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Morality in literature
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Life on Mars is a book of extraordinary poems that touch on the afterlife and God as well. The afterlife and God are supposed to be represented in a positive way and display hope. The author makes many references to both subjects, but she references them in a negative way and not positive. In most religions, God is portrayed as the superior of the world. The afterlife is represented as a place where people go when he or she leaves this Earth. No matter what religion a person studies, it is taught with good intentions and is taught in a positive way. In Life on Mars, there are many references to God that portray God in a negative light and make it seem as if he is fearsome which would make the poems not Christian.
God is a being that is supposed
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No one is supposed to fear him and make it to where he is portrayed as a bad person. If you live your life the right way, you will be rewarded by being able to go to the afterlife. In Tracy K Smith’s book Life on Mars she uses many examples that make it seem, as God is not a good person. Tracy K Smith, makes it to where her references to God and the afterlife are very negative. Throughout her poems there are references like, God is not remorseful and that there is an afterlife and a person will go there when he or she dies. Also the references that come across as if asking God for something is the worst thing in the world and that he is a fearful being that people are afraid of. Stated by the author of “The Speed of Belief”, she states, Moving at “The Speed of Belief” means accepting humanity contingent place in the universe, between fear and hope. Both science fiction and religion offer the temptation to escape the fear, but each also offers hope and urges us to confront the reality of our existence and to do so in ways that extend beyond private” (Connor 371). In contrast to what Tracy K Smith states this author believes the opposite of what Tracey believes. In Connor statement there is a balance between fear and hope and making the choice to not be afraid of God. She also states that people yearn to do better and want to be guided in the right direction by God. Tracy K Smith states that asking for something from God is torcher because a person is beating themselves up by weighing on God and he is enjoying watching a person suffer. And by portraying God in a negative light and making it to where he is seen as fearsome, that alone makes her poems not
Tracy K. Smith’s collection of poems in Life on Mars is a spectacular work that explores deaths and its effect on family life and the way a person in mourning shift their view of the present and the past. In four sections the pieces are able to see the same concepts in ways that range from realistic and personal to a fantastical and withdrawn. All the pieces work together, asking questions that others answer and providing the reader with a sense of completion upon finishing. Especially in the darker poems Tracy K. Smith provides a clear voice that evokes amazing presence with a conservation of language.
Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is a novel in which religion is of great importance. One of the main themes in this novel is faith in God and oneself, and even more, the conflict between belief and doubt. Irving writes in such a way, that this is very evident throughout the book. John Wheelwright, at the start of the novel, is a young boy who does not seem to know much about how strong his faith really is. Part of the reason for this, is that the choice between believing in and doubting God is that there isn’t any complete evidence that He even exists.
As therapy helps Smith through her marriage and father’s death, it also helps her overall. However, Smith questions how another human being assistance helped her through this milestone with a positive outcome. In “Savior Machine” Smith notices her therapist walking one day and notes, “He looked like an ordinary man” (11). The thought of someone as equal to Smith, aiding her through the understanding of her father not being human amazes her. In the poem, Smith states, “The session was done./ But mostly what I see/ Is a human hand reaching down to lift/ A pebble from my tongue” (23-25). As the sessions end the death of her father and the questioning of her relationship has been lifted by her therapist, allowing the therapist to be the “Savior Machine” in Tracy K. Smith’s
This theme of death giving meaning to life is prevalent throughout the Odyssey. Hell is death, heaven is now, in life, in the field of time and action.
In “The Horse-Trader’s Daughter”, Mabel loses her mother, her creator. The doctor who saves her from drowning then takes on the important role of giving her a renewed life, filling that void for Mabel (Lawrence, 1-15). Afterlife myths explain what becomes of the soul after the body dies, as humans have a problem accepting the possibility that the soul becomes nothing. Egyptian afterlife myths include a god named Osiris.
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions, therefore by using fear as a rhetorical strategy it makes Edwards’s argument more memorable and more likely to be taken to heart due to the audience’s dreading eternity in a “lake of burning brimstone,” (2) and a “pit of glowing flames of the wrath of god” (2). Fear turns the imagined into something tangible and because the audience has no way of actually discovering heaven or hell until they die, they are more likely to accept his argument and accept god into their lives in order to avoid hell.
