Emily Dickinson And Mark Twain True non-conformists?

[carter1990]

Throughout our history, real progress has come from those who have challenged the status quo. True innovation comes from those who pave their own way, who disregard the common way of doing things and create a new way. Often these people are deemed lunatics and heretics during their lives but long after their deaths inspire others to their own creative expression. It has long been understood that some of the most inspirational figures did not lead the easiest lives, did not always live in the happiest of circumstance but through creative innervations sparked a relentless revolution towards freedom. The arts, most notably the field of literature have repeatedly spawned authors such as Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain and Scott Fitzgerald whose bodies of work have stood the test of time. It was their tenacity to challenge social order, to challenge the status quo that exploded positive movements towards true freedom. Although American values have changed through industry and politics, the true artists stand the changing times.

Emily Dickinson lived in a time when true recognition was reserved for those rich white men who had a biased stake in controlling information. Non-conformists are never met with an easy road, looking at Emily Dickinson’s life would certainly draw many to that conclusion. Although Emily lived in a well to do family financially set, she questioned everything such as social order, male and female norms, religion all of which helped her to become a mainstay in the canon. During the 1800s many new inventions were being created in the United States such as electric lighting, the gasoline powered car, and the telephone. Industry was drastically changing the lives on a daily basis of American citizens. A non-conformist is defined as one who does not conform to, or refuses to be bound by, accepted beliefs, customs, or practices. During Emily Dickinson’s time women were nothing more than housewives, thought to just take care of house work and the children. Not to suggest all men were as controlling as say “John” in The Yellow Wall Paper men as a whole were believed to be the bread winners and women were not given much to creative expression. That is where Emily Dickinson can be very empowering to women. She did what many women were afraid to do, creatively express her distaste for norms that were unjust. Emily understood how words and manipulation of words can create control. Dickinson represented as an individual woman what many women felt during that time: just because we are women doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have creative expression. In her poem “Tell All The Truth” she speaks of how to talk to children about ideas.

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
Success in circuit lies,
Too bright for our infirm delight
The truth's superb surprise;
She is saying when speaking to children attention should be payed to how you talk to them because they lack the intelligence to challenge it. Let them keep their innocence and learn things on their own. Although her poetry can be hard to decrypt at times there are central themes that culminate into a general feeling of non-conformity. Although there exists few first hand accounts of Emily Dickinson other than through her often cryptic poetry her poetry still lends itself to positive expression and creative thought.

…the backdrop to all her work is the mystery of self-reflective consciousness; the fact that we are continually both ourselves and at one remove from ourselves is the foundation of spirituality. Second, I will argue that Dickinson’s great themes of God, beauty, and love partake of the paradoxical contrast between material and immaterial. Third, I aim to showthat for Dickinson suffering is unavoidably tied to spirituality, and it is this link that is most relevant to spiritual ambiguities of psychological and medical therapy. (Scheurich 6)

It is her higher spirituality that allows her to see beyond the norms of men and female relationships, money and of course religion.

Mark Twain was a renegade of his time. He pointed out the injustices of slavery. Although many took his book Huckleberry Finn out of context and deemed him a racist because of his use of the word “******”. He was merely trying to point out the stupidity of the emotion behind the word. Huck the main character is a white southern boy who uses the word, but as the story moves along he develops a strong relationship with several black characters. Twain begins to point out that we are all equals and it is done through the dynamic growth of Huck the main character. The book huckleberry finn was written a couple decades after the slaves were beginning to be seen as equal in society but there was still an underlying hatred to African Americans by many other Americans. Another character in the story called Jim is a slave running for freedom. From the first few pages of Huckleberry Finn Huck questions many things in regards to society, all of which help him to become a nonconformist.

That is just the way with some people. They get
down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it.
Here she was a-bothering about Moses, which was no kin
to her, and no use to any- body, being gone, you see, yet
finding a power of fault with me for doing a thing that had
some good in it. And she took snuff, too; of course that
was all right, because she done it herself. (Twain 6)

Here Huck Finn is pointing out the inconsistencies in his guardian. Mark Twain through Huck was trying to point out his own personal distaste for authority in the lines above. Huck represented many aspects of Mark Twain. Nobody would deny that Huck was his own individual, Mark Twain spent many of his early adult years traveling. This allowed Twain to communicate the dialect within his story very well. This helps to put the reader in the environment of the time period. Many of the themes presented within “Huckleberry Finn” would seem like commonplace today such as distaste for slavery, hypocritical authority, because we are in a more diverse society that promotes equality but at its time Huckleberry Finn was very much at the cutting edge. Often for a positive movement to occur it done below the radar until it is seen all over the radar. Huck represented a microcosm of what was occurring slowly in many of the hearts and minds of people during the turn of the century. The difference between society back in the early 1900s and today can be expressed by the speed limit difference. “Speeding - The element that made motoring sport was its dangerous speeds. By 1906, 15 states had speed limits of 20 miles per hour. Whee!”

