Chapter 2&3 - Questioning

In Chapter 2, C.S. Lewis vents his grief in such a way that it almost seems blasphemous. He questions the goodness of God, the intentions of God towards humanity and the idea of heaven. It seems to me that the realness of death struck him so, that the idea of a quick fix, such as heaven, seemed to surreal. Lewis should no disregard toward fantasy. He did however write the chronicles of Narnia. I think that is why a place like heaven and the fantastical paradigms people have towards eternal life were like a chapter he would write in a book... for children. Real life, which includes real death are the only tangible and meaningful things. He says,

And the past is the past and that is what time means, and time itself is one more name for death, and Heaven itself is a state where 'the former things have passed away.

It was impacting to see a man in his frail state of humanity express his doubts in such bold manner. Everybody has doubts. No one is exempt. Letting others see them and see our struggles, however, is something that few people do. It must be done at some point in everyone's life. In chapter 3, Lewis comes to terms with the knowledge that he cannot find the answers to all his questions. This spoke to my situation. I have been doubting God, redemption, the exclusivity of Christianity, and basically everything I've been taught. It's so hard to sort out what is real and what is simply a message from yet another misinformed person. Good God, bad God? Jesus-God? I can go on and on. Yet kind of like in chapter 3, I have come to terms. My heart and my head have made peace with each other. I know what works and I feel what's real. Hopefully, God will guide me in the rest and show me what is Him and what is not.

The Rape of Lucrece

The Rape of Lucrece is one of Shakespeare's plays. I chose it as my piece of literature for my class field trip because first of all it caught my attention with the abrupt title. As I began to read it, I really got into the story. It was full of distasteful matters dressed in eloquent and realistic words.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way Shakespeare described all the thought and emotions that processed through the main characters. In the beginning of the story, the man conceives the sin in his heart. He starts to entertain the thought of being with the young lady. After some time, he wants her so badly that he convinces himself to take her by force. As he makes his way to her bedroom he is encountered with difficulties. In the same way that we don't take a hint when we are about to do something wrong, this man doesn't either. His desire for her is enforced by the extra effort he has had to make to get to her. He says, "Till the minutes repay the hour my debt." Classic thought in the progression of a sinful action. The he begins praying to God that he will be able to quench the thirst for the girl by commiting this mortal wrong. The part that I most enjoyed was after he took what he wanted. There was a verse that said, "Pure Chastity is rifled of her store, And Lust, the thief, far poorer than before." I love this quote because it speaks of how even as we feed our lust it is never satisfied. Instead of enriching our weaknesses, they become every stronger in debilitating us. The man was not satisfied once he was done. You cannot meet the needs of lust. You give it what it wants and it will be far poorer than before.

The last thing that caught my attention was PRICELESS. In order to relieve himself of some guilt, he began to blame the girl for being so pretty. She was so beautiful, she was asking for it! - Wow. Shakespeare put it out there... some men will never cease to surprise us.

Literary Profile

As a child, my mother would always give me books and encourage me to read stories. I learned how to read quite well at the age of five. My mother would tell me when I read to use my imagination, my brain’s most powerful tool. Just like every girl, I would imagine being a princess or finding a secret garden. Tales are not an idle pastime. I prefer to view them as positive attributions to our reality. The works or literature that I most appreciate are The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. They have almost nothing in common from plot to style. Nevertheless, both books impacted me. The Hobbit had a great amount of moral values worth extracting throughout the story. I love Pride and Prejudice because the author seemed to be a very observant person. This is why she could describe social encounters and dilemmas with such eloquence. My goal is to one day read the original Don Quijote De La Mancha. This book is probably second to the Bible. It is two volumes and in its original castellano, is a very challenging book to read. Other than that, play writes would be the next area I would love to explore.