Changes in viewpoints on good and evil in English literature of the XIX century

 

As it had been already said the conflict between good and evil is a popular theme that is very often present in any type of literary text. When these two binaries are combined, they engage in a push-pull type of relationships that are constantly at war with each other throughout a work of literature.idea is demonstrated in various works of XIX century British literature in the concepts of optimism (good) versus pessimism (evil). An author may use this notion of optimism against pessimism to teach a moral lesson, to make opposite viewpoints evident to the reader, or to show a transformation of a character whether it is from an optimistic perspective to a pessimistic one or vice versa. Whatever the reason may be, the conflict between a hopeful outlook and a negative viewpoint provide an interesting and an effective means of grabbing the reader's attention and pulling them headfirst into the writing.e type of pessimistic to optimistic transformation is apparent in an early nineteenth century British poem by William Wordsworth called «I wandered lonely as a cloud». Although it is possible to interpret this poem in an infinite number of ways, one particularly strong reading of the poem has the narrator changing his disposition from that of loneliness and despair to a more happy and cheerful mood by a mere fantastical nature scene. In the beginning of the poem, Wordsworth paints a picture of a person wandering like a lone cloud, seemingly in search of inspiration or simply just wandering about for some company. After seeing a breathtaking view of daffodils «fluttering and dancing in the breeze», the narrator's perspective begins to change. No longer does he feel isolated in a bleak and sad world. Now he has seen the beauty that the world has to offer. This beautiful scene was imprinted on his mind and he even mentions, «For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude; and then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils». The narrator seems to be going from a hopeless, lonely, and pessimistic view on life to one filled with pleasure and bliss by this simple remembrance. Wordsworth even uses pleasing words like «fluttering», «twinkle», and «gay» in his poem to describe this wondrous view. When things happen to get rough, the narrator simply thinks of the daffodils and his mood is thus transformed.character transformations are not always constructed by the author to go from unhappy to pleasurable. They can just as easily convert the other way. For example, in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the conversion of the wedding guest goes from a delightful and carefree outlook to a much sadder and yet more knowledgeable one. The targeted wedding guest, who has just come from a wedding and is about to dine upon the merry din, is suddenly stopped by a stranger known as the ancient mariner. After the mariner imparts his sad tale onto the selected wedding guest, it seems that the wedding guest's outlook has suddenly been tainted by what the mariner has said to him. Instead of attending the party, he turns away. «He went like one that hath been stunned, and is of sense forlorn: a sadder and a wiser man, he raised the morrow morn». Unlike that of the narrator in Wordsworth's poem, the wedding guest seems to have changed from a merry guest at a wedding party to a sadder and wiser man. Although he too was given a moral that combats evil and that was «to love both man and bird and beast».there are times when one or both parties are unable to partake in any type of transformation for whatever the reason. It could be that they are unable to understand the others point of view because of a number of factors like status in society, age, or personality. In William Wordsworth's poem called «We Are Seven», the seemingly wealthy male passerby is unable to comprehend the fact that a poor little cottage girl still counts her deceased brother and sister among the living. Many would have reason to say that the older gentleman seems to have a pessimistic view on life while the little girl a more optimistic one. Although the man tries to push her into seeing the «correct» answer, she refuses to give in and continues to reply in response to his correction that there is only five of them, «Nay, we are seven». Wordsworth is trying to show his readers the black and white worlds these two very different individuals inhabit. The man is much older and wiser and has a scientific perspective on the situation. He is thinking rationally and logically, much the same way an older generation would think. As long as the two little children are not living and breathing, he sees that there are only five children. Also adding to the fact, he never knew these children to be alive so he has had no personal connection with them. It also may be that because they are not of the wealthier upper class but members of the poor lower class that their existence does not account for as much. But to the little girl, her brother and sister were very much a part of this world and are still alive in her memories. Her insistence that her brother and sister still count is quite charming and depicts her childhood innocence. The man soon becomes frustrated that the little maiden would not learn from him. «But they are dead: those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven! ‘Twas throwing words away; for still the little Maid would have her will, and said, ‘Nay, we are seven!» The old gentleman demonstrates his maturity by letting the little girl have her way and get the last word. At the very end of the poem, the reader gets a sense that neither the man nor the little girl is right or wrong (though the child's view is obviously much more optimistic and hopeful). They are simply two individuals from dramatically different backgrounds and places in life, unable to see the other's perspective.nearly all works of literature, it is essential to have a point of opposition or conflict acting in the piece. In the previously mentioned works of nineteenth century British literature, there is a common theme present and that is the ongoing battle between goodness and evil, more specifically an optimistic attitude and a pessimistic attitude. The contradiction is used in a number of different ways to portray morals, transformations, and to offer up new sides of an argument that may only be visible to certain persons. Without these opposing concepts, there would be no action, no change, and thus, no story.

