Determinism In Quicksand
During the Harlem Renaissance, many literary works concentrated on celebrating African American heritage. However, many other writers also began concentrating on the darker theme of naturalism. Nella Larsen’s Quicksand illustrates many elements of this movement. These include a biological determinism, where man is conceived of as controlled by his primitive animal instincts and a sociological determinism, whereby the weak are destroyed and the strong survive in a world of struggle and chance. Helga Crane, Larsen’s protagonist in Quicksand, illustrates the elements of both biological and sociological determinism in her inability to suppress her natural animal instinct to flee ...
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against the institute’s conservative attitudes, Helga chooses to flee an unpleasant reality. This exemplifies the “fight or flight” animal instinct that is said to control behavior in situations that become overwhelming. Instead of fighting, Helga time and time again chooses to leave what becomes unbearable to her. Once the decision is made to leave Naxos, Helga feels “like a person who had been for months fighting the devil and then unexpectedly had turned around and agreed to do his bidding” (5). Helga knows deep down that leaving Naxos is wrong, but the instinct to flee is so strong that she is powerless to deny it.
In New York, Helga is also consumed by the animal instinct of flight. When Dr. Anderson calls on her after a chance meeting at a nightclub, Helga “had no intention of running away, but something, some imp of contumacy, drove her from his presence, though she longed to stay” (51). Once again, Helga succumbs to her overwhelming desire to leave an uncomfortable ...
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the time Helga’s desire to leave Alabama is evident, it is clear that Helga’s natural instinct to constantly escape the reality of her life has become her downfall. This time, she has responsibility towards her children who “she wanted not to leave – if that were possible” (135). Perhaps, when “she began to have her fifth child”, Helga decides to stay in Alabama, thereby fighting the inner demons that have controlled her life (135). These children are a constant reminder to Helga of her internal struggle of the overwhelming desire to flee and, in the end, perhaps her savior against her natural instincts. Now she must allow other instincts to guide her, those of ...
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Determinism In Quicksand. (2006, February 21). Retrieved November 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Determinism-In-Quicksand/41616
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"Determinism In Quicksand." Essayworld.com. February 21, 2006. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Determinism-In-Quicksand/41616.
"Determinism In Quicksand." Essayworld.com. February 21, 2006. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Determinism-In-Quicksand/41616.
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