Group Presentation

Here's the script we used for our group presentation, on the Book of Esther:

      THE BOOK OF ESTHER

                    JIMMY and SALLY are sitting on the floor, GRANDPA
                    is sitting in a chair.

                    Throughout the play, unless otherwise stated, the
                    actors will act out what Grandpa says.

          JIMMY
               Grandpa? Would you tell us a story?

          GRANDPA
                         (considers for a moment)
               No.

          JIMMY
               But Grandpa, it's Purim.

          GRANDPA
               Ugh. Every year, you kids ask for a story, and every
               year I tell you the same one. I'm 88 years old and my
               body is falling apart, can't you just leave me to die
               in peace?

          JIMMY
                         (Chanting)
               Purim story!

          SALLY
                         (Chanting)
               Purim story!

          GRANDPA
               All right, all right already! I tell you a story.
                         (mumbles in Yiddish.)
               [CHANGE SLIDE/PALACE]
               Well, many years ago, in the Kingdom of Persia...

                    As he begins the tale, the two children turn, and
                    become MORDECAI and ESTHER. GRANDPA continues to
                    narrate.

          GRANDPA
               There was a Jewish man named Mordecai. He was a wise,
               and honorable man.

                    MORDECAI/JIMMY flaunts about, looking very
                    honorable and wise. [CHANGE SLIDE/FIREPLACE] He
                    then stops, and addresses Grandpa.

          JIMMY
               Mordecai has a laser gun, right? And his name is
               Mordecai von Destructionburger, right?

          GRANDPA
               No.

          JIMMY
               This story sucks.

                    MORDECAI/JIMMY becomes MORDECAI one again. [CHANGE
                    SLIDE/PALACE]

          GRANDPA
               He had a niece, who went by the name Esther. Esther was
               very wise and beautiful. She was also Jewish.

                    ESTHER/SALLY also flaunts, looking very wise and
                    beautiful.

          GRANDPA
               The king of the land had recently misplaced his wife,
               so he was currently looking for a new one.

                    Enter KING, looking for a wife.

          GRANDPA
               So, he had all the beautiful women of the land brought
               before him, and he chose Esther to be his wife, because
               she was the most virginal.

                    ESTHER and MORDECAI break character, and become
                    the children again. [CHANGE SLIDE/FIREPLACE]

          SALLY
               What does virginal mean?

          JIMMY
               Yeah, what does that mean?

          GRANDPA
               I'll tell you when you're older. Anyway, Esther didn't
               reveal to the king that she was Jewish.

          SALLY
               This society seems to be rather misogynistic. And
               intolerant.

          GRANDPA
               Hush, you.

                    The two children once again become ESTHER and
                    MORDECAI. [CHANGE SLIDE/PALACE]

          GRANDPA
               They were happily married, but soon, Mordecai
               discovered a plot by two eunuchs (no, I'm not going to
               tell you what that means) to kill the King. He tells
               Esther, and Esther tells the king, and the king is very
               happy with her. Everything is great.
                         (To himself)
               My life is a massive disappointment.

                    Enter HAMMON.

          GRANDPA
               Now, soon, a man rose in the ranks of the king's
               advisors. His name was Ham--

                    JIMMY once again breaks character. [CHANGE
                    SLIDE/FIREPLACE]

          JIMMY
               Do him and Mordecai have a swordfight?

                    HAMMON and MORDECAI/JIMMY brandish swords/sticks
                    at one another.

          GRANDPA
               No.

                    They lower the sticks dejectedly.

          JIMMY
               Is there a car chase? With lasers?

          GRANDPA
               No.

          JIMMY
               Does Hammon have a lair?

          GRANDPA
               NO! Hammon was just an advisor to the king who happened
               to hate Mordecai!

          JIMMY
               Did Mordecai kill his father?

          GRANDPA
               NO! Mordecai refused to bow to Hammon, so he decided to
               kill Mordecai and all the Jews!

                    SALLY breaks character now too.

          SALLY
               Sounds like he has quite the inferiority complex.

          GRANDPA
               Do you kids want me to tell this story or not?

          SALLY
               Yes.

          JIMMY
               Yes.

          GRANDPA
               Then keep quiet. This isn't one of your TV shows or
               video games. You kids might not realize this, but
               stories used to be interesting without explosions, gun
               fights, the internoodle--

          JIMMY
               You mean the internet?

          GRANDPA
               Never mind!

