Comparing John Updike's Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom to Forest Gump and Meursault was the simulated heroism of a suburban tragicomedy. In 1960, John Updike, at the age of 28, published his novel "Rabbit, Run" which is a mockery (or expression of deep empathy) towards post-war American society at the time. . The novel also reveals the true picture of the "American dream", as well as the despair, failure and failure of ordinary people. “My subject is the small-town American Protestant middle class. I like environments. It’s in the environments where extremes collide, where ambiguity reigns unabated,” Updike said. Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom can be compared to two characters as a bridge between failure and success, despair and hope, death and life. Especially in terms of identity, love, lust and religion. These two characters are Meursault from Alber Camus' novel "The Stranger" and Forest Gump from the film "Forest Gump". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay First of all, it is important to note why the author particularly chose “Rabbit” as his nickname and “Angstrom” as his last name. Both have symbolic meanings that can be understood in different ways. Depending on the novel, the rabbit could refer to it as a person who looks like a rabbit, or it could be a symbol of someone who constantly has sex like rabbits do. (If he doesn't have sex, at least he has a lot of sexual thoughts) This could also symbolize Harry as a rabbit who is constantly running and looking for a hole to hide from his predators because he, as a " Rabbit", is extremely sweet. In addition, in his surname (Angstrom) can be decoded the word Angst. When reading the novel, a lot of anger is identified in this character. Moreover, Angstrom means too little. The author may have wanted to symbolize the idea that everyone on earth is too small (even the tallest), but those who are already small (with their social or economic status) seem smaller. The reader, from the beginning of the novel, discovers that Harry runs away from home and heads south, where he believes that the sandy beaches, paradise awaits him but of course the reality is the same everywhere , and it doesn't matter whether we go south or north. You are you everywhere you go. Harry cannot realize that he cannot escape himself, but he blames his wife and society. And it is easily noticeable that he is alienated with Jennis and with all of society. Alienation could be something that could be causing his “anxiety” and “rabbit syndrome”. Not only Rabbit, but all the characters are distant from each other: the mothers of the children, the husbands of the women, the people of God, the people of themselves. The novel asks the question of what identity is and in this sense (and many others) it can be compared to the main character of Camus's "The Stranger", Meursault. Although the novel is set in a different country, the theme of alienation and loss of identity is universal. Meursault is his last name, it's the only thing readers know about this self-destructive man. Nothing else is mentioned about his name or age, which may be an indirect message from the author that this character is struggling to find his identity. At the end, the reader learns that he is going to be executed on the scaffold for murdering someone (or for not crying at his mother's funeral). The last part, just before his execution, is the moment where he finally feels the connection with thesociety, he finally feels something, and this something is hatred. ("I only had to wish that there would be a large crowd of spectators on the day of my execution and that they would greet me with shouts of hatred.") Society plays a huge role in the process of formation of feelings (or in demolishing them) which influence their actions. “Rabbit” like Meursault can be considered victims of the unacceptable coldness of society. However, Rabbit doesn't seem to realize this. In the case of Camus' character, we might think the opposite. As for Forest Gump, he is a kind of heroic (American) character. This is the person who was involved in almost every tension of the 60s and 70s in America, including the Vietnam War (he may have been a child in the 50s). However, unlike these two characters, Forrest is a heroic and idealized character, full of love, kindness, who believes in goodness and manages to transform every misfortune into his power (this is something that Rabbit does not have and that is why he loves what he is). Another important theme is love and lust. Sex plays one of the most important roles in Harry's life (not love). Every time he says "I love you", it is equivalent to "I lust after you". Even though he thinks about basketball, he also thinks about sex, he even cheats on his wife several times. The way he treats the women he sleeps with is full of selfishness, indifference and sometimes brutality. Rabbit thinks about satisfying his sexual needs no matter what women want. He is dominant in sex but he is not dominant in everyday life, moreover, he is weak and passive, the fact that he is intolerant towards women in sexual life could be due to psychological stress from the outside world which oppresses him so much. as a result, he oppresses women in bed. He even “punishes” Ruth (his lover) by forcing her to satisfy him with oral sex. Moreover, right after Jennis gave birth to her second child, the first thing he wants to do with her is make love to her, regardless of her illness, he even made her drink alcohol while she was an alcoholic and making her drink was the reason. last thing to think about. Eventually, Jennis gets drunk and accidentally drowns her newborn. Whose fault is it? Jennis alcoholic? Harry the narcissist? Perhaps the young minister Ecless who intruded into his private life with the "will of God" and was not supposed to do so. Thinking about this question, each character has their own role in this tragedy and all share their own guilt. On the other hand, Meursault covets and does not love Mary either, he is a character who did not say "I love you" throughout the novel and who was cold to Mary who loved him. However, unlike Rabbit Angstrom, he clearly realizes that this is just a romance that he enjoys. When Mary asks him to get married, he accepts because he doesn't care, unlike Rabbit who had to marry Jennis because she got pregnant. Rabbit lusts after Meursault, but he feels more than him, which is why Rabbit, as the bridge between Meursault and Forrest Gump, as the bridge between death and life, can change his course to a better path. God is faith or faith is God. Being too religious makes you crazy, and experiencing a spiritual crisis harms an individual even more, because they do not know what to believe in and lose hope of living. Rabbit believes in God but he doesn't know what to see in God, as in the rest of things. For religious people, God represents hope and even in the most desperate situations, they believe that God will help them. However, Rabbit seems to be experiencing a religious crisis (among other crises) which accelerates the fact that "he runs". Sunday, Rabbit went to church, maybe’.

