Essay Sample on The Third Birdhouse: A Symbolic Tale of Family and Love

Introduction

The Third Birdhouse is an ethical book by an American author John Biguenet where the narrator discusses personal life since birth, various experiences and his general relationship with the family members. The title of the book is a symbolic stylistic device used by the author to show society's perspective on family housing basic need. According to the story, the male bird had to offer a house to the female partner as well as the narrator thought of providing a home to his imaginary lover. The narrator introduces us to a terrible nightmare where his father tied him with a rope ready to sacrifice him (Biguenet, 2015). The Third Birdhouse story can be compared to the biblical tale according to Genesis that discuss Abraham and his family.

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Abraham and The Narrator's Father

In The Third Birdhouse, the narrator introduces his father who seems deeply rooted in religious beliefs. His birth was a prayer answered as the couple was generally old and passed childbearing period. The narrator was named a miracle child showing that his father believed in the power of prayers and miracles from God. Abraham was a religious man who trusted in God in entire his life that earned him a title 'father of faith.' He obeys Gods commandments and orders, for instance, at a point he was ordered to abandon his family and move to an unknown city that God would direct him (Sonek, 2009). Abraham separated with his nephew Lot as instructed after their conflict over wealth. The concept describes the comparison between Abraham and the narrator's father religious beliefs.

The narrator gives a dream inform of a story where his father took him to an isolated place, tied him and offered prayers to God, tied him and at a point raised a hatchet towards him. The narrator had no idea of the experience with his father that night compared which was different. His father was not fierce previously and treated his son with love. Abraham had full trust in God and obeyed all his commands without question, to test his faith in Him, Abraham was ordered to perform a human sacrifice. He obeyed God's instructions and went with his son to Mount Moriah for the sacrifice, but God provided him with a lamb, therefore, saving Isaac. Even though the narrator's story about sacrifice was a dream, it can be considered as a valid comparison to explain human sacrifice concept which happens in both stories.

However, the human sacrifice idea whether biblical or unbiblical can be considered unethical I the modern as it limits the human right to life which should be conserved unless through a legal situation.

Sarah and The Narrator's Mother

The narrator introduces her mother but fails to give a clear explanation of her religious belief. She seems to be subjective to her husband; therefore, assumed she accepts all the theories and ideologies from her husband. According to Genesis, Sarah's religious practice is not well defined. Hence it can be considered she followed Abrahams opinions concerning serving God.

The narrator's birth seemed miraculous as her mother was old enough to conceive according to biological experiments explaining menopause period. Despite her age, the narrator's mother was able to conceive and bring forth life. The concept applies metaphysics ideologies where the birth seems miraculous. Sarah had no child despite many years of companionship with Abraham. In her old age, she was able to conceive and gave birth to Isaac. The Bible illustrates the experience as miraculous where God intervened to perform supernatural deeds. Abraham and Sarah had been praying for God's blessings. Both the narrator's mother and Sarah story can be related basing the comparison idea as relevant as they conceived in their old age both having o child for a long time.

Isaac and The Narrator

The Third Birdhouse narrator character and the Bible's story about Isaac's birth and life can be interrelated with some unusual happenings. The narrator of the story was born under exceptional circumstances where his parents were both old and beyond biological childbearing bracket. His parents had stayed long without a child but believed in God's miracle and blessings. The narrator's father named him a miraculous baby as his birth took God's power. Abraham and Sarah had lived together for long without a child; they waited and believed God intervention in their condition. In their old age, they were blessed with a son and named him Isaac meaning laughter and joy to his parents (Sonek, 2009). Abraham was a hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety years old.

When the narrator was young, he experienced human sacrifice in his dreams which illustrated the religious concept of his father. To test Abraham's faith, God instructed him to sacrifice Isaac without questioning which demonstrated his religious belief. When they reached the age of marriage, both Isaac and the narrator involved their parents in the process. In the narrator case, he wished her mother was alive at that age; he was longing for a wife. For Isaac, his father sent Eliezer to look for him a wife; he chose Rebecca for Isaac. Both stories show a comparison between Isaac and the narrator.

