Charlotte and Emily Bronte each display women and men in different ways in their novels. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre the main character is a strong woman who knows what she wants and is in no way weak or given to "fainting" or other characteristics that women in that time are usually described doing. The main male character, Mr. Rochester, is also different from what most people of his gender are pictured as during this time period. He displays his feelings openly to Jane Eyre and is very emotional. He also does not tend to his sick wife very well which is also unusual. Men in that time were supposed to be gentlemen and to be the stronger of the two genders. In the case of Jane Eyre the male is the weaker vessel and the female is the stronger vessel. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is slightly different. The main female character, Catherine Linton, is not a wise person like Jane Eyre. She lets her emotions lead her decisions and she gets sick whenever she gets distressed. She is not nearly as strong as Jane Eyre. The main male character in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff, is also different from the main male character in Jane Eyre. He is sneaky and very selfish, unlike Mr. Rochester. Heathcliff also does not display his love as well as Mr. Rochester. The only emotion to be seen from Heathcliff is anger.
The personalities of these characters are very clear in the novels. Jane Eyre makes wise decisions over and over again and never lets her emotions decide for her. She refuses Mr. Rochester's proposal because that is what she feels is right since he is still married to another woman. She accepts him after his wife dies, he gets injured in a fire, and he looses all his money and possessions. In other words, she marries him because she loves him, not because the money he has or the way he looks. Catherine is very different. She constantly gets into temper-tantrums and locks herself in her room because she feels that she is wronged. She marries Edward Linton for his money, the way he looks, and because he worships her. She does not seem to love him like Jane Eyre loves Mr. Rochester. I know that Jane Eyre ends with the marriage of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, but I can picture their marriage being much happier than that of Catherine and Edward. The males in the novels are also different. Mr. Rochester is different form Heathcliff in that he is more emotional and more kind. He openly displays his love for Jane Eyre and cares for her very much. Heathcliff cares only for himself and keeps visiting Catherine even though he knows that his visits are creating more and more strife in between her and her husband. The strife creates a tax on her health and almost kills her. The visits he makes are for his own selfish interests. He marries his wife to get at Edward, not because he loves her. This is another cruel, selfish action.
I believe that both Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte accurately describe the ways that males and females are in life. Not all girls are like Catherine and not all boys are like Heathcliff. Most girls are not bratty and short-sighted like Catherine. I also know many men that are like Mr. Rochester who care for their wife and would do anything for her. Sad to say, there are also men like Heathcliff who abuse everybody and use them for their own selfish motives.
I think that it is neat how the two sisters displayed their characters. Maybe each one had a different idea of people and wanted to show what they thought of them. Charlotte Bronte's novel has a happy ending and a sort of boring plot. So far, Emily Bronte's novel has been much more unhappy even though it has a more exciting plot. Maybe Emily Bronte had an unpleasant experience with a man or a girlfriend and Charlotte Bronte had a good experience.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Christianity Portrayed by Bryce Courtenay
In the novel The Power of One the author Bryce Courtenay portrays Christians as unintelligent hypocrites. Courtenay seems to have a bias against Christians that he reveals through his novel. Perhaps growing up he knew unpleasant hypocritical Christians.
For example, when Doc meets Peekay's mother to ask if he can teach piano lessons to Peekay, Doc uses the omnipotence of God to explain when he met Peekay. Peekay's mother then gets confused as to whether or not Doc was praising God or blaspheming Him. Also during their meeting, Doc says that the cactus plant has the characteristics that God failed to give to man. This is plainly saying that God makes mistakes and is giving praise to the cactus for something it did not do. After hearing this, Peekay's mom is confused and does not know if Doc had praised or blasphemed God. This shows her unintelligence. Peekay's mom is shown as not being an intelligent Christian in other ways too. When she is with her pastor she constantly looks to him to know what is right or wrong. She cannot figure out what is a sin on her own.
