Harsh Criticisms Of Hagar

2078 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women in the bible essay

Hagar is the woman some commentators think treated Sarai with disdain, while others view her as the victim of Abram and Sarai’s impatience and disobedience to God. In this paper I will review each commentators thought on Hagar in Genesis 16, and my opinion on their observations. This paper will be broken into four sections: Harsh criticisms of Hagar, Hagar as the victim, unbiased of Hagar, three different points of view, and the conclusion. Hagar is a maidservant, and therefore is only supposed to be treated like such. This is the impression I received from the book, Abraham and All the Families of the Earth by Gerald Janzen. Janzen opens the commentary expressing, “Male and female are called to help one another. Abraham and Sarai are peer …show more content…

Bergant uses her title as a slave to further portray her life was not her own. The reading goes on to say, “Without being asked, she is given to a patriarch in order to produce a child that will not even be considered hers.” (Bergant 64) Furthermore, it says the child will be adopted without consent. Through Hagar’s eyes, she has no choice in the matter, and she is a slave to her …show more content…

In these sections some authors were fair in their conclusions and other authors were a little more harsh and biased toward a certain character or two. Through reading these commentaries I’ve learned that each person has their own view on Hagar, and more importantly, the way the text is written depicts how the character will be portrayed. The way a woman is portrayed in the bible is dependent upon the author and their bias. Hagar may be the selfish one in this situation, but she could also be the victim of Abraham and Sarah’s impatience with God. It just depends on how you read

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles in the Epic of Gilgamesh

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story, a women’s status is clear. Women are deemed as less important and less powerful compared to men. However, they are important and powerful characters that drive the story with their feminine qualities. Men often use women to gain for themselves, regardless of the outcome for the women. One of the women mentioned at the beginning of the story, “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” is Shamhat, a harlot taken to seduce and tame Enkidu, by the hunter who discovers Enkidu. Shamhat is told to use her womanly ways to seduce Enkidu, dragging him away from his wild beast life. “Treat him, a human, to women’s work” (The Epic of Gilgamesh 104), There was no concern whatsoever to Shamhat’s well-being or safety. Yes, she was a harlot, but she was put in serious danger when she was used as bait to lure a wild man away from other wild beasts.

    Read More

  • Song Of Solomon Character Analysis

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    She obviously wasn’t acting like a normal person when she tried to kill Milkman, but I think by the end you get a better feel for why Hagar acts the way she does. Her behavior doesn’t always seem to be entirely her fault, as Pilate and Reba somewhat enable her when it comes to being spoiled. I find it interesting that Morrison decided to kill Hagar off, but keep the reason for her death slightly ambiguous. We’re probably supposed to assume she died of a broken heart, as her death seems to happen in a fairly short amount of time. But I think this always has to do with the mythical aspect of the book, as the way Hagar handles herself is fair from realistic at times. But her materialistic way of thinking that new clothes and a different hair style will help her out in any way is somewhat more realistic. There’s people in real life with this kind of view and just like Hagar they wind up with nothing. Hagar’s shopping spree and death in the end of the book just goes to show how completely out of touch she is with how Milkman really feels about her and how she chooses to make herself happy. Putting more meaning into relationships and your own self-worth will always be much more significant that trying to treasure material

    Read More

  • Betrayal in Death of a Slaesman and Stone Angel

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Independence is something most humans strive for, although some are not lucky enough for it to be an option for them. When a person loses their independence they lose the faith in themselves that they are even capable of being independent. Once the right is taken away, a person will become dependent on others, and unable to function as they used to. Most people would sit back and let their right be taken, but not Hagar Shipley. Hagar loses her independence as most do, because of her age. Doris confronts Hagar about an accident she had when she wet the sheets, and Hagar begins to feel the vice slowly closing down on her already tiny slice of independence. Feeling threatened, Hagar snaps, “That’s a lie. I never did any such thing. You’re making it up. I know your ways. Just so you’ll have some reason for putting me away.” (Lawrence 74) As if Hagar wasn’t having a difficult enough time wat...

