Juan Rulfo's Pedro Paramo and Religion
In the novel Pedro Paramo, Juan Rulfo uses religiousness as a characteristic
that contrasts with the characters lack of moral codes and lack of faith
normally attributed to religion. The people in the town of Comala are obsessed
with the afterlife and prayer, and they even attend church regularly, but these
are just habits that have lost their original meaning. Rulfo uses these symbolic
activities to make the charactersÕ dichotomous nature more apparent. Father
Renter'aÕs occupation, the town priest, demands integrity, purity, and the
power to believe his own teachings. Father Renter'a might, at one time, have
had those attributes but something changed him.
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A question arises about Renter'aÕs
disillusionment with religion: Did the townspeople make Renter'a cynical or did
his doubts lead them astray? I think it was more of the former, and the catalyst
in Renter'aÕs religious failing was just one man: Miguel Paramo. Miguel
Paramo killed Father Renter'aÕs brother and raped Renter'aÕs niece Ana.
These events were merely taken in stride with Renter'aÕs philosophy of Ònever
hate anyoneÓ but it was the death of Miguel that dashed Renter'aÕs religious
beliefs. Father Renter'a performed the funeral ceremony and did not offer a
final benediction partly for selfish reasons of revenge, using his pastoral robe
as a barrier. Disregarding Renter'aÕs condescending remarks of Miguel, Pedro
Paramo offered gold to the priest as restitution, or a bribe, and said, ÒWeigh
him and forgive him, as perhaps God has forgiven him.Ó At ParamoÕs defiance,
Renter'a realized that his religious power was no longer effective or revered in
Comala, because ParamoÕs gold was now the controlling force in the land.
Crushed and depressed, Renter'a no longer felt worthy of his office;
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As if he had failed a test, he says, ÒAlright Lord, you
win.Ó Father Renter'a represents the constant struggle a person has to
maintain personal integrity against outside corruption and personal vices. His
struggle becomes frightfully overwhelming at confession time. Renter'a is
trapped in the booth and tormented with the mocking words ÒI have sinnedÉÓ
tolling louder on his conscience until Òthere was a taste of blood on his
tongue.Ó The blood is symbolic of another drop of his faith slipping away, or
somehow being forced out by the misfortune around him. Perhaps a result of
Father Renter's religious failing was the disconnection in peopleÕs minds
between religious practice and its significance. Or maybe the people of
Comala never truly believed in Renter'aÕs teaching because they had replaced
religion with superstition. The inhabitants of Comala have skewed the concept
of salvation from acts of kindness and living the word of the bible into just the
act of prayer and confession. The women of the town have daily confession to
rid their consciences of guilt, but they do not have any moral codes that
naked and drunken state and therefore mocks him. This action of Ham anger God and thus, God
begin to see the mysteries that we can understand his point of views. He also describes Jesus as
He made use of his time in prison by reading and studying. He also hears about Islam and decides to convert. Once he is released from prison, he starts recruiting people to become a member of the Muslim temple and convert. He also continues to build and create more temples. He eventually marries Betty. After a series of events he becomes isolated from the Nation of Islam and starts his own organization with it being more inclusive than the Nation of Islam. He also begins to reshape his public image and it allows him to speak with the white press effectively. He travels to multiple countries and has a new outlook.
is and how to be a religious person. He gives more than he receives. In fact,
During the first century Europe was plagued with many different wars for political and religious agendas. At this time Christianity was still just a new trend and seen by many the way that we see doomsday cults today. Rather than making it impossible for Christianity to get a foothold in the people, the new Christianity trend used the turmoil as a doorway through which it was able to find strong followers. Saint James, known in Spanish as Santiago, was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus; during his lifetime he came to Spain to preach the gospel, probably following a route that leads to the "End of the Earth" which held a great deal of mythical and mystical value to Europeans (Lehelma). During this time the Moors, or Arabs, were in the process of expanding their territory, infringing upon many people's lands and belief systems. In the year 711 Visogothic Spain had nearly been conquered by the Moors, and the Spaniards were in dire need of a savior. Thus follows the birth of the Cult of Saint James. During the battle of Clavijo Saint James appeared as a holy warrior fighting for Ramiro I of Leon, attempting to push back and defeat the troops of Abdurrahaman II. The image of Saint James the Moor-slayer,mounted horseback striking down all Moors in his path with a mighty sword, however grotesque, was then used to strengthen the Christian resistance to the Arabs.
