Class notes: 12-8-2009
-- Ryan -- Fears about reading the bible, three personal instances of dealing with contradictory interpretations of the bible, new view of apocalypse.
--Amanda—sexual content in the bible, PowerPoint presentation with quotes from The Slave, The Good Book, quotes from the bible: Lot and his daughters, women’s cleanliness or uncleanliness; Song of Solomon; The Bible and Sex go hand in hand.
--Lisette—What she knows now that she didn’t before; Pslam ; Dr. Sexson as the Sheppard, us students as the Sheep. Henry David Thoreau poem about sheep, sheep the most prize possessions. Lisette as a Sheppard with sheep at bible camp. Short movie about the camp, experience; sprouting flowers – perfect metaphor. Reading all the blogs.
--Fletcher—parallels between biblical Jacob and Jacob from The Slave: seven years of imprisonment, raised to a scholar; Held Singer’s Jacob on higher level, Biblical Jacob not so much, at first; Stealing back Wanda and his son; not holding his actions against him; giving birth to a son, Benjamin, both women converting; always the same Jacob, always the same Sarach
--Chris—the parabola vs. the wave; the narrative structure of the Jacob’s struggles with remaining faithful to the bible and following natural instincts. A constant struggle with ups and downs. “For all of us, to find that inner peace, is a constant struggle, up and down, until death.” The Rollercoaster of life ~~~~
--Rachael—The Slave and it’s retelling of Joseph Campbell’s mono myth; 17 steps and 13 in Jacob’s travels. Dream of pregnant Wanda is the first step, the call to adventure; Supernatural helpers, God and the strange man in a white robe and brown boots, Sarah as a supernatural aide; the fairy man and emissary as aides too; the final step, return to reclaim Sarah’s bones and body, Campbell’s notion of free to live, accepting death, a peaceful transformation.
--Read “The Hero With a Thousand Faces;” separation, initiation, return, U;
--Ty—How did people live so damn long; it’s metaphorical, kind of depressing; Myths in news, journalism, beat reporting, New Journalism; Frye, “Myth I” the sun-myth, history of Napoleon; “In Cold Blood,” by Truman Capote. Literary analysis of “In Cold Blood;” Three categories: Rhetoric, kerygma, essay by Tom Wolf; Symbols and Archetypes, building the narrative, the story, symbol of the bragger soldier; third, narrative form. Complicated, dense, and valuable.
--Amanda—PowerPoint with pictures; suffering in the bible and real life with direct reference to Natalie and Lisette. Bible suffering, The Slave Suffering, and The suffering of Natalie and Lisette. “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” Suffering and love, directly parallel, the two strongest emotions. Natalie’s loss of her father on a mountain, Jacob enslaved on a mountain; Lisette’s wise comment to take things “day by day.”
--Eric—his peculiar way of writing on fragments and then piecing things together. Questioning God. Is Jacob really a slave? Absolutely, and mostly to himself. The next question; Am I a slave? Yes because of our own consciousness. In the corridor of life. Why does God torture Jacob? “The importance of creation, free will.” How can Jacob even withstand what God is doing to him? It’s his faith. Video, ‘the secret to life; one thing; you gotta figure out.” Transcending the corridor, faith.
--“Purity of Heart Is To Will One Thing,” Kierkegaard.
-- Tristan-- Dr. Sexson’s voice ringing in his head, the bible influences 50% of literature. Rastafarianism; the bible, music, poetry how we express ourselves and life. The lyrics in “Sinner Man” and the bible. Johnny Cash’s “Man Comes Around,” Revelation 6.1, the voice of thunder vs. the voice of God. A
--Derrick—Fascination with Job, similar to William Blake. The play or drama of Job; most bible stories have so much lacuna there’s no way to act them out, not so in The book of Job; exceptionally complex characters, Job, Satan, God; Satan’s practical jokes on Job. Job was on par with Greek tragedies.
--Rio—novella, a peppering of things he’s taken from the class and school; classical music, similar transformation with the bible and vocab from this class, metanoia, apocalypse; The novella uses dreams and flashback to share his experiences. The ignorance we hold to high-brow and elitists, and then we lean to love it.
--Jamie—Soul recycling, evolution of faith, ideas and beliefs evolving throughout faith. First, blind faith, abiding strictly by the laws of the bible; second, teaching faith, Wanda’s questions and Jacobs answers and revelations. Third, questioning faith, the more Jacob leans about his religion the more he questions; the final return to, not blind faith, tranquil faith. Image of light bulb with misshaped circle of arrows; the coil light bulb.
--Alesha—Esther, the story repeated over and over again; To Kill a Mockingbird; Atticus Finch and Esther, modest; Esther and Randal McMurphy; Esther and Esmerelda; Esther and Sarah, strongest correlation, converting and hiding faith. Only showed a few examples, hard to pick four since there are thousands to choose from.
--Jesse—Biblical heroes and villains; selective salvation, God choosing people, Esau and Jacob; Sarah and Rebecca, vindictive powerful women. Jesse’s identification of Esau as a literary critic.
-Mandatory attendance on Thursday! The last few presentations and review for the final exam. Final, Friday 2 p.m.
