3.3 Luke as a Witness of Violence and Deceit in A Painted House
One of the main themes in the novel is violence and its various forms. The following section describes the main features of violence and its types, as well as its possible effects on people. Moreover, specific instances of the use and effects of violence against the protagonist and other characters of the novel are discussed.
3.3.1 Types of Violence and Its Effect
Violence has several definitions and it can be divided into various types. Different scholars who define violence have diverse ideas and describe this phenomenon in various ways, for example, some distinguish violence as a multiplex act that has many layers and in which pressure and anger are involved (Van Soest and …show more content…
However, it can be difficult to differentiate between these two types. Therefore, an easier way to tell the difference between the types is by applying certain criteria: “first, by whether or not the act of violence itself is physical or nonphysical/psychological, and second, by whether or not the consequences of the act are physical and/or nonphysical/psychological” (Greenfield and Marks 162). In other words, attention should be paid on the action and its results, when deciding upon the type of violence. What is more, Daniel Jay Sonkin provides some examples of possible assaults: “These acts would include a range from the less lethal acts of grabbing and pushing to the more lethal acts of choking, punching and assaults with weapons” (Sonkin). In other words, physical violence refers to a variety of abusive actions that are of different levels, resulting in minor injuries or even death of those that are abused. Non-physical violence is a more complicated term as it covers many subcategories of violence. The range of these categories is wide: it can be “emotional abuse, psychological maltreatment, verbal abuse, mental abuse, emotional maltreatment and psychological violence” (Sonkin). Although these types can be related to psychology or have features dealing with psychology of the people involved in violent acts, psychological violence is distinguished as a separate category, and, as Sonkin notes, it “may be characterized as carrying an implied threat of physical violence, or attempt to intimidate or control the other person” (Sonkin). This means that psychological violence can lead to physical violence as, for example, a person who insults someone might eventually take some physical actions and injure the victim. It might as well be that psychological violence is used in order to gain power against another individual and use it at the same
One of the main themes in the novel is violence and its various forms. The following section describes the main features of violence and its types, as well as its possible effects on people. Moreover, specific instances of the use and effects of violence against the protagonist and other characters of the novel are discussed.
3.3.1 Types of Violence and Its Effect
Violence has several definitions and it can be divided into various types. Different scholars who define violence have diverse ideas and describe this phenomenon in various ways, for example, some distinguish violence as a multiplex act that has many layers and in which pressure and anger are involved (Van Soest and …show more content…
However, it can be difficult to differentiate between these two types. Therefore, an easier way to tell the difference between the types is by applying certain criteria: “first, by whether or not the act of violence itself is physical or nonphysical/psychological, and second, by whether or not the consequences of the act are physical and/or nonphysical/psychological” (Greenfield and Marks 162). In other words, attention should be paid on the action and its results, when deciding upon the type of violence. What is more, Daniel Jay Sonkin provides some examples of possible assaults: “These acts would include a range from the less lethal acts of grabbing and pushing to the more lethal acts of choking, punching and assaults with weapons” (Sonkin). In other words, physical violence refers to a variety of abusive actions that are of different levels, resulting in minor injuries or even death of those that are abused. Non-physical violence is a more complicated term as it covers many subcategories of violence. The range of these categories is wide: it can be “emotional abuse, psychological maltreatment, verbal abuse, mental abuse, emotional maltreatment and psychological violence” (Sonkin). Although these types can be related to psychology or have features dealing with psychology of the people involved in violent acts, psychological violence is distinguished as a separate category, and, as Sonkin notes, it “may be characterized as carrying an implied threat of physical violence, or attempt to intimidate or control the other person” (Sonkin). This means that psychological violence can lead to physical violence as, for example, a person who insults someone might eventually take some physical actions and injure the victim. It might as well be that psychological violence is used in order to gain power against another individual and use it at the same