The Long Journey to Find the Real You

Within the novels, My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok, Emma, by Jane Austen and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, each main character is on a journey to his or her own self awareness through the trials and tribulations of their varied lives and times. Through the various authors, the reader feels the struggle for growth and self recognition through the use of many different literary elements. The prominent and common elements of this were the use of characterization, theme and symbolism. Through these elements, the reader was brought into the story to make the journey with each of the main characters to self awareness.

In the novel, My Name is Asher Lev, (Potok), the main character is Asher Lev. Asher is the narrator and the protagonist of the novel on his path to self discovery and awareness. The conflict leading to this discovery is Asher's dedication to his family and faith over his devotion to his love of art. The crushing weight of the responsibility to his Jewish family and community and the responsibility of expressing his love of art is a crushing burden to him and he feels powerless. Asher does not have the support of his family or church. He tried to focus on the teachings of the Hasidic church, but could not focus on his lessons and would sketch instead of study causing more friction. Soon his growing desire of art led to even more dissention amongst his family and community. Asher continually saw the suffering of his mother because of the constant struggle between father and son over his passion for art. His mother wanted the "pretty" aspects of art and would block out the signs of pain and fear in his work while his father would not listen to the explanations his paintings- despite many attempts to explain his work. Asher continued his studies and passion for art against the wishes of his parents and community and was prepared to accept the consequences of his decision. When he exhibited his "Brooklyn Crucifixion" paintings, it was demanded by the Rebbe that Asher was to be exiled from the Jewish community in which he grew up. Through it all, Asher never once gave up on his Hasidic community and remained a practicing Jew nor did Asher's love of his father ever diminish or break the family ties.

As Jane Austen herself described the protagonist Emma Woodhouse in her aptly titled novel, Emma, "a character whom no one but me will much like," Emma lives up fashionable to her description within the first line of the novel. Emma is described as "handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition." She is an independent young woman in rural England, growing up as the mistress of her father's household after the death of her mother, the marriage of her older sister and finally the marriage of her governess. Due to her current situation, Emma is used to having control of the world around her and having things done in her fashion. With no financial concerns, no concerns of marriage, any romantic notions and naivety to any show of affection toward her, Emma has no real outlet for her energy and imagination. Emma fancies herself to be a matchmaker as an outlet for her energy. The reality of the situations around her are not always noted because she does not stop to take notice. Emma has a habit of speaking before she thinks and refuses to face the facts until it is too late. This is where Emma's struggles in the journey to "find her" and grow as a person truly begins.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, Huck for short, is about a poor 13 year old boy with the local drunk for a father who looks for freedom and independence from the hand that he was dealt. Huck lives in St. Petersburg, Missouri which is along the banks of the Northern Mississippi River. Society failed to protect him from his abusive father, so Huck failed to accept society; thus making him skeptical of the world around him. Huck, thoughtful and considerate, was formally uneducated and was always seemed to be able to draw his own conclusions on matters of importance. Society was not always in agreement with his choices and decisions consequently causing Huck to be an outcast by society and was forced to survive by his own wits, homeless and dirty. Huck escaped to the freedom of the Mighty Mississippi and was joined by Jim (a runaway slave), who also was on his own journey to self recognition and awareness of a sort.

Within the various novels, the authors base the story on themes that relate personally and emotionally to their characters in such a way that they harbor strong, passionate feelings towards these objects. Art, family and religion were strong themes with Potok in My Name is Asher Lev. Asher's inner turmoil is between his passion for art, his responsibility to his family and his dedication his religion. Asher's love of art causes conflicts between Asher, his family and the religion in which he was raised. As a youth, the struggle is external in that his artistic drive causes Asher to do things that others in the community disapprove of. Asher must face dealing with the impulses that he does not understand. This is evident as a young man when he was in Krinsky's store. He found that he forgot about the world around him and felt warmth and comfortable in the store. The reader "feels" this when Asher says, "I had known about my father's trip and had forgotten it in the warmth of Yudel Krinsky's store. I thought of the brushes I had helped Yudel Krinsky sort. Then I thought of the metal cabinet filled with tubes of oil color. I did not understand why I should be thinking of that cabinet." (Potok, 1972, p.85) and a community that criticizes him for succumbing to them. Later the conflict becomes more internal in that Asher must learn to make the conscience decisions of trade-offs to make between his love of art and his family/community/religion. Asher's need to express himself, using his mother's pain as a source, finds that the only outlet he is comfortable with is through the use of Christian symbols. By using these symbols of Christianity and their meanings, he adopts an anti-thethical world. Asher knew he would have to face the consequences of the paintings within his community even though he remained a practicing Hasidic Jew, just not a practical one. As a result, Asher followed the instructions of the Rebbe and went into exile after the outraged response over his paintings. Asher's passion for art causes great and many conflicts between him and his father, putting Asher's mother in the middle between father and son. Despite the many conflicts though, Asher never let his love and respect for his father neither diminish nor allow a total breach in family ties. His father never wanted to listen to the explanations of Asher's paintings. Asher's mother always wanted him to paint "pretty" pictures and would never look at the paintings because she could never seemed to cope with the representation and realization of fear, pain or hatred. His "Brooklyn Crucifixion" paintings outraged his family and community and led to his exile to Europe.

