ipl-logo

Theme Of The Book Of Martha Octavia Butler

1772 Words8 Pages

In The Book of Martha Octavia Butler places the reader in the middle of a conversation with God. There are only two characters in the story, and the theme is Martha’s annoyed tête-à-tête with God. Martha is given the option of saving the world. The rules of this arrangement are Martha can make one change and whatever the results, she must occupy the bottom stair. She must make a decision concerning the entire earth; nevertheless she must first overcome her fears and personal views of God. She forces the reader to consider that circumstances conspires against the world and men, yet God reassures Martha, “Don’t worry,” God said. “I won’t be sending you back home with another message that people can ignore or twist to suit themselves. It’s too …show more content…

The reader is made to understand that both Martha, God and humans are at an impasse, yet they all agree that a resolution is needed. Butler use of pathos is an attempt to entreat the reader’s emotion and reaction, by pointing out God’s flaws and his apathy towards humans. God smiled. “No, I outgrew that trick long ago. You can’t imagine how boring it was.” (Butler191) This is a risk she takes as a writer concerning the higher power. She infers that in a Utopian world everyone would either be flawed or flawless. If humans are flawed and are made in God’s image and likeness, then God is flawed, an alarming view for religious persons and a comforting analysis for agnostics. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis1: 27). She continues with logic and invites the reader’s perspective of culture, ambitions, race, gender and the future humankind. This use of logos is found in the style and choice of words she uses to sway God’s view of man, by holding him accountable for the suffering of mankind. In addition the author uses ethos by portraying her main character as a successful writer, someone who has the ability to impact and influence others. She establishes Martha’s character with God’s

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Goodness Not Wanted On The Voyage By Timothy Findley

    1688 Words  | 7 Pages

    Goodness Not Wanted on the Voyage Areta Boone 100125033 Imagine the word “Good”. What the average person may see is a pure, white angel in Heaven. This vision of an angel is seen by even those who do not believe in the church. I asked ten adults from the ages of eighteen to fifty what they imagine when they hear “good”. Five were non-believers and the other five were either avid church attendees or believe in some faith.

    Read More

  • Francis Temple's Beliefs On Atonement

    584 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though social media is prevalent in expressing the users ' views, it cannot be ignored that literature influences its readers greatly by the writers ' opinion. Even if many of these attempt to write an unbiased account, it is nearly impossible to completely render their work from personal beliefs. Many ideas and values come forth subtly through the characters words or the way an idea is portrayed. Religions and politics fall mostly in this category, including the question of man’s way to salvation. An adequate example of this is the Ramsay Scallop, centering on one village’s quest for atonement.

    Read More

  • Pantheism In The Poisonwood Bible

    879 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Poisonwood Bible, written in 1998 by Barbara Kingsolver, is a bestselling novel about a family led by the evangelistic Reverend Nathan Price, who in 1959 moved his family from Georgia to the village of Kilanga in the Belgian Congo. Many elements of The Poisonwood Bible allude to parallels that can be drawn in biblical texts, such as the names of the Price children, the events that happen to them, and the aptly named titles of the chapters. Kingsolver also includes alternative ways to worship in Christianity that differ from the traditional ‘organized’ way. Though the novel is packed with Christian symbolism and double-meanings, Kingsolver turns the notion of a 'bible' on its head by narrating the story solely through the eyes of five

    Read More

  • Moral Nihilism In The Crucible By Pojman

    524 Words  | 3 Pages

    1) “Without God, there would be no universally valid morality.” ( Pojman, pg. 356) “He is the creator of the moral law, and defines its very nature.” ( Pojman, Pg.356) “‘If God doesn’t exist, everything is permissible’ nothing is forbidden or require. Without God we have moral nihilism” (Pojman, Pg.356) “We are against torturing the innocent because it is cruel and unjust, just as God is against torturing the innocent because it is cruel and unjust.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sinners In The Hand Of An Angry God

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to convince the people in Colonial America to follow his teachings, George Whitefield gave many sermons across the colonies by using rhetorical strategies and persuasive techniques in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.” One strategy that is used early on, shock tactics, hooks the listeners in and scares them into living out his teaching. “Neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them…” This quotation uses a dark depiction of hell that will stay in the listener's mind so they will be afraid of going to hell and listen to Whitefield so they too may learn how to change and go to Heaven. Another technique is imagery, which can be found frequently throughout the sermon.

