English 212 Blog

Final Paper

2005-12-12T22:56:00.000-08:00

Biblical and classical traditions point to almost two completely different ends of the religious spectrum, but what about biblical and classical literature? Until recently I would have assumed that they were as different as the religions they uphold, however, there are many pieces of literature from both traditions that reflect a common interest. Because I grew up and continue to live in a society based on Christianity, biblical stories were forced upon me as a child. I grew up attending Sunday school and was very aware the role God played in my life; I was not however, aware that many of the stories and ideas I was taught were originally pieces of Greek mythology. True believers in Greek traditions are few and far between, especially in America, and because of this the fact that all stories are displaced myth, according to Frye, is forgotten and we completely disregard the origin of some of the most powerful literature. The literature from both biblical and classical traditions draws much tension and one of the most dramatic aspects of this is the relationships between the deities and humans. The relationships in both traditions are very convoluted and sometimes hard to interpret, but one tradition, through its literature has held humans faith far longer than the other, and that is Christianity.
"But how did it all begin", this is the question Calasso asks repeatedly throughout his book, The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony. He is referring to the Greek tradition and the beginning of classical literature. Calasso continues to explain that it happens with the capture and seduction of Europa by a bull, this bull was Zeus, or did it begin with her mother and her mothers’ mother? It seems the tradition is a bit confusing, but the point is that classical tradition is based on the complete interaction between the gods and the humans they created. According to Calasso, man’s relationship with the gods of Greek tradition has undergone three regimes. The first is conviviality; at the beginning the gods would sit with men to feast or travel as loyal companions together. This is why the gods created humans, for amusement. Man would always recognize a god as such and their roles were set in stone, so to speak. Then there came a time when men would not always recognize the gods as they were. This is the second regime, rape. At this time the gods were referred to as the Unknown Guest, or Stranger, Calasso says. Zeus is famous for appearing as the Unknown Guest and raping women. He would show himself as a bull, swan or any other Stranger. "The third regime, the modern one, is that of indifference" (Calasso, p. 53). The idea is that the gods have completely withdrawn themselves and are no longer concerned with humans, and thus humans are no longer concerned with them. So is this the end of Greek tradition? Possibly, at least in terms of a religion, as for the literature, it is as profound and influential as ever.
As classical traditions have undergone changes, so to have biblical traditions. The relationships between God and man have changed, although not as drastically. In the Old Testament, or Hebrew Scripture, there are stories of God walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, but these interactions didn’t last long. God sent prophets and angels to earth to provide proof of his existence. The old stories of the bible are full of details about the interactions between man and God. The story of Job is a perfect example. Although God did not take human form at this time he was still very much alive and on earth. The angels themselves have also undergone some changes; the angel Gabriel who was sent to Mary was completely visible as an angel, whereas in present time those who believe angels are among us tend to believe we can not recognize them as such. The most profound transformation within the relationship between God and man came when Jesus was sent to earth as the son of God. The entire New Testament consists of various stories of Jesus’ life on earth. At this point in the story God became much more distant and Jesus became responsible for the fulfillment of his prophecy. It is because of this shift from the focus on God to the focus on Jesus that Christianity has been so successful as a religion.
It is obvious to most, and it was to me, that the deities from Greek myth played a very physical role with the humans and God in the biblical traditions is much more distant, but what I didn’t know or understand is why this matters. It is very clear to me now that without this distinction Christian religion would not be as profound and widespread as it is today. This distinction has made it very clear to me just how important the evolution of religion is. Because human culture, society, and religious needs have changed so to has Christianity. The literature from both traditions paints the picture of a fallen ideology and one that continues to be present in my life every day.

Back to Frye

2005-12-12T21:34:00.000-08:00

As Holly said, procrastination is not a great quality, but one I hold dearly....
Why I never took a few minutes to address the parts of Frye that I understand, I don't know, but here it goes...

From the beginning:

"The movement from descriptive to conceptual runs paralles to the movement of imitation or mimesis in Aristotle when he is illustrating the relation of art to nature. When we say "art imitates nature" we instinctively think of a work or art...To some extent it may be that, but we eventually come to see that the relation of art to nature is better thought of as an internal one...are is the form and nature the content, nature being something contained by the art and not something reflected it it." p. 9

Frye is exactly right when he says that we automatically think of a piece of art, some amazing depiction of nature in all her glory, but after really thinking about it I started imagining a photograph, a simple snapshot. A picture does not reflect anything, like Frye says we think of a piece of art as doing, but a photo really does contain nature. What was happening at the very moment the picture was taken is natural, unreplaceable.

