Culture, Crisis, and Death in American Bildungsroman

The American bildungsroman is the search for ones identity, and when a person comes of age. In the American bildungsroman there are three common characteristics. These are the pressures the culture of the protagonist has to endure, the crisis that comes from these pressures, and the death of someone the protagonist does or does not know. Through looking at The House on Mango Street, The Bell Jar, and The Bluest Eye, I will attempt to prove that the above-mentioned characteristics are some of the most prominent characteristics of the American bildungsroman.

In the American bildungsroman, the culture exerts extreme pressure on the protagonist. The culture of the protagonist normally acts as a character itself, an antagonist. It is the culture that places the obstacles in the path of the protagonist. These obstacles are the driving force of the protagonist. They are what compels the story to move forward, and they motivate the protagonist to work for something different. Through the pressures of the culture the protagonist is able to decide they want something more than what the culture offers them.

As seen in The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood wants something more out of life than offered to her by her patriarchal dominated society. Her culture expects her to either be a wife or be a career woman. Esther does not understand why she cannot have both. Dr. Gordon is representative of the patriarchal forces that work against Esther. He and the people she cares about question her sanity because she wants something more out of life than what she is offered. She does not want to be a wife, who dies slowly and is a slave. Furthermore, Esther does not want to be “the place the arrow shoots off from” as Buddy Willard’s mother is.

Similarly, Esperanza Cordero of The House on Mango Street does not want to be a wife either. In her Mexican-American culture, Esperanza is only given one choice, to be a wife. Esperanza lives in a patriarchal dominated society just as is the culture that Esther lives in. The men are the ones that make the rules, such as “the man,” Mamacita’s husband. He demands that his wife speak English and tells her that he will never take her home. Therefore, she sits in the window just as other women, such as Rafaela, on Mango Street do, longing for something more than what their culture has offered them. Esperanza, however longs for much more than that.

Pecola in The Bluest Eye also longs for much more than what she is offered. However, Pecola wants something she can never have, the bluest eyes in the world. In the culture that Pecola, Frieda, and Claudia live in, the idea that black is equated with ugliness and white is right is more than evident. Claudia, however, does not understand this. For instance, she does not want the white baby doll that she is given. For a matter of fact, she refuses to love the baby doll that was given to her for Christmas. Furthermore, Claudia despises the white girls in her neighborhood, Rosemary and Maureen. However, she still fears not being white, but she also does not want to be like Geraldine, who tries to act white. Also, Claudia also cannot understand why her mother offers so much love to her employer’s white child, but cannot seem to show that kind of love to her own children, her black children. It is also the whiteness on Pecola’s underside of her foot that drives Cholly to rape his daughter; and it is the whiteness that Pecola covets so much that she makes the wish to Soaphead Church to have the bluest eyes. The pressure to be white, which is put on the girls, is what causes the crisis in their lives.

In all of the novels, the culture drives the crisis. Therefore the crisis is the effect of the culture, which is the cause. As stated before, The Bluest Eye’s crisis is the rape of Pecola, which results in her pregnancy. Another crisis that occurs is Frieda being fondled by Mr. Washington. Not only does crisis drive The Bluest Eye, but crisis also drives The Bell Jar. For instance, crisis is an obstacle in Esther’s life that she must overcome. She is put under so much pressure by her culture, that Esther falls into a deep depression that she has difficulty conquering. Esther cannot do what she is expected of her, but she has difficulty doing what she should not do. For instance, she tries to be like Doreen and tries to get back at Buddy by sleeping with Constantine, but she is unsuccessful in her endeavors. Therefore, Esther seems to be at a standstill in her life and cannot seem to move forward throughout The Bell Jar. Some examples are when she is almost raped by Marco, and she becomes obsessed with suicide, which she attempts later. Furthermore, Esther is also put through electroshock therapy, which has an adverse effect and causes immense pain in the young woman. Another time the girl is in pain is when Esther has sex for the first time. Because she is a one-in-a-million case, Esther almost hemorrhages to death.

