Genesis - Part 2

Joseph is a huge character in the Genesis narrative. His story covers twelve chapters. Fairly significant, if you ask me. And many know the story of Joseph, most famously told in the musical “Joseph and the Technical Dreamcoat,” of how he was given a multicolored coat because he was Jacob’s favorite son; of how he was sold by his brothers into slavery and, after further mistreatment, is raised to second-in-command in Egypt.

However, what most intrigued me was the fact that “Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age” (37:3). This phrase “because he was the son of his old age” didn’t only apply to Joseph though. Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother, was also born in Jacob’s old age, even older age than Joseph since Benjamin was the younger. So this makes me wonder, why does Jacob seem to ignore Benjamin, at least until Joseph disappears? There is nothing really different between the boys. Both are the son of Jacob’s favorite wife; both were born in Jacob’s old age. What is it then that would cause their father to favor Joseph over Benjamin?

In my judgment, I think it boils down to Joseph was the elder. He was Rachel’s first born, the first to come from the wife for whom Jacob had worked fourteen years. Also, in a sense, Benjamin stole Rachel from Jacob since she died giving him life. I know if I were Jacob, I could, potentially, hold a sort of grudge against the son for whom my wife died. Thus, if Jacob were to have the same kind of reasoning, he would prefer Joseph to Benjamin. Poor brother, both of them.

Week 4 Harkins

How to Write a Sentence

In this week’s chapter from How to Write a Sentence, Mr. Fish goes over the importance of forms over the emphasis on content. He begins by explaining how in the same way that musicians practice scales to improve their musical abilities, writers compose nonsensical sentences to understand and better their use of forms. Forms, he says comes first before content because “without form, content cannot emerge” (27). Using an example from Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, Mr. Fish shows that though the stanza was filled with nonsense, the reader was able to replace those words because they knew the “slots” that were being filled and how to fill them with the appropriate part of speech. By understanding forms, one can have an endless possibility of contents. Mr. Fish sums everything up when he says “You shall tie yourself to forms and the forms shall set you free” (33). When one can recognize how a random list becomes a sentence by its form, then they are on their way to being able to create an endless number of sentences.

Craft of Research

Again, much of what The Craft of Research said about connecting with an audience and making claims was review. In my past academic papers, after the initial work of getting the understanding of making an argument, there was the emphasis on making your introduction to your paper interesting and inviting to a reader, giving them a reason to read the paper. Then, within the body of the argument, your points had to be specific and concise. If your reader doesn’t know where you stand because you are too vague or don’t present a significant point, they won’t want to continue reading your paper. The question should not be “why should my audience believe this” but “why do they care?”

Genesis - Part 1

Mankind was placed in perfect delight when God put him in Eden. Everything was provided for them from a job to perform to what to eat. Only one stipulation was put upon them. They were forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And even that was not so difficult as there were plenty of other beautiful trees from which to eat. Nothing was out of place . . . until the whisperings of the serpent, which led the first parents to distrust their Maker and sin.

Something I noticed this time in my reading through it was that the first thing Adam and Eve noticed after their partaking of the forbidden fruit was that they were naked. Naturally, I would have assumed that they would now know the evil they had committed or something along the lines of knowing good and evil, such as was suggested by the name of the tree. But that was not the case. They noticed something that had been hitherto unobserved and seemingly so unrelated.

Yet I believe that it is really significant, the significance being that they are now looking at themselves. Before this point, there is no mention of them having any particular interest in themselves outside the realm of taking care of their physical needs, such as eating. It is only after they eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they are aware of themselves. To me, this says that knowing good and evil is not necessarily that you can see both the good and bad in the world, which is a part of it as well. Rather, it’s now you care more for yourself and how you appear than anything else. No longer is it others before self and their betterment; now it is all about the all-consuming “I”.

The Aeneid - Part 2

War has broken out between the Trojans and the Latins, led by Aeneas and Turnus respectively. Both sides clash furiously, both with high hopes and prayers for victory. In the Latin line-up though, none but Turnus can match Mezentius in ferocity and fervor. He is described as having no respect for the gods and therefore can be even more reckless and savage than others. Droves of noble fighters lie in his wake. It is as if he has no heart, that he lives for the hunt of human flesh and blood upon the field of Mars.

But an interesting point in the story for me was when Mezentius’ son Lausus is killed by Aeneas in battle and the impact it had on Mezentius. Upon hearing his men weeping, the father knows at once that he has been bereft of his son. His grief is so beautifully expressed in the following lines:

Gouging up dust he soiled / His white hair, spread his hands to heaven; and when / the body came, he clung to it. / “Did such pleasure / In being alive enthrall me, son, that I / Allowed you whom I sired to take my place / Before the enemy sword? Am I, your father, / Saved by your wounds, by your death do I live? / . . . / My son, I stained your name with wickedness - / Driven out as I was, under a cloud, / From throne and scepter of my ancestors. / . . . / I should have given / My guilty life up, suffering every death. / I live still. Not yet have I taken leave / Of men and daylight. But I will.” (10.1181-88, 1191-93, 1195-1198)

Here is the heart of father pouring forth his grief and remorse over his lost son. Compared to earlier images of the might Mezentius, this is a complete turn-around. Where once he was harsh and brutal, he is now gentle and caring. In battle, he roared commands amidst the flurry of men and arms. Yet here, he weeps and pleads to a son long gone from the world of his father. For me, this was one of the most touching scenes in the whole Aeneid.

