The Role of God and Religion Essay

Religion is part of the culture of any community and its members. It is assumed that everyone has their religion including the atheists who do not believe in the existence of God since religion is all about the faith and beliefs that one subscribes to. Literature, which mirrors the society, manifests the role of God and religion in a community through the characters that are presented in the various events discussed by literary artists and authors. This essay attempts to discuss into details how religion has been presented in 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' by Flannery O'Connor,'A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and 'The Life of Pi' by Yann Martel.

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In 'AGood Man is Hard to Find,' the author- Flannery O'Connor, who is a Catholic believer, presents a situation where The Grandmother, tries to cheat death by her belief in religion and Christianity. The old woman, at first after noticing that she was being attacked by the great gangster-The Misfit, she jokes around with him asking him to be saved and believe in Jesus. The Grandmother believes that she would have used her religion to lure and convince The Misfit to leave. In fact, at some point, Misfit seems convinced even though he eventually kills her. Her preaching and sermons did not help her out of her situation as she had thought. A similar event is also recorded in Active survival in the lives of unaccompanied minors: coping strategies, resilience, and the relevance of religion by Ni Raghallaigh and Gilligan (2010). They present a situation in which children become religious just to be accommodated somewhere in the community.

On the other hand, the Misfit is quite alert and even arrogantly argues with the woman as he compares his personality to that of Jesus for being imprisoned for a mistake he had not committed. He also questions the value the woman attaches to God and religion. He tried proving the point that he was a staunch believer but dropped the faith after being convicted for a crime he never committed. He means to show the product of faith and believing so much in religion.

'A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings' is set in a community that has belief in miracles and one that practices the Christian faith. The presence of Father Gonzaga as the local priest shows that the community was Catholic and that there must have been a Catholic church in the neighborhood. The act of calling upon the priest to intervene in the matter when the angelic creature arrived also shows that the community depended on religious leaders to solve certain contradicting disputes in the community. The community, the priest included is also seen to believe in the existence of the angels and may be from his theological studies; he is a certain perception of how an angel should look like as he confirms to the crowd that the man was not an angel. The priest, besides being a man ordained by God with all the Godly powers in him proves to be also human as he tried to consult to his boss, the bishop who might have been more blessed in faith to be able to interpret the situation. However, the Bishop and the church's clergy delays which might be a sign that they had been overwhelmed by the inquiry since no one had ever known how an angel looks like.

The people here develop some faith in the creature right from when Pelayo's child was healed upon the arrival and sighting of the man. The people also express their faith in this creature as they try to pluck out some feathers from the, an allegory of the miracles performed by Jesus which people, for example, the woman that had bled for twelve years only touched the cloak of his garment and was healed.

The excitement of the people to have a new religious symbol shows how human beings perceive religion and faith. There was an influx of people visiting Pelayo's home to witness the scenic angel. Also, the opportunity taken by the hosts to this mysterious man proves that at some point religion could be a benefit to certain people financially. Consequently, it is proved that human beings are ready to pay to get access to religious places.

In 'The Life of Pi,' religion has been presented in the form of the stereotypes that the author believes in. The narrator gives experiences of his encounters with different animals and how his father had previously explained to him how human beings and nature should interact. He gives an experience of how he was once sailing carrying a wild animal in his boat and the animal on board brought bad omen as the sea got rough, almost capsizing his vessel. In his belief in the stereotype, he had to try saving himself using a lifeboat leaving the animal in the main vessel. This case supports the argument presented by Geertz, A. W. (1994) in The invention of prophecy: Continuity and meaning in Hopi Indian religion in which he suggests that some beliefs and prophecies in the Hopi Indian religion are passed along families and have to adhere to the letter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, from the discussion above, it is evident that literary works can be used to bring out the way certain communities believe in God and religion. It is evident that certain circumstances make people more religious and aware of their faith. Also, there are those people that argue against their religious beliefs and are presented not to have a clear conscience and morals. The works of religious leaders in a community are also presented in the theme of religion. The Stereotypic nature of humans and weird believes in certain notions are also presented in a religious aspect. Religion as a theme in literary works go a long way in helping the flow of plot, character trait enhancement and also presents the author's opinion on certain issues.

References

Geertz, A. W. (1994). The invention of prophecy: Continuity and meaning in Hopi Indian religion. Univ of California Press.

Ni Raghallaigh, M., & Gilligan, R. (2010). Active survival in the lives of unaccompanied minors: coping strategies, resilience, and the relevance of religion. Child & Family Social Work, 15(2), 226-237.