First off, I feel extremely compelled
to comment on how witty Foster is by opening this chapter with the quote: “This
may surprise some of you, but we live in a Christian culture.” How thought
invoking! As a Christian, this one was a no brainer to me, an automatic “duh”
some might say. However, I thought about how much corruption and craziness is
going on in the world that doesn’t line up with what the Bible teaches and
literally laughed out loud when I realized that this is probably one of the
most sinful countries in the world, if not the most sinful. Here we have
America, the supposed model of a correct society, “land of the free and home of
the brave” who is the exact opposite of what it is supposed to be. I found the
statement horrendously funny. There was too much true irony encompassed in that
small sentence for it to be ignored.
Refocusing, this chapter discusses the
necessity of having some sort of background in Christian literature, the Bible,
if you want to be able to successfully dissect American text. He discusses the
way Christ and biblical references are a part of everyday interactions for
Americans. It is a piece of the culture. For example, a character archetype
taught in English classes is the scapegoat. The most famous scapegoat that I
have heard of (or even know of) is Jesus Christ. If you ask any other person
who even knows what a scapegoat is, that will probably be their answer as well.
Christian tendencies and references are ingrained in Americans. Foster gives an
example of a Christ-like figure being depicted in a novel. A woman who, at
first glance, was nowhere near Christ in her endeavors. Because of what
happened to her and her legacy, a connection can be drawn.
This chapter is a good example of
how the prior encounters a person has had with literature can influence their
interpretation of things they read later. Thinking back on readings that I have
done, my religious background has helped me draw connections and get messages
from books easier than a person less experienced with the Bible.
He made an interesting connection with the
woman who threw her life away. How do you compare a person who is nowhere near
correct in their ways to Christ? Jesus is supposed to be the person who saves
the world and redeems everyone in the world. Isn’t the main point of being
Christ- like to be somewhat right in your ways? She died and was resurrected,
but does that mean she was the “Jesus” of the story? I, personally, disagree
with this example.
The rest of the chapter discusses
the way other works of literature can reference the Bible. Much like the
chapter discussing Shakespeare, the Bible is an influential text in writing. I
have more questions that have sprung from this chapter. Does the indirect reference
of Bible scriptures and lessons communicate biblical messages to people who are
not Christian? Is everyone indirectly Christian because of the Bible’s heavy
influence on American culture? With the type of reasoning shown in this chapter
regarding a Christ- like figure, does that mean each individual person in their
own life story is “Jesus” at some point in time? A lot of people have made it
to 33 and a lot of people have made severe sacrifices. Foster might want to be
careful with this Jesus list. Someone might start running around claiming they
are the Son of God waving this chapter of the book in peoples’ faces.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/books/review/the-book-of-books-what-literature-owes-the-bible.html?_r=0
