Order enforced to stem chaos only brings more tragedy

Stephen Dedalus, a young man in James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, changes dramatically throughout his youth. Once a curious child with a beautiful and unique way of looking at the world, as a young man he drifts away from his innocence and seeks the company of prostitutes. A dramatic swing in his personality occurs when he vows to commit his life to God, even considering accepting a position in the Church. After all of these changes, these conversions, Stephen discovers a middle ground, a haven between the innocent child, the delinquent, and the saint. As an artist, he focuses his life on the beauty of creation, specifically that of his own hands. He marvels at the ability to form and mold, and uses this revelation to discover his purpose in life. He finds order through the process of creation. Yet what was necessary for him to find this sense of balance in his life? The constraints of Dedalus’ society are partly responsible for the mess he made of his life as a young adult. Pressure from his family’s politics and the burdensome expectations of the Catholic Church weighed heavily on young Stephen. In a college and new atmosphere that offers more temptations to him, while simultaneously accusing him of his behavior, Dedalus feels trapped and constricted, but his pleasure-seeking only results in increasing guilt. The enforced order on him, his parents’ religious and political views and the decrees of the Church, only result in strife for young Stephen. Does this mean that unless a person achieves order for himself, only more harm occurs? If order is not discovered individually, it has an opposing effect? In Beloved, I found that a person seeking individual order harms himself and others. Yet Portrait seems to argue that one can only overcome personal chaos through self-discovery. Societal institutions, in Dedalus’ case, the Church, hinder him from creating order in his life, wreaking havoc instead. Stephen argues that others forcing order on people is not true balance, noticing how “[…]the creatures of the air have their knowledge and know their times and seasons because they, unlike man, are in the order of their life and have not perverted that order by reason” (202). So then, what is the middle ground? Does a person have to acknowledge that only he can bring order to his life, while recognizing the effects this quest for reason may have on others?

Possession spurs disorder

Possession, often thought of as a form of control, may actually be an instigator of chaos. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, the danger of obsession and the desire to control all of a person (her love, her affection, her utter attention) creates a state of disorder.

Beloved’s determination to possess Sethe entirely presents itself early in the novel. As a ghost, the deceased baby makes its presence known through poltergeist activities. To those who live in 124, the paranormal experiences are routine. The baby’s actions deter outsiders, who acknowledge the phantom’s presence as “a roaring (213)”. The ghost’s aspiration for order in her life, in this case Sethe’s love, only presents a hazard. Beloved’s excessive desire to remain at the front of Sethe’s mind inhibits Sethe from achieving order in her life; Beloved endangers her future with Paul D, strains her relationship with her other daughter, and eventually drains her of herself. Her mind becomes trapped with justifying her actions of the past, and with the chaos of her history physically manifested in the form of her dead child, Sethe loses any chance of regaining control of her life.

Beloved also reveals that a person’s decision to reject order for chaos only creates more conflict. Sethe turns her back on her chance at order and a normal life in favor of focusing on the past. Morrison argues how detrimental this choice is, as together Sethe and Beloved “fall” (205), unable to stand. Their harmful relationship does not support one another; as Beloved tries to grasp order, she steals Sethe’s chance at normalcy. Yet when Paul D attempts to establish normalcy, his desire for order actually helps Sethe, permitting her to look to the future instead of the past.
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o when does a person’s strive for order result in chaos for another; when does it help another achieve order? Paul D’s desire for order in his life allows him to convince Sethe to move on from the past, helping her achieve order in her previously chaotic existence. If a person desires order for another, as opposed to himself, is that when order can be established without resulting in more chaos? Is it when a person desires to achieve order only for herself that it harms others? Beloved’s possessive repetition of “You are mine/ You are mine/You are mine” (256), demonstrates a selfish longing for order which ultimately produces more chaos for her mother. A person’s desire for control and possession actually brings more harm than good, unless it is tempered with selflessness.

Is evading chaos the same as order? Meursault in Albert Camus The Stranger, seems to think so. He avoids chaos in his life by living on the fringe of society. He circumvents confrontation by never supplying definite opinions, answering only with vague responses such as “really it was all the same to me” (pg 41). While it at first appears that Meursault experiences no significant turbulence in his life, this is later disproved when he shoots a man not once, but five times. Meursault finds himself faced with unforeseen disorder as he realizes that murdering the man was like “knocking four quick times on the door of unhappiness” (pg 59).

Meursault experiences not only external turbulence by going to jail, but internally as well. It is suspected by several of the characters in The Stranger that the trigger for Meursault’s loss of control is his mother’s death. This disturbance in his life may have been enough to tip a man separated from his emotions to a state of emotional awareness. While it is arguable that Meursault coming in touch with his emotions restores order in his life, it also seems to push him in a negative direction, as his anger subconsciously urges him to shoot a man, resulting in chaos for the typically apathetic man.

When Meursault’s orderly life free from confrontation shatters, he attempts to restore control to his life. However, with his freedom barred from him, the only thing he has control over is his mental state, and his awareness of his unyielding fate. He suppresses any emotions of discomfort he feels at his predicament, quoting faithfully to himself “after a while you could get used to anything” (pg 77). This blaise acceptance of his impending execution allows him to restore internal order to his life, while external disturbances continue to ruin his previous life.

Depressingly, Meursault only achieves order in his life by accepting his death. By numbly greeting his imminent demise, Meursault finds peace in his finality. His indifferent acceptance of the chaos in his life and his execution allows Meursault to face his end calmly. Meursault strives for order in his life by originally avoiding chaos, and later by compliance with the disorder in his life. Do his tactics really create control in his life; or is acceptance of chaos really just the defeat of order in one’s life?

The Quest For Order Results in Chaos

Chaos breeds chaos. Attempts to emerge from society’s mayhem and internal struggles seem to land a person in the midst of a new level of destruction. For Rodya, a young man toying with the idea that murder may be acceptable, trudges through life disgusted by society and his doubts of his adequacy. It is the chaos in the world that convinces Rodya to find his own form of order. To him, order is established by the extraordinary of the world: the ones who can commit crimes and get away with them. He battles and doubts himself, wrestling with his own inadequacy. The inner tumult he struggles with and the displeasing state of society push him over the edge, leading him to murder two women. His attempt to create order simply landed him in more chaos. It was not until he embraced discomfort that he was able to find peace.

Dostoevsky argues that redemption requires suffering. Only through the pain and humiliation of acknowledging his own ordinariness is Rodya able to walk the path of redemption. Rodya’s attempts to rid himself of his concerns of his ineptitude result in even more confusion and disorder in his life. However, he finally achieves the peace and order he desired, battling through his deluded theory of the right to kill, and accepting the humiliating fact that he is ordinary. His acceptance of his original confusion, and the chaos which slowly robbed him of his soul, permit him to be resurrected and unexpectedly find order at the end of a conflicted journey.

A common theme emerging in this blog is the disruption caused when a person seeks peace or normalcy in their life. Does pursuing order always result in chaos? And is the existence of chaos necessary to struggle through in order to obtain order?