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Sitaram
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Joined: 14 Sep 2005
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 Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:28 am Post subject: If Boo is God |
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http://toosmallforsupernova.org/page032.htm
Yesterday, I read with interest the thread at: Click Here
Baddad wrote something truly wonderful and memorable in the thread
on "To Kill A Mockingbird:"
| Baddad wrote: | Words are power. Fifty years after this book is released a poignant
and relative discussion continues on this very forum. Shock, dismay,
confusion, and in someways a sense of ugliness/evil, all stemming
from the use of a single word, still reverberate within those astute
enough to strive for meaningful social change. In an increasingly
stubborn world I cheer to find thus-minded souls. The author intended
you to care, wanted to drag the ugliness into to the light where it
could be shamed and destroyed. This intent, and its success, is one
of the keys to this great piece of literature.
|
The phrase "to drag the ugliness into the light" reminded me of an
interesting passage in Plato's "Republic:"
Leontius, the son of Aglaion, was going up from the Piraeus under the
outside of the North Wall when he noticed corpses lying by the public
executioner. He desired to look, but at the same time he was
disgusted and made himself turn away; and for a while he struggled
and covered his face. But finally, overpowered by the desire, he
opened his eyes wide, ran toward the corpses and said (to his own
eyes) 'LOOK, you damned wretches, take your fill of the fair sight.'
This certainly indicates that anger sometimes makes war against the
desires (within us) as one thing against something else. Republic,
440a
Plato's comment about anger making war with other desires, within us,
reminds me of one verse from Psalm 4, which is more correctly
translated from the Greek Septuagint than from the King James:
Be angry, and sin not; feel compunction upon your beds (weep upon
your beds) for what you say in your heart
Ancient theologians point to such anger as a form of "righteous"
anger which has some positive moral value, as opposed to anger which
is simply a character flaw.
As a child, I carried to school a lunch box with a scene of a brave
and noble looking Davy Crockett confronting a sinister and evil
looking Indian with a knife. I still have that lunch box to this day,
on my bookshelf. Only years later, as and adult, did I understand
that it was Davy Crockett who was evil and sinister, a thief and
murderer, and the Indian who was nobly defending his home and family
and livelyhood.
I have never read the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird", so I went to
www.sparknotes.com and reviewed their synopsis.
I was most curious about the meaning of the novel's title, "To Kill a
Mockingbird."
To quote sparknotes:
The title of To Kill a Mockingbird has very little literal connection
to the plot, but it carries a great deal of symbolic weight in the
book. In this story of innocents destroyed by evil, the "mockingbird"
comes to represent the idea of innocence. Thus, to kill a mockingbird
is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters
(Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified
as mockingbirds—innocents who have been injured or destroyed through
contact with evil. This connection between the novel's title and its
main theme is made explicit several times in the novel: after Tom
Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his death to "the senseless
slaughter of songbirds," and at the end of the book Scout thinks that
hurting Boo Radley would be like "shootin' a mockingbird." Most
important, Miss Maudie explains to Scout: "Mockingbirds don't do one
thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin
to kill a mockingbird." That Jem and Scout's last name is Finch
(another type of small bird) indicates that they are particularly
vulnerable in the racist world of Maycomb, which often treats the
fragile innocence of childhood harshly.
As the novel progresses, the children's changing attitude toward Boo
Radley is an important measurement of their development from
innocence toward a grown-up moral perspective. At the beginning of
the book, Boo is merely a source of childhood superstition. As he
leaves Jem, and Scout presents and mends Jem's pants, he gradually
becomes increasingly and intriguingly real to them. At the end of the
novel, he becomes fully human to Scout, illustrating that she has
developed into a sympathetic and understanding individual. Boo, an
intelligent child ruined by a cruel father, is one of the book's most
important mockingbirds; he is also an important symbol of the good
that exists within people. Despite the pain that Boo has suffered,
the purity of his heart rules his interaction with the children. In
saving Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell, Boo proves the ultimate symbol
of good.
I was stunned by a sudden, most curious thought:
"What if Boo is God?"
