Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Dear Sir: I always enjoy reading
your articles, and particularly those
which deal with human nature and the
modern trend of events.
IT have read Les Miserables' and also
Elmer Gantry.' 1t occurred to me, after
reading some of your dissertations on
the subject of realism as evidenced in
some literature of the present day, that
would tell you my impressions after
reading each of the above.
There may be everything to be said
in favor of depicting life as Is, but I can
not help thinking that the particular
manner in which 1t Is done, and the
moral that is pointed, is a matter of
overwhelming significance.
ut seems to me that an entirely diff
ferent picture in the mind-or taste in
the mouth, if you willis left after
digesting the respective literary works
heretofore referred to. However realistic
the one may be, it does not portray
vice as a virtue. On the other hand, a
story of the Elmer Gantry' type could
not by any stretch of the Imagination
be accused of a desire to unfit hui
mainly in portraying, as it does, the
weaknesses of an emissary of the Cos
pei and his rise to the pinnacle of sue
cess in the face thereof. Aside from
which, If we are to be taught to look
askance at those upon whom we rely
for spiritual guidance, what then of
constructive humanity?
Ideals are wonderful things to have.
We turn from the realities of every
day life to our books, and plays, and
pictures for regeneration and to glimpse
the beautiful things of life. II we are
to be told that there is nothing really
beautiful in life, I cannot see how that
ic uniT1O n I 70
as to say that the French author is
constructive and that our modernists
are merely engaged In the process of
tearing down. No matter how close to
the actual realities of life We may APP
proach in the printed word that is
placed before the public, the story of
vice triumphant cannot be other than
destructive, and it is contrary to all
the standards of a great civilization
very truly yours, J. j. W."
X
Certainly, the particular manner in
which life is depicted in q novel is a
matter of overwhelming significance.
Whether a work of fiction must point
moral is something else again.
Many of the finest modern novels
point no moral whatever. PriestleyS
Angel Pavement" referred to at length
here recently, hasn't sign Of moral
anywhere in it's 500 or so pages. Yet
the manner in which 1t depicts life
makes it an eminently moral work, If
one must have his morals
The finest of the great French nov
els make little point of adducing a
moral Behind them, with certain ex-
ceptions, lies only desire to give the
reader life as it is lived
It is this aim which has been seized
upon by many a modern author, and
worked to the point of disgust. These
writers-but we do not include Sinclair
Lewis in the list-have forgotten 1.-The
particular manner" for which our cor
respondent pleads.
We might name, II we chose, a num-
Der of modern novels which really have
no excuse for being. They do not belong
to the small group of filthy stories ped
died in smoking cars, but come as near
to that type as they can without vio-
lating the postal regulations.
On the other hand, no reader has any
particular right in demanding that an
author have a desire to uplift humanity
Uplifting" is something which comes
natural to only a few persons in the
world at any given time. and some peo-
pie have their doubts whether they are
to be called angels or something else
All that one can fairly ask novelist
to do is to tell story. II, in telling it,
he is spurrad on by private well OF in
dignation, such as Dickens had, and
lola had, his stories will benefit from