The Meaning of Silence: Analysis of Shusaku Endo's Silence
Mrs. Rosie
Contemporary Literature (#1)
Week 7 (Silence Essay)
Prompt 1
The Meaning of the Title Silence
Silence, by Shusaku Endo, tells a significant and potent story of those who want to remain faithful to God, Christ our Lord, while facing great peril. The story brings home the fact that the freedom to believe and practice our faith is not an easy path for many, including the Japanese. The difficult path that some choose to take involves hiding, running and imprisonment while battling with faith and questions of why God is silent in all the trouble. While God’s silence presents one theme of the book, another type of silence also introduces itself in the story. The silence of the West in keeping Christianity for themselves and not expanding to the East, Japan, exemplifies another theme in the book. Representing themselves throughout the book, the two main themes, silence of God and silence of the West, relate to the title Silence. The first theme of Silence comes from Rodrigues’, a character from the book, battling with God and questioning His silence amidst the turmoil of the tortured Christians. Endo uses pristine imagery of the surrounding environment, the vivid description of the senses and the psychological battles within the characters to demonstrate the pain that accompanies martyrdom of the Christians, particularly when God seems to be absent. Rodrigues says “There was the sea that swallowed them up, the sea... that stretched out endlessly with unchanging expressions. And like the sea, God was silent. His silence continued.” Rodrigues questions time and again why God has given unto Christians such a burden. The silence of God that Rodrigues questions, one of the main themes of the book, pertains to the title Silence. Furthermore, the silence of God, associating with the title of the book, eventually brings hope and joy to the Christians in hiding. Echoing the memorable words of Jesus on the cross, “My God my God why hast thou forsaken
Contemporary Literature (#1)
Week 7 (Silence Essay)
Prompt 1
The Meaning of the Title Silence
Silence, by Shusaku Endo, tells a significant and potent story of those who want to remain faithful to God, Christ our Lord, while facing great peril. The story brings home the fact that the freedom to believe and practice our faith is not an easy path for many, including the Japanese. The difficult path that some choose to take involves hiding, running and imprisonment while battling with faith and questions of why God is silent in all the trouble. While God’s silence presents one theme of the book, another type of silence also introduces itself in the story. The silence of the West in keeping Christianity for themselves and not expanding to the East, Japan, exemplifies another theme in the book. Representing themselves throughout the book, the two main themes, silence of God and silence of the West, relate to the title Silence. The first theme of Silence comes from Rodrigues’, a character from the book, battling with God and questioning His silence amidst the turmoil of the tortured Christians. Endo uses pristine imagery of the surrounding environment, the vivid description of the senses and the psychological battles within the characters to demonstrate the pain that accompanies martyrdom of the Christians, particularly when God seems to be absent. Rodrigues says “There was the sea that swallowed them up, the sea... that stretched out endlessly with unchanging expressions. And like the sea, God was silent. His silence continued.” Rodrigues questions time and again why God has given unto Christians such a burden. The silence of God that Rodrigues questions, one of the main themes of the book, pertains to the title Silence. Furthermore, the silence of God, associating with the title of the book, eventually brings hope and joy to the Christians in hiding. Echoing the memorable words of Jesus on the cross, “My God my God why hast thou forsaken
Cited: "Brilliant Disguises." : Silence by Shusaku Endo. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Deep Grace of Theory." Deep Grace of Theory. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. Endō, Shūsaku. Silence. New York: Taplinger Pub., 1980. Print. "Polishing Mud Balls." : Silence by Shusaku Endo. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. "Silence by Shusaku Endo." RSS 20. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.