Topic # 3
Compare and Contrast “Genesis” and “Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest”,
Looking at both myth and short story.
Although there are many similarities present, a distinct difference is made between “Genesis” and "Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest" in that “Genesis” is a mythical narrative while "Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest" is an adaptation of a mythic story (Adam and Eve) in the form of a short story. When comparing and contrasting these two stories we see similarities in storyline, themes, symbols, differences in detail, and the extent and significance of the stories themselves.
When deciding whether these narratives are myths or short stories, one must look at the contents of each piece of work. “Genesis” can clearly be defined as a myth because it contains all the characteristics of a myth. These characteristics include casual and vague descriptive writing about a very significant and important piece of work. Characteristics of myths also include “superstitious” themes, characters and the establishment of traditional ways of life and belief systems for a wide variety of people. Although “Genesis” contains one of the most popular and significant creation tales today, its lack of description and vague details account for its acceptance of being a myth. An example of this is the seven days of creation being written in one chapter; “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was formless and voice” (The Access Bible 2). This suggests that “Genesis” may have been passed down orally from generation to generation, which, according to Campbell (“The First Storytellers”), resembles all other myths. The presence of solely flat or static characters (such as Adam and Ever) is a good example to show why “Genesis is considered a myth”. Only imprecise details about Adam and Eve are given and we lack any understanding of personality or character traits. The existence of superstition is also very apparent in “Genesis”. God (the embodiment of good) is constantly at work as is the Serpent (the embodiment of evil). The supernatural is a key element in the “Genesis” creation myth. Examples of these elements are; the presence of angels, a holy sword, and a tree of unnatural, divine abilities (Bible 2, 6, 7). Supernatural e...
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...). Whereas “Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest” lacks this, and focuses on entertainment rather than education. The absence of God and other supernatural characters contributes to a lack of mythical sensation. “Genesis’” focus is to “teach truths about the nature of reality, the meaning of life, and the purpose of human existence,” (Bible 2) while “Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest” is a purely entertainment driven short story.
Although both “Genesis” and “Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest” can be seen as fictitious narratives containing similar qualities, themes, and storylines, both present clear differences in purpose, direction, and description as well as “Genesis” being a myth and “Penetrating to the heart of the forest” as being a short story with a mythic plot.
Word Count: 1,187
Works Cited
Access Bible, The. New Revised Standard Version. Ed. Gail R. O’day, David Petersen. Oxford University Press; pg 1-7.
“The First Storytellers.” Prod. Apostrophe S. Productions, Inc.
New York: Mystic Fire Video Inc., 1988.
Carter, A. “Penetrating to the Heart of the Forest”; Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces; 1974: Penguin books; pg 51-66.
Creation stories have profound effects on humans. Those associated with ancient cultures/civilizations aim to ensure the successful survival or well-being of themselves and that particular culture/civilization of their association, but not all are beneficial, prosperous, or fortunate. Mesopotamia’s “The Gilgamesh Epic”, Egypt’s “Hymn to the Nile-Documents”, and Mesoamerica’s Mayan and Aztec creation stories/religion are influential to establishing significant relationships within society, whether that is between humans and nature or humans and their “god(s).”
story. The account of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1-3 is extremely similar to the
A myth is a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. Each civilization has its myths about the creation of the world and its human race. Most speak of “gods” who perform feats far beyond that of humankind. Most are legends passed down through oral tradition, and embellished along the way. The book of Genesis is one of the most significant books in the Bible and is sacred scripture for Jews, Samaritans, and Christians. The Babylonian epic, Enuma Elish, is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian worldview. Hesiod’s Theogony is a poem describing the origins and genealogies of
The Biblical account in Genesis, probably written by Moses around 1500 B.C., and the story of creation and flood in Ovid's Metamorphosis, written somewhere between 8 and 17 A.D., have weathered the criticism and become the most famous. The Genesis account, however, may be the most prominent of the two accounts. Within these accounts, are many similarities, as well as differences, which make these two writings well respected, while holding their own in the literary world. Though both accounts of the creation and flood are well respected on their own, when compared side to side, they are drastically different.
