The Violent Bear It Away (vol. I)

The Violent Bear It Away contains many interesting characters, but none as fascinatingly influential as Uncle Tarwater. The lives of young Tarwater and Rayber stand in the shadow of the life of their crazed Uncle. And while the two despise the ramblings of their Uncle, both of the characters cannot help but be drawn to his energy. “He [Uncle Tarwater] would look as if he had been wrestling a wildcat, as if his head were still full of the visions he had seen in its eyes…these were the times that Tarwater knew [that he would answer the call from God]” (8). Uncle Tarwater instills in Rayber and his cousin a spirit which the two with wrestle with for the entirety of the novel. But what is the “spirit”? The spirit appears to be “love that appeared to exist only to be itself, imperious and all demanding, the kind that would cause him to make a fool of himself in an instant” (114). The depth of true love is terrifying to Rayber because it challenges all the mastery his self-will has fooled him into believing, love challenges the intellectual control he has obtained over his life. Indeed, love is a force which makes people do foolish things, become like Uncle Tarwaters. But if we deny love, deny passion in order to gain control we become simply mechanical men. The battle between intellectual control and the untamable passion which dwells within the characters is fought throughout the novel.