DOCSLIB.ORG

The Theme of Moral Crisis in Graham Greene's the Heart of the Matter S. Mala

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Theme of Moral Crisis in Graham Greene's the Heart of the Matter S. Mala International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 THE THEME OF MORAL CRISIS IN GRAHAM GREENE’S THE HEART OF THE MATTER S. MALA , ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, P.G. DEPT. OF ENGLISH, S.T.E.T. WOMEN’S COLLEGE, MANNARGUDI, ABSTRACT Graham Greene as a Catholic writer, his writing style, characterisation and his works, chiefly focused on the theme of moral crisis for the character named, Henry Scobie. He illustrates this theme by describing Scobie, the main character of Scobie as “a weak man with good intentions doomed by his big sense of pity”, it is a moral fable. This novel illustrates the concept that the real heart of the matter is the innate sinfulness of man and his need of divine mercy. Scobie’s relationship with God defines him and leads him to choose suicide in order to avoid life in which he flouts the principles of the church. However, Father Rank suggests that God understands that Scobie’s suicide was ultimately a result of his overwhelming faith. Greene makes the controversial assertion that the Church’s definition of faith is limited and that God may bend some of his “rules” for his children. While Louise is the character that actually follows the church’s rituals, Scobie cannot even bear to keep living with realization that he has disappointed God. It consists of a short encounter between Louise and the confessional priest. Louise tries to square Scobie’s suicide with his Catholicism, to which the priest advises that no one can know what’s in a person’s heart or about God’s mercy. THE THEME OF MORAL CRISIS IN GRAHAM GREENE’S THE HEART OF THE MATTER INTRODUCTION Graham Greene was an English writer, playwright and literary critic. His works provide the unsure moral and political issues of the modern world. Greene was noted for his ability to combine serious literary approval with extensive popularity. Even though Greene opposed stoutly for being described as a Roman Catholic novelist rather than as a novelist who happened to be catholic, catholic religious themes are centered in much of his writing, especially the four major Catholic novels: Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter and The End of the Affair. Greene is a great creator of character. His characters are alive and convincing. In The Heart of the Matter, Scobie is the main character. In this novel Greene gives an elaborate and intensive portrayal of Scobie, Greene has taken great pains in exploring the inner depths of the mind of Scobie. Scobie has been made to live before our eyes. It is the stream-of- consciousness technique that has been used by Greene to reveal the character of the protagonist. There are many long and short passages in the novel which present the psychological analysis of the characters. These passages deal with Scobie, Louise, Helen and Wilson. THE THEME OF MORAL CRISIS IN GRAHAM GREENE' S THE HEART OF THE MATTER The Heart of the Matter is one of the best novels of Graham Greene. The moral crisis for the character named, Henry Scobie. Greene, a British intelligence officer in Freetown, Sierra Leone, drew on his experience there. Although Freetown is not mentioned in the novel, Greene confirms the location in his memoir, Ways of Escape. Volume VIII, Issue II, February/2019 Page No:103 International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 Greene’s novels are contemporary in character so far their subject – matter is concerned. Only in recovering the religious element, the awareness of the drama of the struggle in the soul carrying the countless consequences of salvation and damnation and of the ultimate metaphysical realities of good and evil, sin and divine grace, could the novel recover its dramatic power. It is one of the famous trilogy, the other two novels being, The Power and the Glory and Brighton Rock. All these three novels reveal Greene’s preoccupation with Roman Catholicism. They are religious in tone. In them Greene’s obsession with the theme of salvation versus damnation is evident. In these novels he has presented life in terms of the faith of Roman Catholicism, largely in an objective manner. The title of the novel comes from an observation appearing in the novel itself. The actual heart of the matter relates to the character named Scobie and his relations with his wife, with his