“It's not as bad as it sounds.” (Huckleberry Finn)

Compare how the theme of outsiders is presented in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, D.B.C Pierre’s Vernon God Little and Sylvia Plath’s Ariel.

Throughout the history of literature, the idea of an outsider unable to find his place within society is explored frequently in all three texts. The theme of the outsiders is presented in all novels but separated due to the different time periods in which they were set, thus resulting in controversy and criticisms making it difficult to find a place within literature. Mark Twain’s ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is the story of a young boy, Huck Finn, who is faced with a restraint enforced upon him by society and later acknowledges this restraint once he comes to the realization that there is no escape from the society. ‘Vernon God Little’, like Huckleberry Finn, is also a story of a young boy framed as an accessory in a High School Massacre and is rendered to be an outcast in a society which revolves around manipulation and gullibility.
Both Pierre and Twain portray the limitations and issues placed upon a young boy growing up in society. Sylvia Plath was viewed as a feminist icon, her collection ‘Ariel’, adopts the theme of outsider, as she believed women were classed as second-tier in a male dominant society and posed as a response to patriarchy in which oppressed women. The three texts intertwine in the portrayal of the outsider and act as a commentary on the societies in which these writers lived in.

Correspondingly, as the characters portrayed in the novels were unable to identify their place in society, the texts themselves struggled to find a place within literature due to the sources of controversy and literary criticisms they received. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn was written shortly after the American Civil War (1861-65), which occurred mainly over the Southern, Western and North Eastern United Status and later resulted in the abolition of slavery and territorial integrity being preserved. The book’s publication date was in 1884, therefore the time in which it was written and the time in which it was published differentiated therefore raising the levels of controversy and criticism by contemporary readers. One year later, the Concord Library banned the novel as they deemed it was “rough, coarse and inelegant, dealing with a series of experiences not elevating”. This attracted a lot of attention from libraries such as the Brooklyn Public Library, who later followed Concord’s ideology with the statement that “Huck had not only itched but scratched” and he used the word “sweat” in place of the word “perspiration” hence highlighting the inelegancy in which the novel is portrayed. The contemporary reader opposed Twain’s novel due to the lack of morals present within them, readers questioned Twain’s use of moral flaws evident in the novel. The controversy and criticism comes from the issues the novel focuses on specifically, mainly the attitudes towards black people. John Wallace published a new version of the novel, which sought to eradicate the word “nigger” subsequently replacing it with the word “slave” as it was considered more appropriate to a contemporary reader. Forrest G. Robinson portrayed the slur as “humiliating and insulting to black students as it contributes to their feelings of low self-esteem” The word “nigger” occurs over 200 times in the novel, raising the question of whether or not his novel was racist. At a time where these racial slurs were considered to be derogatory or racist, it constituted the idea that the use of the word “nigger” was reflection upon the time and place he was writing about. Twain wrote “the difference between the almost right word and the right word is a really large matter” he symbolizes this large matter by making the comparison of “lighting and a lighting bug”. Jamelle Brown, a journalist from the Atlantic stated, “ It doesn’t pound racial enlightment, or justice and won’t shield anyone for the legacy of slavery and racial destruction”.

Similarly, DBC Pierre’s 21st Century novel struggled to obtain public approval as the language expressed in the book was referred to as, “idiomatic, foul-mouthed and idiosyncratic”. Pierre expresses the language through the protagonist, Vernon Little, a troubled fifteen-year old who uses unconventional phrasing and profanity in order to express his frustration. Sam Sifton of the NY times referred to Vernon as “a deceptively simple boy who narrates this tale in the manner of a character created by Mark Twain and remixed by Dr. Dre.” Pierre’s profanity and Twain’s racial slurs intertwine in terms of criticisms and controversy raised by the public. Sylvia Plath’s Ariel was published in 1965, two years after her suicide. Plath’s Ariel remains a source of controversy; was referred to as “highly ambitious and gifted while low in self-esteem and self confidence” , led to her psychological problem. Plath’s intricate perception on society led to her belief that women were viewed as second-class citizens in what was a male dominant world and that they were the victims of a patriarchal society. Clarissa Lee dismissed that “Plath went all out to ensure the ideology of feminineness that has been indoctrinated into the women of her generation”. Plath is considered a literary symbol of the women’s rights movements. Poems featured include ‘Tulips’ ‘Daddy’ ‘Ariel’ and ‘Words’ which attracts a variety of reactions on feminism, regarding the anger towards the patriarchal society in which Plath lived in.

