Earticle

초록

영어

The purpose of this article is to analyze how Greene reveals the tragic world and the pursuit of hope in The Heart of the Matter. Greene recasts Greek tragedy to suit a Christian framework in the novel. He selects his own tragic spacial setting and heroes in order to show the tragic world. In the novel, the spacial setting plays an important role to reveal the tragic conditions of people and their sufferings. Sierra Leone, the spacial background of the novel, is also a tragic place, and residents are suffering from all kinds of evils and corruptions there. Greene uses poor and hard natural environment as a tragic background, and also creates minor characters suffering in the tragic world. They are lost and deserted people in the tragic surroundings. They all live a meaningless life without any hope. Including Louise, Wilson, Harris, Helen, Priest Rank, and Priest Clay, the minor characters play the same role as chorus and ghosts in Greek tragedy. Yusef is another kind of person who is different from the minor characters. He is a typical symbol of evil and corruption. As an antagonist, he induces Scobie, a protagonist, to corruption and destroys him. In contrast to the minor characters, Scobie, a good-natured and religious person, tries to help other people sufferings from the tragic surroundings. Greene reveals Scobie’s tragic life within his attempt to take the impossible responsibility for suffering people in Sierra Leone. Because of his excessive pity, he forsakes his honesty and sincerity as a policeman for the sake of unhappy and suffered people. He gives up his own peace and safety in the complications of selecting between law and his individual emotions, Louise and Helen, his own soul and others’ happiness. Though his downfall dates from his excessive pity, its motivation is emphasized rather than its result because it is the expression of love. In this novel, the contrast of good and evil, the ceaseless temptation of evil, a severe sense of guilt and strong sufferings are basic to this Christian tragedy. Unlike the heroes of Greek tragedy, Greene’s heroes are antiheroes. But Greene reflects the tragic vision about human beings’ existence with Christian imagination and form. Greene focuses on the method of living within a spot of tragic life in which evil is done. During his endeavor to reduce other people's sufferings, Scobie imitates Christ's sacrificial death. Like Christ, he hopes to solve other people's sufferings. Although his endeavor to create the new world without evil and suffering goes wrong, Scobie's sacrifice causes a great tragic effect in other people's minds. Greene shows a hopeful vision to the tragic world through Scobie's Christlike death.

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 인용문헌
 Abstract

저자

• 민경택 [ Min, Kyung-Taek | 충남대 ]

참고문헌

발행기관

간행물

표지보기 관심저널 등록

• 간행물명

  영어영문학연구 [Studies on English Language & Literature]

• 간기

  계간

• pISSN

  1226-8682

• 수록기간

  1972~2020

• 십진분류

  KDC 840 DDC 820