Introduction
The theme of faith is a rather unpopular central choice for Douglas Coupland’s literary works. The author is popular with practical themes of life, death, and love in his past writings, such as Generation X: Tales of an Accelerated Culture and City of Glass. In the current novel, Hey Nostradamus!, Douglas Coupland deviates from his normal focus to explore the impact of faith and spirituality in shaping the behavior and actions of various characters. The theme defines the scope of the story and influences the lives of various characters in the novel. Given the novel’s scope, Coupland explains the concept of faith from the four viewpoints demonstrated by the four characters in the story (Coupland). This strategy shows the central importance that the author places on this theme to influence the flow and scope of the novel. The theme of faith plays a critical role in differentiating the roles of different characters in the novel. A deeper exploration of the four viewpoints creates an understanding of who the characters depend on their perspective on faith.
The Role of Faith in the Novel
Coupland uses the characters of Jason and Cheryl to illuminate the deep-lying religious cues in their relationship. Despite using the two to explore the concept of love and marriage perils in contemporary relationships, Coupland uses the two to show religious undertones in their secretive marriage. The decision to have a secret marriage is not because of their love but to avoid sinning through fornication through their religious beliefs. Coupland uses Jason to show his strong faith and the spiritual influence he has over his wife, Cheryl. By convincing her to agree to the secretive marriage, the author shows the impact of spirituality over a person’s beliefs on real-life issues, including romance and sexuality.
Cheryl goes through a spiritual change to remain married to Jason. She becomes a devoted Christian and professes her newfound faith even in her tribulations. During her time of death, Cheryl notes that while she “may have looked like just another stupid teenage girl, God” had always been there in her life (51).” Coupland presents Cheryl as a devoted Christian whose actions shine brighter in a society incapacitated with religious values and basic humanity. Even after death, she transforms into an angel figure to give a glimpse of the afterlife, showing her strong religious faith and connection with God in the eyes of many.
Coupland presents Jason as a religious savior to Cheryl. His early actions help transform Cheryl’s beliefs to become a devoted Christina until his moment of death. However, Coupland presents Jason as a villain in the novel with a series of interconnected actions that contradict his religious and spiritual positions. First, he questions the existence of God in a blatant mockery of Cheryl’s faith. “Yes, Word has it that God smokes cigarettes (52).” Second, at some point, he participates in the killing of a known killer in the book. Finally, at some point, he is accused of contributing to the death of Cheryl.
Coupland contradicts the faith and spirituality of Jason and Cheryl based on different viewpoints. Cheryl talks proudly of her relationship with Christianity and God while Jason counts on the beliefs of others and their impact on his life. His perception of life cuts an image of an unreligious figure despite contributing to Cheryl’s spiritual birth. He is too angry with life and often drinks alcohol to manage the pain and life frustrations he faces in life. “I tried building a world free of hypocrisy, but all I ended up with was a sour little bubble as insular and exclusive as my father’s (93).” He does not believe in God like his partner; his religious perceptions are influenced by his relationship with his father with solid spiritual fundamentalism.
Reg is a symbol of strict religious norms and a villain in the novel. His harsh treatment of his son, Jason, throws him into a spiritual abyss resulting in bitterness and drunkenness. Jason’s strict religious fundamentalism is a consequence of his father’s irrational judgment of his son and treatment of his family. Jason killed a rioter while saving the lives of many, as confirmed by the courts that ruled in favor of Jason. However, Reg judges him harshly, constantly referring to him as an unforgivable murderer ostensibly about strict religious norms.
Coupland uses Reg to elaborate the fundamental differences between practical and theoretical faith. Reg seems to question his beliefs on religion and the necessity of spiritual strictness to solve real-life challenges through his tribulations. He poses, “You might ask me whether I still believe in God; I do, and maybe not even in the best sense of the word ‘believe’ (154).” This is a confession of spiritual weaknesses, particularly after the death of his two sons. Reg downplays the importance of spiritual strictness that ruins his happiness, relationships, and freedom.
Heather represents a controversial and unchristian type of faith. She has psychic powers as a result of her relationship with Allison that surpasses her spiritual power. In addition, Alisson claims to communicate with an absent Jason, an indication of another spiritual power that is not within the conventional Christian religion. Coupland uses Alison to explore the differences between faith and religion; he clarifies that spiritualism is a complex matter that cannot be just about the existing beliefs. Like Jason and Cheryl, the relationship between Alison and Heather shows the impact of interpersonal relationships to change the perspectives and view of life.
Before meeting with Alison, Heather had little faith and strongly opposed the Christian fundamentalism advanced by Reg. She believes that Cheryl’s ghost is the one directing her life and demands she remains morally upright in her actions. “Look, Heather, don’t confuse your morality with God’s command (138).” Besides, the events that change Reg’s strict Christian beliefs influence Heather to change her perspective on faith and spiritualism. At the same time, she does not entirely believe in Alison’s spiritual powers, which acts as a gap between her and Reg and his newfound faith and beliefs.
Conclusion
The introduction of the faith, a central theme in the novel, explains the existing differences in each character. A review of the four viewpoints explored in the novel focuses on different approaches they have towards the concepts of faith and spiritualism. The author focuses on the fundamental issues of human life, relationships religion using the actions of faith by different characters. Cheryl is a central figure in the exploration of Christian faith and spiritualism. She develops a personal relationship with God and professes her faith in times of despair and death. On the other hand, Jason fails to illustrate direct faith and only judges the actions of faith from the third party perspective. Coupland uses faith to build individual characters and how they influence others. Reg influences the perception of Jason through his strict Christian fundamentalism. On the other hand, Alison elicits an action of faith from Heather after exploring her psychic powers that contradict the Christian faith.
Work Cited
Coupland Douglas. Hey Nostradamus! Vancouver: Random House of Canada., 2004.