The theme of outsiders is expressed through the characters unfamiliarity of language presented in the texts. Mark Twain’s manipulation of language emphasizes the characters feeling of an outsider, adopting a sense of loneliness within the novel. Jim is considered an outcast due to the colour of his skin being black also the dialect used separates him from the other characters. Jim’s speaks in a dialect known as slave speak in the South and can be recognized by contemporary readers as this style of speech, to a degree, is used in our society. Twain incorporates words such as “gwne/git/dat/dis” in Jim’s speech. His placement of words is often flipped or missing in order to match slave speak. This adds further emphasis to Jim’s status of being an outsider and becomes more apparent as the reader is able to differentiate between characters speech therefore recognizing and acknowledging Jim as the outsider. Similarly, Pierre uses Vernon as a mouthpiece in order to emphasize the reader’s view of him not belonging to society. His use of profanity and colloquial tone well as his observations of surroundings was insightful but did not befit the dialect of a fifteen year old. Vernon’s colloquial tone and anger towards the society, which rejects him, sets a negative impression upon the reader. The constant profanity and coarse speech, rhetorically and repetitively asking “what kind of fucken life is this” shows Vernon’s constant frustration with life and allows the reader to adopt the view that Vernon is not considered a part in society. John Freeman refers to him as “brash, cynical and yet vulnerable, he is a true outsider”.

Sylvia Plath’s use of language is portrayed as unfiltered, by showing her audience that she is able to speak freely and speak up for feminism in the society. Her work revolves around the stresses that women face in the patriarchal society and the separation between the speaker and the society in which she lives is portrayed through her language. This is evident in her poem Daddy as she seeks to express her feeling of oppression in a society where males hold authority over women and act as the primary power. The poem Daddy attracted both praises for the stand up of women’s rights and criticism because of the male dominance being symbolized by Holocaust imagery. Daddy portrays the image of fascism being a symbol dictating power,
“Every woman adores a Fascist, The boot in the face, the brute Brute heart of a heart like you”.
Daddy is a response to Plath’s difficult relationship with her father, who passed away when she was eight, and can be perceived as a poem, which shows Plath trapped between her individual thoughts and the patriarchal society. Plath uses figurative imagery and symbolism to compare her father to other patriarchal figures; Nazis, vampires, husband and father. Robert Phillips stated, “The only way [Plath] was to achieve relief, to become an independent self, was to kill her father’s memory, which, in “Daddy”, she does by a metaphorical murder”. Plath does this successfully by comparing him to horrific patriarchal figures. Daddy is perceived as a complex poem due to the violent imagery it portrays and Jewish suffering places the reader in an uncomfortable place. The entrapment placed between her thoughts and the patriarchal society emphasizes the idea of her being an outsider.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel, which places the reader at the time of the slave trade, a time, which can be distressing to contemporary readers. By placing the reader at this time, it makes them feel out of place and attracts empathy from them towards the characters who are classed as outsiders and are unable to find their place in society, in this case Jim. Huck’s father, Pap, was a racist alcoholic who punishes Huck by abusing him and causing distress. Pap’s actions and look have caused him to be classed as an outcast in society as the characters portrayed in Twain’s novel act and look contrastingly to Huck’s father. His “long and tangled greasy hair and rags for clothes” is evidence indicating he is not fit to be a parent. Critics such as Heather M. Shrum referred to Pap as a negative influence in Huck’s life. “Pap’s abusive, drunken behavior toward Huck illustrates the failure of many fathers that era to lead the family with kindness and selflessness”. Although Huck’s biological father is present throughout the novel, Twain convinces the reader that Jim fits a better role in Huck’s life more than Pap. Jim’s protection of Huck is evident when he prohibits Huck from seeing his biological father dead in the abandoned houseboat. The observation of a dead body would have been too graphic for a young boy causing distress and the distress would drastically heighten, as the deceased is Huck’s father. The bond between Jim and Huck is much more powerful than the bond between Huck and Pap. This bond attracted critics, regarding Jim as his “true” father. Pap is considered an outsider as a result of his behavior, which bears no resemblance with any other character in the novel and is unfamiliar in society. As Henry Nash Smith puts it “[Pap] serves as forceful reminder that to be a vernacular outcast does not necessarily bring into contact with the benign forces of nature. Physical withdrawal from society may be plain loafing, without moral significance”

