Feeling worthy of success in this way is, perhaps,
a criterion for achieving it. The underlying reason
why many literary characters who are focused on
wealth, power, and fame fail spectacularly in these
pursuits is because there is no intrinsic value in their
quest. When we strive for wealth just for wealth’s
sake, and not because what we are doing to achieve
it fulfills us, we are doomed to fail.
See also Angelou, Maya: i know why the
caGed bird sinGs; Dos Passos, John: u.s.a. tril-
ogy; Franklin, Benjamin: autobioGraphy oF
benJaMin FrankLin, the; Morrison, Toni: tar
baby; Mukherjee, Bharati: MiddLeMan and
other stories, the; Naipaul, V. S.: house For
Mr. biswas, a; Steinbeck, John: cannery row;
Wilde, Oscar: iMportance oF beinG ernest;
the.
FURTHER READING
Burns, Rex. Success in America. Amherst: University of
Massachusetts Press, 1976.
Decker, Jeffrey. Made in America. Minneapolis: Univer-
sity of Minnesota Press, 1997.
Edwards, Audrey, and Craig K. Polite. Children of the
Dream. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Morris, Tom. True Success. New York: Putnam, 1994.
Jennifer McClinton-Temple
suffering
Human beings shrink from suffering. We avoid
confronting the afflictions of others because it is
unpleasant, and if we focus on suffering for too
long, it could give us a pessimistic view of the world.
Nevertheless, we remain avid fans of television
dramas, intense and violent movies, and works of
literature that speak to the truest of human experi-
ences. We read stories of the tragedies of others,
partly as a form of escapism from our own troubles
but also to reinforce our conviction that suffering is
meaningful, as the conflicts in literature are almost
always resolved (though perhaps not always to our
satisfaction). In this way, literature involving suffer-
ing often restores our faith in justice and aids us
in grappling with the question of why we suffer at
all. At times characters’ trials are a tool authors use
to reveal truths about the human condition, address
flaws in society, or identify ways in which suffer-
ing can function as a motivator for progress (either
individual or large-scale). Portrayals of suffering in
literature also add realism and drama to the work
while involving, influencing, and at times even chal-
lenging the reader.
The theme of arbitrary, undeserved suffering
has been taken up by a number of writers, includ-
ing Shirley Jackson. In her short story “The
Lottery” (1948), a quaint town prepares for an
annual tradition. All of the families are present, and
everyone draws a piece of paper out of a box. Tessie
Hutchinson picks the one with the mark on it. The
story ends abruptly and morbidly, with Tessie being
stoned to death by her family and other members of
the town. Her death is not redemptive, not mean-
ingful except insofar as it constitutes in itself the
meaning or essence of life. It is merely the result of
a backward, empty ritual that the characters refuse
to challenge. The town can also be interpreted as a
microcosm of the world, in which people are capable
of inflicting harm on others for no apparent reason.
“The Lottery” is thus a parable about the arbitrari-
ness of suffering, many of the traditions we hold,
and of life itself.
The cruelty inflicted by people or institutions,
like that in “The Lottery,” is addressed in many
other literary works as well. In such cases, depic-
tions of suffering are often used in the service of
social critique. For example, in her novel The bLu-
est eye, Toni Morrison confronts the reader with
the harsh realities of growing up in a dysfunctional
African-American family during a time of lingering
discrimination and racism. The novel tells the story
of a young girl, Pecola, who is tortured by abusive
parents and deeply rooted feelings of inadequacy. As
a result of her being raped by her father and becom-
ing pregnant with his child, Pecola’s childhood is
cut short, and she eventually slips into madness.
Her self-esteem is virtually nonexistent from having
grown up with the notion that whiteness is inherent
in the definition of beauty. Her suffering, however, is
merely the latest in a chain of human suffering as a
result of the cruelty of others. Her father was aban-
doned by his parents and tormented by white men
from early on. He is apathetic toward his marriage
and life in general, while his wife, Pecola’s mother, is
physically disabled and endures her husband’s abuse110 suffering