Harmonious, symbiotic relationships exist all over society, some of which being success and failure, love and grief, or fear and bravery. These partnerships coexist with one another, one idea simply becoming unattainable if its counterpart does not exist. For example, bravery becomes impossible without fear. Authors often use these ideas in literature to demonstrate the relationship between two main ideas of a novel. By analyzing this concept, it has become apparent that author Colum McCann uses the idea of struggle and hope in his novel Let the Great World Spin. In the chapter “Roaring Seaward and I Go,” McCann makes the authorial choice to place the novel in 2006 rather than just continuing the story that takes place in 1974. Furthermore,
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Arguably the most striking example of struggle and hope being so closely intertwined is the tightrope walker between the towers. McCann opens the final chapter with Jaslyn pondering this idea, questioning “the sheer fact that such beauty had occurred at the same time” (McCann 327) that her mother died. This in and of itself shows the bond between struggle and hope. The tightrope walker essentially represents a glimmer of hope and unity in a society drowning in struggle and grief. The walker simply united a plethora of diverse people together, a notion that is unachievable today due to the evolution of society. Often deemed an allegory for the September 11th terrorist attacks, it becomes apparent at this point that Let the Great World Spin is truly just the symbol of hope in a world filled with struggle. The novel concludes with a rather compelling quote: “The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough” (McCann 349). This quote, along with the title “Let the Great World Spin,” further substantiate the idea of hope and struggle as a cycle. On a greater scale, struggle and hope are a reality for all those who exist, in and out of literature; struggles are inherent to all human beings, regardless of time period, race, and religion. The chapter “Roaring Seaward and I Go” not only shows a new era of hope for Jaslyn through the parallel of the curb, but also shows a new era of struggle with the war in Afghanistan. McCann sets the last chapter of the novel in 2006 to prove the inevitability of the recurrent, infamous cycle of struggle and
Arguably the most striking example of struggle and hope being so closely intertwined is the tightrope walker between the towers. McCann opens the final chapter with Jaslyn pondering this idea, questioning “the sheer fact that such beauty had occurred at the same time” (McCann 327) that her mother died. This in and of itself shows the bond between struggle and hope. The tightrope walker essentially represents a glimmer of hope and unity in a society drowning in struggle and grief. The walker simply united a plethora of diverse people together, a notion that is unachievable today due to the evolution of society. Often deemed an allegory for the September 11th terrorist attacks, it becomes apparent at this point that Let the Great World Spin is truly just the symbol of hope in a world filled with struggle. The novel concludes with a rather compelling quote: “The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough” (McCann 349). This quote, along with the title “Let the Great World Spin,” further substantiate the idea of hope and struggle as a cycle. On a greater scale, struggle and hope are a reality for all those who exist, in and out of literature; struggles are inherent to all human beings, regardless of time period, race, and religion. The chapter “Roaring Seaward and I Go” not only shows a new era of hope for Jaslyn through the parallel of the curb, but also shows a new era of struggle with the war in Afghanistan. McCann sets the last chapter of the novel in 2006 to prove the inevitability of the recurrent, infamous cycle of struggle and