Contrastingly, Vernon’s father is missing and presumed dead. Vernon’s father would have pledged an impactful role in Vernon’s life. Vernon was raised and lived with his mother and her female friends whom he despised stating “it’s like she planted a knife in my back when I was born, and now every fucken noise she makes just gives it a turn”. The upbringing of a male teenager craves male guidance and support although Vernon’s need for a fatherly figure made him vulnerable. Ledesma, known as ‘Lally’, a manipulative TV reporter whom was assumed to help Vernon prove his innocence but instead uses the power of mass media, against Vernon. He was also the boyfriend of Vernon’s mother. Pierre creates Lally as a devious character who manipulates others in order to get his way but Doris was too gullible to see this as he manipulates Vernon’s mother and her friends against Vernon.

His distrust in his mother and the others whom manipulated him fuelled his escape to Mexico and acted as contributing factors to categorize him a clear outcast of society. In an interview with The White Review, Pierre states, “The truth is society is more disintegrated than ever”.
Critics and readers have perceived that Vernon God Little bears resemblance with Catcher in the Rye, a controversial novel written fifty years earlier known for its themes of teenage madness and innocence. Pierre used this novel as an outlet to build a foundation for his character, Vernon pertaining him to be the 21st Century version of Holden Caulfield. The Daily Mail described Vernon as “one of the most engaging narrators since Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield”. Both novels share similarities in the engagement of which the characters adopt a first person narration. Vernon’s upbringing revolved around reflection upon his actions from an outside perspective. Scott Tobias classed Vernon as “a sour outcast who becomes an unwitting lighting rod for community outrage”. Vernon’s outrage leads to him reflecting upon his actions and allows the reader to question his ability to fit in to society. Pierre suggests that the process of reflection can lead to mental breakdown as a result of Vernon’s harboring of thoughts and not sharing with others is fuelled by his distrust towards the people around him, thus placing his position in society as non-existent. His vibrant commentary and broad use of vocabulary, which is not befitting to that of a fifteen year old as his intellectual thoughts have yet to adapt to his surroundings. Therefore shifts the readers thoughts towards Pierre, as it is clear he inhabits the mind of a teenage boy possessed to be a narration on Pierre’s self encounter with society. Vernon’s behavior within the novel emphasizes the immorality infused into society, his innocence is ignored and leaves Vernon with very little hope as his own mother struggles to believe in her own son wittingly stating “Even murderers are loved by their families” with Vernon frustratingly responding “Heck, Ma, I ain’t a murderer”. The lack of belief in Vernon triggers a feeling of his role in society, and in a world where everybody is against you; he has no choice but to be categorized as an outcast.

