Abstract

VERSTER, Pieter. Good and evil and God's rule with reference to Die wêreld van Charlie Oeng (The world of Charlie Oeng) by Etienne van Heerden. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2024, vol.64, n.4, pp.628-645. ISSN 2224-7912.  https://doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2024/v64n4a6.

The question of good and evil and human responsibility is a central theme in the novel Die wêreld van Charlie Oeng (The World of Charlie Oeng) by Etienne van Heerden (2017). The eponymous protagonist in the novel commits various murders, ostensibly due to his circumstances. The author confronts the reader with the question: could Charlie Oeng have done anything to avoid his crimes? To address this question, I firstly engage the genre of the novel itself. The novel is regarded as a magical-realistic novel, a genre within which the line between reality and the magical is often blurred. Many challenging aspects of life in this magical reality are discussed in this novel. Charlie Oeng remains a challenging character who embodies evil. He can be described as a human being who struggles to come to grips with his humanity and is often misled to commit murders. As Charlie Oeng is increasingly led astray and drawn into a life of evil, the theme of being misled becomes more prevalent. As such, the author's question becomes more urgent: could Oeng have rejected this life of his own accord or was he preconditioned to accept it? Are his deeds a result of the eternal struggle between good and evil or his own (lack of) responsibility? Linked to the theme of being misled and choice vs. predestination is the character of Ouma Ogies, the blind woman, who enters into dialogue with God. Due to her unfortunate fate and God's rule, she challenges God during this dialogue and also wants to challenge God in court because of her unfortunate circumstances. She was also, in her opinion, misled by God. Various challenging questions are raised by this character as well as several other characters. The novel recounts the overarching question of God's rule and how humans react to it by investigating the issue through the experiences and narrations of various characters. Tian, the character through whose eyes the story is told, grapples with understanding how evil is possible when his parents are murdered. Cor van Gogh, who carries with him a painting of Vincent van Gogh, is a red headed Dutchman ill-suited to life in South Africa. His anger leads to murder. This novel speaks to commonalities in Van Heerden's oeuvre and his earlier works. Aspects of good and evil and the rule of God play an important role in, for example, his novels Toorberg (1986), Die swye van Mario Salviati (2000), 30 nagte in Amsterdam (2008), and the recent Gebeente (2023). The author also engages Etienne Leroux 's novels, such as Sewe dae by die Silbersteins (1964). In this regard, the deep psychological aspects of violence are revisited. An analysis of novels such as these allows one access to general views on good and evil while also enabling an investigation of the significance of the interaction/intersection between theology and literature. Such interactions/intersections are often significant and can lead to deeper insights into literature and theology. The question of good and evil in reality has been discussed in theology and philosophy. Augustine, Calvin, Paul, and other theologians and philosophers such as Aristotle, Derrida, Hegel, and Kant have written extensively on this matter. The classical Christian view is that God's creation of the world was good, but that human beings fell into sin and needed redemption through Christ. Evil is then the result of sin and human beings should be held accountable in this regard. There are, however, many other views, such as that evil is part of this reality and that it was part and parcel of evolutionary development. The question of human responsibility is crucial and it is clear that the different characters in this particular novel by Etienne van Heerden under consideration struggle with the question of good and evil and human responsibility. Ultimately, this narrative also symbolises a struggle with God. The novel leaves one with many questions regarding good and evil and human responsibility, as well as the theological implications thereof. Although no clear solution is given at the end of the novel, the questions posed by the author remain salient.

Keywords : good; evil; election; murder; theological tradition; God's rule; the cross; Jesus Christ; literature; literary evaluations; theological evaluation; characters; deception.

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