Moral Conflict in Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the stories of three main characters in different books, namely Naguib's Ibn Fattouma, Achebe's Okonkwo and Xinjian autobiography. The author examines how the characters are faced with a conflict, whether to assimilate and accept the new culture enforced upon them or to oppose and reject it.

From the Paper:

"Gao Xinjian, author of Return to Painting took a unique approach to his cultural tension in that he utilized Buddhist principles intertwined with Western ideals in his writing and painting. Born in 1940, Xinjian grew up in Beijing, which at that time was under Maoist rule. During this time, political tension hindered the artist's freedom of expression, in fear of public humiliation and in some cases death. (People against the revolution were commonly denounced in a public setting until words of appeasement had been reached) Artists were being used to create propaganda, and Xinjian thought this demeaned the essence of art itself. Xinjian believed that art was solely aesthetic, a result of a painter letting go of emotional impulses, developing the piece until it fulfilled the desire to create. He believed that art was for expressions that words could not reveal, and with this mentality, created art that was disfavored by the new Chinese standards."

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