English Literature

Literary elements in literature are important since they provide the depth and meaningful message that needs to be conveyed to the readers. Without the literary elements as a basic foundation of any literary work, the story, novel, poem or any other form of literature would be not understood at all and comprehended. Thus, basic literary elements like plot, theme or symbolisms should be present while other more analytical and technical elements such as the figures of speech (allusion, metaphor) or literary devices would be more useful to add colour to the literary work while adding substance to its aesthetic aspect. As such, literary elements within the three novels that will be explicated in this essay proved to be useful to the better understanding and comprehension of the respective literary works. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Emma by Jane Austen and My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok all had protagonists that took on a journey of self-discovery which would lead them to the fulfillment of their identity. The literary elements of conflict, theme and symbolism were all vital to the completion of the journey of the protagonists in the novel, namely that of Huck, Emma and Asher. In the end, because the conflict arose in the novel, because the theme gave out the message that the protagonists were trying to find or arrive at and because of the symbolisms that were hidden along their journey, they were all able to achieve self-fulfillment and true sense of completion with regards to their identity and mission in life.

In a nutshell, the famous novel of Mark Twain mainly focuses on the adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Huck as he breaks free from the oppressive restrictions of society and in the process of running away he starts to think deeply about himself, the people around him and the world in general. This is ultimately what Hucks adventures lead tohis self-awareness and discovery as a person in society. Because of the various people that he meets and the various experiences that he had (like the death of Buck Grangerford and the public lynching he was about to see) Huck has matured into a young man with concern about other people and a disgusted outlook on prejudice, injustice and slavery. Thus, though the entire book was about Hucks journey towards the real fulfillment of being a dignified young boy with morals and ethics.

Jane Austens romantic and comedic novel on the other hand focuses on the young and beautiful Emma who is a member of the fortunate upper class takes matters into her own hands and assigns herself the task of being the matchmaker for her friends. This creates a disastrous and humorous turn of events as the various characters around Emma tries to submit them to her nagging while suppressing the emotions they have for other characters. In true romantic fashion, all characters end up happily with the person they love including Emma who ends up with George Knightley, the gentleman that she has loved all along but refuses to accept such feelings.

If the other two previous novels were light and humorous in their plot, theme and even conflict, My Name is Asher Lev is serious throughout in its character portrayal, plot, setting and theme. The protagonist, the young Asher Lev is a talented artist who desperately tries to break away from the norms of his society, upbringing and religion. His devout family and most especially, his father, greatly disapproves his artistic capability as they believe that it is something not worth their while, frivolous and even evil in nature. In the end though, even if he is shunned by his own family and community he still succeeds and is recognized as not just a mere artist but as a great one.

Conflict as a literary element is important since they serve as a catalyst of the plot or the series of events that would propel the character towards hisher journey. It is the conflict which would enable himher to test hisher character and slowly inch hisher way towards self-fulfillment and discovery of hisher identity as a character or as a human being. This is what happens in all three novels when the protagonists find themselves confronted with a conflict either caused by other characters, caused by the society they move in (and not necessarily belong) or they themselves have caused.

In Huckleberry Finn, Hucks conflict with the rest of the world appears early on When I couldnt stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied (Twain, 2007, p.7). But the culmination of his conflict does not happen until much later when he is confronted with the horrors of the world such as betrayal, violence and slavery. Huck finds himself confronted with the ugly truths of the world and he tries to be free or he disassociates himself with such cruel society.

In Emma, the female protagonist creates the conflict itself with her own untamed and passionate nature as a matchmaker. Emma plays the annoying busy-body that becomes such a nuisance to everyone thus, enabling her to be the character that becomes the catalyst for the other characters lives to be set in motion. If it was not for Emmas insistence in matchmaking and meddling, all the other characters would have probably hid their feelings and liaisons forever which would have made a very dull and boring novel. But because Emmas role is to jump start things, she has really started all things even if they were not such ideal situations on the whole.

Asher Lev confronts a more somber and serious conflict in the novel, My Name is Asher Lev as he is torn between his talent and the freedom that he derives from his gift as an artist and the vehement opposition he receives from his family and religious community. From the very beginning, the readers will identity the troubles the protagonist as he states

Observant Jews do not paint crucifixions. As a matter of fact, observant Jews do not paint at allI am a traitor, an apostate, a self-hater, an inflicter of shame upon my family, my friends, my people also, I am a mocker of ideas sacred to Christians. (Potok, 2003, p.3)

But this conflict which consumes him is also the very thing which proves his tenacity of spirit and strength as a character as he disobeys his family and community and eventually frees himself from the restrictive control he was under.

