D.H. Lawrence’s novella, The Man Who Died, is undoubtedly one of the most audacious attempts in depicting a Jesus diversified from the biblical Jesus. Although the novella does not refer to Jesus’ name itself, it is conspicuous throughout the short story that the man who died is in fact the messiah. The novella commences with the savior resurrecting into life after a “long sleep”, referring to the messiah’s execution. As the novella progresses, Jesus revolutionizes into a mundane human being repudiating his former lifestyle. Throughout the novella, the reader sees a Jesus that is analogous to all other humans and a Jesus that is in contradictory to the universal Jesus everyone knows. Since the depiction of Christ contravenes the traditional tenets in the bible, then the novella must be blasphemous.
Reviving from his execution, Jesus no longer cares about his former mission and the life of the gospel, except that he feels he overstressed the giving of love. The messiah no longer desires to exist in a life for others, as it led not to eternal life rather to his execution, but desires a life of his own: “The teacher and the savior are dead in me; now I can go about my own business, into my own single life” (23). Throughout the bible, Jesus is portrayed as a teacher guiding the people to salvation, distinguishing munificence from malevolence. On the contrary, the novella captures this quality and omits it from the savior. Furthermore, Jesus no longer has a hunger to facilitate his disciples but rummages around in search of a life of his own: “He realizes that he has been saved from his own salvation, that he has neglected the needs of his own body to pursue a spiritual mission” (Cowan 175). Similar to the cock’s escape from the string, Jesus breaks away from his former mission in an attempt to reincarnate. In doing so, Jesus contradicts the biblical messiah.
In addition to neglecting his former mission, Jesus has premarital sex, a deed that is inadmissible according to the bible. Both the priestess of Isis and the man who died, have never affianced in sexual intercourse previously. Furthermore, both characters are in search of something; Jesus is in search for the long repressed sexuality that his Father hid from him and Isis is in search for the lost Osiris: “For her, the risen man has supplied the missing phallus of Osiris; for him, the priestess of Is...
... middle of paper ...
...itnesses a girl being raped for allowing a pigeon to disperse: “When the female slave continues to lie inert- though there is a fight in her shoulders-the male slave gets desperate, grabs her by the hip and consummates his passion” (Anju 119). Furthermore, by witnessing a life form of God’s creation and not abetting it in anyway, Jesus commits a sin. The lack of love Jesus exhibits toward Gods creation contradicts the biblical Jesus, and consequently it is blasphemous.
Throughout D.H. Lawrence’s novella, The Man Who Died, the reader can lucidly see a Jesus vastly diversified from the biblical Jesus. Lawrence makes an audacious attempt in displaying a Jesus that endeavors in sexual contact with a pagan god and a messiah that is fully human but not fully divine. Furthermore, the novella portrays a Jesus parallel to a mundane human being who encounters new experiences on a daily basis. The ingredients that Jesus encompasses are vastly dissimilar to the universal savior, which unmistakably displays blasphemy throughout the short story. The didactic novella makes an attempt to display the unscrupulousness of the world, where everyone including our savior are astray in society.
Throughout the novel “a prayer for Owen Meany,” by John Irving, the main character is portrayed as a very religious martyr. In the Christian faith Jesus Christ is a martyr as well. Although there are many differences between the life of Jesus, as depicted in the bible and Owen Meany, there are many similarities as well, so many in fact, that the reader is forced to ponder if these similarities are intentional.
