John Updikes Works Essay -- essays research papers fc

Existence is like a creature that hides and then reveals itself. Existence is defined in Websters New World lexicon as the "state or fact of being." This cosmos strives to reach law which is located beyond space and time, yet trueness must be grasped by existence nevertheless. This is accomplished through ritual, which can bring astir(predicate) the capturing of the in liable.Edward P. Vargo stated that John Updike uses ritual "to fulfill the great desire of capturing the historic, to puddle the present inwardnessful through connection with the past, to overcome death, and to grasp interminableity" (Contemporary Vol. 7 487). He combines the aspects and meaning of seemingly unimportant ritual along with mankinds desire for a relationship with God to form truth and value for the past, present, and future. Updike uses his talents as a writer to bring together the conceivable and the inconceivable.John Updike implements his philosophies and ideals in a way that brings together existence with meaning. "Updike is in the trump sense of the word an intellectual novelist, a novelist of paradox, tension and complexity who as a college wit in the fifties learned that we are each symbols and inhabit symbols" (World 3752). Updike uses his beliefs to form stronger meanings in his writings.John Updike has a strong faith in human intelligence. He believes that people can use it to explore the universe. He finds the world "to be a place of intricate and marvelous patterns of meaning" (Contemporary Vol. 5 449). With this faith he is able to bring things into focus that would non ordinarily be seen. "I describe things not because their muteness mocks our subjectivity but because they seem to be masks for God. . ." (Contemporary Vol. 7 486). Updike is able to see past the facade of normal, ordinary life.John Updike uses his insights in his writing to emphasize human feelings. He suggests in his writings that "the human con science constantly suffers guilt for transgressing the laws of cardinal different moralities" (World 3754). John Updike recognizes this feeling of guilt and is more able to clearly show the connections of the past to the present. His writings are also able to detain a "sense of human incompleteness, of the sense of discrepancy between certain and the ideal" (Magills 1988). He shows how humans strive to ... ... section of existence and truth, and to overcome death. Ritual gives substance to the present. It has connections to the everyday world, to the past, and to the future. Thus, ritual is able to signify life itself as it discovers new patterns for growth and fulfillment. Through myth, the past becomes immortal and meaningful. Ritual, along with worship of God, is able to satisfy the great desire for truth, existence, and meaning. whole works CitedUpdike, John. Broadening Views, 1968-1988. Vol. 6. Ed. C.E. Frazer Clark Jr. Detroit Gale search Company, 1989. Updik e, John. The Centaur. New York Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1963.Updike, John. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 5. Ed. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Detroit Gale look into Company,      1976. Updike, John. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 7. Ed. Phyllis Carmel Mendelson and Dedria Bryfonski. Detroit Gale Research Company, 1977.Updike, John. Magills Survey of American Literature. Vol. 6. Ed. bold N. Magill. New York Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1991.Updike, John. World Literature Criticism 1500 to the Present. Vol. 6. Ed. James P. Draper. Detroit Gale Research Company, 1992.