Good Feels in the News

Good Feels in the News

Considering the fact that most people have never been to the moon, been abducted by aliens or found a magical land in their wardrobe, it should be no surprise to anyone that fiction is often like the real world. Even though the majority may not kill their wives in and rush of blind anger or fall asleep for twenty years, the authors of these tales find their roots in real life. Now obviously a story written in the late 19th century may have little in common with the news of the modern day, but humans are creatures of habit. Regardless of the time they all tend to have the same basic emotions. Authors have nothing besides their own personal experiences and their imaginations to draw creativity from. “The Minister’s Black Veil,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Black Cat,” by Edgar Allen Poe are both excellent examples of how fiction is as real as the news; fiction, especially realism and dark romanticism, and the real world are directly related through the author and common experiences of world she lives in.

       Often times people will take drastic measures to prove their points and show their beliefs. “The Minister’s Black Veil,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Rev. Hooper wears a veil to symbolize loneliness, sins, and suffering the world. While his actions are peaceful and silent, ISIS continues to post videos of them beheading its captives to fulfill its Jihad (article). Obviously Hawthorne had no idea that ISIS would ever exist, but the idea that people will do anything to prove a point is a common thought in the world. “‘Elizabeth, I will,’ said he, ‘so far as my vow may suffer me. Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes,’”(Hawthorne) Rev Hooper says to Elizabeth when she begs him to take off the veil. The members of the terrorist group do believe that what they are doing is right in the eyes of their god Allah. They chose to kill people and post videos about it because it will spread their message more rapidly than if they relied on word of mouth transportation. So ISIS and the Reverend can be directly related because they are both people who want to share a point with the world and make  it known that they have beliefs that will change the lives of everyone around them. One decides to do this is a peaceful way and the other in a gruesome and provoking manner.

In the news acts of violence are ever present. The human tendency to succumb to emotions has always plagued the world. Edgar Allen Poe, author of “The Black Cat” describes this condition perfectly. Recently a man stabbed his roommate in the chest with a sword (article), killing him, after an argument. It can be assumed that the raw emotion felt by this man is part of the reason that he was driven to commit such a heinous act. In Poe’s story the protagonist is lead to kill his wife because of the effects that his dead cat has on him. All in all if Poe were to be alive today surely he would see the similarities between this article and the story he wrote. Even though there is some  connection between the fiction and the article the root remains the same: humans act upon extreme emotions, which can lead to the destruction of a human being and those around said person. The article talks about how an argument lead to the tragic death of the roommate and how immediately the man felt terrible about what he had done, but once it was done there was nothing that could be done to save either of the men. One died literally and one died figuratively; both tragic for different reasons and an excellent plot line to a work of fiction.

          As a whole, fiction and the news are one and the same “The Black Cat” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” are both examples of authors writing through common experiences. Pain and emotion felt in the in the world is reflected news reflects that. Often times when scanning the paper one will see stories about heroic acts and mass murders, both of which highlight the similarities between the human experiences. Most would say that they have never killed a cat out of anger and curiosity or worn a veil as a silent protest to the sins of humans, but the ideas that people need to express these emotions is a real fact of life. Fiction, which is just an extension of the life of the author, is a way that people can share their thoughts and questions with the world without coming out and saying it point blank.  There must have been something going on in the world when Hawthorne and Poe lived that lead to write about such dark and severe stories about humankind as a whole. Perhaps it was something that they read in the news or heard about in town gossip. Regardless of what it was it struck a chord in both of the them and allowed them to write the stories that they did.

        If the world were exactly like fiction, than fiction as a genre would no longer exist. This means that while fiction may find its roots in the real world at its core, the aspect that makes it so likeable and fun is its creative and imaginative nature. The reason “The Black Cat” is so provoking and intense is that it is not something that hopefully many people will not experience in their lifetimes. However, everyday on the news stories of pain and suffering grab the attention of many as they read about an event they never wish to experience. Everything in the modern day is about making money. The more money one has the better her life is said to be. News outlets are no exception to this rule; the more copies they sell the more profit they make. The only way to sell papers is to have interesting stories about the world around the reader, just like an author must make an interesting work of fiction if she wishes to be successful. These stories the root in the real world. At this point fiction and news are almost the same, on any given day the news can seem like fiction; just watch Fox.