Cold Sassy Tree Analysis

"Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). Grandpa Blakeslee formulates his interpretation of the bible, not specifically, but generally his outlook or overview of the philosophical tenets of the bible. Grandpa Blakeslee's interpretation promotes the idea that pleading God for relief or otherwise rather than for perseverance to overcome the circumstances one undergoes is not only a misunderstanding (of the purpose of prayer and how a christian lifestyle should be) but additionally an error in the usage (of prayer).

"When Jesus said ast and ye shall receive, I don't think He meant us to pray 'Lord, spare my child', or 'make it rain for the crops', or 'don't let my bizness fail'...." In the excerpt from Cold Sassy Tree, Grandpa Blakeslee claims that pleading for the dispersion of troubles or for physical wants is a misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer. Each example listed in the dialogue contains a physical desire. Grandpa Blakeslee uses each example to provide an explanation as to how the

fashion of prayer that is being exemplified is in error. In complete thought, Grandpa Blakeslee is essentially claiming that physical desires should not be a topic of discussion while one is engaged in prayer while providing what Grandpa Blakeslee believes to be evidence for the claim.

"In the bible, Jesus only healed the people who asked Him to-and believed He could....

faith doesn't mean the Lord is go'n make lions lay down with lambs jest cause you ast him to, or make fire not burn." Grandpa Blakeslee in his rebuttal of Miss Love's claim that faith equates to an exploitable infinite genie that grants wishes upon command is rebuked by Grandpa Blakeslee's counter that this form of faith depicts a selfish form of misguided spiritual behavior. When someone prays to God for something incompatible with reality, or insoluble with the framework that which God has constructed, they are essentially asking for God to alter or change or suspend reality in their favor and in a fashion that they approve (which is asking for a miracle) - which is an inherently selfish idea. The idea of an altruistic personality is synonymous with a tenacious personality as they both contain anti-selfish

perspectives.

"Jesus meant us to ask God to hep us stand the pain, not beg Him to take the pain away. We can ast for comfort and hope and patience and courage, and to be gracious when things ain't go'n our way, and will get... They ain't no gurantee that we aint going to have troubles and ain't go'n die." Grandpa Blakeslee tries to explain that perseverance to overcome challenges rather than to expunge them (or ask for them to be expunged) in prayer is appropriate because human life was designed in such a manner that permits suffering, or the like. Asking for perseverance is substantially different from asking for the dispersion of the challenge(s) of individuals or for material goods because perseverance is a state of character. A state of character influences perspective, which is the lens of thought by which one views substance.

A secondary theme is generated following the death of Grandpa Blakeslees death, as Grandpa Blakeslee chose to have his gravestone read "dead not sleeping" contrarily to "not dead, but sleeping". This theme is that blanketing the true nature of God's design of life to provide comfort to people is wrong (wrong in usage, and in principle as it is spreading disinformation). In conclusion, Grandpa Blakeslee believes that a christian lifestyle should be identifiable with :perseverance, character, and altruistic behavior (specifically in prayer).