Is God a Christian written by Kirby Godsey is a very powerful book that forces its readers to take an introspective journey into not only one self’s religious beliefs, but also the fundamentals of one 's morals, judgment, and principals. Godsey begins his book by answering the title of his book. He believes that God is not tied to any single religion, like Christianity. That rather, the presence, feelings, and support of God should be perceived through a combination of beliefs, experiences, and perhaps even religions in order to understand the entirety of God.
Bradbury developed the setting of the story similar to Earth as far aslandscape, atmosphere, and people in order to emphasize his intentions. Themartians are described as if they are American Indians at the time of theAmerican Revolution. For example, in the beginning of the story, Bradburydepicts Martians "they had the fair, brownish skin of the true Martian, the yellowcoin eyes, the soft musical voices." The trees, the towns in Mars, and the grassare all described like Earth landscape. Bradbury's Mars is a mirror of Earth.These plots raise moral issues and reflections of how history may repeat itself. Bradbury portrays Mars as humankind's second world, where we may goafter our Earthly existence. In the episode of "April 2000: The third expedition,"Captain John Black's mother said "you get a second chance to live" (pp.44).Lustig's grandmother said "ever since we died" (pp.40). Humans have a naturalfear of death. Some humans may even have a death wish. Bradbury reveals histhought of death through the connection between Mars and Earth. Through Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury warns us of ourfuture. In the episode of "June 2000: And the Moon ve still as bright," CaptainWilder said, "one day Earth will be as Mars is today...It's an object lesson incivilizations. We'll learn from Mars" (pp. 55). Throught the story, Earth man,especially American think that they are superior than the Martian. Earth mancan do anything and knows everyting. However, Bradbury's message is to tellthem it is not true. Earth man, here American people realize there are manythings that they can learn from others.
author of the poem book Life on Mars, chose to deal with the grief from her father’s death in a unique way, by writing elegiac poems. Elegiac poems can either represent a personal grief or a broader feeling of loss and metaphysical sadness. Smith’s “The Speed of Belief”’ represents a metaphysical sadness as she attempts to gain hope for her father’s existence after death.
These ideals have influenced our culture though our use of language and thought. The implications are apparent in the common references to one’s past lives. For instance, if someone has a natural talent for music one may refer to the person as being once a talented musician in a past life. A religion which describes death as a continuation of existance is held by the Crow tribe of middle America. They viewed death as a journey with the final destination as a place where all their anscestors have gone before them.
The woman repeats the short hopeless phrase "Please, God" numerous times and usually follows it with frantic condemnation or pathetic begging. The obsessive woman uses aggressive and almost violent language toward the telephone and even the man she adores. Contemporary Literary Criticism Confronted by society’s constraints, Dorothy Parker’s characters are forced to realize that expectations often lead to disappointment.... ... middle of paper ...
Even if all we desire is stillness, it’s still desire for…Even if we go faster than we should. We can’t wait. And wait for what? God – […] He isn’t coming back…”
Though the poet writes from an explicitly Christian perspective, the Geats and Danes seem to lack a notion of a divine afterlife. In this world, human existence remains limited to the mortal lifespan. However, people have the opportunity to achieve some kind of afterlife by accruing wealth, prestige, and glory while they live: Owning significant treasure increases the likelihood that one’s name and reputation will live on after death. At the same time, the Geats and Danes realize that treasure remains earthbound, unable to accompany its owner into the hereafter.
Throughout history, the concept of death and an afterlife has always been present regardless of the culture or religion. It has also been very influential in literature and other writings. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, there is a portrayal of the Greek beliefs of the afterlife. The Bible addresses this theme as well in the gospel of Matthew. Between these two works, there are noticeable differences about the beliefs of death due to the different cultures in which they were written. Despite the many variations, there are some slight similarities regarding the afterlife. Although the two writings were composed in different cultures and time periods, the notions of an afterlife in each piece can be easily related.
The poem is set out like an appeal, a cry for help. The title itself,