Change of Fate through Faith in My Left Foot: An Emersonian Perspective

Turkish

In “The Divinity School Address,” Ralph Waldo Emerson, a central character in Transcendentalism, asserts, “Faith makes us, and not we it, and faith makes its own forms.” According to Emerson, faith is not merely an individual emotion, but a powerful element that shapes people and transforms society. This transcendental belief in the power of faith and intuition finds a profound reflection in the life of Christy Brown, the author of My Left Foot. Born with severe spastic cerebral palsy, Christy’s journey exemplifies the unintentional yet transformative development that Emerson describes. Despite the worrying diagnosis from doctors and his father’s despair, Christy’s mother always keeps a determined faith in her son’s potential. His mother’s perseverance and belief are influential in Christy’s personal growth and eventual authorship of this autobiographical work. For example, when Christy first wrote the letter ‘A’ of the alphabet with the chalk he had placed on his left foot and then, after a long effort, the word M-O-T-H-E-R, it is possible to call this incident a fruit of her mother’s faith and patience. In this difficult and long journey of Christy, the support, devotion, loyalty and love offered by her mother are many times more than the support given by other people. However, other people who touched Christy’s life during this difficult journey are also remarkable. Miss Delahunt taught her the importance of strong social relationships, while Jenny was a guide on the path to knowing love. Mrs. Eirene Collis supported Christy in both facing reality and physical recovery, and Robert Collis developed her artistic talents with his knowledge of writing. These could be called major turning points that filled in the other gaps in Christy’s life. This study explores Christy Brown’s development and examines how My Left Foot—a product of a mother’s faith and a son’s determination—embodies Emerson’s Transcendental idea of intuition and faith as formative forces in human life.