Humanities concepts and methods

Religion in the Literary Works of Sophocles, Ernest Hemingway, Frederick Douglass, And Niccolo Machiavelli

In the history of literature, religion has been one of the primary institutions that have influenced the lifeways, values, and beliefs of human society. Religion as a social institution has instilled the belief in a metaphysical and supreme being who serves as people's 'guiding post' towards achieving a meaningful and moral life. Indeed, religion had been used as a moral standard through which human actions and behavior and judged. It dictated what actions and behavior are considered right or wrong, concepts that were also synonymously associated with people's perception of good and bad, respectively. It has been pivotal in creating the social order that prevailed in most societies as it moved towards modernism.

No other society has been influenced strongly by religion as the Western society. Western society is considered one of the most developed societies in the history of human civilization, and its ascent was accompanied with the proliferation of literary works that sought to characterize the lifestyle of the people. These depictions specifically demonstrate how religion played an important part in influencing people's decisions and actions in life. Indeed, religious beliefs and religion-centric societies are illustrated in the works of the following authors from different periods in history: Sophocles ("Antigone"), Niccolo Machiavelli ("The Prince"), Frederick Douglass ("Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave"), and Ernest Hemingway ("A Farewell to Arms"). This paper posits that an analysis of this literary works show that each work's protagonist achieves his/her triumph or downfall because of actions and behavior that were influenced by religion. Ultimately, all of the authors depicted religion in the strictest sense served as an impediment rather than benefit the individual to truly achieving contentment and happiness in life. In the texts that follow, each protagonist's triumph was motivated by his/her decision to not believe the conservative and rigid values and beliefs imposed by the Church. Downfall, meanwhile, befell Hemingway's and Sophocles' protagonists because they chose to believe in a religion that only imprisoned their freedom and restricted their actions and behavior, thus hindering them to achieve happiness in life.

While Douglass and Machiavelli showed that religion is an important factor in the lives of humanity, both had also believed that religion must not ultimately rule one's life. In Douglass' autobiography, readers witnessed how religion became both salvation and curse for him. It was through Christianity that he received relief and emotional calmness despite the trying life he had as an African-American slave.

Ironically, however, the solace that religion brought for Douglass was also the very institution that had promoted and encouraged black slavery in the country. The author embodied religion's 'dark side' through the character of Mr. Covey, who was described as a deeply religious man who used his religiousness as a "front" to 'deceive' people about his abuses and cruelty to the slaves. He was thus a man who thinks of himself as an "equal to deceiving the Almighty," while being "devoted to and perpetrating the grossest deceptions" to his slaves. In Douglass' memoirs as a slave, religion and its principles and important tenets have been used to validate an unfair and unjust practice -- black slavery. Realizing this, Douglass considered religion's value for its benefit to humanity only, and criticized it for its promotion of black slavery.

Machiavelli shared Douglass' opinion concerning the role of religion in one's society. He believed that religion is instrumental in bringing about not only a moral society, but also a just one. In his discourse, "The Prince," he asserted that the ideal leader, the Prince, must not "...deceive friends...be without faith, without mercy, without religion..." This invoked the belief that a leader, in order to become effective, efficient, and respected by the civil society, must also be of moral character. This means that in the same way as people let their lives be influenced by religion and its values and beliefs, so too must the Prince engage in a lifestyle dominated by religion. A religious individual is a moral individual, hence commanding the respect of his people and giving him credibility to lead over society.

However, it is also vital to note that while he put premium to religiosity, Machiavelli's characterization of the Prince as a religious man was just one of the many facets that make up an ideal leader. More than anything else, he considered the intellect of the Prince as the ultimate determinant of one's effectiveness, efficiency, and credibility as a leader. Like Douglass, Machiavelli cited religion for its good qualities (i.e., ability to induce values and desirable behavior from people) but downplays its advantages (society's tendency to become conservative, rigid, and unilateral thinking and judgment).

Hemingway and Sophocles, meanwhile, depicted a different picture of religion's influence to people's lives. In both authors' works, religion had been a detriment that led to Antigone's death ("Antigone") and Henry's suffering during and after the war ("A farewell to arms").