Another example of an unintelligent Christian is when Peekay goes to Sunday school. He asks the teacher if blacks and whites are equal in heaven. The teacher, Mrs. Kostler, does not know the answer so she asks the pastor. The pastor comes up with a stupid answer (using the teacher's Bible, not his own) saying that "In my Father's House are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you." He then says that "many mansions" means that God loves everybody but He recognizes that there are to be racial differences (also establishing him as a racist) in Heaven. This is a huge misinterpretation of Scripture that makes absolutely no sense at all. The Bible clearly states that everybody is equal (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). I know this and I am only 17 years old with no Bible school training. The pastor of a church that went to a Bible school does not. Courtenay is clearly trying to prove a point here.
There is also hypocrisy shown by the Christians in the church. Peekay says that in the confession times they would "soak up every drop of sin" of the person confessing and judge them. However, they commit sins themselves so who are they to judge?
This also rings true in reality. Many people who claim to be a Christian go to church on Sunday and act like they are saved, but from Monday until Saturday they turn their backs on God and act like people who say they could care less about God. However, not all Christians are like that. There are also many Christians that strive to be like Christ and witness to others on how to go to Heaven. The Power of One displays all Christians as being two-faced idiots.
I think that Courtenay is being unfair in his display of Christians. He unjustly lumps all Christians into the same boat as being hypocritical idiots. He also takes Scripture out of context and uses it as a line for his fictional character to use as a stupid, racist comment. The verse used has nothing to do with racial equality. He also has Doc explain how great the cactus plant is and how it has all the characteristics that God "failed" to give man. Doc ignores that the cactus did not create itself (Genesis 1:11-12) and that God does not make mistakes (Mark 10:18, Isiah 6:3).
For example, when Doc meets Peekay's mother to ask if he can teach piano lessons to Peekay, Doc uses the omnipotence of God to explain when he met Peekay. Peekay's mother then gets confused as to whether or not Doc was praising God or blaspheming Him. Also during their meeting, Doc says that the cactus plant has the characteristics that God failed to give to man. This is plainly saying that God makes mistakes and is giving praise to the cactus for something it did not do. After hearing this, Peekay's mom is confused and does not know if Doc had praised or blasphemed God. This shows her unintelligence. Peekay's mom is shown as not being an intelligent Christian in other ways too. When she is with her pastor she constantly looks to him to know what is right or wrong. She cannot figure out what is a sin on her own.
Another example of an unintelligent Christian is when Peekay goes to Sunday school. He asks the teacher if blacks and whites are equal in heaven. The teacher, Mrs. Kostler, does not know the answer so she asks the pastor. The pastor comes up with a stupid answer (using the teacher's Bible, not his own) saying that "In my Father's House are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you." He then says that "many mansions" means that God loves everybody but He recognizes that there are to be racial differences (also establishing him as a racist) in Heaven. This is a huge misinterpretation of Scripture that makes absolutely no sense at all. The Bible clearly states that everybody is equal (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11). I know this and I am only 17 years old with no Bible school training. The pastor of a church that went to a Bible school does not. Courtenay is clearly trying to prove a point here.
There is also hypocrisy shown by the Christians in the church. Peekay says that in the confession times they would "soak up every drop of sin" of the person confessing and judge them. However, they commit sins themselves so who are they to judge?
This also rings true in reality. Many people who claim to be a Christian go to church on Sunday and act like they are saved, but from Monday until Saturday they turn their backs on God and act like people who say they could care less about God. However, not all Christians are like that. There are also many Christians that strive to be like Christ and witness to others on how to go to Heaven. The Power of One displays all Christians as being two-faced idiots.
I think that Courtenay is being unfair in his display of Christians. He unjustly lumps all Christians into the same boat as being hypocritical idiots. He also takes Scripture out of context and uses it as a line for his fictional character to use as a stupid, racist comment. The verse used has nothing to do with racial equality. He also has Doc explain how great the cactus plant is and how it has all the characteristics that God "failed" to give man. Doc ignores that the cactus did not create itself (Genesis 1:11-12) and that God does not make mistakes (Mark 10:18, Isiah 6:3).
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