Week 3 Harkins

How to Write a Sentence

Mr. Fish presents an interesting view of grammar in this chapter. Instead of teaching grammar in the traditional manner of memorizing the parts of speech and their uses, he says to memorize the relationships between words and then add on descriptions of the basic sentence. It seems to me that grammar is important but should not be the focus when writing a sentence. The focus should be to say what you want to say and once that is able to be done well, get into the nitty-gritty of the details of parts of speech. I was pretty familiar with his terminology throughout and his perspective, at first glance, was very new and seemingly radical. However, as I thought about it, my own grammar education started that way but heavily involved learning the parts of speech in conjunction with it.

Craft of Research

The Craft of Research brought up many concepts with which I am familiar. I had to start writing reports in elementary but they followed only the basic format of three paragraphs with an introductory and concluding paragraph with topic sentences and closures in each. I started writing real formal reports my sophomore year in high school where we had to write very academic essays about various topics of our choosing. Later, in my senior year, I learned how to look up and use secondary sources as previously, I had used only previous texts from the class or reasoning in support of my arguments.

The Aeneid - Part 1

Within the world of The Aeneid, Rumor plays a major part. At several points, she makes a move to stir up trouble and mischief, the forbearer of all bad and unfavorable news. Her first appearance is when she whisks news of Aeneas and Dido’s love to everyone and rouses the ire of her murderous brother. Later, Rumor turns against the couple and whispers hints to Dido of Aeneas plans to set sail, which leads to the queen’s eventual suicide. During the war between the Trojans and the Latins, Rumor carries the news of fallen loved ones before their bodies reach their grieving families. Whenever there is trouble, Rumor is not far behind to deliver it quickly, “Nimble as quicksilver among evils” (4.241).

However, most interesting to me was that a full twenty-five lines is dedicated to a description of her and how she prowls the earth, the most intriguing part of which was as follows:

Monstrous, deformed, titanic. Pinioned, with / an eye beneath for every body feather, / and, strange to say, as many tongues and buzzing / Mouths as eyes, as many pricked-up ears, / By night she flies between the earth and heaven / Shrieking through darkness, and she never turns / Her eyelids down to sleep. (4.249-255)

The imagery presented reminds me of the cherubim described in Ezekiel 10:12, “Their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels were full of eyes all around.” Now, this is not to say that I believe that one inspired the other but I do believe it is interesting to note the similarities. Both have wings with which to fly over the entire earth and both have eyes covering every part of them. However, this is where the similarities stop, so far as I can tell, as the cherubim are the servants of the Almighty and Rumor is a spreader of truths and tales. While the cherubim minister in the presence of God, Rumor whispers tantalizing words into the ears of the unsuspecting. So, though it has been shown that these two creatures are, in essence and fact, very differing, it is remarkable that they have some unique characteristics in common.

The Odyssey

At several times during the course of The Odyssey, Penelope is exalted as a paragon of constancy and love in contrast to the wife of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra. Penelope, for twenty years, balances between hope and despair, hoping beyond hope that Odysseus is coming home but almost believing those who says that her husband is lost forever and that she should move on with her life. Compounding on her husband’s uncertain fate, she is courted for ten years by the most eligible men of Ithaca and the surrounding areas, all favorable in their own rights. Yet, she defers the time of her choosing by any means she can, still clinging to the belief that Odysseus will return to her side. During Agamemnon’s absence, Clytemnestra, trying at first to remain faithful to her distant husband, surrendered at last to another man’s seduction and then helps him murder her husband. Later, when the spirits of Penelope’s suitors come to the House of the Dead, Agamemnon hears how strong Penelope remained despite sore temptation and subsequently praises her.

The fame of her great virtues will never die. / The immortal gods will lift a song for all mankind, / a glorious song in praise of self-possessed Penelope. / A far cry from the daughter of Tyndareus, Clytemnestra – / what outrage she committed, killing the man she married once! – / yes, and the song men sing of her will ring with loathing. (24.16-221)

To me, I saw in these two women two responses to long hardship. On the one hand, there is Clytemnestra who, though purposing to be strong at first, finally succumbs to what is easier and most pleasurable at the moment. On the other hand, Penelope remains steadfast in her love despite adversity and refuses to submit to less than her husband. The end results of these two paths become evident in the lives of the women. Clytemnestra ends up helping murder her husband for the sake of her lover, who is then murdered to avenge Agamemnon’s death, leaving her with nothing but remorse. Penelope, though, is rewarded with the return of her husband and love that has been strengthened through time’s fires.