Likewise, Esperanza having sex for the first time is also a crisis point in The House on Mango Street. She is raped at the carnival in the novel, and becomes angry with Sally because of how traumatic the experience was and how Sally had said sex was wonderful. Sally, however, is also a person that experiences a great deal of crisis in the book. Her father beats her constantly, and Sally’s mother does not do anything to help her daughter, other than rub lard on her bruises to make the pain go away. Therefore to escape from her father’s angry hand, Sally marries at a very young age. Unfortunately, Sally is still being beaten. However, she seems to think it is okay because she has some freedom that she would not have if she were left in her father’s home. Sadly, this freedom is not a freedom to do what she pleases, for she, too, is locked away in her home as if she were a prisoner or a possession sealed away in a vault.  To sum up, all of the American bildungsromans discussed in this paper have some sort of crisis, which is significant to the story. It often serves as a life-changing event.

Another life-changing event that can be seen in the American bildungsroman is death. All three of the stories mentioned have a death in them. For instance, Pecola’s baby dies and so do the marigolds in The Bluest Eye. This incident drives Pecola mad, and changes the life of Claudia forever. It is when she realizes that people like Pecola are often shut out of society, and she freely admits that she is also guilty of shutting the girl out of her life. The marigolds not growing represent the loss of innocence. Naively, Claudia believed that making a promise to God to be good and by planting the marigolds, she would be able to save Pecola’s unborn child since everyone had said the baby would not survive. When the marigolds die, Claudia must come to the understanding that not all wishes are granted; and there are some things in life that you just cannot do anything about.

Similarly, Esperanza realizes that there are things in life that she cannot do anything about as well. However, after the death of Rachel and Lucy’s baby sister, she knows that she can do something to help the women who “cannot out.” She learns from the three old women that she has a purpose, and it is not what society is offering her. This funeral is representative of the loss of Esperanza’s innocence and the end of her childhood.

In The Bell Jar, Esther also undergoes transformations when death is evident. For instance, in the first chapter of the book, Esther talks of the death of the Rosenbergs, who are executed around the time that she meets Doreen. Before Esther meets Doreen, she is just like all of the other girls that received the internship for the magazine. After she meets Doreen, Esther begins to want more freedom in her life than she is offered. Her old self, her false self dies. This, however, is not the only instance that death is mentioned in the novel. The Rosenbergs’ death is representative of the first change in her life, and it serves as the beginning of her depression, or metamorphosis. The second death in the novel serves as the emergence from Esther’s cocoon, and is when she is reborn. This death is the death of Joan Gilling, who hangs herself. When Esther goes to the funeral, she severs ties with her past; and with the body, Esther’s past is buried. She emerges from the world as a new person with new hopes and possibilities.

As proven, not only does Esther change from the deaths that occur in her life, but also all of the protagonists in the three novels change form the deaths in their lives. This is the point in their lives that signals a turning point and represents the finding of themselves and their identities. Esperanza learns that language will give her power and is her way out. She finally embraces part of her culture, but rejects the parts that oppress her. Claudia also accepts the part of her culture that keeps her oppressed, her blackness, but she is hopeful in the end that she will be able to rise above that oppression. From the pressures of their oppressive cultures, the crises that the girls in The House on Mango Street, The Bell Jar, and The Bluest Eye must endure, and the death that is evident in the three novels, Esther, Esperanza, and Claudia all have been able to redefine themselves and form a new identity separate from the identities expected of them.

Social Change

I feel that the most important aspect of American Literature is how it reflects the social changes in America since its discovery.  These changes include how religion, blacks, and women have been viewed throughout the years.  Many of these social changes came about due to political changes in the United States.

First, I will cover the ever-changing views on religion throughout American History. Most of the first Americans were the pilgrims.  Pilgrims came to this country to escape religious persecution. Shortly after their arrival in America, history shows that there was the Great Awakening.  This is when many changes in religion began.  Some of our earliest literature comes from preachers such as Johnathan Edwards.  Through his sermons, he tried to help people as he saw their wrongs. Samson Occom also included wrongs such as drinking and cursing in his sermons.  However, unlike Edwards, Occom did not use scripture in his sermons.

