Themes of Word processor of Gods

Words processor of Gods By Stephen King

Themes

1)    Bringing Dream into existence

Richard always longed for money and happy life. For the money he wanted to write lucrative novel and for the happy life, he wanted to marry Belinda, but he failed in his own. His brother’s son Jon play a very important role in bringing his dream true. He gifts his uncle a computer which is more like Wand Word Processor. But his brother family die in accident. He used Execute key each time to make his wish true like rubbing ewer in Aladdin.

First wish he typed for money

“Twelve twenty Dollar gold pieces in small cotton sack”

These coins appear as he wishes. These golden coins are heavier than the Rolex watch. The symbol of Eagle is carved on it with date 1871. Date suggest that word processor work like a time machine which bring coin from the past.

Second dream of Richard was that he led a happy married life but in reality he was too cowardice to fight for his beloved. He typed on screen

“I am a man who lives alone except for my wife Belinda and my son Jonathan”

Wife and son of his brother which become dead in accident. This machine brings back to them in this world again. It also suggests according to writer that machine can defy the God power.

2)   Deleting things from reality:

Richard life is not a happy life. He has an ignorant son and wicked wife. This family in his life is a burden on Richard. Richard was only a money bank for his son, who waste time in playing guitar and with the group of his friends. While his wife who do nothing just reading sexually explicit Romantic novels and eating. There is no love between Richard and his wife.

First of all, he vanishes his son from home by typing command on machine.

“My son is Seth Robert Hagstrom”

Then he clicked on Delete button. One of his hurdle is removed from his life. But the other one remaining, who is his wife. He becomes relieved that he read many times the melodramatic phrase “I have no son”. Because he experiences first time the feeling of not having irritating one.

Richard always feels embarrassed due to his wife in front of his friends because she served them anything. He always criticized by her for not writing a noble prize winning short story while she does nothing.

As she says

“Why don’t you write a noble prize winning short story or something?”

So, that’s reason he wanted to get rid of wife foe not being happy with him.

He typed command on computer

“My wife is Adlina Mabel Warren Hagstrom”

And then click on Delete button. He gets command over his life by using a machine which was only a set of wires. He deleted things from his life which only gives him a sadness

 

3) Fate vs Technology

  Richard life was the ill-fated life and his brother who is older and bigger always get what he wanted by force even his girlfriend Belinda. In real life, Richard was cowardice, timid and weak to fight for his love. So, he uses technology which he called magic dream machine, to defy and to go against his fate. By the use of technology, he makes his dead brother’s wife and son in the possession of himself.

4) The corruption of Mankind

The theme of corruption of mankind is prevalent in the story. Human always wanted that the bad and useless people who are closed ones to be vanished from their life instead of making them better ones. In the story Richard also done this with his verbally abusive wife and bratty, disrespectful teenage son. Vanishing the real one is not less than to murder someone. So the happy ending in the story is attained by annihilating moral values.

5) Human Shortsightedness and greed

Richard after getting the temporary and Godlike power, he only fulfils his few wishes which is also in reach of human powers. There are many ways to attain wealth and led a happy life. But human being as shortsightedness and greed only think about little thing in spite of having a huge purpose.

6) Indignant hate for bullies

Stephan King really hates bullies and it is manifested in many of his stories. In this story Richard’s brother bullies him, writer show it through flashback technique that he was viciously cruel to Richard throughout in his childhood. Depiction of teenage cruelty are terribly effective in making us sympathize with victim.

There are two places in story where Richard become victim of bully. Firstly, when Roger breaks the Magic Eight Ball which is the toy of Richard

“Roger had thrown it onto the sidewalk as hard as he could, breaking it”

And second time, he bullied for his beloved Belinda. Richard was first who dated with Belinda. But they broke up due to the threat given by his brother. And later Belinda becomes wife of the Roger.

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Criticism defined by different Critics

                                                   Criticism

The word criticism has been derived from the Greek work Kritikos which means able to discern and decide. In its strict sense it means judgement and this sense commonly colours our use of it even when it is most broadly employed. The term criticism more than the mere judgement.

