Personal Narrative-Jacob's Mistake

“My name is Ponyboy Curtis.” I started. I didn’t know why I introduced myself, the only people here already knew who I was, but it just felt right, like I had to. “I was a good friend of Johnny, and he was a good friend to me.” I choked back my tears, there was no going back

When my dad came home that evening he sat me down and asked me if I knew what cancer was. I had an idea so I just nodded my head, he went on to tried to explain to me how bad the cancer was that my mom had been diagnosed with. Seeing my dad so afraid scared me. The fear I felt then led me to realize that I needed to try and hide it because it would only hurt my dad more to see his children so upset. I did my best to help, I tucked my little sisters into bed while my mom was away at the hospital, read them stories and did the best I could at preparing snacks to comfort them. After my mom arrived home and she recovered from the surgery she started chemotherapy. The miserable treatment that attacks the cancer also makes her very ill. Every other week she was sick. Before every bad week I wanted to cry, but that wouldn’t help anyone. Lane and Kenna already were crying, if I cried it could only hurt my parents

There are thousands of stories in the Bible, but one stands out in particular; the story of Joseph. The Hebrew meaning of the name Joseph is “may Jehovah add, give increase.”1 Through the life of Joseph we see God add meaning and purpose to his life, just as God adds meaning and purpose to all our lives. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”2 Joseph obediently followed God’s plans through trials and tribulations whereas many other figures in the Old Testament faltered in their faith. Joseph, son of Jacob, is the single most important human being in the Old Testament because of his impeccable faith to the one true God and his story of forgiveness that set the stage for God’s chosen people.

The sun has risen and a young boy jumps out of bed with excitement, as he knows today he gets to go to his first professional baseball game. His father had bought him the tickets for his birthday months ago, and the boy had been counting down the days ever since. He put on his favorite ‘Cleveland Indians’ shirt, and ran downstairs to eat his yogurt and waffles for breakfast. As he ate, his mother saw him happily drawing Jacob’s Field, using his brown crayon to put the finishing touches on the base paths. The boy had a penchant attitude for baseball, as it was the first game his father ever taught him to play, and because of that, he would play whenever he could; with rocks and a stick, with his friends in the yard, and in his head when he

As I stood on the outside of the arena watching teen girls traditional finish dancing, my stomach filled with butterflies. I walked into the arena as the announcer says “Next up teen girl's jingle,” with all the other dancers in my category. It was Sunday, the last day of Indian Summer Pow Wow, and my last contest for this pow wow, this year. Although I was nervous, I was also filled with happiness, confidence, and gratefulness. “Take it away boys” the announcer says. That’s when I knew that the drum group was going to start playing and this meant I had to start dancing.

Defending Jacob is a courtroom drama that also examines the family dynamic and how it can shift or crack under pressure. It’s ending stirred up a lot of mixed feelings. The trial concludes with a suicide note written by Patz confessing to the murder of Ben Rifkin, causing Jacob to be acquitted. After the trial, the Barbers decide to go on vacation, so that they can get the feeling back of being a “normal” family. They are having an ideal vacation, until Hope, Jacob’s “girlfriend” that he met on the holiday, goes missing. Her body washes up on the beach several weeks after her disappearance, and while many believe that there were signs that pointed to her windpipe being crushed, her death is ultimately ruled an accident because of the body deterioration in the water.

During this series of events it can be deemed that Jacob is an unreliable narrator through the unrealistic events, and because Jacob can be declared delusional. Jacob can be declared delusion, because he is currently ninety years old, experiencing memory loss, and taking medicine. For instance, a week earlier Jacob’s family came to visit and he did not know who they were, “I didn’t know them. I faked it, though- when they made their way toward me and I realized it was me they had come to see, I smiled” (Gruen 218). Sara Gruen implies that the reader should be questioning what Jacob is saying when he claims that he is walking out of the nursing home because even Jacob says, “Nobody seems to think it odd that an old man is standing in his slippers

It had been ten years since I lived with my mother Janessa, my father Will, and my brother Marco. It had been ten years since the Jews and the Christians in my town would scold each other on every single imperfection that weighed themselves down. It had been ten years since I met the nicest Jewish boy named Jacob down by the watercress. And it had been ten years since I have told anyone this story.

In my small town where I grew up, there was a man, Mr. Jacobs, who lived not too far down the street. Everyone knew him because he always made himself obvious. He was a rich man, not common for my town, and he made sure everyone knew how wealthy he was. He dressed in designer clothes found only in stores nearly one hundred miles away, drove the fastest, cleanest car within several neighboring towns, and lived in the largest, most well-kept house in the county. Mr. Jacobs seemed content with his life, for the most part.

However, in the case of James, it is unsure why it became James, rather than Jacob. One may conjecture that James was already a common name in England as was the King who commissioned the translation, but it is still perplexing as to why Jacob was deliberately changed to James. Was Jacob too Jewish for them or was there an attempt at Christianize him or make him appear as a Gentile? Why are other modern translations unwilling to change it to Jacob or even Yaakov?

When first beginning to read this novel the reader may think that Jacob is just an average boy taking care of his delusional grandfather, but in all actuality his grandfather’s stories aren’t imaginary and he is not delusional. Jacobs grandfather was in the military and everyone was sure that he was crazy because of everything he had seen. When Jacob is at work he gets a call from his grandfather. In the process of checking on his grandfather which was nowhere to be found he stumbles off into the forest. He soon then finds his grandfather laying bodiless on the ground. As he is standing in shock he sees this weird disturbing creature that makes him feel crazy. Jacob then has to go to a phycologist that tries to heal him, but nothing really

Jacob and his wives' relationship depends on the woman because he loves Rachel and Leah in a different way to show what they do for him. While the other two are just for child birth or as a duty as Jacob described it. There relationship would be affected if Jacob found out about their polytheistic religion because he only wants them follow to his monotheistic religion and no other because he could punished them for not following his orders. It is true that there is jealousy between the wives because they all sleep with the same man. However, that jealousy is gone once Rachel has her own son and she doesn't have to be jealous of Leah's ten births because she finally received her own.

As God molds and guides Jacob over the course of the Jacob Cycle, God interacts with Jacob in increasingly personal ways.

There were tears in my eyes. I felt compelled to go and join Tyler in comforting Mom, but I stayed back feeling like if I were to go and join the feeling of comfort would break and the moment would be over. I didn’t want to ruin it. Suddenly Mom’s eyes opened from where her head rested on Tyler’s shoulder and she beckoned me with her hand. Slowly, I walked over and wrapped my arms around Mom and around my twin brother. In that moment I knew that we would stick together and tell each other the truth no matter how dire the situation was.

God interacts with the world in a very unique way. He works by using people as conduits with whom He will ultimately achieve His goal of the Divine Plan. Throughout the Book of Genesis, many cycles of protagonists appear with whom God chooses to interact. In one such cycle, the Jacob Cycle, God influences, molds, and guides Jacob in increasingly personal ways. God influences Jacob throughout his childhood, his journey to Haran, his journey from Haran, and finally, with one last test of will. Throughout the guidance, God’s increasing trust in Jacob allows for an eventual transformation of the relationship, where Jacob morphs into God’s Israel.