellfire.
Discuss your own views regarding America and duality.
Explain why duality plays such an extensive role in defining the idea of America.
Your response must be posted to the blog before class on Thursday (10/9).
So, I was watching the film version of The Crucible, and two quotes from the play literally leapt out at me. These quotes may help you compose your conclusion paragraphs.
At the very end of Act II, after Elizabeth is taken away, Proctor says:
"Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away--make your peace! Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now."
Proctor is directly addressing the duality of the people of Salem. In his opinion, the trials have removed "pretense," faked outer personas, and revealed the true inner feelings of the townspeople: envy, resentment, jealousy, lust, et al. In a strange way, he almost seems relieved that he can stop pretending to be a morally upright man.
Proctor is self-aware; Danforth, the "hanging judge," is decidedly not so. He too feels that the trials have removed the "pretense"; but unlike Proctor, he actually believes that there are witches in the town. In Act III, he proclaims:
"This is a sharp time, now, a precise time--we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world."
A strict Puritan, Danforth is relieved at the prospect of ending a period of duality.
I hope these help. I will continue to check my email until about 10:00 PM.
