Visionary is impatient people who realize what will happen in the future to them or to other people but doesn’t happen now. These people are capable of making imaginary trips to their past and seek for the image of a better future. I suppose that there are two possible types of such people: those who are smart and positive players, that is, those who have a positive vision on everything and reasonable ideas of how to succeed in their undertakings, and the so-called outsiders who only dream of something good to happen to them but never have a concrete plan of how to approach the desired future. The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, and Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk reveals the idea of the outsider as a visionary by the example of their main characters.
Starting with Miller’s work I want to admit that the play is rather symbolic, as the witch trials depicted there to stand for the anti-Communist “witch-hunts” of the 1950s.
I suppose that these hunted people can be considered as visionary, but of the outsider type, as they could hardly suggest some reasonable plan to make their ideas came true. They could also be considered outsiders as they were not understood by the rest of society.
The same goes with the play’s witches. They were unfairly hunted by the society that was blind and deaf because of the fear and hysteria that it was consumed with. In his play, the author shows how people lose their common sense and start pursuing their goals without taking into account other people’s strivings and interests. In such a society many people gradually become visionary outsiders.
I believe that the play’s character of John Proctor can be considered as a personification of the idea of the outsider as a visionary. This is a rather complex character. As the play has the structure of a classical tragedy, John Proctor may even be considered as the play’s tragic hero. On the one hand, he differs much from other members of the society where he lives in. He is a kind man in many ways; he is good-natured with others that were a rare thing in the described society. He can proud of the farmland he has created, he has a sense of religion and communal spirit that led to many public contributions on his behalf (like building the church, for instance).
What makes him visionary is that he is reluctant to confess to his adultery even when he realizes that it can stop Abigail’s rampage through Salem. He was guided by the fear of ruining his good name; the morbid care of his reputation prevented him from putting an end to the witch hunt in his town. Therefore, this character knew what can be done to save his own life and the lives of others but failed to act correspondingly. This is where the idea of the outsider as a visionary is revealed. Still, one can also argue that Proctor’s final decision not to lie during the court procedure thus saving the lives of others and stopping the witch hunt gives way to call him a positive outsider as visionary. I suppose that both of the views may be considered right.
As for the Revolutionary Road by Yates, it is the Wheelers family that stands to represent the idea under consideration. What the couple has is hopes and aspirations for some radical change in their life. But a mere seeing of themselves as different from the rest of the society is not enough, as the author seems to suggest, to succeed in their attempts to turn a new page in their life.
Actually, here the main difference between a positive and an outsider visionary is rooted: the former always acts and relies on his/her own efforts, and the latter only dreams of something, wanted so much, to happen. April Wheeler’s ambitions to become a famous actress as well as her plans to move to Paris are doomed to failure. Her husband instead of acting somehow to see their common plans came true keeps on drinking too much and finds himself engaged in an affair with a co-worker.
A significant part of the couple’s success was determined by their relationships. Instead of working out a plan of concrete actions they gradually became alien to one another. Their marriage was dying as the sounds of the music before the performance set at the beginning of the novel was.
The most drastic thing about the novel is that by the example of one couple the author showed the way the dreams of other suburbanites were crushed. The author depicted one family’s concerns for their future and managed to disclose the frustrations and yearnings for something better of hundreds of others who faced only the ragged remnants of the American Dream. Describing the American society of the 1950s he showed that people should do their best to succeed in life. The very title of the book suggests that one needs to be a revolutionary in a positive sense of the word to have his or her life changed. April Wheeler was intended to be a character of this type, but she never managed to succeed in her revolutionary attempts.
In Wouk’s Marjorie Morningstar the main character though strives to become an actress and participates in the appropriate clubs, never achieves this goal. Marjorie winds up as the suburban matron that she never wanted to become.
I believe that contrary to the work discussed above this play is aimed at teaching the reader that rebellion is not always the best means to succeed in life. The girl was strong enough to overgrow everything from her past and to question her family’s views on numerous ethical and ethical issues. But this didn’t approach her happiness. At the end of the romantic opus, we see Marjorie as a homemaker and a mother of four children. Now she does not have any trace of charisma she used to have in her youth.
Thus, all three authors showed how one’s dreams might ruin if no sufficient efforts are made to succeed. To this or that extent, the main characters of the authors’ works can be considered as visionary outsiders. Their stories encourage the reader not to simply dream of something but act accordingly to realize his or her dream.
Works Cited
Miller, Aurthur. The Crucible: Text and Criticism. Penguin, 1977.
Wouk, Herman. Marjorie Morningstar. Back Bay Books, 1992.
Yates, Richard. Revolutionary Road. Vintage, 2000.