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WILLIAM STYRON and JOSEPH HELLER William r\c». ñ TRAGIC AND COMIC MODES IN TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICAN LITERATURE: WILLIAM STYRON AND JOSEPH HELLER William Luttrell A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY June 1969 Approved by Doctoral Committee /»í J Adviser Dg$artment of English Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT William Styron and Joseph Heller are important contemporary American writers who can be associated with a certain "climate of opin­ ion" in the twentieth century. The intellectual basis for this climate of opinion is that the world we know today, metaphysically, historical­ ly, scientifically, and socially, is one that does not admit to a secure and stable interpretation. Within such a climate of opinion one hesi­ tates to enumerate metaphysical truths about the universe; one doubts historical eschatology, except perhaps in a diabolical sense; one speaks scientifically in terms of probability and the statistics of randomness rather than absolute order; and one analyzes social problems in terms of specific values in specific situations rather than from an unchanging and absolute frame of reference. Indeed, it is because of a diminishing hope of achieving an absolute or even satisfying control over the world that many have come to live with contingency as a way of life, and have little reason to believe that their partially articulated values rever­ berate much beyond themselves. Through their fictional characters William Styron and Joseph Heller are contemporary observers of this climate of opinion. Styron reveals in his novels a vision of man separated from his familiar values and unable to return to them. To live—or to survive—demands man's adjustment both to a world without a continuing order and to a world not necessarily concerned with his welfare. Heller's comic vision has a similar orientation: an individual struggles to maintain his values and aspirations in a world of mere surface order and harmony. Furthermore, the tragic and comic responses of their characters are to some degree different from the responses observed in traditional tragedy and comedy; in some instances these responses become an ironic blend of tragedy and come<y redefined under contemporary conditions. It is because of the radical intellectual attitudes which com­ prise this twentieth century climate of opinion that a significant body of literary criticism suggests that a large portion of contemporary writing is neither tragic nor comic in ary genuine sense but is rather a study in victimization. It is the view of this inquiry that victim­ ization is the central issue for many contemporary writers, but it is important to understand, first, the nature and scope of victimization and, second, the nature of a character's response to it. Victimization need not lead to total defeat. It can lead toward rebellion, a rebel­ lion against those forces which threaten an individual with total deper­ sonalization. William Styron and Joseph Heller offer virtual paradigms of the novel of victimization. Their central characters are subject to disintegrating forces over which they appear to have little control. But within this victimization are perception of and rebellion against Ill that condition. Indeed, perception of and rebellion against the forces which threaten depersonalization are the identifying marks of the tragic and comic responses in the works of these writers. Styron's work is at least nominally associated with tragedy and Heller's with comedy. Be­ cause tragedy and comedy in traditional usage are honorific terms and the terms describing contemporary fiction (and drama) are often pejora­ tive, this study attempts to reveal how two contemporary writers con­ tribute in a significant way to the tradition of tragedy and comeciy al­ though their contribution somewhat alters and redefines the tradition. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CONTEXT ...................................................................... u A TWENTIETH CENTURY TRAGIC ATTITUDE ......................................................... 16 WILLIAM STYRON ......................................................................................................... 33 Lie Down in Darkness...................... ........................................................ 33 The Long March . ....................................................................................... S3 Set This House on Fire ........................................................................... 63 Confessions of Nat Turner ...................................................................... 8U The Victim and His Rebellion . ......................................................... 100 JOSEPH HELLER:A BSURD COMEDY AND CATCH-22 ................................................. 103 Absurd Comedy ......................................................................................................103 Catch-22.............................................................................................................. 108 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 133 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................1^0 I I INTRODUCTION William Styron and Joseph Heller have established themselves as important American writers of mid-century. Though each develops his material within different forms, one comedy, the other tragedy, both are associated with a certain "climate of opinion" in the twentieth century. This climate of opinion can be reasonably well articulated, though one is more accustomed to the reverberations of simple phrases (e.g., "ex­ istential absurdity" or the "fragmented universe") than to meaningful analysis. The intellectual basis for this climate of opinion is that the world we know today, metaphysically, historically, scientifically, and socially, is one that does not readily admit to a secure and stable interpretation. Within such a climate of opinion one hesitates to enu­ merate metaphysical truths about the universe; one doubts historical eschatology, except perhaps in a diabolical sense; one speaks scientif­ ically in terms of probability and the statistics of randomness rather than absolute order; and one analyzes social problems in terms of spe­ cific values in specific situations rather than from an unchanging and absolute frame of reference. Indeed, it is because of a diminishing hope of achieving an absolute or even satisfying control over the world that many have come to live with contingency as a way of life, and have little reason to believe that their partially articulated values rever­ berate much beyond themselves. Two important recent studies explore the nature of man—in terms 2 of how he understands himself and in terms of his relationship to fam­ ily, community and universe—in this twentieth century climate of opin­ ion. After defining what he calls an "existential pattern" (somewhat similar to that outlined in the preceding remarks), Ihab Hassan, in Radical Innocence examines three ironic modes found in the contemporaiy novel. Each of the three modes reveals a specific understanding which a character achieves in regard to his place in the universe and the ori­ entation he makes to his family or community. This orientation and under­ standing, however, are less matters of mythic trancedence or tragic in­ sight and more ironic exercises in survival. They usually end in some form of defeat. Hassan's discussion reveals, furthermore, the difficulty of fitting the modes into the traditional framework of comedy or tragecy. At best, the modes "veer" or "hover," to use Hassan's words, toward trag­ edy or come<fy. Marcus Klein, in After Alienation, explores "accommoda­ tion" as a distinctive form of adaptation or orientation, where the hero makes a "tricky" and recurring adjustment to his world. Implicit in both studies is the view of contemporary man living under the peculiar intel­ lectual conditions of his time and attempting some form of survival in a world not sympathetic to intellectual and moral security. Through their fictional characters Joseph Heller and William Styron are also contemporary observers of our world. Their works could be an answer to the question, "how does one live in a world lacking in­ tellectual and moral security?" To a large extent there is a parallel between the twentieth century's climate of opinion and their works. Styron in his novels reveals a vision of man separated from his familiar values and unable to return to them. To live—or to survive—demands 3 man’s adjustment both to a world without a predetermined or continuing order and to a world not necessarily concerned with his welfare. Heller’s comic vision has a similar orientation: an individual struggles to maintain his values and aspirations in a world of mere surface order and harmony. Furthermore, the tragic or comic responses? of their characters are to some degree different from the responses associated with the tra­ ditional understanding of tragedy and comedy; in some instances these responses become an ironic blend of tragedy and comedy redefined under contemporary conditions. This study will begin with a brief description of the "climate of opinion" prevailing among many perceptive observers
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