    Read More

  • The Epic of Gilgamesh vs. the Bible

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    In comparison to these epics, are the stories told in the Old Testament of the Bible. As with the epics, these legends offer a spiritual idea of the beginning of time and the accounts of early man. Evaluating the stories and characters of the first epic, “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” with the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis, many similarities and differences are recognized. “To explain these parallels scholars have suggested that either one narrative depended on the other or both of them depended on a common source” (Njozi 303).

    Read More

  • The Character Of Hagar: Character Analysis Of Manawakan Values

    1912 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hagar’s duality and ambivalence towards Manawakan values is revealed as she simultaneously seems to flout as well as continue those. It gives way to the development of her complexity as a character that remains with Hagar throughout her life and affects her relationship with others. She finds herself unable to express herself to either of her brothers. She wanted

    Read More

  • Exploring Character Complexity in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon

    1934 Words  | 4 Pages

    Because of this, Hagar found her answer elsewhere in the form of her cousin Milkman, initiating an incestuous relationship between the two that would last for a few years until Milkman, once obsessed and in love, decides to end the affair for good, equating her to the “third beer...the one you drink because it's there, because it can't hurt, and because what difference does it make?” (Morrison 91), and completing the action through a written letter sent to her door. Upon reading the letter, Morrison writes that the termination “sent Hagar spinning into a bright blue place where people spoke in whispers or did not make sounds at all, and where everything was frozen except for an occasional burst of fire inside her chest that crackled away until she ran out into the streets to find Milkman Dead” (Morrison 99). If Hagar did not express any signs of psychological damage before this act, there is no possible way that would continue to hold true. When Milkman ended things, Hagar, for the first time, was denied what she wanted and forced to deal with the outside world and its true weight. In this instance Bakerman, in his proposed theme of failed female initiation, asserts that “when it is time for

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Hagar And Pilate In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hagar was the Egyptian slave of Sarai(Sarah), who was given to Sarai’s husband Abram(Abraham) in order for him to have children. Once Hagar had served her purpose she and her son were cast out of the community and left to fend for themselves in the desert with only a little food and water provided by Abram so he would not feel bad about banishing them. Hagar Dead was used in a similar fashion by Milkman, and then promptly thrown out once Milkman grew tired of her. Also, similar to Abram’s gift of food and water before casting them out, Milkman gave Hagar Dead the gift of a thank you note, “Thank you for all you have meant to me” (99) it said, so Milkman wouldn't feel bad about ending their relationship. The rest of biblical Hagar’s narrative mirrors that of Hagar Dead’s as well. Stranded in the desert, the biblical Hagar and her son began to die of hunger and thirst, but when God heard their cries he opened up their eyes to a well they hadn't noticed before and they both were saved. After Milkman left Hagar Dead, she began to starve. Not in a literal sense, but in the sense that she needed love. Hagar Dead’s sustenance is love, which she shows the reader in the beginning of the novel by saying“some of my days were hungry ones”(48) which Pilate clarifies with “...She don't mean food”(49). Without Milkman’s love to sustain her, of course she began to

    Read More

  • Prophet Exegesis: Habakkuk

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Senior, Donald, Mary Ann Getty, Carroll Stuhlmueller, and John J. Collins. "The Book of Habakkuk." Catholic Study Bible: The New American Bible. London: Oxford University Press, 1990. 1150-1153. Print.

    Read More

  • Motherhood Under Slavery in Tony Morrison’s Beloved

    3170 Words  | 7 Pages

    Sethe has a strong maternal instinct and sees her children as a part of herself. They rightfully belong to her. However her maternal ownership of her children is not recognized by the culture of slavery. As a slave she cannot own anything (Mock 118). Therefore while they are enslaved neither Baby Suggs nor Sethe really own their children. In the slavery culture both the mothers and the children are considered as property of their white owners. As property, their rights as mothers are made void and they have no say about the lives of their children. To the owners a slave woman’s primary value is in her reproductive ability. The female slave is seen as giving birth to property, and therefore capital in the form of new slaves. (Liscio 34). The owner has the ability to use and dispose of this new property as they wish. Therefore children could be sold without any regards for their feelings of the feelings of their mother. In the novel Baby Suggs states she has given birth to eight children, however she only gets to keep one that she sees grow into adulthood. By the end of her life slavery has stolen all of her children from her:

    Read More

  • Sacrifice Of Abraham Test

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    The biblical narrative, Abraham Tested, illustrates God’s test of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering at the apex of the mountain Moriah. Isaac is given the sacrificial wood to carry and, after the pyre is built, is laid bound upon it with Abraham’s knife angled towards his throat to obey God’s command and complete the sacrifice. However, before Abraham’s knife can slaughter Isaac, an angel of God calls down from heaven in order to halt Abraham’s hand and instead sacrifice a ram which is provided by God. Within this essay the analysis of the socio-historical context, the theological liberationist interpretation of the text and the artist’s juxtaposing interpretations were explored in order to determine

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Judith Plaskow's The Coming Of Lilith

    1157 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the one hand, you have Lilith-the rebellious and murderous women who steals children and seduces men. But on the other hand, you have Eve-the subservient and misguided wife whose actions ultimately lead to the fall of humanity. These two women are polar opposites, but in the end, the actions of both lead to calamity. I think that Plaskow wanted to see women put in a brighter light within Judaism, so she interprets the story so that women are the ones who are in the right, and the men are the misguided ones. She uses a variety of tones through her writing to hit this point

    Read More

  • GENESIS AND ANCIENT MYTHS OF THE NEAR EAST

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    When one approaches the biblical text, it is important to explore the cultural context in which the text occurs. With regard to the Book of Genesis, it is important to examine the writing with other contemporary works of similar geography and topics. The people of ancient Mesopotamia, where the oldest civilizations originated, produced a number of stories of creation and natural occurrences. It is important to note that many of the stories of the Sumerians, Akkadians and Hebrews began as oral traditions as the events they depict predate writing, so it is difficult to date these works on the basis of when these prehistoric myths were initiated. Comparison to writings contemporary to the people of Israel, can offer a deeper understanding of the meaning of their stories of origin as they give a point of reference from similar cultures. There are a number of ways that one could view the writings of the ancient Near East for the purpose of interpreting each culture. Because there are many parallels among the creation and flood stories of the ancient Near East, this will be the focus of comparison. While the similarities in ancient literature demonstrate the commonalities of humanity, the differences between Genesis and other Near East works give us a unique impression of the character of the Hebrew God.

    Read More

  • 1 Samuel Women's Roles

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    The topic I found interesting, in this week’s reading material, was the role of women in 1 Samuel. The Book of 1 Samuel contains the following, “constructing history from narratives, dialogue, focus on individual and family relationships, and cast in the ideological perspective of the Deuteronomistic Historians” (Coogan, 2011, p. 202). The head of the house was of course the father, or eldest male, that ruled over his family and property. “Life for women was much as it had been during the days of the confederation and as prescribed in the ancient legal codes” (Coogan, 2011, p. 203). The women were considered property of their father and husbands. However, the women also consider ‘spoils of war’ (Coogan, 2011). During this time period, it was not usual for men to have several wives, practice of polygyny. I could definitely understand how this could cause jealousy and rivalry amongst the wives (Coogan, 2011).

    Read More

  • Masculinity In Beowulf

    215 Words  | 1 Pages

    The society that is described in Beowulf, is to be one that is Male dominated. There are many aspects of the story that reflect Male domination in its society. The first is that all main characters that play a role in the story are males. Men are involved with all events, and actions that take place in the story. The females seem to play a passive role in the story, where they are probably staying in their homes or within the village. They are viewed as an item to men in Beowulf. Hrothgar’s wife, Wealhtheow is beautiful, respectable, and has a gentle character. Hrothgar being king, expects this from her because she is a representation of his status. In Beowulf, men of status all seem to have a female of desirable characteristics that they show

    Read More

  • Face to Face with Death in Hagar

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Hagar realizes she cannot control or stop the process of old age, she becomes depressed and distant.  When she hears about Silverthreads, she is "overcome with fear, the feelings one has when the ether mask goes on, when the mind cries out to the limbs, 'flail against the thing', but the limbs are already touched with lethargy, bound and lost" (pg.

    Read More

More about Harsh Criticisms Of Hagar

Open Document