Symbolisms are also very important as literary elements since they add depth and breadth to a literary work. Through symbolisms, messages which the author wants to convey come across as more profound and meaningful. In Huckleberry Finn, the companionship that Huck has with the slave is the most poignant symbolism of Hucks desire to turn against society. Huck does not only harbor a runaway, he is also helping out a slave and this causes complications but ultimately, it opens Huck to the ideals and morals that he wants as a person and as a protagonist.

In Emma, there are very vague symbolisms in the novel but one stands out in connection with the protagonistand this is marriage. Emma plays the matchmaker in the book since she believes in romantic illusions about love and marriage. Love is the theme of the book but marriage is the one thing which is held in high esteem by the female characters, most especially by Emma. Marriage after all, has been regarded as a very important societal symbol that would propel an individual to be the talk of the ton. An example would be Emmas own wedding in the book that was talked about because it was too cheap

The weeding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband, thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. Very little white satin, very few lace veils a most pitiful business. Selina would stare when she hear of it. (Austen, 1882, p.419)

Because a marriage is important to all the characters, most especially to Emma, this proves how high in regard they consider the union of a man and a woman in holy matrimony. As the protagonist also falls in love and gets married, she fulfills her own wishes to be married and thus, completes her journey as a character.

The symbolism in My Name is Asher Lev transpires in the art that Asher creates. In the end of the book when he paints his best masterpiece in the depiction of the suffering and fate of his mother, it propels his family and community to fully cut him off and yet, ironically, he does not find sadness in this, only salvation. Asher has been struggling with the knowledge of the fate of his mother and when he paints her to relive that memory he absolves himself from the sadness and guilt
Away from my world, alone in an apartment that offered me neither memories nor roots, I began to find old and distant memories of my own, long buried by pain and time and slowly brought to the surface now. Now I would have to paint the street that could not be seen.

While he did earn the ire of the people around him, he also frees himself in the process of his art.

It is quite obvious on what the theme of Huckleberry Finn is and this involves the relationship of Jim and Huck. Racism and prejudice against Africans and African-Americans were prevalent in the novel and this is one of the most obvious themes in the book. Huck opens his eyes to the injustice of racism and slavery and he decides that he does not want it and does not want to be part of a society that revels in the racism and slavery. In the end, the ultimate role of Huck in the book is to present to the readers the scene that occurs in Mississippi and the injustice of slavery. Hucks main role as a protagonist was to open the eyes of the readers on the various issues that concerns life back then.

As what was mentioned before, love is the theme which is blatantly obvious in Emma. Many of the young characters including the men in the book, fancies themselves to be in love with another character and this contributes to the conflict of the plot and series of events in the plot. The amusing thing is that the characters most often are not in love with another character but with they are in love with the idea that they are falling in love. For example would be Harriet who needs to be in love, almost as if her existence as an individual relies on the emotion Harriet was one of those, who, having once begun would be always in love (Austen, 1882, p.155). Emma, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic in the idea that she has the ability to find the love matches of other characters, not realizing that she has also no idea of what true love is. But because she finds love in Mr. Knightley, Emma realizes in the end what the true meaning of love is and this concludes her journey as a protagonist.

The theme of My Name is Asher Lev has connections with the conflict of the novel which is the struggle between personal fulfilment and familial and community obligations. Asher wants to be an artist and yet, he cannot find happiness in his craft since there are many people who openly oppose him. In the end though, he is met with appreciation and compliments as he finds fulfilment in his art and realizes that he can only truly be happy if he does not struggle anymore and openly admits that it is his art which is foremost, the most important.  

To compare and contrast the role of the three characters as protagonists, it can be concluded that unlike the depiction of characters in the two other novels wherein the setting of the novel is specific in its time frame, the portrayal in My Name is Asher Lev is longer as it encompasses Levs entire lifealmost. From his younger moments wherein he has discovered his talent to the end of the novel that he is cursed for it, Levs entire life as an artist unfolds before the eyes of the readers. Thus, if Huck provided the logic and Emma, the conscience, Lev provides artistic drama and ambition to the readers. What Levs character focuses on is the pursuance of dreams and its fulfilment which gives encouragement to the readers. His role then as a protagonist becomes that of an inspiration to others that they too can realize their dreams amidst obstacles. Thus, even if all three protagonists have different roles from the other, the differences actually complimented and supported the others. Lastly, the three protagonists of the three novels have specific roles to play within the literary work and another role to play with regard to the purpose they have in the lives of the readersand both roles are very important to their characterization as the novels heroheroine.