Jane Austen uses themes within Emma as well to describe the inner struggle that Emma must overcome, but yet knows nothing about. Austen's character, Emma, fancies her to be a matchmaker and focuses her energy and time to doing just that. In a time where social status was the main concern in life, a proper marriage could increase ones quality of life. "The misfortune of your birth might particularly careful as to your associates. There can be no doubt of your being a gentleman's daughter, and you must support your claim to that station by everything within your own power, or there will be plenty of people who would take pleasure in degrading you." (Austen, 2003, p.39) Social status was based on family background wealth and reputation and with Harriet, she had no clear background. Emma then took it upon herself to determine that Harriet had the rights to carry on the airs of a gentleman's daughter without reservation of her true lineage being questioned. Thus, is the beginning of the novel that gives the reader the understanding that Emma believed that she had the knowledge of who best suited who and focused all her energy on pairing up her friends, family and neighbors for the best match; all the while ignoring the fact that she had her own "match" staring her in the face all the while. Another theme that Austen used throughout the novel was the focus on the limited existence of women in the 19th century. In that era, women were looked upon as having a limited role in society as mother and homemaker. The only real power a woman had was the power of acceptance and rejection over courtships and proposals. With these limited roles, Emma energy was misguided and misdirected in trying to guide the lives and destinies of those people around her. Another key theme is the use of imagination within the story. With the use of a third person as narrator, the reader is allowed to see the misunderstandings, confusion and humor in the conversations and situations of the characters before they do. Emma has to learn to realize the behavior of what is going on around her to make objective decisions and judgments that will affect her life before she needs to worry about the lives of those around her.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is based on themes as well. As with My Name is Asher Lev and Emma, Huck's journey to self awareness uses the themes of the story to help him realize his potential as a person. The most important theme of the novel is that of family. Huck's father is the local drunk that abused him and neglected him and forces Huck to learn to survive by his own means. Huck's father tries to get him back when he learns of Huck's fortune from the previous novel, Tom Sawyer and eventually kidnaps him to a cabin deep in the Mississippi. Huck fakes his own death, runs away and finds himself involved in many families along his journeys along the river with his raft-mate, Jim, a runaway slave. Huck's belief that family is unimportant because of the families that he knew, he was abused, abandoned and then tried to make him into something that he knew he wasn't. " The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out." (Twain, 1987, p.11) Huck tells the reader right away in the start of the novel that he wants nothing to do with be anyone but himself. Another theme that is prevalent is life along the mighty Mississippi River. Life along the river is relaxing and threatening at the same time. It is a haven from society and a source for adventure. Through Huck and Jim's travels on the Mighty Mississippi, they run across all varieties of humanity: murderers, thieves, good people, hypocrites, and con men. The hypocrisy of society is a large lesson that Huck faces daily on his adventures. He learns many things that are contrary to the belief of society; like helping an escaped slave when society treats blacks as property, that belonging to a family just the way life should be lived when society failed him when he needed protection from his father and that no matter how "civilized" a society claims to be they allow reprehensible problems to go unpunished and allow frivolous ones to lead to executions, to name just a few hypocrisies of society. Another strong theme within Twain's novel is the concept of religion. Huck believes himself to be a religious person, but at the same time he finds it hard to believe in God. He begins to pray and then stops, believing that it is a waste of time. Based on the limited education that he received, he knows right from wrong, logical from illogical, but still chooses to follow the path that he believes to be right, the route of Hell, based off of his learning and experiences on the river. Based upon what he was taught, helping an escaped black slave to freedom would condemn him to Hell, yet he believed that it would be worth it and helped Jim to find his freedom. The raft and the river freed Huck from civilization and from formal teachings and gave him the chance to learn and grow in his own way, in his own time.

