Final Synthesis

Jason Groth

Ms. Wilson

English IVB

28^th May 2013

The True Good vs. Evil

“Words - so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them”(Nathaniel Hawthorne). Anyone can say or do anything that they want to express their feelings and emotions through good vs. evil. In the pieces, “A Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan, Amsterdam by Ian McEwan, “A Poison Tree” by William Blake, “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning and William H. Pritchard’s, Publish and Perish. While showing true good vs. evil, the authors of these works demonstrate characterization, symbolism and foreshadowing bringing out great detail the characters behold. Good vs. Evil allows these individuals to express their works in words to give the character they have created a personality and emotion.

Characterization can be seen throughout many of these pieces. In John Bunyan’s, “Pilgrim’s Progress” he used characterization to give the characters a name of sin. In the quote, “[T]hen went the jury out, whose names were Mr. Blind-man, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose, Mr. Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate-light, and Mr. implacable…” (Holt 422). The names of these individuals indicate that something will soon occur. As the story continues, the death of Faithful comes with a price because Mr. Cruelty believes that a hanging is not cruel enough. In “A Poison Tree” by William Blake he uses characterization to describe the situation his characters are in. “I was angry with my friend: / I told my wrath, my wrath did end. / I was angry with my foe: / I told it not, my wrath did grow” (ll. 1-4).He is describing his anger towards his foe and over time his anger kept growing and growing. As he, “…watered it in fears, / Night and morning with my tears; / And I sunned it with smiles, / And with soft deceitful wiles” (ll. 5-8). It was this anger that the narrator had, which allowed him to grow this apple which contained all his anger and killed his foe.

During the Victorian times women were not allowed to show any skin, they were to be covered at all times (Holt 878). Browning used lots of characterization to describe the lover’s murder in “Porphyria’s Lover”. “Perfectly pure and good: I found/  A thing to do, and all her hair / In one long yellow string I wound / Three times her little throat around,  / And strangled her. No pain felt she; / I am quite sure she felt no pain” (ll. 37-42). This quote tells the reader in just enough detail and characterization of what he has done to his lover. The reason he did this is because of the social class difference between the two. Her being in a higher class than him meant that they could not be seen together at all. In Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam, he used his characterization to describe a situation that Clive was a part of but didn’t really help with. “‘I want you to go to the police now and tell them what you saw.’ ‘Out of the question.’ ‘You could identify this man.’ ‘I’m in the final stages of finishing a symphony that-‘(130). This portrays Clive’s inner self because he doesn’t want to help with someone who could have died. He didn’t want to put himself into that situation that could have hurt him trying to save someone else.

Symbolism is something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign (Dictionary.com). In Amsterdam there are many symbols that show death. “There would come a day when nothing would remain of Vermin Halliday, but what would remain of Clive Linley was his music” (149). This quote symbolizes what will happen later to Vernon and Clive when they both try to poison each other.

 “Porphyria’s Lover”, the lover is sitting with the dead body of Porphyria and is symbolized by what he has done is the right thing. “Porphyria’s love: She guessed not how / Her darling one wish would be heard. / And thus we sit together now, / And all night long we have not stirred, / And yet God has not said a word!” (ll. 56-60). When God has not said a word yet, he assumes that the death of Porphyria was a necessary loss because of their difference.

The apple in “A Poison Tree” is the symbol of the ending death of the foe. As the narrator grew it with his tears, he was able to put all his anger into the apple. “And it grew both day and night, / Till it bore an apple bright; / And my foe beheld it shine, / And he knew that it was mine, / And into my garden stole” (ll. 9-13). This quote marks the spot where the foe meets his death as he ate the apple, like Adam and Eve when they ate from the garden. In the Neoclassical period Bunyan used his symbolism of Faithful’s death as a quicker way to get to Celestial City. “Now, I saw that there stood behind the multitude a chariot and a couple of horses, waiting for Faithful, who (so soon as his adversaries had dispatched him) was taken up into it, and straightway was carried up through the clouds, with sound of trumpet, the nearest way to the Celestial Gate” (Holt 423). Since, Christian and Faithful were trying to get to Celestial City without dying. Faithful managed to be put to death and found a quick way to the golden gates of Celestial City.

Foreshadowing is one of those concepts where it is harder than it actually is (Kim). Foreshadowing is to show or indicate beforehand. The purpose of foreshadowing to create the suspense in a piece of writing. The object is to not give away all the information (Kim). In Amsterdam, the author tries to not write only what happened, but more like how or why it happened. The death of Clive and Vernon was foreshadowed by the quote, “He knew from long experience that a letter sent in fury merely put a weapon into the hands of your enemy. Poison, in a preserved form, to be used against you long in the future” (149). This tells us that sometime later when the reader reads, that the poison is going to be used and soon death with come. “Finally, after two hours of meandering and backtracking, George Lane had a good idea. ‘Look, there was nothing wrong in purchasing those photographs. Actually, I can tell you this, I heard he got a jolly good deal. No, Halliday’s mistake was in not pulling the front page the moment he saw Rose Garmony’s press conference’” (138). This quote will soon foreshadow the job-destroying of Garmony, but also of Vernon. Clive warned Vernon of his choice to publish the pictures, but didn’t listen.

