The book Jesus’ Son by Denis Johnson is a collection of short stories, which are all written in first person view. In the book, the narrator doesn’t give many background details about who he is, and leaves the audience to conclude for themselves. For example, throughout the book the narrator is never referred to by name, and he immediately starts off sharing stories about the chaotic downfalls of his life. The narrator shares struggles to keep a constant relationship in his life, and throughout the book he recalls many different memories with several companions during his chaotic drug-induced life. The Narrator engages in drug use, crime, and almost encounters death but later on in the book he ends up finding stability and is able to put a cease to his drug use. Throughout the book, …show more content…
The narrator recalls the group burglarizing a pharmacy at one point. During the story the narrator is leaving the bar with his friends, and discovers a stranger asleep in the back seat of his Volkswagen. The narrator awakens the man, and the stranger signals that he couldn’t hear or talk. So the group assuming he’s deaf, agree to give the stranger a ride home. The unknown man using sign language to communicate shows the narrator where to take him. The group is directed to a few homes the deaf stranger has signaled them too, and later ends up at a home, but the stranger is unwelcomed. The group is also later on informed by the occupants of the home that their presumed deaf acquaintance is not even deaf or mute, and has history of trying to fool people. The group ditches the stranger and heads to the car, and while pulling off the stranger chases them down and grabs a handle of the car door. The stranger ends up hitting his head on the stop sign forcing him to let go. The group leaves the stranger behind and drive all the way back to
Howard Thurman in his book, “Jesus and the Disinherited” presented Jesus as a role model for the oppressed on how to find strength, freedom and peace within God and oneself. Thurman shares the story of how Jesus offered an alternative to accepting the Roman rules, like the Sadducees did in hope of being allowed to maintain their Jewish traditions; A solution to remaining silently obedient, like the Pharisees, as hatred and resentment destroyed them from within. Jesus provided an alternative solution to the Zealots of his day who resorted to physical force to advance their justified cause, often paying the ultimate cost, their life. Jesus taught love. Love of God, self, neighbor and especially your enemy. Thurman stresses that Jesus know that “it is man’s reaction to things that determines their ability to exercise power over them”.(Thurman, 18) Jesus taught and modeled the art of strength through humility. He
In David Sheff’s book “Beautiful Boy” he utilizes descriptive diction, allusions to other works, and vivid imagery to recreate the experiences he’s gone through during his son’s addiction, times in recovery, and relapses.
In this first chapter of Jesus and the Disinherited , the author Howard Thurman describes
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
story, first impressions, what he thinks of himself, what others think of him, and what
Luke Timothy Johnson uses Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church in order to make a strong point that when studying both Luke and Acts as a unit, rather than reading the canonical order in the Bible, gives us one of our best prophetic looks at the Church for all ages. By presenting this point Johnson hopes to light a fire in our churches of today by using the prophetic works of Luke, so that we as Christians will attend to the ways that Christ intended the church to be. In Johnson’s introduction he states that it is not wrong to study Luke and Acts separately as there are many ways to study the scripture, nevertheless it is wrong to look at Luke and see the prophetic ways of Jesus, and then looking at Acts as non-prophetic. Through seeing Luke’s
A father’s love for his sons is often unspoken. Fathers will rarely say to their sons that they love them, but the sons know they really do. This love is strong, but held in reserve. Is it a sign of weakness if a father tells his son he loves him? This idea can be debated on both sides. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the King James Bible, a father openly forgives a son who just blew all of his inheritance money, and has returned home. The father is filled with so much happiness that he throws a party for the son. An older son of the father thinks it is unjust that the younger son gets a party for messing up. From the Parable of the Prodigal Son, of the King James Bible, there are three main messages.