Each novel is set in a different location and in each the location has some influence on the factors of the character's journey to self recognition. In My Name is Asher Lev several locations are takes place in New York with reaches into Russia and Europe. Travel is a central theme in this novel as it separates a family and is a main conflict. First it is Asher's father that is traveling for the Rebbe, helping other people to immigrate to freedom, and to spread "God, Torah and Truth" around America and then into Europe. Although this is not Asher traveling at this time, the travel of Asher's father has a HUGE impact on the story. Occasionally, Asher's mother will accompany his father on these holy missions. Asher begins travel as he grows older. His travels as also contain a mission, only Asher's mission is to fulfill his passion to be an artist. One such trip upset his father because Asher suddenly left on a trip to Chicago to see a Matisse exhibit between college terms and his father felt that Asher should have at least checked with him to make sure that he didn't have a message for the Ladover there. When Asher told his dad that he wasn't a child and he didn't think that mentioning the trip mattered, Asher's father took on a sarcastic tone to Asher. "Asher, was it worth a trip to Chicago to see that man's paintings?" (Potok, 1972, p. 297) As Asher's father was never a supporter of his passion of art, the idea that Asher failed to mention that he was going to this exhibition in one the cities that he frequents for the Rebbe made him even more upset. He travels first to learn things in art critical to his development and later to exhibit his art. Asher's travels take him around America and eventually into Europe where he later remains following his exile over his "Brooklyn Crucifixion" paintings.

The setting for Emma is probably more reflective of the period in which Jane Austen wrote it than as to where events actually occur within the novel. Austen wrote the novel based in Highbury, a village in rural England sixteen miles from London; not within distance of a day's travel, in the early nineteenth century. Through Austen's description the reader is given the impression of there being a lot of land and wide open spaces. "Highbury, the large and populous village almost amounting to a town, to which Hartfield [Emma's home],, in spite of its separate lawn and shrubberies and name, did really belong, afforded her no equals." (Austen, 2003, p.12) The reader is to expect a quiet, peaceful and serene atmosphere with no fast-paced hustle and bustle. Through out the novel, there were also many social gatherings through the countryside. These dinner parties, dances, morning parties and picnics were more than just the normal gatherings, they were organized social chat sessions. These events were also opportunities for misunderstandings, connections to be formed and/or broken, as well as, ample opportunities for the characters to observe one another and form their opinions and judgments of one another. This is how Emma gathered her matchmaking data on those around her. She observed how they interacted with one another at these functions and gatherings. Emma watched for the stolen glance, indirect tokens of affection, hidden meanings in sentences and phrases and such. Only, she was not always as observant and enlightened as she thought and missed several key elements in her role as a matchmaker; such things as some of those signs were directed straight at her instead.

Things begin in St. Petersburg, Missouri and then just continue to flow down the mighty Mississippi River on a raft in the novel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain's story of Huck's journey to find him self all started in St. Petersburg when he had to live with an abusive drunk for a father. The Widow Douglas and Miss Watson tried to help him by attempting to give Huck a formal education, but when Huck's father found out of the reward he received for recovering lost money, Huck's father regained custody and locked him away in a deserted cabin in the swampy banks of the Mississippi. Here the abuse continued and led Huck to fake his own death and escape his father on a raft down the river with his raft-mate, Jim, to new cities and towns filled with adventure and trouble. The Mississippi, revered as a grand layout for adventure. Also, a pathway to freedom from the evils and influences of society, that is until Huck and Jim come to the various towns along its banks and find themselves in situations that challenge their beliefs, but their whole being as well. The freedom of the river and the raft is apparent to Huck when he tells the reader, "I was powerful glad to get away from the feuds, and so was Jim to get away from the swamp. We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." (Twain, 1987, p.119)

Symbolism is another key characteristic of a novel. In My Name is Asher Lev, Potok used many symbols that were related to the Hasidic Jewish Community. One such piece of symbolism is the earlocks, tufts of hair that grow on the sides of the head that Asher wore. As a child, Asher thought little of the hairstyle within the Ladover Community in which he was raised. It wasn't until he grew older and wanted to fit into a different community, the art community in which he wanted to belong, that he began to realize that the earlocks made him stand out. He then made the decision to get rid of them and when he did his family and community was stunned. Although a person, the Rebbe, the spiritual leader of the community, can be considered as another characterizing symbol for Asher personal awareness. The Rebbe is considered to be a dominant and deriving force within the Ladover community, sometimes looked upon as a "big brother" or father figure. Asher went to him for guidance when his father was traveling on behalf of the Rebbe and the Rebbe had serious influence on Asher's life. The advice and decisions of the Rebbe indirectly show Asher the path that he must choose for himself. The Rebbe, although unsupportive of Asher's passion for art, decided that Jacob Kahn would be his mentor, against the wishes of Asher's father. Jacob Khan is former Jew that gave up his religion for his love of art, similar to the feelings of Asher, and knows the torment and agony of the pathway that Asher is choosing for himself. A later decision of the Rebbe that suggest that Asher exile himself away from the Ladover Community seals Asher's fate that the community in which he grew up in was no longer the community that will accept him. When heavy suggestion to leave the Ladover community was voiced to Asher by the Rebbe, it was not to hurt Asher, but to heal the community. "You are too close here to people you love. You are hurting them and making them angry. They are good people. They do not understand you. It is not good for you to remain here." (Potok, 1972, p.366) The Rebbe wanted Asher to understand that his time to leave had come and that the community was no longer willing to accept or understand him.

