The Heart of the Matter

In his 1948 novel, the Heart of the Matter, Graham Greene masterfully portrays the emotional and spiritual dilemmas of an aging man in a loveless marriage struggling through a moral crisis brought on by his failure to get promoted and his inability to make his wife happy. Greene dissects the heart and mind of Henry Scobie as he slowly falls apart as he makes one bad decision after another until he chooses to take communion while unrepentant in a state of a mortal sin. He is convinced that he is eternally damned, so he devises a way to commit suicide without anyone discovering the truth. In the end, his wife figures out that he had an affair and schemed to take is own life. Scobie ends a complete failure and doubly damned. 

While I am not a Catholic, it was insightful to get into the mind of a nominal believer and experience his struggles of faith and conscience. Hopefully I can learn from his mistakes and find forgiveness and redemption in Christ for my moral failures and not take the path of Henry Scobie. 

The novel is set on the west coast of Africa during the second world war. Since Greene spent time in the region as a British intelligence officer in Sierra Leone, the novel feels real and much of the descriptions of the climate and culture are captivating. Greene also has keen insight into human psychology and relationships which is very instructive. 

The oppressive heat and rain depicted frequently in the novel symbolizes the moral and emotional condition of the main character. Almost all of the action of the novel takes place in a tiny white community in an African colony, with only a few non-white characters struggling under the dominion of the colonial British. This symbolizes the alienation Scobie feels, and while he belongs to the ruling class, he is subject to forces larger than himself which increasingly alienate him from God, his wife, and his lover. 

The novel has been declared to be one of the best English-language novels of the twentieth century. 

Seeking with Groans

In his article “Seeking with Groans: The moral universe of film noir” Thomas Hibbs explores the cultural and moral implications of the detective movie genre in Books & Culture, March/April 2007, pages 41-43. If you are interested in movies or crime dramas, this is an excellent article to give you a fresh perspective. There is no consensus on a unifying definition of film noir. One of the main features of film noir is its pessimism that is a counter to the optimistic, progressive vision of postwar America that turns the American dream into a nightmare. It also counters the Enlightenment vision of the city as the locus of human bliss, where human autonomy and rational economics combine to satisfy human desire. In film noir, however, the city is dark and foreboding that frustrates the fulfillment of human desire.

Noir films focus on characters who try to live decent, peaceful, domestic lives until some chance event pulls them back into their dark past and the history of violence repeats itself, engulfing the protagonist. Traditional detective fiction provides a clear sense of public justice and offers a clear solution to the struggle between the detective and the criminal. In film noir, however, there is no clear sense of justice and presents a “puzzle of character” and the struggle is between the detective and himself. The city becomes not a place of light and pleasure but the tall buildings block out the light and trap the characters in a labyrinth that frustrates their desires. Film noir offers no clear way out of the trap.

Hibbs sees film noir offering the main character a type of redemption, not in the sense of cheap grace, but offers an “authentically penitential” path of “difficult spiritual growth.” The end of the film tends to combine physical brutality with the lingering possibility of love and fidelity, suggesting that even in a corrupt world, a certain kind of integrity is still possible and that in certain circumstances, defeat can be victory. The protagonist discovers that he must live by some other code than brute force in a world with a loss of clear moral codes. When a character tries to violate the limits of the human condition, it is rarely successful. And redemption, while present, is usually partial, yet personal. Film noir, then, seems to be an attempt to discover the lost moral code while truthfully speaking about eh human condition. While it repudiates old-fashioned American optimism, it doesn’t succumb to nihilism, but, in Pascal’s words, “seeks with groans” looking for redemption.



You can read this article at: http://www.ctlibrary.com/43011

Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas’ novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, is perhaps, next to the Three Musketeers, his best and most popular writing. In his typical style, the novel, set in the historical framework of post-revolutionary France in the years 1815 to 1835, is full of adventure, romance and intrigue, making it perfect for a modern movie adaptation. Unfortunately, the book is very complex, with so many characters and intertwining relationships that are impossible to portray in a movie. Therefore, the movie conflates and eliminates characters and simplifies the relationships. In an effort to appeal to a modern audience, the movie ends happily with the hero winning the woman he loves.