Raymond Carver, in his short story Cathedral uses a first-person narrator, whose point of view is very much limited and flawed. The narrator in Cathedral has full use of all his senses, unlike the blind man, Robert, who is introduced very early in the story. When comparing the two again, however, Robert is the character that is open to new ideas and willing to experience the joys of life, while the narrator limits himself due to his close-minded thinking. It brings up the question, who is truly blind in the story? Is it a physical ailment or a mental block? The narrator is never given a name in the story, making him the most impersonal character in the story. This also adds to the fact that the narrator is highly ignorant about his surroundings and has a one-sided, self-absorbed view of the world. The perception of the narrator leaves much to be inferred in many points in the story, and at first, it seems pointless to have such a closed off character and the one telling his point of view. I would like to hear the story from the wife’s point of view or Robert’s. Ultimately, however, the limited point of view of the narrator shows where the true ignorance in the world lies.
“Jesus Shaves” by David Sedaris takes place during a French class’s discussion of holidays. When the teacher asks what takes place during Easter, a Moroccan student expresses that she has never heard of the Christian celebration. The rest of the story continues to follow the class’ poor attempt to describe Easter with their broken French. The story is also narrated in 1st person by what is most likely a student from an American background. “Jesus Shaves” explores several views on shared religious tradition in a classroom setting with Sedaris’ comical inclusion of characters from many geographical backgrounds, the use of broken English dialogue, and the narrator’s straight forward take on what he is hearing. This essay is from his larger
From the excerpt from the novel, “Under the Feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the main character is Estrella, a young Spanish girl with a powerful desire to learn to read. Although she is persistent, her teachers refuse to educate her because they are more concerned of Estrella’s personal hygiene. This leaves Estrella resentful because of the barrier between herself and knowledge. Estrella remains silent until a man named Perfecto Flores teaches her how to read by using his expertise in hardware and tools to represent the alphabet. Viramontes depicts the heartfelt growth of Estrella through her use of tone, figurative language, and detail.
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
Drugs are known to be the shortcut to nefarious and decadent life. Jesus’ Son is a collection of stories containing vivid narrative about life as a drug addict. These stories are all told in first person narrative, which is perhaps one person who is suffering from poverty and drug addiction. They are seemingly disconnected but are all about the experience of drug addiction, working together under the theme of drug addiction and how it fragments people mentally and physically. “Car Crash While Hitchhiking” and “Work” both convey this theme by using abrupt tone and unique figurative language. However, “Car Crash While Hitchhiking” characterizes the protagonist more directly to reveal the fall of protagonist because of drug.
Since Matthew and Luke are not modern day biographies, they do not follow the standard that we imagine. I think the explanation for the combination of similarities and differences comes from the fact that the Matthew and Luke are styled differently and also have different audiences. Since Matthew and Luke are interpreting history for a specific audience, this would explain why Matthew and Luke contains differing details. For example, Matthew tells of the Wise Men that came to visit Jesus in Matt.2:1-12 while Luke tells of shepherds that came to visit Jesus in Luke 2:8-20. Since Matthew is styled for a Jewish audience, perhaps it is considered more impactful and stunning that wise philosophers came to worship a child. On the other hand,
Robert, the story of the Prodigal Son is very unique, and based on your outlined; you will be exposing some underline theological concepts and interpretation that will assist the readers in understanding the content of the text. My thoughts does operate with Dr. Klauk comment regarding your thesis, however, may I suggest some things that helped me: First, your thesis statement must take a position? Second, you must be specific. Your thesis must consist of one to two sentences. This will help you in being more precise. Third, it must convey one main idea. Lastly, it should spark some form of discussion. In reading some of your past threads, you are were very analytical. I know that God is going to reveal to you a thesis statement that will
Jesus Christ is a religious figure that many individuals believe and take refuge in for hope. However, there is a misinterpretation in the Western world of showing Jesus as a white male. In response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, a fear of Muslims and the Middle East began in America. In 2002 and 2003, the US was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. After watching The Passion of the Christ, I believe that this movie was partly created as a means to confront the fear of the Middle East by creating an understanding that Jesus, who is worshipped by countless Americans, was Middle Eastern and showing how brutal religious-related violence can be through its language, casting, and story. Perhaps Jesus being authentically shown as a Middle Eastern man that is a symbol of love and righteousness is utilized to produce respect for an ethnic group that the United States fears.