The Value of Genesis

Copious amounts of teenagers today have a habit of questioning books that are too ‘old’ or ‘stuffy’ to apply to their everyday lives. Some of them may find correlations to works by William Shakespeare or Jane Austen, but what about the other books, such as those from the Bible? Usually regarded as too religious to have any connection to life, teens ignore these texts in favor of ones that they feel can integrate into their lives with much more ease- even though some books in the Bible can actually connect more to life than some of these other ‘relative’ works. Take, for example, the book of Genesis. Although written and published thousands of years ago, the stories, themes, and modern-day allusions contained within it can still apply to everyday life- even to those who feel as if they are detached from it.

To begin with, many of the stories chronicled in Genesis relate closely to books that exist today. In fact, some are more accurately described as creative recounts of certain events in Genesis and Genesis itself. For example, John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a classic epic that has a strong basis in the story of Adam and Eve. It depicts an in-depth version of their rise in Eden and eventual fall into temptation, adding in multiple viewpoints to an originally one-sided story. Without having read Genesis, one finds oneself a little lost while trying to explore the profound expanse of Paradise Lost. Consequently, having read Genesis, one finds that traversing the complex language and plot in Paradise Lost may not be as hard as it first seemed. In addition to Milton, many other authors have based their books on Genesis. Son of Laughter, by Frederick Buechner, spins the story of Jacob and Esau from the point of view of Jacob. Without...

... middle of paper ...

...orld, it would be best to stop here to avoid creating an overwhelming paper. The characters in Genesis relate particularly well to characters in modern media, as well as the dozens of idioms we use in everyday conversation that connect back to Genesis. Nonetheless, the plots, themes, and allusions should suffice in convincing one that Genesis has as much impact and value in today’s culture that, say, a Robert Frost poem or a play by Shakespeare does.

Works Cited

Band Perry, The. “Miss You Bein’ Gone.” The Band Perry. Republic Nashville, 2010. CD.

Frost, Robert. “Never Again Would the Bird’s Song Be the Same.” The Poetry of Robert Frost:

The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged. New York, New York: Macmillan,

1979. Print.

Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York, New York: HarperCollins,

1950. Print. The Chronicles of Narnia.