A common man choosing or rejecting a thing applies his critical faculty. But when we are to translate the idea into exact language, it seems difficult, if not possible.

In St. Augustine words:

“If not asked, I know; if you ask me; I know not”

The word criticism has been used in many senses, from “fault finding” (New English Dictionary) to “the distinguish of beauty” (E. B. Browning)

Victor Hugo declared,

“Is the work Good or Bad? _that’s a criticism domain”

Some have taken criticism for appraisal, some for exposition and some for analysis.

The word “Criticism” has been in use as a term since the 17^th Century. Various definitions have given by the critics.

Criticism is “the art of judging or evaluation with knowledge and propriety the beauties and faults of works of art or literature”

                                                                    _Webster’s New International Dictionary

Criticism is “the art of estimating the qualities and character of literary or artistic work; the function or work of a Critic”.

                                                                                             _New English Dictionary

“Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant a standard of judging well; the chief part of which is, to observe those excellences which should delight a reasonable reader”.

                                                                            _Dryden, Prefaces and Other Essays

Criticism is “the conscious evaluation and appreciation of a work of art, either according to the critic’s personal taste or according to some accepted aesthetic ideas”

                                                         _Shipley’s dictionary of World Literature 1943

Criticism is “the art of judging the qualities and values of an aesthetic object, whether in Literature or the fine arts.”

                                                                                 _Encyclopedia Britanica 11^th Ed.

 “Criticism is that department of thought which either seeks to find out what poetry is, what its use is, what desires it satisfies, why it is written and why read and recited; or which _assesses actual poetry_ (There are) these two theoretical limits of criticism; at once of which we attempt to answer the questions ‘what is poetry?’ and at the other ‘is this a good poem?’”

                                                _T.S. Eliot, the Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism

These definitions distinctively fall into two groups; one giving importance to Judgement, the other, to Impartial Inquiry; the one is the enquiry into what ought to be, the other the enquiry into what is. If we combine them together, we have this definition:

          “Criticism is an intelligent inquiry into a work of art to answer three questions: what has the artist tried to express? How has he succeeded in expressing it? Was it worth expressing?”

(a What has the artist tried to express?

Answer to this question includes the analysis and interpretation of the idea or views underlying the work of art. In this respect, our approach may be impressionistic, comparative, historical, psychological or scientific.

(    How has he succeeded in expressing it?

Answer to this question includes discussion on the medium of artist, and study of techniques and rule governing them. Over legislation has been the bane of official criticism; and originality, especially in work of creative imagination, has been condemned because it did not conform to existing rule. Our approach, in this respect, may be classical, or romantic, giving more importance to tradition or originality respectively.

(c  Was it worth expressing?

Answer to this question implies judgement and decision. Judgement is essential to criticism because intelligent analysis and evaluation depends heavily on the exercise of judgement. A critic may judge either according to his personal taste or according to some accepted aesthetic ideas.

 

                Three main activities of literary criticism

Literary criticism is the discipline of interpreting, analyzing and evaluating works of literature. Literature is most commonly defined as works of writing that have lasted over the years because they deal with ideas of timeless and universal interest with exceptional artistry and power. This can include poems, stories, novels, plays, essays, memoirs, and so on. Each of the three main activities of literary criticism – interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating –gives rise to different questions.
The Interpretive Question: What does this work of literature mean? When we interpret a work, we set forth one or more of its possible meanings. Reading is like a potluck picnic to which the writer brings the words and the readers bring the meanings. Literary works speak to us all in different ways, and one of the pleasures of talking about books is the chance to check out all the different ideas other readers bring to the picnic.
The Analytic Question: How does this piece of literature work? When we analyze a text, we get under the hood to see how the engine operates. Analysis is technical: pulling things apart, examining relationships, figuring out effects. We are not asking what a poem means anymore but how the author makes it click.
The Evaluative Question: Is this work of literature any good? When evaluate a work, we form a personal judgment about its work: Is this a great novel or a rotten one? Why? Does this poem have any value? Why? What does this work of literature add – or subtract – from the world?

Reference

Ahmad, M :Literary Criticism

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