Myths – as they are known to most of the world – give insight into the pasts of various countries and religions as the people saw them. They have been used to explain phenomenons in nature or describe the tales of courageous and important men and women throughout history. Creation myths in particular define how the Earth itself was created, along with the universe, heavens, hell, people, and creatures that exist today. Genesis of Christian mythology, for instance, tells the story of how the single deity God spoke and formed everything from day and night to man and woman. Various African creation myths, such as with the Yoruba, explain the creation of the Earth through at least a couple gods working together and all life sprouting from a seed. But all share a common themes, such as a form of chaos or nothingness before life is created. Joseph Campbell notes that “... the idea of an absolute ontological distinction between God and man – or between gods and men, divinity and nature - first became an important social and psychological force in the near East, specifically Akkad, in the period of the first Semetic Kings, c. 2500 B.C.,” showing another similar trait – a god or set of gods exists to create in each story (626). Joseph Campbell makes a comparison of how both Genesis and the Book of the Dead of Egypt share the same idea of their bodies belonging to their god in some way, or being reabsorbed into them at death (630-631). Others, like the Japanese and Iroquois creation myths, claim the Earth was once covered entirely of water before land was formed. Adam and Eve of Genesis and Izanagi and sister Izanami of Shintoism provide examples of myths that share both a passive and active pair of people who eventually create the Earth's population. In any case, certain popular creation myths, some closely tied to prominent religions, share more common characteristics than others. An entire sub-study, called comparative mythology, gives insight into this subject.
The most apparent difference, is how the Earth was created. In How the World Was Made and The Sky Tree, the earth is created by animals. “The Sky Tree” describes how a group of animals, “Beaver, Mink, Muskrat, and Otter each brought up pawfuls of wet soil and placed the soil on Turtle’s back until they had made an island of great size.” Then it describes “the great tree” falling on the earth and taking root, creating the plants. And How the Earth Was Made tells how a water beetle dove to the bottom of the ocean and brought the mud up where it then “began to grow and to spread out on every side until it became the island we call earth.” That earth was then “fastened to the sky with four cords.” While these two stories are vaguely similar, the book of Genesis differs extremely. In Genesis an omnipotent being commands the earth to appear. It states that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and that “On the seventh day, God finished his work which he had made.” Another example of the many differences of these stories, is why the earth was made. For example, in The Sky Tree, Turtle sees a woman falling from the sky and has his friends “bring soil up and place it on Turtle’s back,” so that the woman would have something to land on. They created the earth to save the woman’s life. In How the World Was Made, the story stated that the sky world that the
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.
Theogony, is the personification of things and ideas the ancient Greek, whereas Genesis is conflict between the hu8man like god and the mystical formless god. . Theogony, when compared to Genesis is radically different. Theogony starts from chaos and end up in order. In Genesis, creation is done by command alone. God says "water" and water appears. There is no conflict of interests or bloody battle. Genesis has the pattern of nothing to everything. Theogony has the pattern of chaos and powerful rulers to set order and gods with magical powers who use thought instead of raw power. There is a god of the sun, of wheat and of war. In Genesis there is one god of everything.
The first creation myth I will begin with is Hebrew in origin and comes from the Old Testament book of Genesis, specifically chapters one through three. Chapters one and two focus on Jehovah’s (God) creation of the heavens, earth and all living things. After man (Adam) is created Jehovah, gives him a single command: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of he tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (The Revival Study Bible, Genesis 2:16-17).” Jehovah then creates a mate for the man, woman (Eve). Throughout this creation story the reader is given the impression that the creation itself is perfect i.e.: following creation God declares everything good, man has a close friendship with his creator, man and woman were naked and experienced no shame. Unfortunately that perfection ends when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They then felt shame, cast blame to others rather than to themselves and hid from God. As a result of their disobedience God punished them according to his law. Both Adam and Eve and their offspring after them were sentenced to a life of pain, suffering and death.
Over the course of history many different people and cultures have tried to explain human existence. Many forms of arts have been used to express these theories and myths but nothing more popular than literature. Two of the most popular stories of creation include the biblical tale of Genesis and the Babylonian epic, Enuma Elish. Many historians have debated over which of the two stories was derived from the other. While both stories are different and depict different ideals of how the universe came to be they due hold striking similarities.
The Enuma Elish mirrors the subordinate disordered lives of the Babylonians that created it. Genesis mirrors the newfound freedom and idealism of the Jewish people who created it after years of oppression. These two writings contrast the differences between the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Hebrews. Creation stories give great insight into the lives of the people who created them.
In this paper I will discuss three similarities and four differences between Enuma Elish-The Epic of Creation (King,1902) and Genesis 1:1-3:24 as described by Michael Fishbane (Fishbane, 1979). These writings are selected to describe the story of creation of the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. However, each author has a very different view and way of explaining what they have interpreted the sacred texts to mean.
When comparing these two stories of literature the reader can see they were written in two different viewpoints. For example, When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree. In the Book of Genesis the reader is told that Adam and Ever were together when Eve was faced with temptation to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree. Therefore she was not alone when she was tempted by the Serpent. In the Milton’s Lost Paradise versio...
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.