OTHAPPU AS AN ICONOCLASTIC NOVEL
ABSTRACT
Sarah’s novel ‘Othappu’ discloses the ubiquitous forces within catholic practices that make such proactive faltering a heretical imperative. The novel gives us rare glimpses of Malayali Christian society peppered and layered with Biblical quotations and allusions and carrying echoes and subtexts that parallel events in the New Testament. It dares to explore the role of spirituality, sexuality and the freedom of the self in a self-consciously religious society. ‘Othappu’ unfolds at many levels to critique notion of class, caste, antiquity and prestige that have, over time, eroded the powers of the church. The novel is not only limited to the Christian community but also to our entire cultural terrain.
Keywords: orthodox, temptation, renunciation, iconoclastic, vulnerability.
Introduction: Othappu is an iconoclastic novel only to the extent that it questions and exposes the hegemony of irrational and materialistic functionaries within the church that defeat and nullify its spiritual resources. Sarah had done this earlier in short stories and the novel Nanmathinmakalude suvishesham. But in ‘Othappu’ she challenges the reader to
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The issue of setting a bad example, causing others to deviate from the righteous path, is localized and shifted to an experiential level in ‘Othappu, as echoed in the colloquialized form of the word. The novel lays, out from a radical and ironic angle of vision through the lives of the common folk, the parochial and orthodox idea of ‘faltering’ in respect of faith and religion, becoming’ as a result a bad example for others. It presents different kind of people who refuse to endorse the status quo or conform to religious and social codes and in doing so, cause others to falter as
The book is divided into chapters regarding idols of history, humanity, money, nature, power, and religion. Then it hesitantly offers a prediction if the current trends hold, and instruction for the Christian community whether or not the trends hold.
The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are.”
In today’s world, we live in a society where we are subjected to follow rules, which are placed upon us by the society. Many people are faced with the dilemma of whether or not to follow the ideals of other people, or pursue their ideals and go against the prevailing conventions. In “Selections from Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, the author talks about a man named McCandless who went into the Alaskan wilderness in order to find his true self. His journey was also to escape from the societal norms of society. A person who goes into the wilderness believes that they can live their life with brute simplicity. This gives them little to no time with the complicated problems of modern society. Likewise, in “Waiting for a Jew” by Jonathan Boyarin, the author talks about one’s aspiration to find their identity and purpose in the community. He conveys that religious places, like shul, allow an individual to develop a cross- cultural self. The desires and expectations placed upon us by the society shape our strategies of personal identity; therefore, instilling fears that cause us to identify in opposition to our prevailing conventions.
This book, I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman’s Encounter with God, is, as the subtitle indicates, the story of how an aristocratic Pakistani woman, a lifelong Muslim, became a Christian in her fifties. Bilquis Sheikh was born in 1912 to conservative Muslim parents. As she grew up, she did not reject her Muslim faith, but acquired a disdain for anything spiritual or supernatural. If she could see it and explain it, she would believe it. Bilquis’ family was well known, hosting people from all over the world and often visiting London or Paris. Her husband was the Minister of the Interior, but they had divorced five years before, and feeling “the shame of rejection,” she secluded herself in her family’s ancestral home in the village of Wah. She lived with her servants and four-year-old grandson, and for the most part only visited with other family members.
―"Religion in “Brave New World“." Religion in Brave New World. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2014.
Midgley, Mary. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." The Moral Life: An Introductory Reader in Ethics and Literature. 5th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2000. 231-235. Print.
The purpose of this reflective outline is to demonstrate a thorough understanding of theories, concepts, and/or strategies relating to cultural and social religions. “Whale Rider” (Caro, 2002) , is a depictive representation of a cultural religion that has survived on the belief of male inheritance as their form of guidance; however, history has shown that change is inevitable. For example, throughout history, religion has played a pivotal role in the development of individuals, including the evolution of societies. This shows that because religion/s around the world have practiced their core beliefs in an attempt to guide humanities behaviors, yet , as we can observe with the “Whale Rider,” even the most influential community and cultural leaders can become miscued in their ideologies. Because The Maori of New Zealand have developed deep seated beliefs within natural creatures; Katu is term used to relate to their god (Maori.com, 2014) steaming for their ancestral Polynesian descendants. In addition to what can be observed, such as beliefs, practices, and/or symbolic terminologies, each religion will ensure its presidential knowledge is passed to those who receive it accordingly. The factual concept stands and history has proven is evolution that without guidance and continuous religious and cultural support, decedents of a heritage may become lost and/or miscued within their mislead ideology. Although many religions are centered on the belief of normality’s cultural expectance, often times we can observe drastic changes in the reorganization of a cultural religion.
Only a few books dare to discuss the confusion surrounded by a religious awakening. In Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, challenges standard religion and brings in differnet ideas through the perspective of a young and confused boy. At the end of his struggle to understand, the boy reaches the peace of mind he was seeking.
Woodhead Linda, Kawanami Hiroko, Partridge Christopher, (2009), Religions in the Modern world, Traditions and Transformations, Judaism, Christianity, Routledge, Oxon.
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print
People in society strive to find happiness in ones self, others and their community. What factors are there to obtain ultimate happiness in one’s life? What ethical decisions does one have to overcome to obtain this supreme happiness that every individual endeavours? The citizens of Omelas have a difficult time achieving the goal of making the right ethical decision. In exchange for their ultimate happiness and success, is one child’s misery. In order to live their “perfect” lives the citizens of Omelas must accept the suffering of the child. To make the right ethical decision is difficult, but necessary to end the injustice of the society. Failing to overcome the ethical issues in the city of Omelas is displayed through three different characters in the story. There are those who choose to ignore the situation, those who observe the child in misery, and those who feel that they must walk away. In the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” characters fail to overcome the ethical issues in their society, and the reader is taught the importance of moral responsibility and the implications of the difficult task to make the right ethical decision.
While “Omelas” has certainly received abundant literary and academic recognition, most critical studies of the story reduce the text to a one-dimensional moral parable warning against the evil of scapegoating and basing prosperity and happiness on the exploitation of others. This is because critics and non-critic audiences alike have predominantly read “Omelas” from a cultural lens that favors Protestant theodicy, which is still strong in American society. This theodicy presents the world in terms of binary oppositions, such as good and evil, happy and sad. Borrowing from this framework, critics have assigned moral value to the two types of Omelans featured in the story: the ones who stay and the ones who walk away, the latter making the morally and socially correct choice. Consequently, resulting scholarly analyses presume that goodness looks a certain way (some form of rejection or walking away from evil).
The communal values evolve around religious events, having family honor and virginity. Even though the church’s betrayal is versatile, when the bishop arrives, it emphasizes the failure clearer. The people of the town, including the prie...
The tragedy in the novels of middle phase rises from the intimate interactions of the expatriate women with the Indians in post – independence era since there is no more any shielding protection of the colonial officialdom of British imperialism. The brutal rape of Lee, the seduction of Olivia and her step – granddaughter are some symbolic portrayals of the disparity between the romantic illusions that in turn could provide them nothing but sexuality betrayal and falsehood. In portraying the subjugation of the European women by Indian lover’s husbands or the spiritual gurus Jhabvala hints at the moral and spiritual degradation in modern India. The search of the expatriate women for love beauty or spirituality ends in their victimisation at the hands of male rapacity and they are in a predicament of self – destructive commitments or flight for survival.