SIN

4 Pages 944 Words

Sin and Virtue: What role does religion play in life



It is not surprising for an author’s background and surroundings to profoundly affect
his writing. Having come from a Methodist lineage and living
at a time when the church was still an influential facet in people’s daily lives, Stephen
Crane was deeply instilled with religious dogmas. However,
fear of retribution soon turned to cynicism and criticism of his idealistic parents’ God,
"the wrathful Jehovah of the Old Testament", as he was
confronted with the harsh realities of war as a journalistic correspondent. Making
extensive use of religious metaphors and allusions in The Blue
Hotel (1898), Crane thus explores the interlaced themes of the sin and virtue.
Ironically, although "he disbelieved it and hated it," Crane simply
"could not free himself from" the religious background that haunted his entire life. His
father, a well-respected reverend in New Jersey, advocated
Bible reading and preached "the right way." Similarly, his mother, who "lived in and
for religion," was influential in Methodist church affairs as a
speaker and a journalist in her crusade against the vices of her sinful times . This
emotional frenzy of revival Methodism had a strong impact on
young Stephen. Nonetheless, he -- falling short of his parents’ expectations on moral
principles and spiritual outlook -- chose to reject and defy all
those abstract religious notions and sought to probe instead into life’s realities.
Moreover, Crane’s genius as "an observer of psychological and
social reality" was refined after witnessing battle sights during the late 19th century.
What he saw was a stark contrast of the peacefulness and
morality preached in church and this thus led him to religious rebelliousness. As a
prisoner to his surroundings, man (a soldier) is physically,
emotionally, and ...