However, there is a clear difference between their lives that is well illustrated in both concepts. Isaac grew in a wealth background where the bible explains Abraham as a rich man with a lot of animals and property. The narrator's situation demonstrated a different context where his parents were not wealthy. The narrator earned his living as an assistant cobbler which illustrated poverty but later got an insurance job that raised him enough money for his upkeep.

Rebecca and The Narrator's Wife

The narrator later married Becky, a woman who worked as a waitress in a diner shop around. Becky was a widow when he met the narrator has lost her husband in the war. The concept explains that she was not young when they both engaged and married which violates the society perspective on marriage age. Rebecca age also had advanced when she got married to Isaac hence drawing their comparison in both The Third Birdhouse and him biblical story in Genesis. The issue of the childbearing process was also crucial to consider where both the narrator's wife and Rebecca gave birth to twin boys at an advanced age. Rebecca had sons, Jacob and Esau.

Isaac's Sons (Jacob and Esau) and The Narrator's Sons

Even though both the narrator an Isaac had advanced in age, they bore twins in each case that was viewed as a great miracle from God. Rebecca gave birth to twin boys who were named Jacob and Esau while Becky the narrator's wife bore twin boys basing the comparison concept for the children.

Jacob and Esau were believed to have served his father in his old age. Jacob brought Isaac a tasty meal that earned him his father's blessings. In the case of the narrator, his sons served him at a point in his life. Therefore, the children were of great importance to their father's welfare.

The City of Ur and Canaan

Ur was a city in the southern Mesopotamia which according to the biblical concept, the town derived her name from the person who settled there at first. The town is linked to have once provided settlement to Abraham before he was instructed to move to Canaan. The city of Ur was related to economic activities like trade which help sustain its solution. During the ancient Babylonian dynasty, Ur was a famous city as it acted as a learning center and conserved cultural practices. Kings and other rulers paid their pledge to gods protecting the town which was achieved through repairing worship centers like temples (Mark, 2011).

The city of Canaan was a great ancient city which was believed to be home of most Biblical patriarchs including Abraham. The city was located in the Levant currently called Lebanon. The city derived its name majorly from the Bible which explains that the name was from one of Noah's grandson according to Genesis 10. The Canaanites had no specific form of religion and culture but served various gods until the period when Israelites after God gave them the city to live and rule over it (Mark, 2018).

However, both cities can be compared to have settled famous Biblical characters like Abraham. He was born in Ur where his father lived. Later, Abraham moved from Ur to Canaan after conflicting with Lot. Abraham settled in Canaan. Some scholars have also provided the numerical distance between the two cities estimated to be 5570 kilometers showing a complicated relationship between them.

Rumi's 'There is Nothing Ahead'

The Rumi's poem that commented on the illustration 'there is nothing' concept when comparing Jesus faith and teachings about believing on things that beyond rational explanation on their perspective. For instance, when Jesus was ascending to heaven, he promised his disciples to send them the Holy Spirit to help them continue with his work on spreading the gospel.

Rumi understands this concept as a blind faith that hopes for the unseen future. The narrator seems to differ with Jesus teachings about faith and believing in on some ideas like life after death. The poem compares the biblical texts and teachings of trust with the concept of lovers trying to imagine the scenario where both parties are looking for each other. The idea doesn't apply in the real life situation terming them as fantasies, therefore, giving an opposing general view.

Conclusion

The Third Birdhouse story gives an overview comparison between some of the biblical characters to modern society settings. Some of the practices in the Bible violates society's ethics and morals, but they illustrate religious beliefs in the Bible and a solid faith in God like the situation where Abraham was to offer a human sacrifice. The general comparison for the biblical towns of Ur and Canaan. Rumi's poem also discusses Jesus' teachings as blindly believing in future promises.

References

Biguenet, J. (2015). The Third Birdhouse. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

Mark, J. (2011). Ur. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/ur/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

Mark, J. (2018). Canaan. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/canaan/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2019].

Sonek, K. (2009). Truth, beauty, and goodness in biblical narratives: a hermeneutical study of Genesis 21: 1-21 (Vol. 395). Walter de Gruyter.