The definition of violence often is widened to include threats of physical force and substantially abusive language and harassing actions. Most Hazel’s
actions are violent because he never gives attention while someone is speaking. Hazel is pictured as a violent person since the first chapter. He does not look when
Mrs. Wally Bee Hitchcock is talking to him and answers her impolitely 11 and 12. He also acts that could cause people irritating. He does not give attention to a
boy who is speaking to him in a used-car market 14 and rejects Enoch violently while Enoch wants to be his friend 13.
11 “I guess you’re going home,” she said, turning back to him again. He didn’t look, to her, much over twenty… he didn’t
answer her or move his eyes from whatever he was looking at. Fitzgerald, 1988: 3
12 “Are you going home?” Mrs. Hitchcock asked. He looked at her sourly and gripped the black hat by the brim.
“No, I ain’t,” he said in a sharp high nasal Tennessee voice. Fitzgerald, 1988: 5
13 “Look,” Haze said, “I’m going where I’m going, two doors from here. I got a woman, see? And that’s where I’m going, to
visit her. I don’t need to go with you… Get away from me.” “People ain’t friendly here. You ain’t from here but you ain’t
friendly neither.” Haze didn’t answer him. He went on with his neck drawn close to
his shoulder blades as if he were cold. Fitzgerald, 1988: 32
14 Haze started off toward the back of the lot where he saw a particular car. “Hey” the boy yelled. “You don’t just walk in here
like that. I’ll show you what I got to show,” but Haze didn’t pay any attention to him. Fitzgerald, 1988: 38
3.3 Absurd
According to Absurdist, humans historically attempt to find meaning in their life. For some, traditionally, this search follows one of two paths: either
concluding that life is meaningless and that what we have is the here-and-now; or
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filling the void with a purpose set forth by a higher power, often a belief in God or adherence to a religion.
15 “If Jesus had redeemed you, what different would it make to you? You wouldn’t do nothing about it. Your faces wouldn’t
move, neither this way nor that, and if it was three crosses there and Him hung on the middle one, that one wouldn’t mean no more
to you and me than the other two. Listen here. What you need is something to take the place of Jesus, something that would speak
plain. Fitzgerald, 1988: 80
One of absurd characteristic is absurd hero’s sense of isolation from God,
humanity and love. Ever since his unhappy youth he had been thinking that Jesus must be the problem and that is why he wants to get rid of the ragged figure that
moves from tree to tree in the back of his mind. Hazel isolates himself from God and ignores God’s grace. The feeling of not being loved by family gives him a
feeling that God never loves him. That God’s grace does not exist is preached to show hazel’s rebellion of God.
He preaches something that contrasts with the universe read: Christians knows as the truth. Hazel preaching is that there is no heaven or hell, that makes
sense to the readers that for Hazel life is meaningless or what human has is the here-and-now though in the end of the story he will back to the Figure he rejects.
16 “Well, I preach the Church Without Christ. I’m member and preacher to that church where the blind don’t see and the lame
don’t walk and what’s dead stays that way. Ask me about that church and I’ll tell you it’s church that the blood of Jesus don’t
foul with redemption….Listen, you people, I’m going to take the truth with me wherever I go. I’m going to preach there was no Fall
because there was nothing to fall from and no Redemption because there was no Fall and no Judgment because there wasn’t the first
two. Nothing matters but that Jesus was a liar.” Fitzgerald, 1988: 59
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One of absurd characteristic is a ‘going away from’ a norm, a questioning of the validity of human reason itself from which our perceptions of natural laws
arise. The norm is considered useless and meaningless. 17 When Haze started across the street, Enoch yelled, “Don’t
you see theter light That means you got to wait” The policeman looked at him without saying anything. A few
people stopped. He rolled his eyes at them. “Maybe you thought the red ones was for white folks and the green ones for niggers,”
he said. “Yeah I thought that,” haze said. “That your hand off me.”
Fitzgerald, 1988: 24 18“Where’s your license?” the patrolman said.
“I don’t have a license.” Haze said. “Well,” the patrolman said in a kindly voice, “I don’t reckon you
need one.” “Well I ain’t got one if I do,” haze said. Fitzgerald, 1988: 117
From the examples above, it is clearly known that for Hazel, norm is not for him. It is a must that a person who has car should have a driver license, but for
Hazel it is not. Hazel keeps walking while the light is red, not because he does not know the rule, but it is because he does not care.
3.4 Mystery
