Silence And Paralysis

Silence and Paralysis

Silence and paralysis amongst today's youth has become very common. It seems we have become so firmly fixed with our country's systematic political system that it is hard to imagine anyone actually trying to make a difference for massive social change. This problem of silence and paralysis has been used in many works of literature, throughout the ages, as an underlying theme. Dickens, Bronte, Becket, Orwell, and Pinter the authors of Hard Times, Shirley, Waiting For Godot, The Dumb Waiter, and 1984, show how silence and paralysis always come into effect because many people are afraid to speak there mind. Each author indirectly brings out other common themes in their works of literature as well. Other common themes include Inferiority, superiority, diversion (which redirects the dialogue), stereotypes of the time (fact vs. fancy), and most importantly as just stated, the use of silence and paralysis. Despite silence and paralysis being two different linguistic techniques, they work hand in hand. Both limit certain ideas from being able to be acted upon and actually making some form of change. These five works of literature prove this point very effectively. These two devices are used in conversation and expressed differently by each author and show how each fictional character struggles to find meaning in his/her self and life, and also makes apparent which qualities each character possesses and if change is at all possible.

In Dicken's Hard Times the linguistic device of silence and paralysis is used often. Throughout this story the idea of fact vs. fancy (imagination) stir up the emotions of many of the characters. One character in particular in which this idea is apparent is Louisa. Louisa is Mr. Gradgrind's daughter, who was raised on facts and was never able or allowed to express herself in an imaginative way. All her life she was told how to act and was denied the stimuli of life experience. Although she was taught in a factual sense, she longed for imagination and to have the ability and freedom to think "outside the box" and to please herself. She was silenced and paralyzed throughout Hard Times because whenever she questioned her father's authority, she was shut down by her father and told that whatever it was that she wanted was not an option. She had to revert to factual thinking. Louisa believed that she was raised in a way that was not beneficial to herself. In later chapters, Louisa goes back and visits her dying mother. During this visit, she notices that her twelve-year-old sister Jane is very happy, and unlike Louisa, was raised to think "outside of the box." This is so because Louisa's father did not raise Jane. Sissy, a fanciful thinker raised Jane.

At Mrs. Gradgrind's deathbed she explains to Louisa how she needs to tell her father something but does not know what it is. Mrs. Gradrind says, "But there is something---not a ology at all--- that your father has missed, or forgotten, Louisa. I don't know what it is..." (Hard Times/IX/199.) This alludes to the fact that Louisa and her mother were both silenced and not able to do anything about how Mr. Gradgrind brought up his children based on merely following facts. Throughout Hard Times, all of the characters that deal with the conflict between fact and fancy struggle with silence and paralysis and cannot truly express themselves in the manner that they want. Being denied this right puts a harness around how one can act and does not allow one to grow and mature in a healthy manner. In a sense it is sort of like being brainwashed and never being able to stand up for what one believes is right. Two of characters to question this are Louisa and Mrs. Gradgrind. By the time Mrs. Gradgrind questions this, she is on her deathbed on her way out of the world. So it's up to Louisa to make a difference. Louisa regrets being silenced all of the years. However, she keeps her silence because of the mere fact that she did not want to be considered an outcast or a radical thinker. Victorian society at the time was all about sticking to one path and no going astray. This is why it took so long for Louisa to realize she needed to question her father and make a difference in her life. Although, at the end of the novel, she realizes that it's too late to make any difference at all.

Both Dickens and Bronte use stereotypes of the time (Victorian Age) as a linguistic device in how characters talk to one another. Out of the many themes that Bronte's Shirley focuses on, the failure of the Victorian society to give women similar opportunities that men have is the most apparent. According to Shirley, women really had no say in any matter unless they were married into wealth or had money to begin with. The two main characters Caroline and Shirley both had strong opinions regarding women's rights. However, Caroline could not be radical or rebellious because she was part of the working class was not married, and was a women. Mostly all women were silenced and never allowed to speak their mind. Men were always superior and always took rights away from women. In this "Victorian" society women were degraded and considered to be objects of men. All of this goes back to another theme of fact vs. fancy. The factual aspect here is that during this time women had no say. They only had a limited amount of activities that they could do/pursue/or not do and were given no rights as individuals. The "fancy" are the ideas that these women (Caroline and Shirley) had and wanted to use to give life meaning, and make a difference in the way which women were treated. As Bronte Suggests, "If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under an illusion about women: they do not read them in true light: they misapprehend them, both for good and evil" Men during this time would not permit women to speak and shut down everything they hoped, wished for, and wanted. It was impossible for women to be taken seriously and in return they fell into silence and were paralyzed to act in ways in which they wanted.

Throughout Shirley, there are two ongoing relationships between four characters. Caroline is in love with Robert Moore who is a wealthy factory owner and Caroline is a working class women. If society at the time had any say in this relationship, this relationship would not be believable. Rich marry rich, and poor marry poor. This same sort of relationship occurs with two other key characters in the novel. Shirley, a rich woman is in love with Louis Moore, a struggling artist. Louis, in a sense would give her the comfort of imagination. It almost feels as though these relationships ought to be split.