fandomhigh | Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3

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Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3

When the students filed into the classroom today, they would see another another list on the board today:

Born of a virgin

Is 33 years old (or 33 was an important year)

Identified with loaves, fishes, water, wine

Good with children; some kind of teacher

Spends time alone in the wilderness

Heals others

Enjoys carpetry, woodworking

Forgiving, self-sacrificing, big on the concept of brotherhood

Walks on water

Is usually pretty easy-going, but defilement of something good and pure (like a temple) can cause some righteous fury

Is tempted and denies the temptation. Possible confrontation with the devil

Comes up with aphorisms and parables

Is considered a 'fisher of men'

May have slightly disreputable friends (whores, thieves, tax collectors)

Has disciples or followers, devoted students of his/her teachings

Is betrayed by someone close

Suffers bodily agony, but achieves spiritual clarity (whipping is big)

Is crucified; with wounds in hands, feet, side, and head

Died, arose on the 3rd day

Came to redeem an unworthy world

"Christianity is currently the largest religion in this world, with over 2.2 billion adherants, and is based around the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, often referred to as Jesus Christ, whom most Christians believe to be the son of God, God having taken human form, and the savior of humanity. Because the majority of the Western world is Christian, a lot of Christian and Christian-inspired thoughts and teachings have influenced the writings and literature that you will be exposed to in school and beyond," Cindy said from where she was leaning on her desk. "This is not a religious class and I am certainly not qualified to provide religious instruction, but we're looking at Jesus from a strictly literary and thematic viewpoint, with a little bit of historical context thrown in for students who are unfamiliar with Christian teachings."

"So, the history. About two thousand and ten years ago, God sent his only begotten son to earth in order to redeem mankind. Jesus lived for thirty-three years, and spent a several of those years wandering around, teaching through parables, performing miracles, and promising people spiritual salvation through his teachings. He collected twelve disciples, and one of those disciples, Judas, eventually betrayed him to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus was beaten and brutalized, and eventually crucified. According to Christian beliefs, he was taken down and buried, but arose again on the third day, and ascended to heaven." A fairly bare bones recitation, but Cindy was not a Mundy religious scholar and wouldn't even want to try teaching theology at a school situated on an interdimensional nexus point. "If you have further questions about Christ or Christianity in general, I will answer what I can, but I'd like to point out our school library has an excellent selection of books across a number of religions, and there is a church in town for questions of a decidedly spiritual nature."

"The reason that all of this is important is because belief in Jesus and his life has influenced many, many, many of the authors you will be reading, either for class or for pleasure. Especially literature written in previous centuries, Jesus and the Christian Bible was considered fact. If it was written in the Bible, it happened, and belief in those two things defined people's very lives. Thus, to understand a lot of the imagery and symbolism in books, a working knowledge of this information is key. Which is why we have this handy list." She pointed to the board. "Those are snippets of things that Jesus did, as written about in the Bible, and over the years, these are elements which have come to categorize the Christ figure in literature. Now, to be considered a Christ figure, the most important aspect is that the idea that their existence somehow offers redemption or salvation to the people around them. Often times, this leads to a martyring of the character, but it doesn't always require a sacrifice. This list provides a helpful guide to spotting a Christ figure in literature. They don't have to follow every bullet point I've listed, but most characters will get at least four or five of them."

"So, let's take a look at one of the most famous Christ figures in literary history--and believe me, there are a lot of them. But Hemingway's Santiago from Old Man and the Sea is one of the easier Christ figures to pick up on. Today, we'll be discussing the plot of the novel and see how many similarities we can see between Santiago and the list on the board."

[OCD ~~coming~~ up!]

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Like you survived PW!

Dana Scully

Gabrielle

Jonothon Starsmore

Elphaba Thropp

George Lass

Emma Frost

Jenny Sparks

Ellie Bartowski

Jonas

Squall Leonhart

Take notes and ask questions!

