Whether a character is imprisoned by his own inability to shake loose from discomfort, or enslaved through none of his own doing, the universal human sentiment is to set the character free. Meanwhile I disagree with Hochman when she writes that the book's "direct attack on the peculiar institution subverted its claim to timelessness" and adds that because it "critiqued a social evil in a particular historical period" it failed to "transcend its own cultural moment." With the strength of novel's characters and their interaction, and the poignant and graphic depictions of the era of cruelty, how can Hochman make the absurd claim that it is not timeless? For one thing, the differences on issues of ethnicity are still with us. Racism did not disappeared along with Jim Crow laws -- it is alive in 2010. Cruelty is still unfortunately part of our society (re: the psychological and sexual abuse...
[ View Full Essay]