Temptation & the Social Order___________________________

On the last page, we saw that the characters
have to pass trials of competence and innocence
on their way to adulthood.
Now we will examine the most important of these trials,
which is over whether the characters
can resist temptation and not give in
to regressive and immature fears and desires.

It is this conflict that defines the story
as the characters are depicted as impetuously acting on
fears and desires that disrupt society
and that keep them from finding their true desires,
which will carry them forward in their development.

We see an example of how they give in to immature desires, 
early on, when Will and two other dancers
get carried away singing about Kansas City.
Without thinking about the consequences,
they act on the desire to jump on a train
as they enthusiastically sing and dance.

The train then leaves the station
with them stuck on top.

We see another example at the social,
when the song about ranchers and farmers getting along
degenerates into a brawl as the two sides
give in to their angry feelings toward each other.

But the most important trial of the characters' ability
to resist immature fears and desires
takes place as part of the two love triangles.

In the second love triangle, Annie
is the embodiment of impetuousness and temptation,
as the girl who can't say no,
a characteristic that is stopping her
from settling down with Will, her true love.

For his part, Will is tempted by the women in Kansas City
and by pretty young girls who dance by
to illustrate the difficulty he has restraining himself.

Will also gives in to temptation when
he buys Annie presents
and bids for her company at the auction,
which threatens to deprive him of the money he needs
to marry Annie.

In the primary triangle,
Laurey gives in to temptation when she succumbs to her fears,
of change and vulnerability, and
thoughtlessly says yes to Jud. She too is now in a fix.

The battle of her double in the dream
is to resist the ultimate temptation
to give in to the fear of life
by going over to Jud and becoming a fallen woman.

Unlike Laurey, Will, and Annie, who are in conflict with their desires
Jud is completely taken over by temptation
and lost to hate and sexual obsession.
As a result, his effort to progress to adulthood
takes a distorted shape as he tries to force an object of fixation
into becoming his fallen bride.

In the end, he acts on his desire for revenge,
which results in the confrontation that resolves the story.

But Curly doesn't give in to temptation
to the same degree as the other characters
because, unlike them, he is ready for adulthood
and is merely waiting for Laurey to catch up
with his own state of maturity.
He goes momentarily off course, however, 
when he gives in to temptation
and looks into the picture viewer, the Little Wonder.
As a result, he comes close to being injured or killed
by the blade that is about to pop out.

His brush with death is similar in its symbolism
to the scene in which Laurey's double almost becomes
Jud's fallen bride.
In one case, we see Curly in danger of being
physically maimed or killed
because he has been tempted by licentious desires.
In the other, we see Laurey's double
in danger of being emotionally maimed
and suffering the death-in-life of marriage to Jud,
because she is tempted to become a fallen woman.
In each instance, giving in to illicit desires
leads to injury or death.

We see this same idea expressed in other stories.
In the movie, Logan's Run, for example,
the inhabitants of an enclosed city of the future
lead a life of promiscuous pleasures
that is really a front for death
since they are killed at 30.
Laurey's dream, the Little Wonder
and the city in Logan's Run are all enchanted realms
in which giving in to sexual temptation
leads one into a trap of death.

But the characters in Oklahoma! also learn
how to overcome false and dangerous desires.
Here, Aunt Eller plays a role
by offering guidance, keeping things under control
and damping down the aggression
of some of the characters.

In the scene with the Little Wonder,
in which Jud is trying to maim Curly,
it is Aunt Eller who saves Curly
by interrupting the encounter.

In the scene in which Jud and Curly
give in to masculine aggression
and start shooting in Jud's hovel,
it is Aunt Eller who gets there first,
demanding to know who is firing guns.

At the social, she's the one firing a gun
as she stops the brawl that has broken out
between ranchers and farmers.

But Aunt Eller's role when it comes
to helping the characters overcome
fear and temptation is secondary.

The more important action
can be found in the way the characters
learn how to resist temptation themselves
by experiencing its unpleasant consequences,
just as children do growing up.

Thus, by arousing Jud's desires and vengefulness,
Laurey learns how dangerous it is to give in to her fears.
Annie and Will learn that if they take other partners,
it will disrupt the relationship and, so, 
they learn to seek physical pleasure only from each other.

Jud, who can't learn from experience, dies.
The Peddler, who is also unable to learn on his own,
is forced to curb his passions
when he manipulates the desires of one too many women
and is trapped into marriage.

But temptation isn't only depicted as a disruptive force,
and an obstacle to adulthood.
It is also portrayed as an essential tool of society.
It is temptation, fear and desire, after all, that bring
together the males and females.
This is most evident when Laurey
flees into Curly's arms and kisses him,
and is so taken with it she can't stop,
which leads to his proposal of marriage.

Will and Annie also give in to the temptation
to have sex, after they have decided on monogamy,
so the experience solidifies
what will be the bonds of matrimony.

They then protect their newly monogamous relationship
by giving in to the temptation
to physically intercede when the relationship is threatened.

We see another example of the way temptation supports
the social good during the auction
when the promise of tasty picnic treats
and delectable female company
inspires the men to bid money that will be used
to help build a school, which is
essential to the progress of future generations.

The trial of the characters thus involves
their ability to resist fears and desires
that lead away from adulthood and harm society
while giving in to desires
that lead to adulthood and fulfillment.

Like the capitalist society of Adam Smith
in which greed is harnessed to improve the economy,
so the temptations of the characters are harnessed
for the betterment of the individual and society.

The one central character who is no longer governed by temptation
is Aunt Eller. As a result, she is able simply to be
and enjoy what circumstances offer.
Since she is no longer driven by fear and desire, she can expend
her energy keeping society together,
by controlling destructive passions
and harnessing the constructive ones
that move life forward.

Whereas the Peddler and Jud play on
the fears and desires of others for selfish ends, 
Aunt Eller plays on the desire of the males
for the good of society during the auction.
And she gives Laurey good advice to go with Curly,
since she knows what is in Laurey's heart.
It is Laurey's decision to indulge fear and spitefulness, instead,
and flee from Curly that leads to the rest. After Laurey
experiences the negative consequences of her mistake
she is finally ready for the lesson Aunt Eller offers
about not giving in to fear, but accepting the bad in life,
as a key to happiness.

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