Themes Of Humanism In Literature

Humanist writings, though the boundaries of humanism are plaint, call upon constructive attitudinal changes in humanity. To quote Davies: “the very idea of humanity, is in real, may be terminal, trouble, and that we have no one to blame but ourselves, no resources to call on but our own … Fuelled by outrage and invigorated by bitter irony, writing of this kind draws from a deep well of humanist protest.” (Davies 134; emphasis added) Such humanistic ideals have found profound expression in more literary works than in philosophical treatises. Literature for ages is in defence of humanity. Since time immemorial, role of literature and arts in injecting humane values and virtues and moralizing mankind is peerless. Literary artists deem literature

And, Chattopadhyaya’s The Sleeper Awakened satirically allegorizes the evils of modern civilization and exposes the pathetic lives of the poor. The other notable plays with humanistic vigour are A. S. Panchapakesa Ayyar’s The Trail of Science for the Murder of Humanity and In the Clutch of the Devil which critiques “the ungodly and superstitious practices involving witchcraft and ritualistic murder current in contemporary rural south India” (Naik 147: 1982).Thyagaraja Paramasiva Kailasam’s Karna or The Brahman’s Curseis a miniature of spiritual humanism. Joseph Mathias Lobo-Prabhu’s Flags of the Heart “is a sentimental presentation of love thwarted by caste, with a dash of terrorism deepening its already garish colours.”(Naik 151: 1982) And, Bharati Sarabhai’s The Well of The People possesses a distinct impact of Gandhian humanism.

As postulated by M. K. Naik, Indian English Drama remained the most neglected art among the genres of Indian English Literature until the emergence of modern dramatists especially Nissim Ezekiel, Girish Karnad, Vijay Tendulkar, Mahesh Dattani, Dina Mehta, and Manjula Padmanabhan. Their contribution assured that no longer Indian English Drama

Why must only a man have the right to be a man … A woman can do everything a man can…those who do manly things should be equal to men. Those who don’t, are women. And there will be some among them who have beards and moustaches too. (CPiT 47) The innocent protagonist of these plays – Leela Benare – a victim of child sexual abuse, Kamala – a victim of sexism, Rama – a victim of marriage institution are subjugated to violence and relentlessly exploited by the male – oriented society for no fault of their own. Besides exposing the inherently vicious and destructive nature of human psyche, the author depicts how the humans’ excessive desire for fame and money gradually transforms them into loathsome