    Read More

  • Samuel Butler Rhetorical Devices

    494 Words  | 2 Pages

    Samuel Butler views and describes it in a very complex way. He describes life to be the a conscious one then an unconscientious one. He describes the possibilities of life being short as we wait to die to live, and that the idea can be ridiculous. He shows that life can be and amazing and unique thing in its own way to everyone. He is able to effectively demonstrate his attitude towards life by using strategies like metaphors,similes, imagery, and in his use of diction and syntax.

    Read More

  • Parable Of The Sower Analysis

    950 Words  | 4 Pages

    Octavia E. Butler was an African-American author who paved the way for other writers of color to explore the genre of science fiction. Butler wrote Parable of the Sower, a tale that chronicles life in a post-apocalyptic world. The Olamina’s are a family of five, living in a house surrounded by a large wall. They are forced to protect themselves from whoever lurks on the outside: thieves, rapists, and murderers. No one outside of the wall is safe.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Skeleton In God's Closet

    228 Words  | 1 Pages

    To begin The Skeletons in God’s Closet, Butler includes a foreword written by Rick McKinley, a fellow church member. McKinley addresses the common misconception people have that God is not really good because he allows Hell, judgment, and holy war. McKinley assures the reader that Butler is a great person to address these issues because he has known Butler for over a decade, and Butler is an experienced missionary and theologian. Butler then begins with the introduction. In the introduction, Butler outlines many topics that will be delved into in the novel.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: An Iceman's Death

    430 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I remember my fundamentalist mother’s ideology about prayer. Hell, she lifted it straight out of the Good Book. ‘Ask and you shall receive’. I’m a pretty laid back ole’ boy and I don’t make a lot of demands.

    Read More

  • The Scholarship Jacket Short Story

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    This quote is noteworthy because the point of view, first person, shows how Martha feels about getting the jacket. If this was written in third person, the reader might not understand how much the jacket truly means to her. This piece from the text shows that Martha was very upset about hearing she might not receive the jacket. These craft elements used by the author not only show the

    Read More

  • Archetypes In The Garden Of Eden

    504 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is noteworthy that this story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the foundation of the religion with the largest number of followers worldwide. Why does it continue to resonate with so many people even today? The reason is that this utopia contains archetypes that reflect the collective unconscious that is found across all cultures. This is the result of universal themes in this story about humanity’s needs and desires that we still see occurring in our society today. The story of Genesis contains three archetypal characteristics that illustrate these patterns that still demonstrate humanity’s needs.

    Read More

  • Innocence And Loss Of Faith In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown

    808 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story “Young Goodman Brown” is about a puritan man who loses his faith throughout a journey in a forest but then questions if he ever actually had faith to begin with. Faith is shown in this story by Browns struggles with his personal beliefs in faith and his weakness of morality, these things are shown through his questionable loss of faith, the symbolic points and theme throughout the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne clearly depicts faith at the beginning of the short story by his tremendous selection of his characters. From the minister to deacon Gookin, Mrs. Goody Cloyse who’s depicted as piety and kind hearted and the presence of one of his main character Faith. Her name is symbolic to depict her dedication towards her religious beliefs.

    Read More

  • Killi's Couple: A Short Story

    1621 Words  | 7 Pages

    After a five day journey through the barren desert, Killi had arrived at the temple to Rashe Ghul, dark god of the magician 's cult. Preventing their profane ritual, and halting their operations was of the utmost priority, for they sought to bring their dark god into the world of men, and if they succeeded, all of civilization would be snuffed out, like a lit candle caught under the waves of the ocean. Killi, wisened from his years of adventuring, hid behind one of the sand dunes that littered the area around the temple, and when he was sure he had avoided detection, surveyed what lay before him. The structure, carved into the side of a mountain, was immense, and even while the sun was still casting it 's rays upon the sands from high

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes: A Boy Who Lost His Faith

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Boy Who Lost His Faith In Langston Hughes’ narrative “Salvation,” Hughes claims that he lost his faith in God because of his inability to see Jesus. Langston Hughes supported his thesis by giving vivid descriptions of the reflections he had about his spiritual encounter at his church when he was an early teen. The audience Hughes may have been trying to target was people who most likely were uneasy or doubted whether or not to have faith in their religion. Hughes’ purpose of the narrative essay was to explain to his audience of his personal experience while receiving salvation, in order to get a better understanding about why he lost faith in his religion due to innocence. Hughes’ inability to see Jesus was illustrated to the audience by

    Read More

  • The Role Of Lilith In Ancient Myth

    2874 Words  | 12 Pages

    We all are aware of the story of Adam and Eve. The father and mother of the mankind. But if we go into the depth, it is said that Eve wasn’t the first woman, because the first woman was known to be Lilith. Who is Lilith?

    Read More

More about Theme Of The Book Of Martha Octavia Butler

Open Document