Looking For A Rain God Analysis

In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky creates a psychological thriller, in which he reimagines his own life through the eyes of Raskolnikov. Whereas the Russian government sentences Dostoevsky to Siberia as punishment for sedition, Siberia serves a means of atonement for Raskolnikov. This type of religious undertone reinforces the novel’s existentialistic messages that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It holds the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. Thus, humans create their own purpose in life and their choices define who they are. Dostoevsky utilizes figurative language, specifically biblical allusions, as a way of conveying and clarifying these themes to the reader. By connecting to Bible, the author universalizes the intention, allowing the reader to apply the text to their own lives, and granting the audience further insight into the novel. Thus, biblical allusions help enrich the themes of Crime and Punishment while also cementing the central message of salvation- anyone, even murderers, have the potential to redeem themselves.

The central theme of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky deals with conformity’s role in society. Dostoyevsky uses conformity to make Raskolnikov mentally ill and eventually turn himself in to face the punishment for his crimes. Religion influences every character in the book, but none more ardently than Raskolnikov. Understanding religion’s role as a force for conformity in Crime and Punishment provides a powerful insight into character motives and, furthermore, philosophical influences.

One of the most outstanding characteristics of humans is that we have a moral conscience- the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, as well as understand the consequences of actions beforehand. Nonetheless, religion remains important to society because it helps to refine and provide a deeper understanding of humans’ moral responsibility. There are instances where either people ignore religious practices in favor of reason and logic or follow only religious teachings that suit a particular situation. Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella that typifies the failure of religion to unify people and provide a common course for understanding life. The story talks about Santiago’s fight against fate and the probability of escaping death that is foretold beforehand. The priest symbolizes religion in the novella and readers observe that his actions are similar to those of ordinary people. Ordinarily, we expect the priest to uphold religious practices and bring people together when society is divided on an issue.

After experiencing life similar to hell on earth for nearly a year very few people could truthfully say that their faith is unscathed. Even in the modern world, people who have not been starved and pushed to work beyond their limits find themselves questioning whether or not there is a god, and if he is a just one. Throughout Night, a Holocaust memoir, it is shown that faith does not only refer to religion, but also the belief that humanity is sympathetic and warm-hearted. Elie Wiesel, author of Night, demonstrates how he loses his faith and watches those around him lose their confidence in God, and each other. Wiesel shares his thoughts with the readers writing how from a very young age he believed profoundly yet within a few months Wiesel finds himself questioning “Where is God?” (61). Loss of faith only propels Wiesel to find the strength within himself to persevere until his day of liberation.

In the story, The Man to Send Rainclouds, the author Leslie Marmon Silko talks about a family losing their grandfather death and putting them to rest and making sure they are peaceful, bringing different cultures together to honor the deceased. But many things are going on behind the scenes of planning the funeral, Leon warps Father Paul’s ministry to serve the Pueblos’ true intentions, Silko alters the short story’s intentions to show the process of cultural practices and progress. The plain talk and style seems an odd, unconventional way of telling the story. Silko does not describe her characters physically or personality wise, or develop much sense of individual personality. Characters say little to each other

Throughout centuries, humans have expressed different perspectives toward a single idea. The subject of religion invites challenging discussions from skeptical minds because religion is diversely interpreted based on personal faith. The authoress sets her novel in a fictional town, Cold Sassy, where religion plays a predominant role in people’s lives. Through Will Tweedy’s narration she explores the religious opinions of the town’s most prominent citizen Rucker Blakeslee, Will’s grandpa. Although Blakeslee spent his whole life in a religiously conservative town, he has a radical approach toward religious concepts such as predestination, suicide, funerals, faith, and God’s will, thus forcing him to challenge the traditional views of

Indian civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, once wrote, “Faith is not something you can grasp, it is a state to grow into.” In this quote, Gandhi explains how faith is not only a strong concept, but also an individual journey one must take. However, since faith is described as a state of change, it is necessary that one can let go of the burden of religion. In the memoir, Night, the author, Elie Wiesel, details his personal experiences with God and faith. Set during the Holocaust, Wiesel was one of millions of Jews persecuted for his faith; he was thrown into one of the deadliest concentration camps at age 15. In the beginning of the memoir, Elie Wiesel attempts to study the Kabbalah and pursue numerous religious endeavours; as the memoir continues, Elie begins to lose his religion. Although many people in the world may rely on faith and religion, Elie Wiesel presents the memoir, Night, along with its many symbols to show that even in the most dire of circumstances, faith cannot always help an individual in need.

Richard Connell and Shirley Jackson explore the perpetuation and condoning of human evils through storytelling in their short stories; “The Most Dangerous Game” and “The Lottery”. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story about a rural town, approximately 300 and it’s strange tradition. This “tradition” pertains to the people of the town all partaking in a “Lottery”. This Lottery’s objective is to draw a black marked note. He who draws the final marked note is sentenced to a ruthless, brutal and painful death by stoning. In Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game” a big game hunter by the name of “Sanger Rainsford” falls overboard and is left stranded on a ship-trap island. Rainford finds himself in a gigantic house. In the home,

In the movie Rain Man that was released in 1988 is about a character named Charlie Babbitt and his understanding of his brother Raymond Babbitt who suffers from autism.

The author demonstrates that an adverse atmosphere can cause a person to relinquish their faith. The author establishes the purpose through the sufferings of Moishe the Beadle, Wiesel’s torment and plight of other prisoners in the concentration camp.

Religion often holds a huge amount of significance in one’s life. Since it requires lots of time and patience, some people lose their faith when confronted with a tough situation. When a population becomes persecuted or executed for their beliefs, this becomes especially noticeable. In the Holocaust, a number of Jews began to question their faith, and departed from the religion as a whole. In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel obscures the distinctions between his father and God, displays an opening void, and shows the misunderstanding of his belief in religion to express the loss of faith and the role that the spiritual and physical body possess in retaining religion.

The holocaust unleashed unparalleled cruelty and suffering to a great number of people; Elie Wiesel survived these hardships, but his innocence was shattered. For this reason, he wrote Night to share his personal memories of his time spent in the concentration camps and details the transformation of his faith and understanding of God. Each person Elie writes about attempts to reconcile their agony with their faith, albeit many fail or have their faith transformed. In this paper, I will describe how Wiesel’s understanding of God transforms as he experiences tragedy and how the various prisoners come to terms with their faith.

Finally, the third section will dwell on the controversial topic of faith, and human’s need for belief. Religion has done an excellent job in manipulating human’s need for trust. Therefore, the combination of these three sections should compel the reader to better understand why such a false belief, such as religion has had such success throughout history.

The history of religion continues to play an important role in defining why certain aspects of religion are the way they are today. Understanding religion’s history can also help one appreciate the importance, value, and determination that certain individuals went through in order for that particular religion to gain freedom and acceptance in society. Throughout history, Christianity has shown exactly this. By learning about its history, one can gain an understanding of how it emerged into being one of the most popular religions in the world. Furthermore, better understanding of the religion, both historically and contemporarily, can help dispel any negative preconceived notions about Christianity.

In the short story, “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov, a banker and a young man make a bet with each other based on capital punishment and whether the death penalty is better or worse than life in prison. The terms of the wager state that if the lawyer can live in solitary confinement for fifteen years, he will be given two million dollars. When examining the story, the Marxist lens would offer an insight to the ability of symbols and its forms, styles and, meanings. Chekhov connects these themes by utilizing the literary elements of Power. More specifically the power of money, knowledge, language, and competition.