mistress and with Yusef. In the case of Scobie, the heart of the matter is that Scobie can discard his mistress, Helen and stay with his wife; he can forsake his wife to live with Helen, he can stay with his wife but continues to keep Helen as his mistress; he can commit suicide. There is also the possibility of the problem being solved through some divine miracle. But, as it is not in anybody’s hands, the novelist selects suicide as the only recourse for his hero. Seen from another angle, it may also be said that the heart of the matter for Scobie is that he is a good man with a fatal weakness, the weakness being the feeling of spontaneous pity which he experience specially for Louise, then for Helen, and finally for both of them simultaneously. Eventually his feeling of pity for both women and his sense responsibility for both of them become too powerful for him to bear any more. Besides he also feels a greater responsibility towards God: Christ had not been murdered: you couldn’t murder God: Christ had killed himself; he had hung himself on the cross. In the novel there seems the element of impatience and moral crisis with the background of Catholic dogma. Even Scobie more than one question the teachings of the Church. He tells the priest that God would forgive him, and when Father Clay begins to pronounce the attitude of the Church, Scobie speaks impatiently, even the Church can’t teach me that God doesn’t pity the young. The Heart of the Matter deals with the issue of pity and moral crisis. Greene illustrates this theme by describing Scobie, the main character of the book, as “a weak man with good intentions doomed by his big sense of pity. Scobie’s ultimate sacrifice, Suicide, fails to bring the expected happiness he imagines it will to his wife and despite the fact that the end of the novel when Scobie’s wife refuses to give in to his advances even after Scobie’s death. Other instances of failure, both subtler and more obvious, can be seen throughout the work, lending it a muted, dark feeling. Although Scobie, like Greene, has faith in God, he often gets irritated with him. In fact, Greene himself often felt a dislike for God because of the prevalence of sin, evil, corruption and suffering in the world created by him. This dislike, or even hatred, for God is expressed in the novel through Scobie. Scobie is an impasse because of his inability to understand God’s ways, and because of his uncertainty about his attitude towards him. There is a moral crisis, exhibited through the character Scobie. The moral predicament of the central character, Scobie, consists of his inability to choose between act of hurting his wife (Louise), his beloved (Helen) and God and the Church or Catholic doctrine cannot provide any guidance to him in his matter, or any means of escaping the situation in which he finds himself trapped. The spiritual conflict or the conflict between good and evil is the dominant theme of the novels of Graham Greene. It may be said that The Heart of the matter is a novel in which Greene adapted faith, Catholicism and moral dilemma; it presents the tragedy of its central character Scobie, which is due to his inability to reconcile the conflict between his faith and the typically secular situation in which he is placed. Greene believes in the original sin of man. Volume VIII, Issue II, February/2019 Page No:104 International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 As a Catholic he is of the opinion that man has a natural tendency to fall to the path of evil. Therefore he makes a clear distinction between virtue and vice. These are the nations of right and wrong on the human level and sin and virtue on the spiritual level. It is rightly said that Greene’s novels deal with man in relation to society and to himself but fundamentally in relation to God. Therefore, Greene preoccupies himself with man’s innate sinfulness, and his consequents search of God’s mercy and salvation. Being broad minded, Greene does not force his hero into acting in accordance with the teachings of the church, he allows him to act as his conscience dictates or his situation impels him to do, which was later exploded as the moral crisis in the story. The Heart of the Matter is not just about failure, but about the price we all pay for our individualism and the impossibility of truly understanding another person. Each of the character in the novel operates at tangential purposes which they often think are clear to others, or think are hidden from others, but are in fact not. Greene believes in the immortality of human soul. But he also believes in sin which deprives the soul of sanctifying grace. Catholicism envisages that man has to suffer on account of the original sin by coming into this world which is devoid of sanctifying grace. Human sins are mortal as well as venial. Mortal sin can be atoned for by sacramental confession. Further, the Grace of God can help man.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cervantes and the Spanish Baroque Aesthetics in the Novels of Graham Greene