In Sylvia Plath’s “Tulips” poem, she uses a personal experience to express the complexities of a modern woman in a patriarchal society. Plath pertains to balance the life of a successful career and possess the traits of a good wife with this poem seen as a reflection of her attempting to contest the pressures of society denying her a successful career and to conform to the societal role of having children and be a mother. Plath’s personal voice is invoked through this poem, as the reader is able to perceive the isolation she feels. She adds emphasis to her unfamiliarity to her surroundings as she opposes society’s views on women, thus labeling herself as an outsider. The speaker pertains to express her feelings on the painful reality of death, perceiving the freedom and virtue, which lie with it as a means of escape; this is symbolised by the hospital’s whiteness. The prevalence of the colour white in the poem symbolises freedom and tranquillity to the speaker. The speakers lying on the hospital bed in stanza one is “learning peacefulness, lying by myself quietly as the light lies on these white walls” sees her in a silent freedom, away from the constraints placed on her by society. The feeling of whiteness around her possesses the reader to feel pure, as she craves freedom and eternal liberation from the isolation, which she adopts in a society, which suppresses her views. The imagery of “look how white everything is, how quiet, how snowed-in” reflects the season of winter, symbolising calmness as liberation. As the whiteness portrayed reflects freedom, the redness of the tulips stand as a significant reminder of her miserable reality; the “tulips are too red”, the colour red is portrayed as an intrusion. Plath believes the colour red is detrimental to her freedom stating, “They hurt me” and describes this hurt like “red lead sinkers round [her] neck”, thus the exploration of pain was expressed “as the tulips weigh [her] down”. The redness of the tulips differentiates the whiteness of the hospital room; using tulips to portray the misery of reality and the whiteness and act as a reminder to pay attention to her surroundings at the confinement of her hospital bed. This event has caused Plath to separate herself from societies suppression towards her, and indulge in a mental freedom, this can be viewed as an indulging experience but the miserable reality is still present, leaving death as the only option to eradicate this. Margaret Dickie states “Plath was forced to create a persona much more rigid than the speaker of “Tulips”. At this point, however rigidity is what she scorns”. The speaker has lived through two World Wars and is facing oppression from a patriarchal society, a society in which classes her as an outcast due to her achieving great career success.

The exploration of the outsider is evident in all three texts. Pierre and Twain highlight the separation from the individual and society, through the constraints they hold and the oppression they present. Vernon and Jim are left to acknowledge their role in society as outsiders, and are unable to escape. Jim was portrayed as an outsider due to his race and language, which perceived him to stand out from the other characters. Vernon’s upbringing is perceived as the cause of his label as an outsider, figuratively his distrust in his surroundings and constant reflection upon the society he is in, primarily showing that there is no escape. Sylvia Plath opposed the patriarchal society in which she lived in; she saw death as the only way escape society’s oppression towards her, thus taking her own life. She was an outsider who believed liberation from the suppression of society towards her could only be resolved with death. The certainty that the outsider role in Plath’s life was detrimental as it led to her death but Pierre and Twain’s novels raise the question of whether or not it posed an advantage to the reader or within the character’s life. The theme drastically separates the texts from each other due to the time in which they were set and societies impact on the characters and authors themselves.

Bibliography
Primary texts

Twain, Mark, Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Plath, Sylvia, and Ted Hughes. The Collected Poems. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.

Pierre, D. B. C. Vernon God Little. New York, NY: Canongate, 2003.

Other Texts

Johnson, C.D. (1996) Understanding adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A student casebook to issues, sources, and historical documents. United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. In-line Citation: (Johnson, 1996)

Staff, TIME. "The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn | Top 10 Censored Books | TIME.Com". TIME.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Dickie, Margaret. "On "Tulips"". English.illinois.edu. N.p., 1979.

Tobias, Scott. "DBC Pierre: Vernon God Little". Avclub.com. N.p., 2003.

Robinson, Forrest G. The Cambridge Companion To Mark Twain. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.

Twain, Mark. "A Quote From The Wit And Wisdom Of Mark Twain". Goodreads. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Brown, Jamelle. "A Nation Of Cowards". The Atlantic. N.p., 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Mullan, John. "Vernon God Little: John Mullan Discusses The Centrality Of 'Skaz' In DBC Pierre's Novel". the Guardian. N.p., 2006.

