Richel Wong 1

Name: Rajneet kaur

ID: 991716825

01/04/2024

Focalization and Society

Option 1. By comparing any two narratives from the course syllabus (one of which must be from

the second half of the course), discuss the interaction of focalization with concepts of knowing

and/or understanding. In other words, how do different narratives specifically employ

focalization to explore how we know or understand our world and those who are a part of it?

Narrative stories frequently let us see the different aspects of human experience,

understanding, and interaction with the world. "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain

and "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather are undoubtedly two great stories that apply focalization to

uncover the structures and layers of human thinking and the concept of society. The narrative of

Huckleberry Finn and Paul allows the readers to experience their intimate exploration of identity,

freedom, and their unending quest for happiness against society's limits. This essay analyzes how

Twain and Cather use the camera eye to reveal and depict themes that define knowing and

comprehending, how a person can afford a space larger than themselves, and ways of viewing

the world.

"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" unfolds through the first-person narrative of Huck

Finn, offering an intimate glimpse into Huck's perceptions, moral dilemmas, and growth. Via this

focalization, the tale calls to mind the big question and the doubts that haunt society and the

principle of slavery. Huck and Jim's joint journey from the slave catchers provides Twain with an

extraordinary medium to deconstruct each idea as he challenges the world's notions of freedom,
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morality, and social wickedness (Twain). The relationship between Huck and Jim goes through

the journey of Jim inheriting the prejudice of the white society and Jim acting as a friend and

equal, which highlights the transition of Huck's beliefs from the one held by society to a moral

compass.

Conversely, "Paul's Case" incorporates a third-person limited perspective that

concentrates on Paul, a young man from Pittsburgh who stays away from the dullness of his real

existence and pursues the infectious sensation of glamor, riches, and fine arts in New York City

(Cather). Cather uses this focalization to explain the subject of the issue. That statement

articulates the issues of alienation and the search for beauty as a hiding place from a world full of

routines. Paul's neglect of reality or dream reconciliations implies an inner conflict about his

belongingness to this world, which appears to be caused by dysfunctional experiences of

escapism fantasies. The narrative concentrates on Paul's inner conflict and satellite having a

comedown on a tragic tale, which is to say, the difficulties of self-cognizance and comprehension

of the universe through the only source of beauty.

Comparative Analysis

The use of focalization in "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain and "Paul's

Case" by Willa Cather reveals how this narrative device is employed to portray the protagonists'

point of view and criticize the societies they deal with. In Twain's book Huckleberry Finn, the

first-person narrative becomes the means to involve the reader in a dialogue about the morality

and nature of freedom, challenging the readers to reconsider their moralistic views along with the

protagonist. The choice of first-person narrative permits thorough examination and eventually

profound questioning of Huck's moral development and the subsequent challenge to the societal

norms he has been taught to follow. Tovar (2017) shows that Twain accomplishes this through
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his use of colloquial speech and first-person narration as he subverts the traditional racially

biased and morally driven stories, and the readers have to unlearn the set ways of presupposing

(Tovar).

Conversely, "Paul's Case" employs a close third-person perspective to highlight Paul's

feelings of isolation and disconnection from the world around him. This focalization not only

reveals Paul's inner struggle but also condemns the social factors that lead to his sense of

estrangement. The plot mirrors how Paul is just looking for some fleeting pleasure and a way to

escape his dreary routine, as he is on a journey and the way he is on an obsessive hunt; therefore,

it is dangerous. According to Rosowski (2001), the technique of Cather's focalization helps the

writer critique the materialistic values in contemporary American society. In that way, instead of

emphasizing inner conflicts and emotions, the narrative function embraces a focus on social

values of wealth and appearance, which may obstruct individual growth.

Through focalization, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" places us in a reflective

process along with Huck, enabling us to observe how he goes from conformity to his moral

postulates. By building his story this way, Twain manages to overthrow the only thing people

thought was true, as Huck unwillingly faces the conflict of principles and slavery, right and

wrong. The internal dialogue of Huck, which the readers use, portrays that it is through direct

engagement with Huck that we, as fiction readers, can navigate the moral power of the novel

and, in turn, question our own beliefs and the societal norms that shape them.

In "Paul's Case," close third-person narration magnifies the theme of alienation.

Furthermore, the narration highlights that societal norms and expectations could make an

individual feel detached and under-recognized. With Paul's eyes, the readers are becoming

informed of the oppressive social bondage and the heights one may climb to leave behind. The
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narrative concentrates on the inside of Paul but still brings out the sad fact that society seeks

material wealth and physical beauty more than communal harmony and the ability to understand

what people call diversities in different people.

Conclusion

In conclusion, though different focalization techniques vary in "The Adventures of

Huckleberry Finn" and "Paul's Case," both narratives employ those narrative perspectives to

probe into the societal norms of criticism and the personal search for understanding and freedom.

Huck's evolution to moral independence and Paul's tragic end serve as reflections on the

limitations imposed by societal expectations and the complex journey toward self-understanding.

The narratives are only made of them through their distinctive tools of focalization. The purpose

of these narratives is that society's values and norms are challenged and reconsidered when the

time comes and when their abilities are recognized as exploiting social themes that relate to

knowing, understanding, and criticizing social reality.

Works Cited

Cather, Willa. Paul's Case: A Study in Temperament... SS McClure, 1905.

Rodrigues, Laurie. The American Novel after Ideology, 1961–2000. Bloomsbury Publishing

USA, 2020.

Rosowski, Susan J. The Voyage Perilous: Willa Cather's Romanticism. U of Nebraska Press,

2001.

Twain, Mark. Adventures of huckleberry finn. Vol. 20. Univ of California Press, 2003.