The Great Awakening also found many deists and Unitarians.  Benjamin Franklin must have fallen under the deist category because in his writing, I found that he felt that all religious observances should be represented in this new country.  Franklin was one of the few published people of his time that did not believe that religion was more important than the sciences.

During the Romantic Period of literature, people began to focus more on transcendentalism.  Many of the writers in this time, such as Longfellow, Thoreau, and Emerson, believed that you could not depend on God and government to help you. They believed that you had to help yourself.  They also believed that creativity did not come from God, but it came from an inner light.

Later, writers began using psychological realism. They believed that what truly motivated people was not God, but was the psyche. This is also when writers first heard of Darwinism, which is a belief that man evolved from ape and did not come from God. Between the wars writers such as Willa Cather believed that good old values were gone to some people. Because of the political unrest in the world, a lot of people quit believing in God and started trying to be God. As the years progressed, there were less sermons and pieces of literature that had to do with God.

Also as the years progressed, the world began to see more changes for Black Americans. When America was first discovered, slavery was prevalent throughout the world. Most slave trade accounts are based on Olauduah Equiano’s story. Around the same time that he was published, Phillis Wheatley, a black female poet, wrote religious and faith related poetry as well as political poetry. During the Romantic Period, Harriet Jacobs wrote one of the most detailed collections of narratives written by any slave. Another celebrated author of this period is Harriet Beecher Stowe. She wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Though it was badly written, it was successful in making a strong political statement against slavery. Because the book was published in twenty different languages, it brought light, throughout the world, how inhumanely slaves were treated during this time.

Also from the Romantic Period, Fredrick Douglass figured out as a child that what he was denied was what he needed the most, such as an education.  After obtaining this education, Douglass ran an abolitionist newspaper and pushed for black rights.

After the civil war, there was a great deal of talented authors that were published.  One of which is Charles W. Chestnutt, who wrote by using linguistic realism.  His stories often told of the psychological difficulties of people from interracial relationships. This can also be found in Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby.”

During the same time period, Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois had the most impact on Civil Rights after the Civil War. Washington believed that blacks should learn to work within the system.  He felt they should be non-violent, educated, and economically independent to get political power. However, Du Bois wanted to take down the system and supported the Black Zionists Movement. He felt that blacks should fight for what they should already have, Civil Rights.

Between the wars is when the Harlem Renaissance began. Claude McKay was accredited for beginning this literary movement of art, literature, music, and dance. In his poem “America” he states, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!” In-other-words, McKay is saying that he loves America, but racial discrimination is ruining this country.

Zora Neale Hurston also wrote about discrimination in “How It Feels to be Colored Me.” Unfortunately, a lot of other black authors thought that Hurston was not fighting for black rights. One author of this time that was not accused of such a thing was Langston Hughes.  He wrote both prose and poetry about the oppression of blacks. “I Too” was Hughes’ answer to Whitman’s “I Sing America.” Hughes is basically stating, you may be American, but black men are too.

Unlike other Harlem Renaissance authors, Countee Cullen was a rarity of his time. He wanted to be a black person and be considered a poet without having to buy into any political movement. These positive social changes for blacks continued to develop throughout recent history and continue to develop today.

Along with the social changes for blacks due to the Civil Rights Movement, social changes for women have been an important aspect in American Literature. Ann Bradstreet was one of the first female American writers. She was more educated than most women of her time. Bradstreet was a poet that found comfort from the world around her, not from God.

Between the 1700 and 1820, Annis Boudinot Stockton was a key figure in changes that were to come for American women. She published most of her poetry under the names Mrs. A. S. or Mrs. S.  Stockton probably did so because it was not popular for a woman during this time to be educated. She had radical ideas for her time. In “A Sarcasm against the ladies in a newspaper; An impromptu answer” in layman’s terms she says, you may not understand women. You may want to change women, but you cannot. You need us the way we are, because you need us to fulfill your pleasures and needs. This was the general mindset for the purpose of women in Stockton’s time.  It was believed, though women may think, they are only able to do so in order to fulfill their husbands. Women are only put on this earth for men and procreation.