    TESIS DOCTORAL Título Cervantes and the spanish baroque aesthetics in the novels of Graham Greene Autor/es Ismael Ibáñez Rosales Director/es Carlos Villar Flor Facultad Facultad de Letras y de la Educación Titulación Departamento Filologías Modernas Curso Académico Cervantes and the spanish baroque aesthetics in the novels of Graham Greene, tesis doctoral de Ismael Ibáñez Rosales, dirigida por Carlos Villar Flor (publicada por la Universidad de La Rioja), se difunde bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial-SinObraDerivada 3.0 Unported. Permisos que vayan más allá de lo cubierto por esta licencia pueden solicitarse a los titulares del copyright. © El autor © Universidad de La Rioja, Servicio de Publicaciones, 2016 publicaciones.unirioja.es E-mail: [email protected] CERVANTES AND THE SPANISH BAROQUE AESTHETICS IN THE NOVELS OF GRAHAM GREENE By Ismael Ibáñez Rosales Supervised by Carlos Villar Flor Ph.D A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy At University of La Rioja, Spain. 2015 Ibáñez-Rosales 2 Ibáñez-Rosales CONTENTS Abbreviations ………………………………………………………………………….......5 INTRODUCTION ...…………………………………………………………...….7 METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE………………………………….……..12 STATE OF THE ART ..……….………………………………………………...31 PART I: SPAIN, CATHOLICISM AND THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN (CATHOLIC) NOVEL………………………………………38 I.1 A CATHOLIC NOVEL?......................................................................39 I.2 ENGLISH CATHOLICISM………………………………………….58 I.3 THE ORIGIN OF THE MODERN
    [Show full text]
  • The Destructors Graham Greene
    The Destructors Graham Greene Online Information For the online version of BookRags' The Destructors Premium Study Guide, including complete copyright information, please visit: http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-destructors/ Copyright Information ©2000-2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources. ©1998-2002; ©2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design® and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". © 1994-2005, by Walton Beacham. All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copywritten by BookRags, Inc. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • THE HEART of the MATTER by Graham Greene
    THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene THE AUTHOR Graham Greene (1904-1991) was born in Berkhamsted, England. He had a very troubled childhood, was bullied in school, on several occasions attempted suicide by playing Russian roulette, and eventually was referred for psychiatric help. Writing became an important outlet for his painful inner life. He took a degree in History at Oxford, then began work as a journalist. His conversion to Catholicism at the age of 22 was due largely to the influence of his wife-to-be, though he later became a devout follower of his chosen faith. His writing career included novels, short stories, and plays. Some of his novels dealt openly with Catholic themes, including The Power and the Glory (1940), The Heart of the Matter (1948), and The End of the Affair (1951), though the Vatican strongly disapproved of his portrayal of the dark side of man and the corruption in the Church and in the world. Others were based on his travel experiences, often to troubled parts of the world, including Mexico during a time of religious persecution, which produced The Lawless Roads (1939) as well as The Power and the Glory, The Quiet American (1955) about Vietnam, Our Man in Havana (1958) about Cuba, The Comedians (1966) about Haiti, The Honorary Consul (1973) about Paraguay, and The Human Factor (1978) about South Africa. Many of his novels were later made into films. Greene was also considered one of the finest film critics of his day, though one particularly sharp review attracted a libel suit from the studio producing Shirley Temple films when he suggested that the sexualization of children was likely to appeal to pedophiles.