                    The kids return to their characters. [CHANGE
                    SLIDE/PALACE]

          GRANDPA
               Where was I? Oh, right, Hammon decides to kill
               Mordecai. Well, the king is pretty happy with Esther,
               and she, being Jewish, hatches a plan to save her
               people. She asks the king to throw a big feast, and
               honor Mordecai.

                    SALLY breaks character. [CHANGE SLIDE/FIREPLACE]

          SALLY
               This king's not too smart, is he?

                    SALLY returns to character. [CHANGE SLIDE/PALACE]

          GRANDPA
               Hush. The king summons Hammon, asking him what he would
               do to honor someone who had done well. Hammon advises
               him, thinking that the king is talking about him.

          JIMMY
               [CHANGE SLIDE/FIREPLACE] But he's not.

          GRANDPA
               Thank you, you're really an astute child. Hammon then
               goes out and builds a gallows, to hang Mordecai on.
               [CHANGE SLIDE/PALACE]

          SALLY
               Gross.

          GRANDPA
               The banquet comes around, and there's much food and
               revelry.

                    Hand out treats.

          GRANDPA
               And not a surprise to us, the king honors Mordecai. Of
               course, Hammon is angry, but when he's about to leave
               and plot revenge, Esther asks for another favor. She
               knew of Hammon's plot, and she tells the king. The king
               then hangs Hammon on his own gallows.

                    Both children stand, mouths agape.

          GRANDPA
               And then Esther helps the Jews kill 75,000 people. The
               End.

                    They still stand there, lips quivering.  [CHANGE
                    SLIDE/FIREPLACE]

          GRANDPA
               Now leave me alone, I want to take a nap.

                    He promptly falls asleep. The two children plop
                    down on the floor, scratching their heads.

The Slave

Twilight? Puh-leeze.

The Slave. Now that's a love story. It's wonderful, we have a man who cannot fall in love with a gentile, but does, and it creates an internal struggle in which he must decide between God, and what he feels. He falls prey to the pit of rationalization, but through that, he begins to explore his faith, and make discoveries about what he believes. Throughout all of this, terrible things happen, and continue to happen to him, leaving him alone with nothing but his shattered faith.

This is very similar to discussions we've had in class about theodicy. How can the good and just be punished for having done nothing wrong? The Slave was very interesting to me in the way that it allows the reader to experience their own catharsis, without being strictly told what to do, or what to think and believe.

I loved it.

(Kind of a crappy post, but I'm super busy.)

TEST!

• Frye: 54, 81-2 (type/anti-type), 107, 116, 120, 123, 128, 130 (metanoia: "enlarged dimensions"), 137-8
• The Slave: 238, 259-62, 278-9

Plotz

• 1st Kings:17
• Who is an early Christ figure?
• Elijah
• 2nd Kings
• Who was associated with early cosmetics?
• Jezebel
• Isaiah
  
• Which pairing doesn't belong?
• The Lion and the Lamb
• Who does Plotz compare God to?
• Jack Nicholson, Santa
• Jeremiah
• Why wouldn't you share a beach house with Jeremiah?
• Morbidity
• Ezekiel:4
• The ingredients and things you need to eat.
• He compares Israel to his adulterous wife.
• Minor Prophets
• Jonah, why does he get on a boat?
• To run from God. (There is no whale)
• Psalms
• Which characters does Plotz talk about most?
• David
• Common theme?
• "Woe is me"
• Daniel
• What other biblical story is Daniel closest to?
• Joseph and his dreams
• Ezra/Nehemiah
• Why does Ezra pull out his hair?
• Intermarriage between Jews and gentiles.
• Chronicles
• One sentence sums it up.
• It retells the stories you've heard already.
•  Should we read the bible?
• Yes, the less you believe, the more you should read.

MORE QUESTIONS

• What does Ecclesia mean?
• Gathering
• What is Eschatology?
• The study of the end times.
• Logos?
• The word.
• Jesus and Socrates, how are they similar?
• Both were "crucified".
• Why is the Bible a comedy?
• It has a happy ending.
• Where are we at in the "U"?
• The bottom.
• What type of wisdom would your grandparents give you?
• Prudential 
• What does Jacob put on his head?
• A fez, he believed in a false prophet for a while.
• The three great tragedies?
• The Brothers Karamazov
• Job
• King Lear
• Why is God patriarchal? 
• It rationalizes the ethos!
• What is an epiphany?
• Sudden manifestation of a supernatural or divine being.
• What is retributive justice, and an example of it?
• Nothing bad happens unless we deserve it. Job's three "friends".
• Prudential wisdom?
• Polonius
• Skeptical wisdom?
• Hamlet
• Best example of narrative/image?
• Job/Revelation
• Metenoia?
• repentence
• What does Jacob do to make up for the absence of the Torah?
• He scratches on a rock.
• Theodicy
• The question of innocent suffering.
• What is a parable?
• an attack on expectations.
• Apocalypse?
• A lifting of the veil. (realized eschatology)
  

Good stuff.

