Morality and Politics In Literature: A Rant

Edgar Allan Poe was a strong believer in stories being written for art's sake and not for the sake of some conspicuous moral or political message.  I mostly agree with this sentiment.  While there certainly is a time and place for everything, there is nothing more infuriating than self-righteous, hand-held moral or political messages that are forced down one's throat. I also firmly believe that there is a difference between a story with a message and a message with a story.

In Poe's day, Transcendentalists sullied their literature with weak and pretentious messages of pseudo-environmentalism and vague "spiritualism".  One could argue they were the counterculture of their time.  This literary and philosophical movement is considered a branch of the Romantics in the mid-19th century.  On the other hand, you had those whom many called "Dark Romantics".  Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville come to mind when thinking of these authors.  While still quite distinct from each other, they wrote great stories and made certain their art came before their messages.  However, I can say most stories written by Transcendentalists that I've read are quite the contrary.

Now, enough history.  My point is that we face a similar problem today.  Stories are increasingly more obnoxious when it comes to so-called moral and political messages.  Frankly, it has gotten to the point where some books are simply unenjoyable to read.  As mentioned earlier, this is a symptom of an age where instead of having good stories, we have "messages with stories".  Often times the messages aren't very inspiring or moving.  Instead, they're full of nihilistic but paradoxically "optimistic" messages of the strictly material "humanity".  These viewpoints are cheap and come from the insufferable disease that is 21st century academia.

Even so, moral messages are not always a bad thing when done correctly.  Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury is an excellent example of a story with a message and not vice versa.  For those of you unfamiliar with the novel, it revolves around two boys and an aging father who are confronted by an evil carnival one October.  Ultimately, it's a classic good vs. evil tale and it genuinely touches the human soul (artistically and spiritually).  Its story, descriptions, and characters are compelling and relatable. Likewise, its moral messages will leave one pondering the good and evil in his own life.  As a Christian, I felt the morality of the story sincere and truthful.

Of course, messages in stories can go beyond morality and politics.  For example, conveying the significance of an emotion such as sorrow (and its consequences) can be interwoven into a story without taking away from the artistic integrity.  Edgar Allan Poe did this very well in many of his works.  However, by foremost making the stories compelling and not sacrificing the artistic elements, he allowed most of his messages to be naturally conveyed.  I can't say the same about most mainstream authors these days.