In Emma, symbolism is in the form of games, plays on words, riddles and tokens of affection. Unfortunately for Emma, all of these symbols are not understood in the correct manner. Emma's preoccupation in the lives of others, leads her to a harsh pathway to her own self discovery through her own confusion. In the nineteenth century, there were some things that were just not said, at least outright. Riddles like that which were told at one of the social gatherings within the novel, represents the manner in which the characters attempt to talk to one another without actually saying things out loud. Mr. Elton's riddle for "courtship" is presented to Emma and Harriet at one such gathering and Emma believes it to be for Harriet and not herself, thus causing a misunderstanding amongst the trio. The proprieties of the nineteenth century left many open invitations for Emma to blunder and interpret things incorrectly causing embarrassing misunderstandings for others, as well as for her self. This holds true with the tokens of affection that presented within the novel as well. For instance, when Emma paints a portrait of Harriet, Mr. Elton takes that portrait and frames it. Emma believes this to be a symbol of his affection for Harriet, when in fact, Mr. Elton took that portrait and framed it because it was painted by Emma, the subject of the painting did not matter, but the artist that created it did. Not only did Emma misread the tokens for herself, but she also misread them about others. Believing that Jane is having an affair with a married man, Emma expels her thoughts of disdain for Jane through snide and off-handedly disrespectful comments, when in fact Jane and Frank are secretly engaged due to his aunt. Emma's misreading of the gift that Jane receives of a piano is one such instance; believing it to be from her married gentleman friend. When Jane is questioned on the gift, she blushes when Frank mentions that it was a gift of true affection. This is apparent in Chapter 28 when "Emma wished he [Frank] would be less pointed, yet could not help being amused; and when on glancing her eyes towards Jane Fairfax, she caught the remains of a smile, when she saw that with all the deep blush of consciousness, there had been a smile of secret delight, she had less scruple in the amusement, and much less compunction with respect to her - This amiable, upright, perfect Jane Fairfax was apparently cherishing very reprehensible feelings." (Austen, 2003, p. 292)

The largest and most prominent symbol in Huckleberry Finn is of course, the Mississippi River. The Mississippi is a symbol for the freedom and independence that Huck is searching for. Huck is searching for the freedom and independence to be him self and to make his own decisions and choices in his life. The different towns and the different people that Huck meets along the way, represent the trials and tribulations of life that must be faced. Another continuing symbol in the novel is Jim. Jim is representative of humanity. Jim is black and Jim is a slave, two things that were just not considered to be important in society. Jim is representative of the slaves in the south and the southern attitude towards blacks and slaves. In the south, blacks/slaves were unimportant, property; to the point of almost be non-human. To Huck, Jim is a choice; a choice between Heaven and Hell; a choice between right and wrong. Huck learns humanity through helping Jim, a wanted runaway slave and in helping Jim, Huck chooses Hell because he chooses to help Jim find his freedom from slavery and Huck chooses right because he chooses to help another human to find the freedom to run his own life. Jim becomes protective of Huck, to the extent that Jim becomes the father figure that Huck never had in his life.Jim becomes such a part of Huck's life, that Huck is willing to do anything to free him when he is captured. The reader is made aware of this when "We [Huck and Tom] crept in under Jim's bed and into the cabin, and pawed around and found the candle and lit it, and stood over Jim awhile, and found him looking hearty and healthy, and then we woke him up gentle and gradual. He was so glad to see us he most cried; and called us honey, and all the pet names he could think of;" (Twain, 1987, p.241).

Asher, Emma and Huck all had a long and trying journey to find themselves. Each one had a different route to get to the realization of who they really are. The journey to self awareness is a long, hard road for anyone to make, it is no different for any of these characters in these novels. If nothing else, was a harder journey for these three characters than for the average person. There were things along each journey to make their discovery slow and difficult, but each character was also strong enough to make the discovery in their own time. Through the author's use of themes, settings, and symbols, the reader is able to watch as the characters in each of the novels discover just who they are.

References:
Potok, Chaim. (1972). My Name is Asher Lev. New York. Fawcett Columbine.

Austen, Jane. (2003). Emma. New York. Barnes and Noble Books.

Twain, Mark. (1987). Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York. NAL Penguin Inc.