Once again, I've decided to grace you all with one of my sporadic blog posts (that isn't notes). Today in class we were talking about the Nina Simone song "Sinner Man", and I made a connection in my head with another song by Talib Kweli ("Get By"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WEqr1zDq5s

Did you hear it? Now, this is a hip-hop song, which I hope that no one has a bias against, because, like any other medium, there is good stuff, and there's Britney Spears. You can stop here if you like, and go on a hip-hop/enlightened rap journey (try Jurassic 5, The Roots, Blue Scholars, Brother Ali.)

But that's enough about hip-hop. The reason for this little blog post is to provide a preview for my term paper, in which I will be talking about what I've learned from the bible, and the difference that makes.

So, I'm going to talk a little about Time Bandits. Yup, that's right. You probably have never heard of this film (shame on you), but it was directed by Terry Gilliam (some films you may have seen by him: Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Heath Ledger's last film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus)

The film follows the adventures of a little boy who is captured by time traveling dwarves that go around robbing famous people from throughout history (Napoleon, Robin Hood, Agamemnon, etc.). They are on the run from the Supreme Being (wink wink, nudge nudge), from whom they've stolen a map that allows them to find holes in time, facilitating their burglary. Evil (I.E. Satan) is trying to get his hands on the map, so he can overthrow the Supreme Being. The film culminates in a "final battle" that has, guess who, good beating evil. Sound familiar?

And this is what I've been growing to understand (still got a long way to go) throughout my learning journey through the bible, and the humanities in general. Literature--movies--these things are intertextual references to one another, and our lives, providing us with a personal connection, for each of us a different one (for me, Time Bandits).

The trick is recognizing them.

Class Summary for 11/10/09

• The Slave: pg 238, 269, 259-262, 278-279.
• Mention on your blog what you're going to write about.
• Mules and Men - Zora Neale Hurston
• John in Revelation is not the Gospel of John John.
• Revelation
• 1:12
• 3:15
• 10,12,13,14
• 16:12
• 16:16
• The Seventh Seal
• The Day of the Locust - Nathanael West
• Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
• "John the Revelator"
• Blind Willie Johnson
• "Sinner Man"
• Nina Simone
• Ronald Wilson Reagan (666)
• Ch 5 of Frye for test!
• Anamnesis
• Mark 13 
  

Class Summary for 11/5/09

• The religions of the Book - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• Protestant Reformation. WOO intolerence!
• Ecclesiastes - Gathering of people.
• Book of John
• 20:11, Mary recognizes Jesus
• 21:15
• Death of Socrates?
• Hemlock
• Kingdom of God, (second coming)
• Jim Jones
• Literal Eschatology
• Realized Eschatology - we are always living at the end of times.
• Karamazov - Father Zosima "terminal happiness" 
• Grapes
• Revelation 14:19
• Isaiah 63, Frye 217
  

Class Summary for 11/3/09

• Bach's Solo Cello Suite 1 in G Major
• We should be reading the Gospel of John
• Blogs: Shelby, Amanda, Ashley
• According to Northrop Frye, the bible, taken as a whole is a comedy.
• A story that has a happy ending.
• Apocalypse doesn't mean the violent end of the world.
• Apo - Take away
• Calypse - The veil
• Seeing the world as it really is--beyond the forms we perceive it now.
• Christians use the Old Testament to validate the New.
• Origins of Christianity
• Essene - Authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, withdrawn from a corrupt world.
• The 1st three gospels are the synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke
• Parataxis
• Baptism is a symbolic death/resurrection.
• Parable - an attack on the structure of expectations. (The Good Samaritan)
  

Class Summary for 10/29/09

• "hebel" translates as "breath".
• There are two types of wisdom.
• Hamlet - Skeptical wisdom ("to be, or not to be") deep, dark stuff.
• The pain of the discovery of life's temporality.
• Polonius - Practical wisdom, prudential ("neither a borrower or a lender be")
• Blogs to read: Kathryn's.
• Job 42: 2-5
• Islam - Literally translates to "submit/submission"
• Job realizes that he can/must question God
• Psalm 23
• Job 32, an evil redactor at work.
• The Daughters of Job.
• Frye 191-197 (for the test)
• Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• Disconnect between crime and sufering.