Responsibility of the Artist in Faith in a Tree :: Faith in a Tree Essays

Responsibility of the Artist in Faith in a Tree   The philosophy found in Faith in a Tree deals heavily with responsibility. One of the responsibilities which was explored was the responsibility of the artist. Paleys portrayal of artists in this humbug is certainly less than flattering. In one of the most thematically heavy paragraphs, Faith decides, (to summarize a paragraph) if its truth and honor you want to refine...let God be in raze of beauty....and let man be in charge of Good. (p.89) The comment was given this instant after a dialogue in which artists were labeled as speculators speculators in the sense that they did not invest in life, they merely observed. One gets the sense from the tone of the pages that artists are not creation put in a favorable light. Paley is trying to say something historic about the responsibility of an artist here. Her condemnation of artists as cited above does not extend to all artists. There is a qualifier at the completeset of the paragraph which is very important, if its truth and honor you want to refine. In essence, if the artist is trying to discern something true or noble accordingly they should stop painting, writing, or sculpting for its possess sake and start doing something Good. Faith reveals her own disdain for musicians who are absorbed in art for arts sake when she comments satirically, when lousiness covers the earth and darkness a great people, I will gestate of you two men with smart ears. (p.89) Paley is obviously aware thin frosting of hypocrisy she is skating on. An artist herself, her own story should be actively supporting the Good, or her critique of the painter and the musicians would be meaningless. Before expiry further, it is necessary to define just what Faiths idea of Good is. Faith doesnt directly define Good, but she does define no-count which is just as important, because a fight or artistic work against something bad, is in essence, something Good. In Faiths words, evilness is bad, Wicked is bad. Robbing, Murder and Putting Heroin in your Blood is Bad (p.85) Any act which is wicked, evil, or destructive is part of the Bad. Faiths commentary of Bad is very general, but leaves a good jumping off point into the of import theme of the novel, the Vietnam War. Surprisingly, the war, which I consider to be the main theme of the novel, takes up very little of the action in the story.