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is Scott Fitzgerald’s most well known work along with The Great Gatsby. Hollywood has taken a hold of The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button whether in a good light or a bad light is up to the reader of the book and viewer of the movie. Benjamin Button is supposed to represent the opposite of society’s common views of aging, what others are meant to do and what choices they have.

"Is the child born?" begged Mr. Button.
Doctor Keene frowned. "Why, yes, I suppose so—after a fashion."
Again he threw a curious glance at Mr. Button.
"Is my wife all right?"
"Yes."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"Here now!" cried Doctor Keene in a perfect passion of irritation," I'll
ask you to go and see for yourself. Outrageous!" (Fitzgerald 1)

Benjamin Button in the book unlike the story was born already as a full grown man and in the lines above “Why yes, I suppose so – after a fashion” begins to represent through the words of the doctor what the world will perceive of Benjamin. Benjamin looks different and because of that has a different world view of those around him. His father loves him and wants him to function in society but Benjamin question the things his father places upon him.

One day he brought home a rattle and,
giving it to Benjamin, insisted in no uncertain terms that he should "play with it," whereupon the old man took it with a weary expression and could be heard jingling it obediently at intervals throughout the day. There can be no doubt, though, that the rattle bored him, (Fitzgerald 10.)

Benjamin was born with a high level intelligence and that allows him to start questioning society. Something he might of said “are these things really right or has society formed itself around these things be right”. People look at Benjamin Button and ask themselves what is he?

You think you don't want to be like anyone else. You always have been that way, and you always will be. But just think how it would be if everyone else looked at things as you do—what would the world be like?" (Fitzgerald 21)

As clearly stated based off the general perceptions of society Benjamin is different. He grows younger as people get older. This forces Benjamin to look at things differently, although the ending is very say it can be very inspirational depending on those who read it. He dies as he grows younger but he take his growing younger to do the things he couldn’t when he was physically “older”. Fitzgerald is basically pointing out not to let society stop you from doing what you love. In the end it is just their perception of you.

Each author from various time periods all elaborate on the inconsistencies of society whether it be from a feminist standpoint, a distaste for racism and even non-conformity to aging there exist a central point which John Lennon said best:

I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people. (john Lennon Brainy Quotes)

If it’s not right kick and scream the whole way. Embrace non-conformity and know those who have impacted society have broken down many notions and brought about a positive transformation within society. Emily Dickinson expressed that in her poetry. Mark Twain expressed that in his novels and Scott Fitzgerald cleverly expressed his feeling on society through his main characters.





























Works cited

" American cultural history." Lone Star College - Kingwood. N.P., n.d. Web. 11 May. 2012.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott . Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. New York: Juniper Grove, 2008.
"John Lennon Quotes." Brainy QUotes. N.P., n.d. Web. 11 May. 2012.
Scheurich, Neil. "Suffering And Spirituality In The Poetry Of Emily Dickinson." Pastoral Psychology 56.2 (2007): 189-197. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 May 2012.

Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn. New Jersey: Dover Publications,2009.

[Venusian42]

Dear Carter,

It surprises me that no one has replied to your wonderful keen observation in this discussion yet. Being the first to reply to you is an honour. You truly touched a very delicate issue here, which I believe, have been flagrantly overseen by other contemporary readers. As you spoke about innocence of children which was one of Dickinson’s messages, I often ponder about the innocence of readers in that regard. The world has changed, but to a point of melancholy and grief when I think about the corollary of modern technology. I fear that the super flock mentality of junk food has also infected literature around the world. Both in my home country and in Denmark I have experienced the worst of society’s virtue in regard to literature, but I fear that also in the greatest of all moralist societies, USA, the decadence of the human spirit changed the way the majority of people approach literature. Your article here also applied to Salinger, not in regard to art, for he was not equal to either Twain or Dickinson, but in regard to decency. He was, too, a nonconformist. All three of them served fairness and equality. Great Article; I must confess here that I know nothing about the third author. However, I read some of Emily Dickinson poems, and I read Huckleberry Finn. Emily Dickinson’s poetry is of a genius kind, and I really enjoyed Huckleberry Fin, it was a fun read. I did not know that people were so narrow-minded, well, to accuse Mark Twain for being a racist just shows their level of evolution. He was a humanist. Such authors are a myth these days.

[Emilyseatingtacos]

My two favorite people !

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,
Success in circuit lies,
Too bright for our infirm delight
The truth's superb surprise;

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