The Violent Bear It Away: A Mythic Hero's Journey into Enlightenment

《暴取天堂》－神話英雄的啟蒙之旅

許惠芬(Hui-fen Hsu)

《興大人文學報》 58期 (2017/03) Pp. 193-213

摘要

Flannery O'Connor's second and last novel, The Violent Bear It Away, describes a young man's struggle of accepting or refusing his call as a prophet. This novel exhibits O'Connor's unique style as a Southern writer, whose freak characters experience a peculiar vision beyond the comprehension of reasoning minds. While most critics center on her religious themes and dark characters, this paper explores it from mythic perspective, seeing it as a timeless myth reflecting universal human conditions and interrogating the meaning of life. Based on Joseph Campbell's hero theory, young Tarwater is a mythological hero who undertakes an inward journey and transforms his egotistic impulse into brotherly love. The contents of this paper are divided into three parts. The first part defines the hero archetype together with its significance in the modern age. The second part analyzes Tarwater as an archetypal hero embarking on a spiritual journey. The third part illustrates the world-benefiting consciousness he gains after the journey. The mythic interpretation sheds light on this dark and gothic novel, giving it a positive twist by exposing the symbolic meaning of violence.

關鍵字

myth ； hero archetype ； spiritual journey ； violence

並列摘要

The Violent Bear It Away是Flannery O'Connor的第二本，也是最後一本小說，描述一個男孩對於接受或拒絕先知使命之掙扎。此小說展現O'Connor身為美國南方小說家的特質，她筆下的畸零人所經歷的特異視野，迴異於一般理性的認知。對於她作品的評論，皆著重在宗教主題及黑暗人物的層面。本研究從神話觀點解讀此小說，視它為不朽的神話原型，定位它是反映人間共同課題及探索人生意義之作品。在引用坎伯的神話理論為分析架構之下，Tarwater是典型的神話英雄，在經歷內心的探險後，打破原先的自我藩籬，轉變為具同胞愛的意識形態。本研究內容分三部分。第一部分定義英雄原型及其現代意義，第二部分分析Tarwater的英雄之旅，第三部分說明他在此旅程後所帶給世人的福音。神話觀點驅散了此小說的黑暗神祕，並藉由探索暴力的象徵意涵，給予其正面意義。

並列關鍵字

迷思 ； 英雄原型 ； 心靈之旅 ； 暴力

參考文獻

Bloom, Harold(Ed.)(1982).Modern Critical Views. Flannery O'Connor.New York:Chelsea.

Bloom, Harold(Ed.)(1986).Modern Critical Views. Flannery O'Connor.New York:Chelsea.

Campbell, J.(1968).The Hero with a Thousand Faces.New Jersey:Princeton University Press.

Campbell, J.,Flowers, Betty Sue(Ed.)(1988).The Power of Myth: With Bill Moyers.New Jersey:Doubleday.

Gerald, K. S. (2013). The Violent Bear It Away. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/violent-bear-it-away