Essay / Comparing John Updike's Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom to Forest Gump and Meursault was the simulated heroism of a suburban tragicomedy. In 1960, John Updike, at the age of 28, published his novel "Rabbit, Run" which is a mockery (or expression of deep empathy) towards post-war American society at the time. . The novel also reveals the true picture of the "American dream", as well as the despair, failure and failure of ordinary people. “My subject is the small-town American Protestant middle class. I like environments. It’s in the environments where extremes collide, where ambiguity reigns unabated,” Updike said. Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom can be compared to two characters as a bridge between failure and success, despair and hope, death and life. Especially in terms of identity, love, lust and religion. These two characters are Meursault from Alber Camus' novel "The Stranger" and Forest Gump from the film "Forest Gump". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay First of all, it is important to note why the author particularly chose “Rabbit” as his nickname and “Angstrom” as his last name. Both have symbolic meanings that can be understood in different ways. Depending on the novel, the rabbit could refer to it as a person who looks like a rabbit, or it could be a symbol of someone who constantly has sex like rabbits do. (If he doesn't have sex, at least he has a lot of sexual thoughts) This could also symbolize Harry as a rabbit who is constantly running and looking for a hole to hide from his predators because he, as a " Rabbit", is extremely sweet. In addition, in his surname (Angstrom) can be decoded the word Angst. When reading the novel, a lot of anger is identified in this character. Moreover, Angstrom means too little. The author may have wanted to symbolize the idea that everyone on earth is too small (even the tallest), but those who are already small (with their social or economic status) seem smaller. The reader, from the beginning of the novel, discovers that Harry runs away from home and heads south, where he believes that the sandy beaches, paradise awaits him but of course the reality is the same everywhere , and it doesn't matter whether we go south or north. You are you everywhere you go. Harry cannot realize that he cannot escape himself, but he blames his wife and society. And it is easily noticeable that he is alienated with Jennis and with all of society. Alienation could be something that could be causing his “anxiety” and “rabbit syndrome”. Not only Rabbit, but all the characters are distant from each other: the mothers of the children, the husbands of the women, the people of God, the people of themselves. The novel asks the question of what identity is and in this sense (and many others) it can be compared to the main character of Camus's "The Stranger", Meursault. Although the novel is set in a different country, the theme of alienation and loss of identity is universal. Meursault is his last name, it's the only thing readers know about this self-destructive man. Nothing else is mentioned about his name or age, which may be an indirect message from the author that this character is struggling to find his identity. At the end, the reader learns that he is going to be executed on the scaffold for murdering someone (or for not crying at his mother's funeral). The last part, just before his execution, is the moment where he finally feels the connection with thesociety, he finally feels something, and this something is hatred. ("I only had to wish that there would be a large crowd of spectators on the day of my execution and that they would greet me with shouts of hatred.") Society plays a huge role in the process of formation of feelings (or in demolishing them) which influence their actions. “Rabbit” like Meursault can be considered victims of the unacceptable coldness of society. However, Rabbit doesn't seem to realize this. In the case of Camus' character, we might think the opposite. As for Forest Gump, he is a kind of heroic (American) character. This is the person who was involved in almost every tension of the 60s and 70s in America, including the Vietnam War (he may have been a child in the 50s). However, unlike these two characters, Forrest is a heroic and idealized character, full of love, kindness, who believes in goodness and manages to transform every misfortune into his power (this is something that Rabbit does not have and that is why he loves what he is). Another important theme is love and lust. Sex plays one of the most important roles in Harry's life (not love). Every time he says "I love you", it is equivalent to "I lust after you". Even though he thinks about basketball, he also thinks about sex, he even cheats on his wife several times. The way he treats the women he sleeps with is full of selfishness, indifference and sometimes brutality. Rabbit thinks about satisfying his sexual needs no matter what women want. He is dominant in sex but he is not dominant in everyday life, moreover, he is weak and passive, the fact that he is intolerant towards women in sexual life could be due to psychological stress from the outside world which oppresses him so much. as a result, he oppresses women in bed. He even “punishes” Ruth (his lover) by forcing her to satisfy him with oral sex. Moreover, right after Jennis gave birth to her second child, the first thing he wants to do with her is make love to her, regardless of her illness, he even made her drink alcohol while she was an alcoholic and making her drink was the reason. last thing to think about. Eventually, Jennis gets drunk and accidentally drowns her newborn. Whose fault is it? Jennis alcoholic? Harry the narcissist? Perhaps the young minister Ecless who intruded into his private life with the "will of God" and was not supposed to do so. Thinking about this question, each character has their own role in this tragedy and all share their own guilt. On the other hand, Meursault covets and does not love Mary either, he is a character who did not say "I love you" throughout the novel and who was cold to Mary who loved him. However, unlike Rabbit Angstrom, he clearly realizes that this is just a romance that he enjoys. When Mary asks him to get married, he accepts because he doesn't care, unlike Rabbit who had to marry Jennis because she got pregnant. Rabbit lusts after Meursault, but he feels more than him, which is why Rabbit, as the bridge between Meursault and Forrest Gump, as the bridge between death and life, can change his course to a better path. God is faith or faith is God. Being too religious makes you crazy, and experiencing a spiritual crisis harms an individual even more, because they do not know what to believe in and lose hope of living. Rabbit believes in God but he doesn't know what to see in God, as in the rest of things. For religious people, God represents hope and even in the most desperate situations, they believe that God will help them. However, Rabbit seems to be experiencing a religious crisis (among other crises) which accelerates the fact that "he runs". Sunday, Rabbit went to church, maybe’.

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