Nearly everyone is familiar with the character of Christ. While understandings of Christ as a figure of faith may vary, he is universally recognized as a historical figure. The world knows that Christ was called “Son of God,” he called people to love, and he died a painful death on the cross. He has become such an important figure that images of him show up frequently in literature. Thomas Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, outlines a wide range of characteristics common in Christ-like figures. In his list of descriptors, Foster suggests characters might be Christ figures if they have wounds reminiscent of the crucifixion, suffer in agony, or are self-sacrificing—and this is only the beginning of his list (126). Readers repeatedly identify Christ figures in literature, both because of the well-known characteristics Foster describes in his chapter on Christ figures and because readers find them through their own understandings. In Yu Hua’s
When Erma died, he spent four days in Junior’s Bar. Erma was his mother. The children were walking home from Erma’s funeral with their parents. Their father Rex was so distraught that he once again resorted to alcohol. When they were walking, Jeannette and her siblings noticed “He turned down the street to Junior’s bar. We all watched him go… Dad just kept walking” (Walls 181). Rex’s family is ashamed of him for drinking, but they rarely make an effort to help him stop. Alcoholism is a disease that is deadly for many people. It is not something that you can conclude without help. Rex took all of what money the Walls family did have and spent it on alcohol. This was a recurring event. This lead the young children to fend for themselves. They often had to go days without food but if they did have food, it was sometimes inedible. In many cases, they were pilfering through other people’s belongings. Substance abuse is dangerous in a sense that the substance itself causes many life threatening conditions. It can also be dangerous because people will do anything they can to be able to abuse again. This includes taking money that could be used on a week of groceries or to heat a home during
From the moment she is born in the cold, heartless prison, Pearl is placed under scrutiny. The townspeople see her as a visible reminder of sin, and it isn't long until even her own mother searches for evil in her. The girl is described as "the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!"(Hawthorne 103). With her fascination from an early age with the scarlet letter, Hester believes that Pearl's very reason for existence is to torment her mother. Hester fails to realize that the letter is just something bright and significant to which Pearl reacts; instead, she sees every glance, every word aimed at the letter, every touch of Pearl's tiny fingers to her bosom as an added torture resulting from her adultery. Hester, considering Pearl's very existence, goes so far as to question if the impish child is even her own. "Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!"(Hawthorne 99) she tells Pearl, only half-jokingly. In her own way, she wonders whether Pearl was sent to her by God or by a demon wishing to cause her pain. She is not alone in this speculation; many of the town's citizens believe there is something of the Devil in Pearl.
1) but was mislead to believe he would be. He enticed the audience's attention to provoke an inquiry into the nature of his preservation. It is vital to comprehend that at the certain age of twelve and thirteen the adolescents are finding their place in their congregation; it becomes difficult for some to surrender to the pressure of the congregation. The “lambs” ( Hughes para. 3 ) were to be strengthen into the inclusion of the elder’s society, thus they would be accepting of their church and faith. Despite the fact Hughes needed physical credibility to believe in Jesus, he wanted to believe his aunt regarding his newcome salvation. He realized that in reality he was not saved, rather he was corrupted by the pressure from the congregation leading to the loss of
This, as Arthur Dimmesdale almost prophetically expresses in the early scenes of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was the role of Pearl, the elfish child borne of his and Hester Prynne's guilty passion. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, Pearl would bring trouble, heartache, and frustration to Hester, but serve a constructive purpose lying far beyond the daily provocations of her childish impishness. While in many respects a tormentor to Hester, Pearl was also her savior, while a reminder of her guilt, a promoter of honesty and true Virtue; and while an embodiment of Hester's worst qualities, a vision of a better life for Hester and for herself.
No matter how hard she tries, Hester cannot make her child obey. Pearl “could not be made amenable to rules” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 62). Since Pearl was created out of a sinful desire, she represents sin itself, and what comes from it. Being created out of disobedience to God, Pearl could not obey. Everything that Pearl does comes back to a strange obsession with “the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 66). When Pearl plays, she “took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s. A letter,--the letter A,--but freshly green, instead of scarlet!” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 122). She creates a scarlet letter for her own breast, after which Hester has to explain why Pearl should not wear one (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 122). When Hester takes the letter off, she feels a freedom she has not felt for years, but Pearl becomes angry and wants Hester to put it back on, thus putting the guilt and grief back into her mother’s life. This represents how sin holds one back from a freedom that is found from forgiveness in God’s grace. Because Hester has trouble making Pearl obey, this makes many of the people believe she had a demon, thus representing
Hall, Gerald. "Jesus' Crucifixon and Death." Academics' Web Pages. School of Theology at McAuley Campus. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.