On page 18 Frye speaks of ideology and all in incompasses.....
"...but there is also a passive side to ideology, where every verbal structure, simply by being conditioned by its social and historical environment, reflects that conditioning....as structures devoted to unchanging truth, and so rising above time." I can't help but think of the Christian ideology while reading this. As of this sentence I think that many people believe that ideology is raised above time. That because the ideology is so strong and prominant it will last forever and then Frye says... "However, they do not rise above time, and as time goes on this becomes increasingly obvious." Yes, of course obvious. Christianity hasn't risen above time, the ideology has come a long way. There have been various changes in the beliefs and practices that have come out of the original ideology. What was the original ideology? "But there are other things to be considered that qualify this, the most insistent being the constant tendency for any ideology to collapse into tyranny or mob rule. An ideology is most befeficial when it has least power, when its assumptions can be most freely challenged by others, when the terrible claws of ideological authority, inquisitions and secret police and the like, are not simply pared but removed altogether." When Jesus was captured and nailed to the cross, this was mob mentality. The ideologies he had been professing were captured and the ultimate goal was to abolish them with his physical body. As if the ideology would die with him. If what Frye says is true, it would have been best for the the original ideology if Jesus would not have traveled the land spreading his message. The message, if it is as important as it is said to be, would have traveled itself and those who were supposed to hear it would and those who wanted to question it would. Because the ideology was shouted from the rooftop, so to speak, it was collapsed; and the origianal message was left to time. Frye goes on to say that when an ideology is underminded, "even philosophers ...have some difficulty in proving their own existance, may play a crucial part in uttering the voice of reason and logic whenever society degenerates into hysteria. The voice of reason is often weak and ineffectual...courses of action must fit an argument, however unpractical. The reasonable is aware that every rational argument is a half truth, and that the other half should be included within a more tolerant and flexable compromise." Because Jesus was passing along an ideology that was not cohesive with all other ideologies of the time, there was conflict, even hysteria among those whos ideologies were being challenged. Action must be taken to eliminate this hysteria and reason is the answer. In the argument between the followers and non believers there was definately a half truth, in the way Frye describes it. Yes, those who did not follow Jesus' ideologies did have to do something about it, the rational part, the other part, the part where they decided to kill him in order to rid his ideologies is the part that should have been, "more tolerand and flexable" murder was obviously not the answer...Christian ideology although altered is still very much present in our world. But Frye says on page 20, "ideologies, like other human organisms, are mortal: they come to birth, decay and die, or are metamorphosed into other forms. ...a Christian ideology...has had to regroup its forces and reorder its tactics over the last few centuries, besides being compelled to meet the challenge of other ideologies." I think this holds true not only for Christian ideologies, but religious ideologies as a whole. There are many aspect of early Mesopotemian writings that appear in many other religions. Many different religion ideologies including biblical and classical traditions there is the idea of a great flood. The reasons and concerns of this flood vary but the initial ideology is still there. So, is there a clear Christian ideology or a religious ideology that has taken a few turns and gone over some hills or mountains along the way...

I apologize for the spelling errors and type-os in this, and the fact that it is complete ranting.

Two of my favorite books...

2005-12-12T20:56:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite books in the Bible are Job and Ecclesiastes, lets just keep in mind I have not read a whole lot of the Bible. I first read these books in a religion class a couple years ago and they really sparked my interest. To me they were two of the most exciting books to read, the stories in themselves are quite entertaining considering thier source. Some of the Bible can be a bit dry, at least in Job God swarms earth as a giant storm and scares the shit out of Job. Besides the apoclapyse it doesn't get much more intense than that...anyway. Most people consider these two of the most pessimistic books, but I see otherwise. True they aren't the most lighthearted books but they reflect true human nature and and are a prime example of a very symbolic relationship between man and God. Most Christians believe there God has expectations for humans, his beloved creations, ie. The Ten Commandments...but do Christians have expectations from God. I believe it is obvious we do. Job expects that as long as he follows Gods rules that God will protect him. He expects that God will not disappoint him especially when it comes to Heaven. Job's friends even tell him that he must have done something to deserve all the punishment God was giving him with his many hardships and all. But Job was not being punished and God made it very clear that Job had no right to have expectations of him. Humans have no place questioning the creator and therefore no right to expect anything. God didn't have to creat a place for humans to enjoy the rest of eternity now did he. Although, this story nor my interruption of it is extremely plesant I do not think it's altogether pessimistic. As Kelby said in his entry on pessimism this story and the story of Ecclesiastes make the Bible more realisitc. Realistically, I believe that God has a plan for everyone and every step we take no matter how horrible it may be only leads us further on the path to eternal bliss. I truely believe that everything, really everything, happens for a reason; and that all life events are just leading up to the next. There may be two paths to choose from but where you are supposed to go you will and where you are supposed to end up you'll end. Just a little repitation to bring the point home!