Edmond Dantes, a 19-year-old sailor, is promoted to captain by the ship’s owner, who is also the father of Mercedes, his fiancée. This promotion draws the anger and hatred of the ship’s first mate, Danglar, who feels he is the one who should take the dead captain’s place. Dantes’ closest friend, Fernand Mondego, also loves Mercedes but fails to win her heart away from Dantes.

Danglar and Mondego, however, plot against Dantes, using the fact that Dantes had met with the exiled Napolean while the ship had been anchored off the island of Elba. They inform the chief magistrate, Villefort, who condemns Dantes to life in prison in the Chateu d’If, and tells his fiancée that he has been executed. Upon hearing of Dantes’ death, Mercedes agrees to marry Mondego and Danglar schemes to take over the ship and the company from Mercede’s father.

While in prison, Dantes plots his revenge. An old priest teaches him while they dig a tunnel to escape. Before dying in prison, the priest gives Dantes’ a map of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. Dantes escapes by exchanging places with the dead priest, is thrown into the sea, and then swims back to the mainland. With the help of a pirate, Jacopo, Dantes finds the treasure and returns to France as the Count of Monte Cristo to exact his revenge on Danglar, Mondego, and Villefort.

While carrying out his plans, Mercedes recognizes Dantes and tries to talk him out of his revenge. He refuses, and after destroying Danglar and Villefort, he faces Mondego. In the struggle, Mercedes is injured and Mondego is killed. In the end, Dantes repents of his revenge and promises to use his fortune to help others and do good. Mercedes, her son Albert, who is actually Dantes’ child, and Jacopo, live happily ever after.

The message the movie gives is that revenge, while not the best option, is justified as long as you don’t go to extremes. In the 1975 movie version, starring Richard Chamberlain, Dantes’ revenge causes the death of his son and the loss of his true love, as Mercedes leaves him in the end because he has been transformed into a different man by his hate. The message of this movie is that revenge will destroy you and those you love. This is much closer to Alexandre Duma’s intentions in the original novel, where the relationships are so intertwined, that as he seeks revenge on his enemies, Dantes’ inadvertently harms his friends and those he loves. Revenge is never sweet and ends up hurting everyone involved. That is why God says, “It is mine to avenge, I will repay.”

Passage to India

E.M. Forster’s novel, A Passage to India, made into a movie in 1984, tells the story of two women visiting India and the cultural tensions they experience. The movie follows the book closely and does an excellent job of portraying the ethos and the essence of the novel.

The main tension in the story is the clash of the British imperialistic culture and the Indian culture. While most British looked down on the Indians, most Indians despised the British while feigning to be obsequious. Mrs. Moore, the mother of the British magistrate of Chandrapore, and Adela Quested, his fiancée, are enchanted by India and become upset at how the rest of the British treat the Indians. The only other Briton who treats the Indians fairly is Mr. Fielding, a professor at the University. The three become friends of an Indian doctor, a Muslim named Dr. Aziz.

Dr. Aziz meets Mrs. Moore by accident in a Mosque at night and the two become friends, both being deeply impressed by the other. Mrs. Moore introduces Adela to Dr. Aziz and she makes a cultural blunder, accepting an invitation to his home, so Dr. Aziz comes up with an alternative, a picnic at the Marabar Caves. The date is set and provisions are made by Dr. Aziz with the help of his friends.

When the train leaves for the caves, Mr. Fielding is late and misses the train, leaving Dr. Aziz alone with Mrs. Moore and Adela. At the caves, Mrs. Moore becomes claustrophobic and leaves Dr. Aziz alone with Adela. Adela, confused about her relationship with her fiancé commits another cultural blunder by talking about love and marriage with Dr. Aziz. Dr. Aziz becomes uncomfortable and takes a short break away from Adela, who ventures into a cave alone. After becoming uncomfortable, Adela runs down the hill, scraping herself badly and gets a ride back to Chadrapore from the governor’s wife. Everyone back in Chandrapore concludes that Adela has been raped by Dr. Aziz, who is arrested on his return.