    [Show full text]
  • The Power and the Glory to Monsignor Quixote
    Davis: Figures In Greene’s Carpet Graham Greene Studies Volume 1 24 remain unaware of them. Otherwise I think Figures In my imagination would dry up.” He did not reread his novels because “I know I would Greene’s Carpet: come across all too many repetitions due The Power and quite simply to forgetting what I had written before. I’ve not the slightest wish to have my The Glory to nose rubbed onto ‘the pattern in the carpet’.”3 Since Greene can no longer be bothered Monsignor by critical meddling, which in any case he regarded as legitimate, I’ll discuss the pat- Quixote tern I have found, one drawn from Francis Thompson’s “The Hound of Heaven.” I’m Robert Murray Davis thinking not of “the labyrinthian ways,” which furnished the American-imposed title The 2007 Graham Greene of The Power and the Glory that Greene International Festival disliked. It is not inapt, but more apropos are these lines, from which I have tried In the patently autobiographical novel unsuccessfully to remove the theological The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, Evelyn implications: Waugh has Mr. Pinfold maintain that “most men harbour the germs of one or two Now of that long pursuit books; all else is professional trickery of Comes on at hand the bruit; which the most daemonic of the masters— That Voice is round me like a bursting Dickens and Balzac even—were flagrantly sea: “And is thy earth so marred, guilty;” indeed, he envies “painters who are Shattered in shard on shard?”4 allowed to return to the same theme time and time again, clarifying and enriching Many if not most of his novels and until they have done all they can with it.”1 entertainments—if Greene’s old and inter- Graham Greene did not cite Waugh, but mittently discarded distinction is worth he did concede that he might be “a two or preserving—deal with the theme of pursuit three book man.” 2 through a marred world, from The Man The figure in Waugh’s carpet—to use the Within through A Gun for Sale, Brighton phrase of Henry James, whom both men Rock, The Power and the Glory and its admired—is obvious even to the casual reader.
    [Show full text]
  • Graham Greene
    GRAHAM GREENE Like many writers, Greene resisted the appellation of Catholic novelist, since he did not want readers to be seeking catechetical exactitude in his stories. In what is arguably his first Catholic novel, The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene contrasts a weak, alcoholic fugitive priest with his austere pursuer. There are others contrasts in the book as well ­­ between the hunted man who cannot escape the demands of his ministry and his soft, comfortable self before the revolution; between the second nocturne tale of martyrdom read by pious children and the real life flawed candidate for the firing squad with whiskey on his breath ­­ but the basic contrast is between the political and the religious. All efforts to see the significance of human life in this­world terms are inadequate to the way it really is. Other Catholic novels are The Heart of the Matter, The End of the Affair and A Burnt­Out Case. The series comes to an end in 1973 with The Honorary Consul. Greene still had years to live and many books to write, but his imagination had switched from a religious into a political gear. The Heart of the Matter takes its motto from Charles Peguy. "At the very heart of Christianity is the sinner. No one is more competent on the matter of Christianity than the sinner ­­ unless it be the saint." Major Scobie damns himself out of pity for a waif­like war widow in colonial Africa. Greene is at his best presenting Catholicism through the medium of © Ralph McInerny, 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • The Problem of Motivation in Graham Greene's the Heart of the Matter
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1958 The Problem of Motivation in Graham Greene's the Heart of the Matter Thomas John Walsh Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Walsh, Thomas John, "The Problem of Motivation in Graham Greene's the Heart of the Matter" (1958). Master's Theses. 1722. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/1722 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1958 Thomas John Walsh '!'HI PROBUUI OP mTIVAftOM IX QftAHAII ORDIE 'a !!!!. DART ~ m. .....KA..... ft ..... l'B..... .-.Jl By Thou. John Walah .. S. J. A Theaia Submitted to the Paculty ot the Graduate Sohool ot £0701& Univera1t7 1n Part1al Pultl11.. nt ot the .equ1re.enta tor the Degree ot ..ster of Arta Maroh 1958 Thomas John Walsh, 8. J. was born in Chicago, Illinois, December 6, 1931. He was araduated tro. Lo~ola Academy B1sh School, Chloago, ln June, 1950. Be attended Hol~ Cross College in Worcester, Ras.acbuaetts tor one 7ear. The folloWing Septeaber he entered the Jesuit Novitlate at ~ltord, Ohio, and was enrolled in the College ot Art. and Science. ot XavIer Univer.lty, 0Incinnati, Ohio.