Time as Hell

2005-10-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Time as hell: boring classes and the air plane trip to Hawaii

The dull ache in your head as you listen to the teacher drone on and on, repeating words you hardly recognize and its all you can do to keep your eyes open. Thinking only of the warm bed you left only an hour ago and how many more it will be until you are there again....glancing at your watch (its only been 6 minutes) and again (4 minutes later).....oh to be asleep again--Time is hell

7 hours on an airplane is too much for anyone to have to withstand, unless you are about to spend countless hours on the beach, which only helps the time pass a little, acutally not much at all really. I don't know how to describe it, I think my mind protects me from those awful images of flight attendents and the man snoring behind me...I will spare you, we've all been in similar situations and know that it really is hell.

Thank you Dr. Sexson

2005-09-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you making the class aware of the unecessary use of the word like. If only all professors would address this issue I could enjoy class discussion much more.

Synonymous Parallelism in the Bible

2005-09-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

The definations I found by googling synonymous parallelism seem to be a bit more applicable than the ones I found for repetitative parallelism. I found a great example on the first page I opened up to:
Psalm 18.2-3 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God my rock in whom I take refuge.
To be completely honest I often find repetition very anoying and almost completely unecessary. It wasn't until this class and as unfortunate as it may be, until Frye, that I decided that sometimes repetition is good. In the Bible repetition is good and also when reading Frye himself. I have learned that I must take my time and just accept repetition.
Job 26.2-3 How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength!
Micah 3.6-7 Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation.

repetitative parallelism

2005-09-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I did find a whole lot of useful information in repetitive parallelism, maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Here is the most relavent explanation I have found:
Scholars today are unsure about what exactly differentiated poetry from prose in the Ancient Near East. One thing is certain: rhyme and meter, linguistic features which are traditionally used in many cultures to shape words into verse, were not determining factors in Ancient Near Eastern poetry. Instead, Mesopotamian verse seems to entail only a heightened sense of language, loftiness of expression, and perhaps also musical accompaniment which, of course, isn't apparent in cuneiform texts.
But there were also other more obvious factors at work in sculpting the poetic language of the Ancient Near East, features of discourse which readers today may not associate with verse but the Mesopotamians almost surely did. One of those is repetition, technically termed repetitive parallelism, a characteristic of poetry visible as far back in time as the Sumerians. In its simplest form, this involves speaking the same words twice, as seen in the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian New Year's Hymn, a paean to their primary deity Marduk:
You are the most important among the great gods; Your destiny is unequaled, your command is Anu.Marduk, you are the most important among the great gods, Your destiny is unequaled, your command is Anu. (Enuma Elish 4.3-6)
Originally, this repetition may have arisen from the oral nature of this poetry, which is to say that it was designed to be performed in public where refrain and recapitulation are to be expected.
But such bald repetition is actually rather rare in Ancient Near Eastern literature. More often, repetitive parallelism involves changes and additions in the second half of the verse, what scholars call progressive specification, such as:
When above, the heaven had not been named, Below, the earth had not yet been called by name, . . . (Enuma Elish 1.1-2)
This pair of lines says essentially the same thing twice, "when the universe had as yet no name," but the poet has broken the thought between the anonymity of heaven in the first line and that of earth in the second.
In much the same way, Mesopotamian poets often used the second line to add a further pertinent detail, for example:
was angry and cried out to her husband; She cried out and raged furiously, she alone. (Enuma Elish 1.42-3)
This type of redundancy is termed incremental repetition.
In the surviving poetic documents of the Ancient Near East, these repetitional devices occur frequently and can assume a wide range of shapes and sizes. For instance, though they most often take the form of couplets, sometimes repetitive pairs stretch out over a full quatrain or are collapsed into half-lines. Occasionally, statements go without any parallel at all. Thus, there is no firm or consistent principle guiding the creation of poetry in Mesopotamia. All in all, it demonstrates only a sense of elevated language suitable for the grand occasions at and about which the verse was sung, and while there is a rhythm, there's no discernible meter.
Well at least this confirms that repetition is good! Knowing that people have been using repetition to communicate important information, specifically religion, from the beginning of religion as we know it helps me understand that without this repitation we wouldn't know where our current religion started, whatever that religion may be.

Words With Power

2005-09-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

Still reading....