Tensions between the British and the Indians escalates during the trial and a riot threatens to break out. Finally, Adela confesses that she was not raped by Dr. Aziz. Dr. Aziz is set free and Adela is shunned by the British. Mrs. Moore had already departed and died on the ship taking her back to England, so Adela is all alone. Fielding helps Adela, alienating him from Dr. Aziz.

Fielding returns to England and writes many letters to Dr. Aziz, none of which he reads. When Fielding returns to India to find Dr. Aziz, he brings his new wife, the daughter of Mrs. Moore. Dr. Aziz is ashamed because he assumed Fielding had married his enemy Adela. The two embrace and the friendship is restored.

Racism is ugly because it dehumanizes the other person. Those who chose to treat all men equally are often ostracized and marginalized. Treating all men with love and justice requires that we see all men as equal and treat them as valuable human beings. While being submerged in a foreign culture it is difficult to completely shed one’s prejudices and just as difficult to be fully accepted by those of the other culture. Racism is usually a two way street and it takes courageous individuals on both sides to break down the walls and stereotypes. Care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about others who are different than you, especially when some injustice, or perceived injustice, has taken place. Patience and careful analysis must prevail over emotions and snap judgments.

This story also illustrates how jumping to conclusions can also destroy relationships and diminish one’s life. It is always better to confront people and find out exactly what their motives were instead of assuming you know, or projecting your own motives on the other person. Much heartache could be avoided if we simply gave the other person the benefit of the doubt and assumed the best, imputing the highest motives for their actions.

Great Expectations

The 1998 movie rendition of Great Expectations, starring Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, and Gwyneth Paltrow, succeeds in setting Charles Dickens’ classic novel in modern times, portraying the power of love, acceptance and forgiveness.

The story traces the life of Finn Bell, who falls in love with a rich girl, Estella, and spends his life trying to win her love. His love for Estella inspires him to begin drawing and painting. When Estella walks out of his life without even saying goodbye, Finn puts the pencils and paints away and buries his dreams of becoming an artist, and of marrying Estella.

The movie, and the novel, begins with Finn stumbling upon an escaped convict, Arthur Lustig, whom he supplies with food and bolt cutters to cut his shackles, and then helps him escape from the police. Lustig is later captured and that is the last Finn hears about him.

Finn lives with his sister, Maggie, and her husband, Uncle Joe. Maggie walks out on Joe and Finn, and Joe raises Finn as his own son. While on an errand to the dilapidated mansion of Ms. Nora Dinsmoor, Finn sees Estella for the first time and becomes enchanted with her. When Ms. Dinsmoor invites Finn back, he soon discovers that she is an eccentric lady who hates men. As she continues to invite Finn back to be around Estella, it becomes obvious that her hatred for men, caused by her fiancé not showing up for the wedding, is what is driving her to seek revenge on Finn by causing him to fall in love with a girl he will never be able to possess. Even though she clearly warns Finn of her intentions, he blindly falls in love with Estella, only to have his heart broken.

After giving up painting for nearly ten years, a lawyer approaches Finn with an opportunity to have a private show in New York. He takes the offer and begins to paint. While in New York he meets Estella and begins to pursue her again. She poses for him and his inspiration returns. Finn tries to break up her upcoming wedding but to no avail. As he goes to her home to plead with her he discovers that she is not home but her aunt, Ms. Dinsmoor is there waiting for him. She taunts him and reveals that she was merely using Finn to make Estella’s fiancé jealous so he would finally commit and get married. She laughs at Finn for his naivety, and rejoices in the success of her plot to break Finn’s heart. When Finn breaks down, she becomes remorseful and asks Finn for Forgiveness, which he refuses to do.

As he returns home, Finn helps an old man escape from some mobsters who are trying to kill him. In his apartment the old man reveals himself as the escaped convict, Arthur Lustig. Finn helps him to elude the mobsters but Lustig is finally stabbed on the subway. Just before he dies, he tells Finn that he was the one who sponsored his art show and bought all of his paintings because he wanted to repay Finn for his kindness.