"Santiago is an old fisherman who has not been able to catch a fish in eighty-four days. His apprentice fisherman, Manolin, has been told that he can't go fishing with Santiago anymore because the entire town believes old fisherman is unlucky and avoids him--though the boy still comes over at night to talk to his mentor. On the eighty-fifth day, the old man travels very far out into the ocean, far past the point where he can see land. While he's out there, he catches a great fish, a marlin even bigger than the boat he is sitting in. For three days he battles with the fish; keeping the fishing line taut over his back, shoulders, and hands. The line cuts through his flesh, nearly ruining his hands and tearing up his back, but he talks himself through it all with lines like 'A man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed, but not defeated.' Finally, he manages to kill the marlin and lash it to his boat, and turns around to head home. Sharks come and tear at the marlin, eating its flesh, and he tries to fight them off with a harpoon, a knife tied to an oar, and anything else that comes to hand, feeling them unworthy scavengers to eat this most respected opponent. On the fourth day he returns to his home, to the joy of the entire village, who all thought he was dead. He carried his great mast up a hill, and then collapses on his bed, arms splayed, showing his damaged hands."

For the assignment, go through this summary and pick out as many similarities between it and the list on the board. Feel free to include other items listed either in the novella or examples from the life of Christ.

Scully was rather sharply reminded of Kevin Cryder, and the stigmata the boy had suffered from, as well as the persecution. Hopefully now in his personal timeline 10 years later, he was dealing with it better.... ~~And looking exactly like Tony Foster.~~

She started listing similarities, fingering her cross. Whipping, three day journey, return from disappearance....

Jono raised an eyebrow as he picked over the symbolism in the story. Of course, the fisherman was the first and most obvious of them, he supposed. The three day battle went nicely with the three days that Christ had been dead, and...

He squinted a little. Carrying the mast up the hill seemed like a parallel of Christ carrying the cross, though it was a bit out of order and it wasn't on the board. He'd go for the teacher bit, then, since Santiago had an apprentice fisherman, Manolin. Really, that could knock two off at once, since an apprentice wasn't all that much different from a disciple, especially if the trade that he was learning was to be a fisherman, as well.

George could see some parallels, but she also needed clarification. Which was why her hand was up.

"If the fish is the whole ... salvation thing," she said, carefully, "then what are the sharks? And is there some significance to eighty-four?"

"I'd say that the sharks represent the righteous fury Jesus displayed at the temple, if you know the Bible at all," Cindy said. "In the novella, Santiago comes to see the merlin as his brother, as a worthy opponent, one that is just as honorable to lose to as to defeat. These sharks, however, are scavengers, feeding off the carcass. And Santiago rises up and smites them all, even though they've ultimately eaten all the good meat."

"As for the eighty-four?" Cindy shrugged and laughed. "That one I don't know about. Numerology isn't my strong suit."

George's family hadn't been very religious, but they had been slightly more non-participating Christians more than non-participating nothing at all, so she was vaguely familiar with some of the Bible.

"So then ..." George frowned as she tried to work it out. "The sharks would be people that exploit what he's trying to do. Prey on people's fears."

Those who got rich on the backs of a religion.

"Does that mean the fish is death?"

"Just what the fish represents has been the focus of any number of scholarly papers," Cindy said with a chuckle. "A lot of people think it represents hope or the idea of salvation. It gets torn up by the sharks, but it still manages to impress and awe his fellow villagers. They stop shunning him and Manolin is able to come be his apprentice again. The message is received and understood, even if the marlin is just bare bones now."

There were people who then extrapolated that the two foreigners who mistook the marlin signified the deviation from the path and false religions. Cindy didn't think it went that far--this was Hemingway, after all.

"So it's ... more of a trophy?" she asked. "Not in an ego way, but -- he doesn't need to have it, to give anyone, he just needs to prove that he beat it."

Squall peered at the list, and considered the story, and scratched his head. "He's... a fisherman?"

Way to go, Squall.

When he pings in

Who is really wishing she'd taken the time to make up Christ figure bingo boards.

So, like Cindy, I'm presenting this information purely from a literary standpoint; I tried very hard to keep all information listed purely factual based on Wikipedia articles. The use of Christ figures is a common literary trope, which is why it is included here, and is not meant to aggrandize Christiantity at the expense of any other religion. I hope that in keeping the discussion Christianity purely based in academics and not religion, I managed to avoid offending anyone of any faith.

...I sound like an after school special. Is noon really to early to have a drink?

Randomly:

I'm not a numerologist, but I am a math-type person. I just noticed that eighty-four days is twelve weeks, so it's on the start of the thirteenth week that he catches the fish. Discuss!

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Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3

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Listen to the Lecture

Class Activity: Christ Figure Bingo

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Talk to the TA

Talk to "Professor Perrault"

OOC

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