This reasoning began to change during the Romantic Period. This period shows a significant increase in female authors, which means a significant increase in educated women. This could perhaps also relate to the fact that the Romantic Era of Literature was known for emotion over reason and women tend to be more emotional. Many men did feel that women should be kept uneducated. However, they felt this way so that women would not be exposed to the type of literature written. Because a woman’s mind is so feeble, they will be more apt to be tempted by Satan if they read such things.

Fannie Fern was the most popular columnist of her time and chose very political subjects to write on. She was known for being a very sarcastic author. Another important female author is Margaret Fuller, who was thought to be well before her time. Fuller wanted and wrote about equal rights for women. Because of her radical ideas, most of her writings were suppressed up until recently.

Again, Kate Chopin can be accredited for aiding the Women’s Rights Movement. She wrote about the social inequalities of women compared to men, especially in the South. Chopin was raised by very strong women and wrote about very strong women. The women in her stories recognized that they had physical needs; therefore, she had a lot of sexual innuendo in these stories as well.

Like many female authors, Constance Fenimore Woolson had difficulty getting her readers to take her seriously.  Literature between the great wars was when a lot of changes came about for women. Because women were given the right to vote and allowed to work in factories while men were overseas, women pretty much ran the country during this time. Had it not been for them, the economy surely would have failed.

Edna S. Vincent Millay wrote many political speeches and became the national symbol of the modern woman. “Her poems are more founded in the failure of love than in the joy of sex” (2109). Like Millay, Katherine Anne Porter did not live her life in a traditional way. She was not a political writer and did not try to build any connections between herself and any political movements.

However, because of how she lived her life, Porter was an important figure in women’s rights as well. In Susan Glasspell’s stories, what it is like to be a woman in her time period can be found. The waves that all of these women caused still ripple throughout American society today.

These many pieces of American Literature reflect all of the social changes in America throughout the ages. Whether it is from women or blacks being able to climb the social ladder or from how Americans view God, these changes are the most important aspects found in American Literature.

Standing Bear & Sitting Bull

In 1877, Standing Bear declared Indians are persons. He stated,

"my hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both."

Judge Dundy ruled,

"the question cannot be open to serious doubt. Webster describes a person as 'an individual of the human race.' This is comprehensive enough, it would seem to include even an Indian." And so it was at this time that Indians were finally considered "people."

Sitting Bull replied,

"God has made me an Indian, but not a reservation Indian."

Forgiveness

Tippens explains that we all must find it in our hearts to forgive. He reminds us that “Jesus came to forgive; we have been forgiven by him; we must forgive others.”

I remember that when I was growing up my mother would always tell me “two wrongs don’t make a right.” I think that what she was trying to say is that the failure to forgive someone for their wrong is just as wrong as the original wrong. Tippens says, “First, we should consider that forgiveness is a grace that begins with God, not with us.”

Just as Tippens says in the next section of the chapter, I believe that good can come out of any bad situation, no matter how horrendous it may seem to us. I do not think that God wills bad things to happen to us to teach us a lesson. It just happens. I know that everything I have been through in my life has made me a stronger person. This has happened through God’s grace, and in the strength he has given me, I can forgive.

Tippens tells us though that we must remember to forgive ourselves as well. This is where many of us lacking. We tend to blame ourselves because we have “allowed ourselves” to get hurt. Tippens warns if you do not forgive yourself, this can lead to “guilt and shame,” which can turn into “anger toward others.” I never thought that when I verbally lash out toward others, which does happen sometimes, that I could be from my inability to forgive myself.

In American culture, it is difficult to forgive people, because it is difficult to trust others. We must remember that we can forgive people for how they have wronged us, but trust is earned. Also in American movies, vengeance is the answer to the problems that plague us. We all must remember, “Vengeance never settles the matter” (Tippens 121).

But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. Psalm 130:4

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:21-22

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark 1:4

to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, Luke 1:77

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:3

and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:43

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38

to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:18

[ Forgiveness for the Offender ] If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. 2 Corinthians 2:5

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace Ephesians 1:7

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:14

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22

[ Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness ] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5