Class notes 11-5-09
Read Blogs, especially Natalie’s.
-Willy Wonka’s notion of time: there’s too much of it and not enough to do!!
-Christianity notion of time: The Apocalypse
-Kingdom of God or Reign of God, foundational concept of three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
-For Jews the Bible is the Hebrew Scriptures; For Christians it’s the Christian Bible, and for Islam the Koran.
-Monotheism vs. the three Gods of the Abraham religions; what do we do? Bring on intolerance.
Greatest Novel’s of the Twentieth Century: Pale Fire, Ulysses, Shadows on The Hudson – another book by Singer.
-Test Nov. 17- read Plotz, Frye, come up with questions; Study!!
-Ecclesiastes, from Greek, ecclesia = gathering.
-The Gospel Of John: chapter 20:one of the greatest pieces of literature: deception from the side to create drama, woman not realizing that Jesus is there talking to her, though she thinks it’s just the gardener.
-Good Literature has a moment of anagnoris: recognition; epiphany,
-John chapter 21.15; more excellent literature. Do you love me more than them?
-Jesus is and English major, Peter, not quite, he’s more of a dunce.
-Three greatest tragedies, Book of Job; Brothers Karamazov; and King Lear;
-Understand the Bible metaphorically, rather than literally;
-Trial of Socrates, and death: eerily similar to Jesus, accused of corrupting the youth and refuses to stand up for his prosecution because he believes in the immortality of the soul; he’s fed hemlock as his punishment. Socrates remembers right before he dies that he owes a cock to Asclepius, and asks Crito to pay his debt.
-The more we know the more we know. –What a tautology.
-Asclepius- associated with symbol of healing and health: a snake wrapped around a staff.
-Two ways to think of the Parousia, the second coming; literally or metaphorically
-Kingdom Of God: literal of metaphorical, phrase is referred to more than 100 times throughout bible.
-Drinking the Kool-Aid- from Jonestown – mass suicide – world coming to an end
-Eschatology – philosophy that we’re living in the end of the days. Literal or metaphorical; literal: the end is coming; metaphorical ‘realized eschatology:’ don’t take it literally, but metaphorically, we are always living at the end of time. “The world didn’t come to an end. Or did it and we just didn’t notice?” The Kingdom of God is right here, right now.
-Brothers Karamazov – Father Zosima, an elder; knew a fellow child who was sickly happy, all the time. Because he knew that there was no paradise except for the one we’re always in at the present. Reid Hall, Bridger Bowl, our Bed, at the table sipping coffee; life = paradise.
The Bible influences 40-50% of literature, probably more
-Lets talk about Grapes -Title, The Grapes Of Wrath –from Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe, taken from Revelation 14.19-20, which is taken from Isaiah 63;
-Thomas Hardy’s poem, Hap –
-God makes us suffer in order to create stories full of characters, drama, suffering, comedy, tragedy, and on and on.
-Rio is now Radar-
-Dr. Sexson “gooey, goopy poop.” Stomping on grapes, metaphorically thnking of stomping blood.
-Frye, 217-18 “tremendous vision of a blood-soaked deity treading the winepress alone in Isaiah 63 is one that has haunted us ever since with its terrible beauty;”
