Christ Figure Essays

  • Galahad as a Christ Figure

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Galahad as a Christ Figure Very few people can call themselves a Christ figure. There are so many elements that go into being a Christ figure. Galahad had all those elements. He was enraptured, he saw 'the wonders of the Holy Grail', and he had disciples. Also, he made life better for human beings by sacrificing himself for others, he preformed miracles, and he heard holy voices and saw holy visions. Because of all that he did Galahad was a proven Christ figure of his time. Galahad would

  • Oedipus Rex – a Christ Figure

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oedipus Rex – a Christ Figure Sophocles’ famous tragedy, Oedipus Rex, perhaps “the most important and influential drama ever written” (“Sophocles” 717), presents in the person of  Oedipus the model of a good ruler, a humanely intelligent and vigorously active leader, a man who earlier saved his adopted city Thebes from disaster. Is Oedipus an alter Christus besides? The numerous parallels between the figure of the king Oedipus and the figure of Christ in the Scriptures prompts the reader

  • lord of the flies: simon as a christ figure

    607 Words  | 2 Pages

    The character of Simon in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has often been viewed as the Christ figure of the novel. If you were to examine the actions of both Simon and Jesus, you would find a number of incidents that parallel each other. One of the first things that Simon does that depicts a Christ-like action, is found in chapter 3 when he helps the littluns get fruit, “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach” (Golding 56). During his lifetime, Jesus often aided the hungry, one

  • Jim Casey as a Christ Figure in The Grapes of Wrath

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grapes of Wrath: Jim Casey as a Christ Figure In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters' individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the Great Depression era. One such character is that of Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend

  • Billy Budd Essay: Close, but no Christ Figure

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    Billy Budd – Close, but no Christ Figure Billy Budd, the foretopman in Billy Budd, Sailor, seems similar to Jesus Christ because of his relative appearance of purity, simplicity, and innocence. He posses human virtues which cannot be explained but* by any other method except comparison to Christ. Yet, while Budd may seem like a "Christ figure" at first glance, he is a far cry from the Christ of the Holy Bible. Budd is human, and his short comings-his natural flaws and apathy towards others

  • Billy Pilgrim as a Christ Figure in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Slaughterhouse Five

    3080 Words  | 7 Pages

    Billy Pilgrim as a Christ Figure in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s Slaughterhouse Five After reading the novel, Slaughterhouse Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., I found my self in a sense of blankness. The question I had to ask myself was, "Poo-tee-weet?"(Vonnegut p. 215). Yet, the answer to my question, according to Vonnegut was, "So it goes"(Vonnegut p.214). This in fact would be the root of my problems in trying to grasp the character of Billy Pilgrim and the life, in which he leads throughout the

  • The Failed Christ and His Re-Birth; Christ Figures in The Sound and The Fury

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    highlight the negatice aspects of Christ, and them contrasting them with the glory and holiness of the resurrection. In “The Sound and The Fury”, each one of the narrative characters represents a single aspect of a flawed Christ, while a simple the family caretaker, represents the glory and goodness of the resurrection and Christ’s light. The reader encounters the first “Flawed Christ” in the form of Benji Compson, formerly Maury, who is widely held to be Christ the loving. Faulkner makes it explicitly

  • Christ Figures in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    3253 Words  | 7 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet as Christ Figures Introduction and Modern Interpretations Modern audiences have been reintroduced to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet largely through modern film reinterpretations of the play. Many of these films, most notably Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet and John Madden’s 1998 Shakespeare in Love, have focused on the tragic destiny of these "two star-crossed lovers". Seemingly, it is the destiny of Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide because they

  • McMurphy is Not a Christ Figure in Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    McMurphy is Not a Christ Figure in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Literary fiction is littered with references to Christianity. It is very obviously a large and influential force in the western world so it is hardly surprising that a novel such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which is so questioning of our society and moral values, should be so full of references to what is arguably the basis of these values. What the question asks, however, is if the character of McMurphy is portrayed

  • Is Simon A Christ Figure

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nikola Jovanovic Lord Of The Flies Simon Christ figure ewa. In the novel, “Lord of the Flies”, William Golding uses a character Simon as Christ figure. In the novel Simon dies and his death is also symbolized as an ending in the goodness of humanity and civilization on the island because in the book Simon represented the goodness of humanity and civilization. When Golding kills off Simon he is trying to show that the goodness of the characters in the novel has gone away and so has their civilization

