Okay...So I can´t seem to get the whole idea of whether receiving a blessing or not can influence the outcome of a person´s life. I look at Cal in the end of the book and it seems as if receiving the blessing from his father is one of if not THE most important points in his being able to receive grace and move on...Then I look at Cathy´s life and wonder if not receiving a blessing made a difference in her life...and what exactly does it mean to receive a blessing...Cathy had parents who loved her...was the fact that they may not have known how to love or give her the love she needed a hindrance...then I was reading Sarah´s first three pages and I thought about whether Adam had blessed her life by accepting her despite her past, but then it seems not as Sarah goes on to show how Adam builds his own view of her-makes her into the woman that he wants her to be. Thus, he doesn´t really bless Cathy, not the REAL Cathy, only the person that he has tried to make her be..It seems that it is only in the end with Cal that Adam learns how to truly bless...Just some thoughts....
C.
Blog Archive
-
▼
2007
(42)
- ► 08/05 - 08/12 (1)
- ► 04/08 - 04/15 (1)
- ► 03/25 - 04/01 (2)
- ▼ 03/18 - 03/25 (10)
- ► 03/11 - 03/18 (8)
- ► 03/04 - 03/11 (12)
- ► 02/25 - 03/04 (8)
5 comments:
Blessings are a very important aspect in the book i think. adam blessed cal with one word, timshel. thou mayest. this simple blessing is a very powerful one, that of free will. cal can choose to be free of his past: the sins he was born with, the spiritual inheritance (the whole original sin thingy), and his past crimes. especially in the bible, blessings play an important role in it. esau was ready to kill his brother because he was cheated of his birthright... sheesh.. so anyways back to east of eden. its interesting how adam doesnt really forgive him, absolve him of his sins if you will. he leaves him with a choice, the ability to receive grace. its like the whole salvation by grace. we can choose to accept our salvation or not. that is if we arent calvinists. then that whole argument is futile :D hmmm looks like im going of on a random tangent.. apple pie and sushi anyone?
anyways about cathy.. she had blessings i guess in a sense.. like u said carps she had a good life, a family that loved her, etc. but she never really accepted those blessings i guess. like the whole salvation and if we choose to accept it. and about adam.. i guess he forgave her sins in a sense.. which in turn could be a blessing.. unconditional love anyone? christ/god like figure indeed.. and yes he blesses the shadow of cathy.. the idol of cathy he created in his mind. so yeah.. my 2 cents.. :D
TIM....I just had an epiphany....is it a coincidence that your name is actually included in the most essential aspect of east of eden...TIMshel...thou mayest...You NEVER cease to amaze me with your depth of thought and YET....where are my three pages...All that you would have to do is gather up all your blog entries and put them together and VOILÁ...three pages...with more insight than most of us mortals could ever hope to put on paper...there is a side of you that is only a "shadow" of what you are capable...Do not be a calvinist (i speak metaphorically, of course) and choose to send me three pages....
your fan,
C.
hahaha im a calvinist.. lol.. it was predestined.. HAHHAHAHA just like i was predestined to be lazy haha... i cant help it.. my fate was decided before the creation of this universe... :D
ill write something down soon enough... i have to organize my thoughts... ai ai
hey... another thought about this idea of adam's final blessing to cal... do u think that he was really giving cal the blessing by saying the word timshel? cuz to me... it sounds like adam is actually naming cal... cuz rite b4 adam says timshel... lee says... raise ur hand and say ur son's name as a blessing... then adam raises his hand and says timshel... this to me is a more powerful way of thinking about the blessing... as a name... adam looks at his son and sees not cal... not the boy who killed his brother... but the choice... the timshel... that is the power of choice... it takes away all identity that we previously may have had and gives us a clean slate... we can be who we choose to be...
Tabula Rosa...
Amen!
C.
Post a Comment