    [Show full text]
  • THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene
    THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene THE AUTHOR Graham Greene (1904-1991) was born in Berkhamsted, England. He had a very troubled childhood, was bullied in school, on several occasions attempted suicide by playing Russian roulette, and eventually was referred for psychiatric help. Writing became an important outlet for his painful inner life. He took a degree in History at Oxford, then began work as a journalist. His conversion to Catholicism at the age of 22 was due largely to the influence of his wife-to-be, though he later became a devout follower of his chosen faith. His writing career included novels, short stories, and plays. Some of his novels dealt openly with Catholic themes, including The Power and the Glory (1940), The Heart of the Matter (1948), and The End of the Affair (1951), though the Vatican strongly disapproved of his portrayal of the dark side of man and the corruption in the Church and in the world. Others were based on his travel experiences, often to troubled parts of the world, including Mexico during a time of religious persecution, which produced The Lawless Roads (1939) as well as The Power and the Glory, The Quiet American (1955) about Vietnam, Our Man in Havana (1958) about Cuba, The Comedian (1966) about Haiti, The Honorary Consul (1973) about Paraguay, and The Human Factor (1978) about South Africa. His work with British Intelligence in Africa during World War II is reflected in The Heart of the Matter. Many of his novels were later made into films. Greene was also considered one of the finest film critics of his day, though one particularly sharp review attracted a libel suit from the studio producing Shirley Temple films when he suggested that the sexualization of children was likely to appeal to pedophiles.
    [Show full text]
  • Greene's Burnt-Out Case
    D. J. Dooley THE SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF: GREENE'S BURNT-OUT CASE IF IN THE PAST, the Times Literary Supplement said recently/ the Western writer could construct upon a basic framework of accepted values, "today in a society of ideological flux he can assume hardly anything about his readers' ideals except per­ haps a vague liberal humanism." Consequently it is fairly easy for the writer to attack snobbery, prejudice, the bomb, and so on, but "to support, to praise, is out of the question; it smacks of propaganda, fanaticism; and the least suspicion that the writer is emotionally involved in positive ideals can arouse the irony and smirks of the cynic." The contemporary reader tends to think that the fewer the restraints upon the writer the better it is for him; once a writer has been given a label as the possessor of a type of belief, he is open to suspicion. But there is a danger of our oversimplifying the nature of his commitment and taking too narrow a view of the aspects of the human scene with which he deals. There is always the possibility that, while we are deploring the fact that a writer is strait-jacketed by his beliefs, he is a subtle and shifty fellow who in secret is enjoying himself hugely over our attempts to impose upon him strait jackets of our own devising. In his article "Kierkegaard's Stages and 'A Burnt-Out Case' ", in the Review of English Literature for January, 1962, James Noxon makes an interesting compari­ son between Kierkegaard and Graham Greene.
    [Show full text]
  • Some Reflections on Links and Contrasts Between Graham Greene
    Sinyard: Links and Contrasts Between Graham Greene and George Orwell Graham Greene Studies Volume 1 122 totally untrue. Everyone has the material “All Writers Are in his memories for many books, but that is not the same thing at all.” Secondly, at Equal but Some the end of “Fielding and Sterne,” Greene Writers Are quotes T.S. Eliot: “At the moment when one writes . one is what one is, and the More Equal Than damage of a lifetime . cannot be repaired at the moment of composition.” Others:” Some In Speaking to Each Other, Volume Two (1970), Richard Hoggart said of Orwell that Reflections On “he was one of those writers who are what they write,” and I think Greene was the Links and same. He and Orwell did not just write for a Contrasts Between living; they lived to write. I think one of the reasons that both of them were resistant for Graham Greene a long time to the idea of a biography—and it is curious that they should share one biog- and George Orwell rapher, Michael Shelden—was that both felt that their books told more about them Neil Sinyard than an account of their lives would. And what made them “more equal” than most The 2011 Graham Greene other writers of the last century was their International Festival ability to cross the cultural divide: to write in a manner that commanded the attention The title of this paper is somewhat friv- and study of the academic community—for olous and of course indebted to, and a I would guess that collectively, the number variation on, one of Orwell’s immortal slo- of books written about Greene and Orwell gans in Animal Farm.