Narrative therapy was introduced to the family therapy field in the late 1980’s by therapists Michael White and David Epston (Matos et al. 2009, p.89). A philosophy of narrative therapy is that everyone has a story to tell which is bound by the socially constructed knowledge within their cultural setting, and this story can be better interpreted by contextualising it according to the individual’s language, social, political and cultural situation (Combs & Freedman 2012, p.1036; Etchison & Kleist 2000, p.61; Fernandez 2010, p.16). The narrative is then reduced to the theme which is determined as a problematic element within the story, and perceived internally as a dominating power (Mascher 2...
For this reason, some of the brief therapies, such as strategic family therapy or solution-focused therapy, that focus on rapid change without much attention to understanding, might be more appropriate. However, I believe these brief therapies do not give clients enough time to really parse out their problem. I am wary of counseling that limits clients’ ability to tell their stories fully, which seems like just one more way of silencing people, oppressing them, and keeping them in line. In working with my clients I want to collectively understand how problem-saturated stories developed, the cultural, familial, or biological factors that might be involved, and the availability of choices. I believe that narrative therapy is the most flexible approach in this respect because although not brief, it is efficient and seems to be effective long-term, although more research is needed, which is challenging because of the subjective nature of this approach (Madigan, 2011). In my therapy practice, I want to leave clients feeling hopeful and liberated by helping them to see the problem as separate from their identities and as only one story to choose from several, and by acknowledging the contextual factors contributing to the
Narrative reasoning focuses on the client’s particular circumstances and takes into account the client’s past, present, and future and how their current circumstances will affect their life. This gives the practitioner ideas on how to collaborate with the client and family based on the individual’s journey. It is important for the occupational therapy practitioner to help the client see how the treatment
One of the greatest debates that continues to rage on amongst theologians, as well as others, is in regards to the balance between the humanity and the divinity of the person of Jesus Christ (also known as Christology). This debate can be especially challenging in the Scripture passage of Matthew 26:36-46 where the reader finds Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Many of the ancient and medieval theologians worked to explain away apparent humanistic characteristics seen in this section of the text, while more modern theologians seem to be more open to embracing these characteristics. While the ancient and medieval theologians may not have embraced the humanity of Jesus, the translations and backgrounds of the words “cup”, “grieved”, and “agitated”, along with the translation of the passage itself, the humanity of Jesus is not only present in the passage but also a necessity to the salvation of humanity through the sacrifice of Jesus. Simply put, for the salvation through death to be relatable for humanity, Jesus had to also be, at least in part, fully human as well as being fully divine.
In addition, some clients may want to explore their multiple identities and how they position themselves in a world that is highly influenced by culture. Nonetheless, as I read this question, I realized that there is no right or wrong answer. Similarly, there is no right or wrong reason to come to therapy. Therapy is for the individuals who want help regardless of a reason or problem. It is possible that some clients may not have a problem but that is not for the therapist to judge. Instead, the therapist must remain curious and explore the client’s perception of the problem or problems in order to identify unique outcomes and help build preferred
Oprah had a very interesting yet troublesome past that lead up to her becoming who she is now. Oprah Gail Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954 (currently 60 years old) in Kosciusko, Mississippi. She was Vernita Lee’s and Vernon Winfrey’s first child, yet they were not married. As a child, Oprah lived with her grandmother but the was sent to live with her mother who worked as a maid at as time. When she came to age, Oprah attended the Wharton Elementary School. She had skipped kindergarten and went straight to first grade since she had learned to read and write with her grandmother and was brilliant at her age. Since her mother worked night and day, Oprah learned to have no respect for her and as consequence, was sent to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. After living with her father for some time Oprah discovered that her mother was pregnant with a half sister and was requested to go back and live with her.
...ty. She has transformed from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, all by having faith and perseverance. She believed that she had a higher purpose in life, and that God was leading her on the path to change the world. In fact, her final words on the set of The Oprah Winfrey Show, “To God be the glory” (Flanagan 106). Though she stumbled on this path due to resentment and anger, she returned to her good ways with the stern love from her father and a second chance at life. Winfrey was able to achieve great things by believing in herself and in others. She has contributed millions of dollars to help women, families, and children to be supported in education and in life. What makes Winfrey such a remarkable being is that she was able to overcome her adversities to achieve any goal. Her selfless acts are appreciated by the millions of people that she influences.