Religion has had a profound effect on human culture; unfortunately, the trouble with it is faith, which creates skepticism in many individuals. In order to accommodate the issue of faith, religions have regulations, values, and ceremonies, making religion a belief system, hence creating clarity to support faith. Catholicism has become a belief system that feeds its follower with answers; however, these answers are only assumptions. There are no factual answers, and as a result, religious leaders have created an expectation in which religion is supposed to fit; nonetheless, its accuracy is unknown. In Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” the values of religion are the center of criticism. A man with enormous wings, the protagonist of the story, is never strictly classified as man or angel. He is a rejected by society because he goes against the society’s expectation of what a true angel should be, an expectation taught to them by religion. The ambiguity of the old man with enormous wings tests the true faith of the followers of Catholicism, symbolizing an archetypical Christ figure. Both the priest and society’s foul response to him demonstrates the society’s understanding of religion to be superficial. As a result, the story argues, followers of religion must not rely on the assumptions their religion has created but believe instead, with faith.
Just as drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and crystal meth affect the mother, it also affects the child. Babies that are born to drug using mothers are called “drug babies” and just like their mother they become addicted to the drugs causing behavior problems during their childhood. They can also have birth defects, premature birth, and are usually underweight. Babies that are born to cocaine using mothers are called “crack babies” and they face the risk of a stroke leading to brain damage. Teratogenic medications such as some antibiotics, cancer fighting medicines, blood thinners, and acne fighting medicines such as Accutane can all cause birth
Levinthal, C.F. (2005). Effects of psychoactive drugs on pregnant women and newborns (Ed.), Drugs, behavior, and modern society (4th ed., pp.45). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
A 5 page introduction on the importance of obstetric/gynecology centers on many aspects of women's health care. Identifies the problems inherent in crack cocaine use among pregnant women and stresses the importance of educational programs in the reduction of crack cocaine usage and suggests that viable alternatives for these types of programs could be revealed by reviewing crack usage among pregnant women outside the large urban environment.The drug problem affects all types of students. All regions and all types of communities show high levels of drug use. Thirty percent of 1990 high school seniors in nonmetropolitan areas reported illicit drug use in the previous year, while the rate for seniors in large metropolitan areas was 33 percent. Although higher proportions of males are involved in illicit drug use, especially heavy drug use, the gap between the sexes is closing Bibliography lists 4 sources. The drug problem affects all types of students.
Slater, Megan E., et al. "Maternal Prenatal Cigarette, Alcohol And Illicit Drug Use And Risk Of
All drugs, legal or illegal, are considered to be harmful to the fetus and should be taken with caution and under the doctor’s direct orders only. Drugs can be anything as simple as a cigarette to a major substance like heroin and cocaine. Most mothers who do drugs during their pregnancy don’t think about the detrimental effects they could be causing to their baby. Any amount of these forbidden substances can leave an everlasting effect on the precious defenseless baby. Most women know that when you are pregnant your hormones vary greatly, but when a woman is pregnant it also ...
The role of a nurse is very important during the medical care of mother and baby with cocaine use. The nursing care considerations include mental health as well as physiological care. Likely all of these pregnancies are unplanned, and about 4% if all pregnancies involved illegal drug use (Mellon, 2014). It is a difficult situation for a medical professional because the nurse needs to address two issues: that the mother has the psychological and physiological needs of an addict, and...
Development is a never ending cycle in life. Each person begins to develop from conception until passing away. Now, while most people think that development starts after birth that is incorrect. Development starts as soon as the baby is conceived. Everything that a woman carrying a baby does or takes place in will translate into the baby. The baby shares a blood flow with the mother. Drugs, even legal drugs, will go into the mother’s blood stream which will then go into the baby’s blood stream. The “maternal blood flows through the uterine arteries to the spaces housing the placenta, and it returns through the uterine vein to the maternal circulation” (Santrock, 2012, p. 80). This means that anything that enters into the blood stream will also affect the baby. Each type of drug is under a certain category. Psychoactive drugs are drugs that are constantly being studier. According to Santrock (2012), psychoactive drugs are drugs that act on the nervous system to alter states of consciousness, modify perception, and change moods. (p.83). They come in three categories: stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. Stimulants include caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine and nicotine. Some people say that pregnant woman do not know what taking these into their system is doing to their baby. Stimulants are becoming more popular and there effects need to be studied and known. Each stimulant affects the baby in short-term and long-term.
The biblical references throughout the Chronicle of a Death Foretold help identify the characters, Bayardo San Roman, Maria Cervantes, Divina Flor, and the Vicario children, and add depth to the death of Santiago. Without the many religious symbols such as, the Divine Face, the murder of Santiago, the cocks crowing, and the characters, there would be little weight placed on the reactions of the townspeople towards the knowledge of Santiago’s impending death. The religious symbols solidify the idea that Christ has come again in many different forms and ideas, yet dies to renew the people’s covenant with the Lord. “Give me prejudice and I will move the world” (Márquez 100).
...for us. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he made the mental decision to take the wrath of God for us.