Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Chapter 7 ...the Bible

OK--so this one I definitely see. I can think of many allusions to biblical events and characters--especially in poetry. Many of the sonnets we read have biblical allusions. Novels are no different. One of the latest Jodi Piccoult novels is about a little girl who can heal and perform miracles, and I loved The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. If you haven't read them, they are centered upon the mystery of the bible and religion--and its political/financial power. (The DaVinci Code is already a movie, Angels and Demons is getting ready to be.)

I think many of us forget that that although the Bible is religious in nature, it is also one of the most popular works of literature as well. It has poetry and stories people have read, studied, and loved for centuries. No wonder it is alluded to so often.

Here's your task--identify at least a couple of biblical allusions. You can talk about poetry, short stories, novels, or even movies. Also, comment on why you think the Bible is referenced so often.

29 comments:

Дилан said...

One of my favorite novels, Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut, makes many biblical allusions in order to parallel the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, with Jesus. The novel opens with "Away in a Manger" and the character is unable to cry. This is an allusion to the way that Jesus was said to not have cried when he was born. Billy Pilgrim also mirrors the "temptation in the desert" story when he is tempted by the ensuing senseless violence around him to become senseless and violent.

The bible is so often alluded to because it is easily recognised and most everyone is familiar with it. This allows the person to relate to the story on a deeper level.

Terri Kirk said...

Well one I can definetly think of is Facing the Giants. The whole story is based on the biblical story David and Goliath. Bruce Almighty relates to God instead of the bible, in that he gets the powers of God from God himself. There is one part were he splits the tomato soup and it alluded to the parting of the Red Sea.

The bible is very easily alluded to because ofhow it can be familiarized with in everyday life. Also it is a super non-fictional item.

Terri Kirk said...

Mrs. T-that last comment on the Bible was from Ryne B. His account is not working properly.

Ash-Daddy said...

The author mentioned William Faulkner's 'Absaolom, Absalom!' This alludes to the Bible because the novel is about a son who brings down his father's dynasty, which is what happened between king David and his son Absalom in 2Samuel. I also read a book called River Jordan about a girl who finds a family outside her own house. This title is an allusion to the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized as an example for the believers. The Bible is alluded to so frequently because it is the longest lasting historical document we have. Anyone who has access to books has at least heard of the Bible, and its words and themes are powerful and timeless, making it favorable to use in order to communicate a point.

Brooke said...

I have also read the "Keeping Faith" book by Jodi Picoult about the little girl who has the powers to heal, but as she heals others, she becomes weaker and weaker.
I believe that the Bible is so often referred too because people do relate to it, and most people know exactly what an author is talking about when it is alluded too. One of the most often used Bible topic is of Adam and Eve, you see them alluded to in many countless novels, poems, and short stories.

Beas-Girl said...

I think that the bible is often alluded to because it is well known therefore it assists the reader in understanding the point that the author is trying to make. And here is an allusion to take us all back to our childhoods! On the TV show "Rugrats" Tommy is leading all of the other babies and is alludes ot him being Moses and parting the Red Sea.

Ambizzle said...

Yes, I do believe that the bible is a smart book to make allusions to. One reason is that pretty much everybody has heard the bibical stories at some point in their life and they can recognize them in any work. The movie "Evan Almighty" is a movie that portrays the Noah and the Ark story. The guy was actually called upon by God to build an ark and everybody thought he was crazy.

Dianna said...

Until I read this I didn't really think that "Araby" had a biblical allusion. I can't really think of many biblical allusions on the spot. It is alluded to so often because everybody knows a least a little bit about the bible.

Austin said...

I can list a number of books which all reference back to Cain and Abel. The one that comes to mind right now is the Septimus Heap series. There's a central conflict between the main character and his brother, one of which covets what the other has. That series also references to the prodigal son. The main character is gone for a long time and when he finally shows up its like hes forgiven for being gone d everything is perfect again.

christina :) said...

I agree with Brooke. Iv'e read "Keeping Faith" it is an amazing book just to put that out there. It talks just about a little girl who can preform mircles, and that when so many people need them she gets very sick. I think the Bible is alluded to so much because it is the best known piece of literature. Usually if you don't know much about God, you will still understand the basic stuff just because we hear it all the time.

Victoria said...

Although I've talked about it before, the first biblical allusion that came to me was East of Eden by Steinback. the whole book is one big allusion to the relationship between God and Adam and Adam and his two sons, Cain and Able. Another obvious example is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Aslan the Lion is an allusion to Jesus in his sacrificial death to save Edmond and the other Narnia creatures, remenicent of the human race. Also the White Witch is like the devil. The bible is refrenced to so often because it has been around for so long, and is so familiar that most everyone picks up on the meaning of a story when it is alluded to.

