Nemesis, a novel by Philip Roth, gives a protagonist view of what is good, and what is wrong in the lives of human beings. Moreover, the novel gives an opposing view on a religious basis, but the antagonism is set in a virtual or imaginary basis, as the main character, Bucky, contradicts the view of others by supernatural eventualities. Moreover, Bucky is faced with vast guilt that alienated him from his life (Roth 21).
Apparently, the author depicts that Bucky has poor eyesight and natural defect that makes him unfit to serve his country during the World War 2. In Nemesis, Bucky is forced by his conscience to disconnect from his normal life when he leaves Newark. Newark was faced with the polio epidemic, and Bucky chose not to stay and face the problem in his City (Roth 44).Bucky's choice to leave the quarantine camp after children contract polio is justifiable, as he blames himself for bringing the ailment into the camp.
Furthermore, children in Newark, which most scholars believe to be the main source of the polio disease, are the initial dwelling place for Bucky. Therefore, Bucky's choice to move out of Newark to venture into new lands made him transfer the disease to other states where the disease was not prominent (Roth 92). The act of disconnecting from his older self-shows that Bucky is empathetic of the wrongs he has done to other people, and is willing to shun his guilt by alienating himself from the society. However, the essence of Bucky blaming the supernatural forces for availing the polio ailment in the first place is not justifiable as it contradicts the beliefs of the masses, which Bucky so longs to justify himself to in the times of crisis.
Free Will
Consequently, the act of Bucky detaching himself from his normal life f interacting with other individuals into a life of alienation is not justifiable. For instance, Bucky used to be a coach for children in the school where he used to teach (Roth 22). Moreover, he was a good athlete, with proficiency in throwing the javelin and also lifting weights. The athletic abilities show that Bucky not only interacted with youngsters but also with other professionals in his field. When the time of the polio outbreak came, and Bucky was forced to leave the city and venture into new places, his act showed his inability to deal with disparities which naturally befall all living organisms.
Principally, most human beings believe the cause of the disease to be a natural cause, are the act of God, especially when such epidemics occur of a large magnitude (Burki 90). Thus, the act of Bucky blaming himself to be the sole cause of the spread of polio arises so many critics, as it not only contradicts his personal self but the beliefs that many people hold to be supernatural. In this accord, Bucky is not right to have alienated himself from his life, and the life of his beloved wife, and should have instead confined in the fact that not all cases call for individuals to justify what is right or wrong. However, Bucky should have instead confined in the free will that is given by God and gains happiness after a strife.
Philip Roth depicts his main character to be a man of will, who is willing to join the armed forces, in a bid to fight for his country during the World War 2. However, the ambitions of Bucky are cut short when he is not enlisted to fight the war, presumably to the defects in his sight (Burki 90). According to the author, Bucky was athletic, string and posses the will to fight, but that personal will are limited by a slight defect in his eyes.
Thus, Bucky lives his life as a teacher, far away from his calling, and hence blames God for such eventualities which alienated him from his true calling. However, the basis of the novel was not only to criticize the choice of free will for all but also to show how free will invested in human beings is capable of choosing their destiny. The author of Nemesis acts as a protagonist in this setting; the author leverages a contradictory view to the view of the main character, which is leveraged by the main eventualities of the world.
Moreover, Philip Roth places Bucky in an never ending antagonism with the vagaries of nature that he believes to be brought about by God, but the author still justifies the role of God to control the inevitable destruction of the human race. Apparently, polio was not a usual epidemic in the western world, and its outbreak brought about various disparities among bureaucrats, doctors, and even individuals indicted to fight in the war. Initially, the spread of polio was widespread, as means such as quarantine were not widely practiced (Burki 90).
However, when such practices were introduced as a means to control the spread of polio and death, Bucky found himself on the verge of having fewer students to train, as most were quarantined for contracting the disease. Later, when Bucky decided to leave a home place with his beloved and venture into a new world, the incidence of polio in places where he visited weighed a lot of guilt on him, as he thought he was the sole reason for the spread of the disease. In this perspective, the author shows that the impact of free will on people, and to extensive nature, can have both negative and positive consequences, and the negative consequences seem to possess a greater impact than the positive implications (Roth 151).
Bucky contracting polio was a result of the wrong usage f free will, and the indicted use of his fee will cost him his conscience, and friends. As a result, Bucky sought to alienate himself from the world, and his life, as the tend to bear the whole blame of the polio spread, and forgetting that he did not cause the disease in the first place (Roth 54).
Reflection of other Cities
Newark was a city, just like other American cities like New York regarding development. In such a metropolitan settings, the power of free will should be greatly limited, to prevent the impacts of natural calamities that are faced from time to time. In this accord, the incidence of polio in Newark was fatal but did not necessarily mean that other parts of the world had to suffer the same fate. Therefore, the imposition of quarantine and limitation of the free will of people was suitable to prevent the spread of polio to other cities, a concept that Bucky did not consider before moving out of Newark.
In summary, the course into the social development, the use of free will, and the disparity of choosing right and wrong based on free will were the basis of this course. Thus, the course was useful as it created awareness into the various decisions that emanate from the free will of individuals. Before embarking on a certain decision, it is important to consider the vast effects of such disease to other individuals. Bucky could have easily avoided being consumed by guilt and alienation, by confining into free will restrictions that the government had imposed on the people (Roth 177).
Conclusion
Sometimes, it is essential to consider the implications of our decisions to the welfare f others; as such activities dictate the social standing, and the conservation of a sound ethical self. Antagonists do concern not only the tangible and visible elements in our lives but also bit the invisible links that determine our relationships with other individuals, both close and vast. Despite Bucky being faced by limitations to the use of his free will, it was imperative for the character to pursue goals that would predispose other individuals to risks which could have possibly been evaded by conforming to restrictions to free will. The author sets the inability to contain polio, to the contractions of human ethical selves in an antagonistic manner, which creates a sense of responsibility developed in people by the occurrence of natural phenomena. Moreover, the welfare of the masses should not be subject to personal interests, such as the case which befell Bucky.
Works Cited
Burki, Talha. "Nemesis." The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 11.2; 2011: Print.
Roth, Philip. Nemesis. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. Print.
