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Jesus Went Into The Desert Too

Decent Essays

Jesus Went Into the Desert Too
Beth Alvarado is notably known for her short story “Emily’s Exit”. The use of religion sets the tone, and catches the eye of many readers in the essay. Religion is the belief and worshipping of a preeminent being, while faith is the trust of this preeminent being, not based on truth. Those of a Christian faith, therefore, have a belief in this greater being who is known as God. They believe the claim that life is an endowment from God, and that once we die, we continue to live for evermore in heaven. Through close reading, It was clear that the author, Alvarado, wanted to create a faintly disturbing story full of “tension and anxiety” (Alvarado, n.d.). Religion, often times associated with death and despair, was used in the writing of “Emily’s Exit” to depict a story of dark suffering, “evoke images and emotion…” (Alvarado, n.d.), and force the audience into understanding the seriousness and the severity of the events that happen.
Religion is an un-humorous matter to many people and their faith in God is unbreakable. They couldn’t conceptualize a life without God. In “Emily’s Exit”, once Emily disappeared, her mother “… became a Buddhist. It was the only way she could deal with it” (Alvarado, 2006, p. 428). This exemplifies how Alvarado used religion to demonstrate the deep-seriousness of the situation. It is assumed that, just like Emily, her mother was a believer in Christianity as well. The action of Emily’s mom dropping her religion, and

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