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Life In John Steinbeck's The Brethren

2715 Words11 Pages

".....it was that even the "simple" life could be complex. No matter where one lived, life was stressful. Even for those who chose a less hectic pace, it was impossible to escape the pitfalls of human emotion and the unavoidable problems that resulted."

'Louisa' in the novel "The Brethren" has the above observation while sitting comfortably in her technologically decked apartment with all that a modern human can desire for and can suffice with. But one wonders what made her stop and think on life with such a perception, in this apparently fast paced world where man is inventing potential 'desires' and quenching them with equally fast pace. But this is how humans are. A dictionary defines Humans as "a …show more content…

The everyday "run" of the modern world doesn't give one time to reflect either on his/her life or one's soul. Louisa, a city dweller in the novel realises the imperfections of the city life during her short stay with the Amish. While staying with Annie and closely associating herself with the Amish lifestyle Louisa is able to look at the "fancy world" as an outsider. She realises how materialistic everything is in 'that world' and how hollow human relations are. On her return to the 'modern' world she finds it is hard to detach herself from the "faith" of the Brethren. In a conversation with her mother, Louisa questions "Have you ever had your senses thoroughly awakened? Have you ever experienced the incredible feeling of community neighbor caring for neighbor?" (25) She reminds us modern readers how the modernity is secluding us and pushing us into our individual selves where all that matters to us is "my dream", "my passion" and "my life". The life with the Amish "awakens" Louisa towards the limitedness of the soul of the "Non- Amish", who are too busy making profits from their "neighbours" and only thinking about how to climb up the social and economic

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