  • Essay on Imagery and Symbolism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter. First of all, Hawthorne parallels the hypocrisy of Dimmesdale to that of Puritan society. Hawthorne describes Dimmesdale as, "a viler companion of the vilest, the worst of sinners," even though Dimmesdale is seen as the

  • Women and Religion in the Film Alien and Frankenstein

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    dominated society as a whole. As one would expect, women are frightful and perhaps horrified at this exclusionary system and in women's horror the idea of a woman Christ figure has been brought forth. Perhaps women are in touch with the idea of the Christ-like figure, one that is nurturing and motherly and by using a woman with Christ-like attributes, the structure of religion is commented on and destructured. Men's horror, however, works in the opposite direction by struggling to maintain the structure

  • Film Essays - Comparison of the Movie, Life is Beautiful and the Bible

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beautiful can compare to the Bible. For example, Guido, the main character, acts as a Christ figure in that he saves his son, Joshua from the evils of the Holocaust. Another example that compares with the Bible is the tank that is promised to Joshua. Finally, Guido’s death eventually saves Joshua from his own death. Such examples in the movie are comparable to examples in the Bible. In the film, Guido is a Christ figure to his son. During their imprisonment in the concentration camp, Guido explains

  • Hemingways Themes

    1595 Words  | 4 Pages

    often regarded [as] a Christ figure, and his love for all living creatures and forbearance in physical pain are attributes that support this [idea]. However, Santiago shares few traits with Christ (Brenner 38). In his book The Old Man and the Sea: Story of a Common Man, Gerry Brenner states: Christ is a fisher of men, but Santiago is merely a fisherman; Christ is a figure with a divine mission, Santiago one with a secular mission (to bring back an oversized fish); Christ is a martyr who willingly

  • Symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Casy not only is a Christ figure but also embodies the belief of Transcendentalism. These are supported by many examples throughout the story. Some of these examples are easily noticed, others require more thought to be understood. The symbolism found in Jim Casy does a great deal to bring together the events that make up the story. That Casy is a Christ figure can be shown in several ways. One obvious (or perhaps not as obvious as it may seem) similarity between Casy and Christ is that they share

  • George’s Life Sacrifice in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day

    746 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout their hardships, Ophelia and George stay together and eventually get married. Ophelia often picks fights with George to test his love for her, and time after time, he proves to her that he does love her. Gloria Naylor uses George as a Christ figure in his relationship with Ophelia to eventually save her life. While visiting her relatives in Willow Springs, Ophelia becomes deathly ill as a result of evil forces on the island. George tries to think of ways to save her, but he cannot get

  • Religious Themes in Roman Polanski's A Knife In The Water and Rosemary’s Baby

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    this film. The boy is portrayed as somewhat of a Christ figure. At one point he is seen lying on the deck of the yacht in a crucifix position with the sun forming a halo around his head. He hangs off the boat while it is moving and attempts to walk on the water. The boy has wounds on his hands from holding the hot saucepan. Like Christ the boy wanders from place to place on foot. The most obvious comparison Polanski makes between the boy and Christ is that the boy is presumed to be dead after Andre

  • Beowulf As Christian Allegory

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    Beowulf As Christian Allegory Beowulf’s story is somewhat of an allegory in which he is depicted as the Christ figure. The theme of Beowulf is a contrast of good and evil which is manifest in both Christian and pagan elements; Beowulf represents good, while Grendel, his mother, and the dragon represent evil. The first monster our hero, Beowulf, faces is Grendel. Grendel is said to be a descendant of Cain. “Unhappy creature (Grendel), he lived for a time in the home of the monsters’ race, after

  • When Pigs Heads Talk

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    that what he has done is wrong, he continues to do it until his disgusting gorging has ended with his capture and punishment. Oddly enough, the flies are feeding on rotting flesh as well. Simon, the boy murdered by his peers, can be viewed as a Christ figure. While some may say it is Ralph, Simon seems more like a savior. He comes down from the mountain, bearing news of the boys salvation from the beast that torments him and he is persecuted by them, each one taking part in the frenzy of his death

  • Wounded Knee

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    there were 120 men and 230 women and children. At the camp, they were guarded by the US Seventh Cavalry lead by Major Samuel Whitside. During the year 1890 a new dance called the Ghost Dance started among the Sioux and other tribes. The Sioux's Christ figure, Wovoka, was said to have flown over Sitting Bull and Short Bull and taught them the dance and the songs. The Ghost Dance legend was that the next spring, when the grass was high, the Earth would be covered with a new layer of soil, covering all