Talking about the XIX century we surely must mention the Chartist movement. Chartism was a working-class movement that emerged in 1838 out of the Anti-Poor Law agitation, bringing together several working class groups. Its name derived from the People’s Charter, a document based on six points: universal manhood suffrage, equal electoral districts, payment for members of Parliament, elimination of the property qualification for Parliament, vote by ballot, and annual Parliaments. The Chartists circulated petitions calling for these reforms and, in 1839, 1842, and 1848, they massed in London to present their demands to Parliament, each time without success. The mass meetings and several violent confrontations with authorities led many to fear a violent revolution led by the Chartists. A split in the movement between the «physical force» and the «moral force» factions contributed to the popular perception that many Chartists were dangerous and violent agents of French radicalism. Although the movement died after 1848, it was an important precursor to the socialist movement later on. All of the Chartist reforms, except annual parliaments, were adopted by the end of the 19th century.Chartists introduced their own literature, which was the lirst attempt to create a literature of the working class. The Chartist writers tried their hand at different genres. They wrote articles, short stories, songs, epigrams, poems. Their leading genre was poetry. Though their verses were not so beautiful as those of their predecessors, the romantic poets, the Chartists used the motives of folk-poetry and dealt with the burning problems of life. They described the struggle of the workers for their rights, they showed the ruthless exploitation and the miserable fate of the poor, the struggle between good and evil. The Chartist writers called the toiling people to struggle for their rights and expressed a firm belief in the final victory of the proletariat.

The ideas of Chartism attracted the attention of many progressive-minded people of the time. Many prominent writers became aware of the social injustices around them and tried to picture them in their works. Thus this period of fierce class struggle was mirrored in literature by the appearance of a new trend, that of «Critical Realism». The greatest novelists of the age are Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell. These writers used the novel as a means to protest against the evils in contemporary social and economic life and to picture the world in a realistic way. The critical realists introduced new characters into literature: they described the new social force in modern history - the working class. They expressed deep sympathy for the working people; they described the unbearable conditions of their life and work; they voiced a passionate protest against exploitation and described their persistent struggle for their rights.

As to Charles Dickens, he supported the radical goals of the Chartists and agreed with Thomas Carlyle, who blamed an idle aristocracy and an unresponsive Parliament for the rise of the movement. Dickens began to write when the Chartist movement, was at its height. Continuous demonstrations in defence of workers' rights took place in many manufacturing towns and in London as well. The actions of the Chartists had considerable effect on Dickens. Though he did not believe in revolutionary action, he was on the side of the people with all his heart. He wanted what the people wanted. Dickens wrote about the poorest.the novel Dombey and Son Dickens unmasked bourgeois respectability and exposed the false morality of the rich behind their cant phrases (insincere talk). Ideas on the power of money form the basis of the novel. With Dombey and Son Dickens's optimism disappears. A sharp laugh takes the place of his former mild humour. He no longer seeks in the individual villain the cause of all poverty and suffering. His pen is already at work making war against social abuses, like corruption in the law-courts and cruelty and starvation at boarding-schools. Dickens describes in detail the social institutions of the day and draws a vivid picture of the life of the English people. He came to be called the Great Literary Commoner, by which people meant the great democrat in literature.

David Copperfield is an autobiographical novel. It describes child labour and the awful cruelty children suffered when at school or at work. Bleak House is a satire directed against the Court of Chancery, which at that time was the civil court of justice. It attacks the law's delay and English bureaucracy. Hard Times is not simply an attack on capitalism but on the soulless and unwholesome industrial life it had brought about.his previous works in which he describes the class of the bourgeoisie Dickens now describes the class of the proletariat. The scene is set in a factory town. It is a town of gray streets wrapped in gray smoke coming from black chimneys. Dickens takes the typical features of any English industrial town and makes them the key-note of the book. In Hard Times the writer has lost all hope of finding an ideal happy corner for a worker's family. Dickens changes: he grows indignant at all injustice, and he becomes sarcastic. Dickens demands social reform as well as the regeneration of man.