At the beginning of “Porphyria’s Lover”, the poem opens up with foreshadowing. The detail of the storm indicates the gloomy and dark feeling the characters might experience later in the poem. “The rain set early in tonight, / The sullen wind was soon awake, / It tore the elm tops down for spite, / And did its worst to vex the lake: / I listened with heart fit to break” (ll. 1-5). Line three really does get the attention since the tops of trees were being torn off, that maybe later this foreshadows the death of ones lover. The reader sees more foreshadowing around line twenty-nine. This foreshadowing is a lead up to what the lover will do. “For love of her, and all in vain: / So, she was come through wind and rain. / Be sure I looked up at her eyes / Happy and proud; at last I knew / Porphyria worshipped me: / Surprise made my heart swell, and still it grew / While I debated what to do” (29-35). When he is looking at her, he is deciding what he should do. Then he gets the idea that he must end her life to protect his own.

Continuing with “A Poison Tree” there is foreshadowing in the middle of the poem. “And it grew both day and night, / Till it bore an apple bright; / And my foe beheld it shine, / And he knew that it was mine…” (ll. 9-12). This quote sets up what the foe will experience and that is his death. The narrator of this poem tells us that the foe knew the apple was his, but the foe doesn’t know that the apple will kill him when he takes a bite into it. This small part of the poem is very similar to the Godfather Part III. This is when everyone is at Tony’s opera in Sicily and Connie gives a gentleman a birthday gift full of sweets. Even though the gentleman did not steal the gift, but he knew that they were from Connie. When he kept eating and eating the sweets, he soon finds his place in death. Very like the apple being the sweets.

The “Pilgrims Progress” contains some foreshadowing as it relates to Faithful and Christian being at the Fair causing ruckus. “Now was word presently brought to the great one of the Fair, who quickly came down and deputed some of his most trusty friends to take these men into examination about whom the Fair was almost overturned….” (Holt 422). While Beelzebub came to the scene and took them for examination, the reader can assume that Bunyan wants the reader to become aware that something soon will happen to Christian and Faithful. After Faithful was tried and put to death by all ways possible by the jury. “Christian continues on his journey and finds another companion, the convert Hopeful” (Holt 423). By finding a new person named Hopeful, allowed Christian to let hope in him to lead the way, because faith was not able to get Christian to Celestial City.

Death is necessary at times. Most individuals would never want to die because they fear death. Throughout the pieces we experience death not being feared. Porphyria’s lover not feeling guilty of killing the one he loved and when the narrator killed his foe with an apple and still not feeling sorry. Some may say bringing death to one person is a must in order for self-defense.

In Publish and Perish by William H. Pritchard, he has talked a lot about how McEwan might have compared some of his other books to Amsterdam. One thing he mentions in his piece is how McEwan avoided the first-person style of writing and trying to stay away from writing about one character at a time. Amsterdam allowed him to write the speakers, “with a strongly sardonic edge” (Pritchard). Pritchard called Amsterdam, “…very British” except for the title because of the choice of location McEwan chose for the book, which is in London and the Lake District. Pritchard is very excited about the making of McEwan’s new book, “[T]his is the book at its best. But when the cruel wit is turned on the two central figures, especially on Clive, I wondered whether he (or McEwan) had quite deserved or earned it.” This book was the winner of the Booker Prize even though none of his previous books have won it.

In the pieces, “A Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan, Amsterdam by Ian McEwan, “A Poison Tree” by William Blake, “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning and William H. Pritchard’s, Publish and Perish. The authors of these wonderful pieces of writing were able to include characterization, symbolism and foreshadowing to show the good vs. evil in each of the characters. Allowing these to be a part of their writing, helped the reader easily understand the true meaning of good and evil in the characters’ lives. Remember, “God did not create evil. Just as darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of God” said Albert Einstein (goodreads).

Works Cited

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

"Good And Evil Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

"Holt McDougal Online." Holt McDougal Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

"Kim's Craft Blog -- Fiction, Memoir, Creative Writing." : Fun with Foreshadowing. Blogger.com, Dec. 2012. Web. 27 May 2013.

McEwan, Ian. Amsterdam. New York: N.A. Talese, 1999. Print.

Pritchard, William H. "Publish and Perish." Books. The New York Times, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.

"Quotes About Good And Evil." (131 Quotes). Goodreads, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013.