Finn later returns to visit his uncle Joe and learns that Ms. Dinsmoor has died and that her mansion will be leveled. He goes to visit it for one last time and runs into Estella, who is now divorced, and her daughter. Estella apologizes for all the pain she has caused him, and Finn reaffirms his love for her.

In classic Dickens style, pain, misfortune, and abuse are overcome with love, forgiveness and kindness. When we are mistreated we can respond as Ms. Dinsmoor did, seeking revenge and dying lonely and bitter, or we can respond as Finn did, forgiving and loving even the one who has broken your heart. We should also be aware that even our smallest kindnesses can have far-reaching consequences. Forgiveness, love and kindness are always the right and best choices, even when it is towards those who have hurt us or don’t deserve it.

Babel

The movie Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, is an intriguing story about a married couple, Richard and Susan, who are struggling to be reconciled after the Richard abandoned the family and has now returned. In order to encourage his wife’s forgiveness, Richard takes Susan on a vacation of North Africa so they can spend a lot of time together and talk through the issues.

The movie artfully weaves three other stories together to illustrate how one event is caused by another, working together to bring about the final result. First there are the two Moroccan brothers, both in their early teens, who are shepherds taking care of their father’s flock in the hills. Their father buys a rifle for them to kill the jackals before they eat all the sheep. In a bizarre twist, the younger brother, trying to outdo his older brother, ends up shooting Susan, who is riding in a tourist bus passing past the brothers’ village. The boys hide the rifle and run back home, while Richard frantically tries to find a doctor who can save Susan’s life. As the police investigate the incident, the trail leads back to the father. As they flee the police, the older brother is shot to death by the police before the younger brother surrenders and confesses.

Then there is the story of a Mexican nanny taking care of two children, a boy and a girl. Half way through the movie you begin to realize that these are Richard and Susan’s children. The nanny, desiring to go to her son’s wedding but unable to leave since Richard and Susan haven’t returned on time, takes the children to Mexico along with her nephew who drives them there.

The final story is of a deaf Japanese girl who is desperate for love after losing her mother by suicide. Feeling alienated from her father, she seeks the attention of any male she thinks she can seduce. In another bizarre twist, she seduces a young police detective who has come to ask her father a few questions. When she realizes that the police are interested in her father’s missing rifle, she tries to protect him by fabricating a story about her mother’s suicide, saying she jumped from the balcony. Later on we realize that the rifle was given to a Moroccan hunting guide by her father as a thank you present. It was this rifle that was sold the brothers’ father and which nearly killed Susan. The Japanese girl’s father tells the police detective that his wife didn’t jump from the balcony but blew her head off with a gun. It was the girl who was the first to find her mother dead. While the father emphatically claims it was suicide, we are left wondering why he gave the rifle away. Was he overcome with grief and wanted to get rid of the weapon that his wife used to commit suicide, or was he trying to get rid of the evidence that might implicate him in the murder of his wife. In either case, the giving of the rifle to the Moroccan guide was the event that eventually led up to the shooting of Susan.

The movie also shows how the shooting of Susan ultimately causes the deportation of the Mexican nanny. Since Richard and Susan couldn’t come back on time, she took it upon herself to take the children to Mexico for the wedding. On returning to the United States, the border guards realized something wasn’t right, and a chase ensues as the nephew tries to elude the border patrol. Finally, they are found and the nanny is deported for illegally taking the children into Mexico without written authorization from the parents.


This movie artfully shows how one action can affect the lives of many other people. A suicide/murder leads to a gun being illegally purchased. That leads to an accidental shooting which results in the police killing a young boy fleeing from authorities. The shooting leads to the husband and wife being unable to return home on time, leading to the nanny taking the children illegally into Mexico, ultimately ending in her deportation.