    [Show full text]
  • THE CATHOLIC TREATMENT OP SIN and REDEMPTION in the NOVELS of GRAHAM GREENE by Thomas M„ Sheehan
    UNIVERSITY D'OTTAWA » ECOLE PES GRADUE5 .. / THE CATHOLIC TREATMENT OP SIN AND REDEMPTION IN THE NOVELS OF GRAHAM GREENE by Thomas M„ Sheehan Thesis presented to the English Department of the Graduate School of the faculty of Arts of the University of Ottawa as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy *****$*# *$> Ottawa, Canada and Louisville, Kentucky I960 UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA - SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UMI Number: DC53535 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform DC53535 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 UNIVERSITE D'OTTAWA - ECOLE DES GRADUES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis was prepared under the supervision of Dr. Emmett 0'Grady, Head of the English Department of the University of Ottawa. The writer is indebted t© Mr. P. B. Lysaght of London, England for invaluable material on Graham Greene that was not readily available either in the United States or in Canada. The writer is also indebted to the librar­ ians of Nazareth College, and Sellarmine College, Louisville, Kentucky for the use of their facilities.
    [Show full text]
  • Morality, Sin and Redemption in the Selected Works of Graham Greene Deepika Shekhawat Research Scholar, Department of English, University of Rajasthan, India
    International Journal of Recent Research and Review, Vol. X, Issue 2, June 2017 ISSN 2277 – 8322 Morality, Sin and Redemption in the Selected Works of Graham Greene Deepika Shekhawat Research Scholar, Department of English, University of Rajasthan, India Abstract - Morality and innocence are prerequisite Hound of Heaven, in many of his most celebrated qualities for a pure spiritual human existence, in this works that are the “Catholic novels” such as, Brighton universe. If evil can find a home in a human body, a man Rock (1938),The Power and the Glory (1940), The has the power of redemption, by which he retains the Heart of the Matter (1948), and The End of the Affair aspects of innocence in him that he had, in original, once (1951).The elements of morality, sin in his works, are in the past. Graham Greene holds firmly the idea of complex and thought provoking subjects that underline religion and spirituality, and strongly believes that baptism and realization could fundamentally restore one the web of philosophy of life through art of literature. to a complete redemption, and then, evil and sin will Thus man’s sin, suffering and salvation in deep relation never be again. with religious dimension, have been the focus of this Keywords-Catholicism, Spirituality, Religion, study. Greene aptly remarks through his characters in Redemption, Salvation, Purification, Christianity his works that evil and sin can affect one’s life but there I. INTRODUCTION is grace of God and a state of purity of mind that is attainable to man. He suggests to hopefully looking at Graham Greene, is one of the most renowned British life with courage and faith in man and God.
    [Show full text]
  • An Existentialist Reading of Graham Greene's
    A WORLD OF ALIENATION AND PAIN: AN EXISTENTIALIST READING OF GRAHAM GREENE’S NOVELS AYO KEHINDE Obafemi Awolowo University,Ile-Ife.Nigeria Since literature often reflects the mood of its age and enabling context, it is the contention of this paper that Greene’s fiction dwells on the conflicts and pains of the modern world. How does he approach this artistic feat? What are the ideological thrusts of his art? These and many other critical issues constitute the research focus of this paper. The paper argues that Greene’s fiction takes on pervasive tones of irony and intensity, and expresses moods of sobriety and pathos that are intrinsic to the human condition in the modern world. Thus, in the world of Greene’s novels, man is dumped in a setting which is unfriendly and harsh to him. The society flows with tears and bile for the occupants. The prospect for the modern man is portrayed as very bleak, and his life is marked by spiritual sterility, boredom, pain and alienation. His bright hope is all too easily repealed by cynicism and consciousness of failure. Hence, in every corner of the Greenean world, despair is written in the face of the characters. In fact, not only the people, but also the whole society of Greene’s fiction stinks of degeneration. It is also the argument of this paper that the allegorical period of Greene’s fiction is the world-war years and after. Devastation, bloodshed, emotional and spiritual barrenness, the waste of modern civilization, etc signify this. Greene, in the two selected novels, depicts struggling men who end up being alienated and disillusioned.
    [Show full text]