Notes from the December 2009 meeting - Thanks Renuka!

Topic: Violence as depicted in literature

This was a topic about which each of our members had some very pertinent points.

The earth started presumably with a big bang –violently. Apparently pretty plants can be overtly violent as in the case of insectivorous plants and in a subtle way in the case of parasitic plants. Animals do have a streak of violence and man is at the top of this
Pyramid

Literature has umpteen vivid depictions. Many of Shakespeare’s plays are violent but the goriest is Titus Andronicus. Charles Dickens depicted the French Revolution in great details in the “Tale of two cities.” It is also interesting to note that to depict something positive violence is resorted to as in the case of all our epics. The triumph of good over evil comes at a price – violence.

Modern literature is of course rife with violence. The depiction of violence indirectly in “God father” where the head of the horse is placed on the bed of one of the characters is unforgettable. This is frankly violent though it is suggestive. There are occasions where we feel this frank violence is preferable to treachery as in the case of Othello or betrayal as in Kite Runner or Rabindranath Tagore’s Binodini.