JANA3 said...

I also believe the Bible is so often alluded to because people can relate to that and they know about that. Such as the story of David and Glothiath, which today is said all the time in sports about powerhouses versus teams that are not so good. however sometimes those teams do beat the powerhouses just like little David beat the giant golliath with just a sling shot and a stone.

walker said...

For out last reading journal I read Lod of the Flies. I found out that the title of the book also means "devil" or "unholy one". In the book they kill pigs for food. That can be an allusion to the sacracfing of lambs in biblical days. I think that the bible is referenced a lot because it is a common read and studied book. People may be agianst the bible or relgion but we all know SOME informaion about the bible.

RaymondPerryMarshall said...

the movie "History of the World-Part I" portrays the parting of the Red Sea when a man has his hands raised on the side of a creek and it separates, allowing the fleeing comic to escape. In Ted Dekker's The Circle Trilogy a man saves two parallel worlds, enduring excruciating pain, just as Jesus did to save us. Even if someone is not a regular attendee at church, he was brought up on Bible stories.

RoyEarlMcClain said...

In Tim LaHaye's series he alludes to how the good will be taken and the bad left behind. The movie "The Seventh Sign" alludes to the seven signs that the world is ending as predicted in Revalations. People refer to the Bible so often because it was the first published book in world history.

faithe said...

The DaVinci Code definitely is a good book with a lot of biblical allusions. The main thing that they were searching for in The DaVinci Code was the Holy Grail. It was very skeptical as to whether or not it was something real.

I think a lot of books have biblical allusions, it just depends upon how the reader analyzes things in their own minds.

karson said...

the movie "jesus christ superstar" alludes to the bible because it's basically a musical about jesus.

& i think people refer to the bible so much because its well known.

JANA1 said...

I think that the Bible is brought up so often in literary allusions because so many people are brought up and raised according to the Bible. In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, The Lion represents Jesus because the lion dies and then rises again. In the book Harry Potter, lord voldemort can be represented as the devil.

b.buurman said...

I read "Keeping Faith," also and it was really good. The Bible is often alluded to because so many people know about it, regardless of their belief in God. It's the universal book that even if you haven't read it all you know a story or a saying from it. It sort of paralleles Shakespeare in that way, many people know the sayings, whether or not they've actually read the stories.

Big_daddy_alex said...

People allude to the bible all the time. Do to the fact every one knows a little something about the book, in the movie the passion of Christ it is the bible but in movie form.

Anonymous said...

I've also read Keeping Faith. This little girl beecomes so well known because she can perform miracles. It think the bible is so well known because many people have read it or heard stories about times in the biblical days.

Lexi said...

In Constantine it talks about you not being able to go to heaven if you commit suicide, just like in the Bible...I think that the Bible is alluded to so often because to many people know the Bible and the author thinks that they will sometimes get the point faster if they relate it to something else that people know, like the Bible...

andrea said...

THere are bibical references in the divinci code. I think that people put the bible into the things we read because the bible is so well known.

Jana7 said...

the bible is referenced so often because it is so well known and that is how most live there life. the Chronicles of Narnia has several biblical allusions like how the sacrifice the lion makes represents how Jesus died for our sins.

Jessi said...

I know the Bible is alluded to, because not only is it entertaining and popular, but it is also an example of how to live your life. An example of an allusion would be The Sweet Far Thing, and how one of the characters sacrifices himself for the safety of the world.

Rachel said...

I can see why authors use bible stories as allusions. Everyone knows the famous bible stories wether they go to church or not, and this is why authors do it. One allusion I can think of is Bruce Almighty, he becomes the new god and like Jesus he could walk on water.

Josh Barkley said...

The Bible is often alluded to because everyone can relate and no matter if you believe or not you know what the author is talking about because everyone has heard stories from the Bible. The most popular one used is of course Adam and Eve.
The first thing that pops into my mind is the movie Joseph and the coat of many colors.

JANA2 said...

i agree with josh again. the Bible is alluded to alot, because everyone knows it. especially in the movie, the chronicles of narnia.

Kenbo! said...

well i have only read one of the books but the cronicles of narnia is full of biblical allusions one i loved the most was asland being killed on the stone table for anothers sins like what jesus did for us an asland was reserrecated like jesus was the reason y i think there are so many allusions to the bibel is because it is a big way to catch a readers attention we are so fasinated with our bealifs and religeon we love things that portray what we bealive in.