SIFTON, SAM. "’Vernon God Little’: Holden Caulfield On Ritalin". Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Lee, Clarissa. "AS/SA No 14, Article 3: LEE Clarissa, "Voices Of Feminism And Schizophrenia In Plath's Poetry"". French.chass.utoronto.ca. N.p., .

Freeman, John. "Brit Author Crafts Clever U.S. Satire". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. N.p., 1996.

Phillips, Robert. "Robert Phillips: On "Daddy" | Modern American Poetry". Modernamericanpoetry.org. N.p

Shrum, Heather M. "Mark Twain's Portrayal Of Family And Relationships In "Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn"". Student Pulse 6.03 (2014):

Wolfson, Nicholas. Huckleberry Finn. [Philadelphia, Pa.]?: Xlibris, 2003. Print.
Eastham, Ben. "Interview With DBC Pierre | The White Review". Thewhitereview.org. N.p.

Mail, Daily. "GRIN - Adolescence In "The Catcher In The Rye" And "Vernon God Little" - A Comparison". Grin.com. N.p.,

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[ 1 ]. Johnson, C.D. (1996) Understanding adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A student casebook to issues, sources, and historical documents. United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. In-line Citation: (Johnson, 1996)
[ 2 ]. Staff, TIME. "The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn | Top 10 Censored Books | TIME.Com". TIME.com.
[ 3 ]. Robinson, Forrest G. The Cambridge Companion To Mark Twain. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print.
[ 4 ]. Twain, Mark. "A Quote From The Wit And Wisdom Of Mark Twain". Goodreads.
[ 5 ]. Brown, Jamelle. "A Nation Of Cowards". The Atlantic. N.p., 2011.
[ 6 ]. Mullan, John. "Vernon God Little: John Mullan Discusses The Centrality Of 'Skaz' In DBC Pierre's Novel". the Guardian. N.p., 2006.
[ 7 ]. SIFTON, SAM. "’Vernon God Little’: Holden Caulfield On Ritalin". Nytimes.com..
[ 8 ]. Lee, Clarissa. "AS/SA No 14, Article 3: LEE Clarissa, "Voices Of Feminism And Schizophrenia In Plath's Poetry"". French.chass.utoronto.ca. N.p., .
[ 9 ]. Lee, Clarissa. "AS/SA No 14, Article 3: LEE Clarissa, "Voices Of Feminism And Schizophrenia In Plath's Poetry"". French.chass.utoronto.ca. N.p.,.
[ 10 ]. Pierre, D. B. C. Vernon God Little. New York, NY: Canongate, 2003. Print. Page 01.
[ 11 ]. Freeman, John. "Brit Author Crafts Clever U.S. Satire". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. N.p., 1996.
[ 12 ]. Phillips, Robert. "Robert Phillips: On "Daddy" | Modern American Poetry". Modernamericanpoetry.org. N.p
[ 13 ]. Twain, Mark, and Victor Fischer. Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Print. Page 54.
[ 14 ]. Shrum, Heather M. "Mark Twain's Portrayal Of Family And Relationships In "Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn"". Student Pulse 6.03 (2014):
[ 15 ]. Wolfson, Nicholas. Huckleberry Finn. [Philadelphia, Pa.]?: Xlibris, 2003. Print.
[ 16 ]. Pierre, D. B. C. Vernon God Little. New York, NY: Canongate, 2003. Print.
[ 17 ]. Eastham, Ben. "Interview With DBC Pierre | The White Review". Thewhitereview.org.
[ 18 ]. Mail, Daily. "GRIN - Adolescence In "The Catcher In The Rye" And "Vernon God Little" - A Comparison".
[ 19 ]. Tobias, Scott. "DBC Pierre: Vernon God Little". Avclub.com. N.p., 2003.
[ 20 ]. Plath, Sylvia, and Ted Hughes. The Collected Poems. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. Print.
[ 21 ]. Plath, Sylvia, and Ted Hughes. The Collected Poems. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. Print.
[ 22 ]. Dickie, Margaret. "On "Tulips"". English.illinois.edu. N.p., 1979.
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