Every decision we make affects not only ourselves but others around us, and may cause a chain of events that touches the lives of people we will never meet. The law of unintended consequences is real and must be taken into account when we make decisions. While we can’t know what result our actions may have, we can be sure that when we make wrong choices we will end up hurting someone. There are no victimless crimes and when we choose to do what is wrong or foolish, we will eventually have to answer for the pain and suffering it caused others.

In the end, the whole sequence of events resulted in the reconciliation of Richard and Susan. This reminds us that God works all things together for the good. Even negative circumstances can work good in our lives. So, even though we can’t choose the consequences of our choices, God can still override our ignorance, foolishness, and sinfulness for his glory. The key is to seek forgiveness and reconciliation.

One caveat needs to be made: this move has some explicit sexuality and portrays some negative behavior, so it isn’t for everyone.

Life Lessons 12

The twelfth life lesson is Forgiveness. Forgiveness is more beneficial for the forgiver than for the forgiven. Learn to give up your rights in order to receive what is far more valuable. Forgiveness is to be restored to a place of grace.

Forgiveness is not condoning the hurtful behavior. By forgiving you do not justify the wrong act. But when you refuse to forgive you are only punishing yourself, not the wrongdoer. Forgiveness is not letting people walk all over us. It is realizing that they are bigger than their mistakes.

Getting even may make us feel good for the moment, but it ultimately makes us feel guilty. We want the other person to know our pain, but revenge only makes our pain worse. Refusal to forgive keeps us stuck and makes us a victim. We lose our power when we hold back forgiveness.

Become aware of your anger and let it out constructively. Allow yourself to feel the pain, sorrow, loss, and other negative feelings. Then, let those feelings go. Often what others say or do to hurt you is not about you but about themselves. People think they are doing the right thing; they usually don’t set out to do wrong. No one plans on making a mistake or doing something that will make themselves miserable. Learn to give people the benefit of the doubt and you will find it easier to forgive them. Realize that you often make similar mistakes, and you will find your heart becoming more agreeable to forgiveness.

Revenge is in God's hands not ours. Give the situation to God and trust Him to right any wrongs. Don’t take the management of the universe on your shoulders. Ask God for the grace to forgive. See forgiveness as a Spiritual Maintenance Plan to keep our hearts open and receptive to God’s grace.

Life Lessons 5

The fifth life lesson is Power. True power is the outward expression of our inner being. Position and wealth are not true power. Control is not true power. The more you try to control others the less you have real power over them. Only when you let go of what you can’t control, including other people, will you be able to exercise your true power.

Wealth and poverty are states of mind that affect the way you live. Power comes when you adopt an abundance mindset. A scarcity mindset causes you to think like a victim, disempowering you. When you realize that power comes from within, you can exercise your power in every situation.

Don’t give up your power to others. When you let other control you and force their opinions, desires, and ideas on you, you give up your power. But when you express your own ideas, desires, and opinions you exercise true power. When you try to make others happy, you give up your power and become codependent. Victims abdicate their power and refuse to take responsibility for themselves.

Don’t fall into the “More Trap”. If you think that more money, more things, more knowledge, or more of anything is needed for you to be happy, you are trapped because you will never have enough; you will always need a little bit more. But if you realize that you already have all that you need to be happy, then you will be able to get more of what you want and it will increase the happiness you already have. As long as you are waiting for “tomorrow” you will never be happy “today.” Gratitude is power because it frees from the “More Trap”. When you are thankful for what you already have, you are free to enjoy life.

Guilt and shame rob you of your power. Guilt is based on what you have done and shame is based on who you are. When you do wrong, you feel guilty. When you realize that you are a bad person, you feel shame. Often others force guilt and shame on us by the way they treat us and talk to us. False guilt and shame needs to be removed by the realization that we were not responsible for the things that others have done. But guilt is usually based on the wrong choices and actions we have made. The way to freedom is through forgiveness. We need to believe that God forgives us in Christ, who died for our sins, and he accepts us now as blameless and guiltless in his sight. The blood of Christ takes away our guilt and washes away our shame. This freedom is obtained by faith alone in Jesus Christ. When you experience God’s forgiveness in Christ then you will have true power.