“Billy stared into the patina of the corporal's boots, saw Adam and Eve in the golden depths.”(Chapter 2) This is a biblical allusion to Adam and Eve, the mother and father of humanity in the Judeo-Christian tradition. They symbolize a state of purity and the assured falling, which get them both kicked out of heaven. It is Billy’s fate to wander through time just as it is Adam and Eve’s fate to walk the…
Under the recorded names were other names, just as Macon Dead,' recorded for all time in some dusty file, hid from view the real names of people, places, and things. Names that had meaning. No wonder Pilate put hers in her ear. When you know your name, you should hang on to it, for unless it is noted down and remembered, it will die when you do. - Song of Solomon…
A popular theme that echoes throughout the texts of many British authors is religion; mainly in the point of view from the Holy Bible. In most british literature, the reader can draw conclusions that the author drew insight from the stories based upon Christianity. This insight can be reflected by major characters or events that happen in the text. In the allegory “Lord of the Flies” Simon, a major character, reflects Jesus Christ because both have similar events happen to them. As similar events occur the reader can also theorize that Simon and Jesus share similar traits .…
Many novels written contain parallels to the Bible. This couldn’t be truer in the case…
In this movie there was a number of many good connections to the Bible and especially Romans. The movie expressed many ideas of Romans. The biggest connection In Warm Bodies to Romans was when R sacrifices himself to save Julie from doing and falls into the pool dead and rises up from the water alive. When R and Julie were trapped on the edge of the stadium and the boneys were closing in on them R had a choice which was to sacrifice to save that which he loves which was Julie. R says “always protect you” and holds her and falls, saving Julie from death.…
C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” can be seen as a spiritual allegory. The entire book has either subtle or somewhat blatant references to Christianity, and other religions. With references to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, Adam and Eve; it is pretty clear that Lewis intended his novel to parallel with Christian themes. But also having some elements of Paganism, Lewis portrays elements of the natural world and respecting it, much like how in the Pagan religion is about worshiping nature. Lewis also integrates the themes of betrayal, and compassion and courage into the plot and the characters of the novel. Though each character may not have a direct reference to Christian themes or other religious doctrines, the…
In the novel, the characters and events symbolize the themes presented in Christianity. An example would be Jim Casy, a former preacher who stopped preaching for he had sinned. He accompanies the Joad family to their journey to California, and even though he insists he isn't a preacher anymore, he continues to preach the Joad family.…
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is more than just a readable and teachable short novel that generates much classroom discussion about the dangers of a mass culture, as Charles Hamblen points out in his article "Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 in the Classroom." It is an excellent source for showing students the value of studying an author's use of specific allusions in a work of fiction. While writing excellent social criticism, Bradbury uses several direct quotations from works of literature, including the Bible; a careful analysis of the patterning of these allusions shows their function of adding subtle depth to the ideas of the novel.…
Judeo/Christian and Islamic religions all have a beginning and an end to their beliefs. Sacred stories are used to reveal the beginning of time, the end of time and everything else in between of these religions. For the Jews, the Tanakh, or also known as the Torah, holds all their sacred stories while for the Christians it is the Holy Bible, which comes in different versions, although these versions all share the same stories and then there is the Koran or Quran for the Muslims. Each story which is told throughout all three of these religions make use of metaphors which relate directly to each of their specific needs. Certain human, or human like characters are used in the stories to help demonstrate particular values and morals which are to be learned, and consequently either followed or refrained from doing certain things or sins, a moral code that all believers should live by. By use of the human like characters a more personable relation is given, thus allowing for the values and morals to be better understood by the…
The use of Biblical allusions and references is evident in Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country. Against the backdrop of South Africa's racial and cultural problems, massive enforced segregation, similarly enforced economic inequality, Alan Paton uses these references as way to preserve his faith for the struggling country. By incorporating Biblical references into his novel, one can see that Alan Paton is a religious man and feels that faith will give hope to his beloved country. Throughout the entire novel, Alan Paton continuously uses references to the bible and while some are not very apparent, most of them are considerable evident. Four apparent references that he uses are seen in Stephen Kumalo's character, Absalom's decisions to name his unborn child Peter, Stephen Kumalo questioning the ways of God, and Stephen finding his son.…
Religion is something that many people since the beginning of time as we know it, have fought over. To some it plays a huge role while others it is something not worth acknowledging. Foster explains how religion plays a big role in many types of literature throughout the ages. While many are influenced by religious texts others are more interested in Shakespeare. Foster also explains the connection between many of Shakespeare’s works and most of our modern literature.…
Religion and writing have always gone hand in hand. It is an issue with so many dimensions that the question is never fully resolved, leaving it constantly open for debate. Most writers, both past and present, either directly or indirectly, incorporate some sort of religious symbolism into their writing. A vast majority of contemporary writers choose to try and hold religious ideas and statements to a minimum. Other writers are considerably more open with religion and make no attempts to hide it; on the contrary, they weave religious symbolism, ideals, and salvation into their writing. Flannery O’Connor and Doris Betts are two such writers from the “intensely religious Bible Belt” of the South who have been lumped in…
The first 39 books of the larger work called the Bible, is called the Old Testament. The Bible itself is arguably the best selling and most read book of all time, yet it’s well known to be quite challenging to read through and understand. The Old Testament portion of the Bible, notably the most difficult portion of the Bible for most to study and follow, yields 39 books from multiple authors, and spans over 4000 years of crucial world and church history. If that were not enough to take on, the Old Testament comes our way through multiple styles of authorship and formats, including but not limited to, books of history, law, proverbs, ethics, philosophy, treatises, dramas, songs, epics, biographies, and letters. There have been many books written and published to survey, explain, and/or bring to light the Old Testament, but none more helpful to me than the review subject of this paper, the work of Dr. Elmer L. Towns, entitled “A Journey Through the Old Testament”.…
As we know it is indubitably apparent that in works of literature that nothing is arbitrary, everything is specifically selected to best convey the story to the reader. In William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom this point is undoubtedly present in the title of the book. A book title is part of the overall impression an author is creating about a book. It can set a tone and create an expectation. The title of a book should match the tone of the book and it attracts attention. At first glance one might wonder why Faulkner would give his book such a title, but by looking closely and examining the title it becomes explicitly clear how the title “Absalom, Absalom” directly correlates with the theme of the book.…
Over the decades, The Wizard of Oz has been seen by many Christians (and used often in sermons — see here for one example) as an allegory of faith. Consider: The Yellow Brick Road is the path to enlightenment, with the characters encountering a variety of emblems of sin and temptation along the way toward the Emerald City, which is a kind of a heaven. (In another reading, Oz itself can be heaven.) Also, the Wicked Witch is killed with water, suggesting baptism. (It also helps that there are a number of resonances between Baum’s story and John Bunyan’s influential spiritual tale The Pilgrim’s Progress.)…