Woody Allen has one hilarious scene where he is standing in a long
line outside of a theatre, arguing with someone about a statement
made by Marshall McLuhan. Suddenly, Woody Allen says "Oh,
yeah....well...." and he reaches over in the crowd and grabs the arm
of Marshall McLuhan, who steps up and defends Woody's position in the
argument.
Now, if I could grab hold of the arm of Harper Lee, and have her
speak up and say "Oh yes, why.... certainly, Boo IS God in my novel,
and I am pleased that someone has finally realized this and pointed
it out!" that would certainly be the end of any arguments about Boo.
But suppose Ms. Lee were to laugh at the notion that Boo is God?
Well, one might argue that it was her subconscious at work, or some
Jungian archetype expressing itself.
But what might lead me to suspect that Boo is God?
Well, no one ever sees Boo until the end of the book. The word "Boo"
is something which a ghost says. The Christian Trinity is comprised
of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The children are fascinated by a house
which they suspect is haunted, but haunted is just the flipside of
the coin we call numinous. They speculate about the existence
of "Boo." I am reminded of "Waiting For Godot."
But, here is one of three clinchers which I see. "Gifts" mysteriously
appear for the children in the hollow of a tree. There is a verse
from the Epistle of St. James which says: "Every GOOD gift and every
PERFECT give is from above and comes down from Thee, the Father of
Lights." Ancient theologians questioned, "what is the difference
between a GOOD gift and a PERFECT gift." Well, those ancient
theologians conclude that the good gifts are things like air, water,
health, while the perfect gifts are things like the Eucharist
(Communion of bread and wine.) To this day, Greek and Russian
Orthodox refer to the bread and wine as "the gifts."
The second "clincher" for me how "Boo" suddenly appears or manifests
in human form and puts himself at risk to save the children and slay
the evil one. This is like Christ appearing in human form and
suffering so that people may be delivered from evil.
The third "clincher" for me is the statement that the children
finally mature in their understanding of good and evil in the world
once they finally "know" Boo as a person, in a personal relationship.
Protestants are fond of speaking about a "personal relationship" with
Jesus.
It was actually the early Christians who contributed much to
the "art" of symbolic analysis, whether one chooses to call
it "Eisagesis" (reading a meaning into a passage which the author
never meant to convey) or exagesis (pointing out a concealed meaning
which readers are intended to find.) Obviously, during the first
decades of the Christianity, it was considered by both the Jews and
the Pagans to be a "new" innovation. Even in those time which, for
us, are ancient times, people gave more value and credence to that
which they perceived as ancient than to something new. Therefore, it
was to the theologians' advantage to "analyze" the ancient scriptures
and myths and demonstrate that Christianity was really most ancient,
and concealed and hidden in ancient prophecy.
We may take as the following analysis of the story of Samson as a
prime example of early Christian analytical techniques:
Book of Judges Ch. 13
An angel appears to a barren woman and tells her she shall conceive a
son, Samson (Annunciation and Virgin Birth?).
The angel tells her that the child will be the deliverer of Israel
(Messiah?).
Samson encounters a lion which he slays as easily as a lamb or kid
(Lamb of God?).
And a few days later (3 days?), he comes to find 'honey in the
carcass of the lion" (Eucharist?).
But it is a "secret" (Mystery?) so he gives it to his family to eat
but does not tell them where it is really from.
Then he is betrayed (with a kiss?).
Then he is taken prisoner and mocked.
Then he "destroys the temple" so to speak with "his arms
outstretched" (Crucifixion?).
There is an old seminary joke about a professor explaining the
difference between exegesis and eisegesis: Exegesis, she said is a
careful analytical study of scripture. Eisegesis is interpreting and
applying the exegesis, as a preacher would do in a sermon. While the
class discussion was continuing someone mumbled in the back of the
room: "I don't know nothin' about exegesis and I don't understand
eisegesis. I just want to learn about Jesus!"
Well, what shall we say of my notion that "Boo is God?" One valid
subjective stance to take is that if Boo is God for me, then that is
my subjective experience, and it has a certain subjective validity.
When we read notions about Moby Dick being God for Melville, we find
such notions far more credible, since Melville seems to work very
hard making many allusions which would steer us in the direction of
such a notion.
It is interesting to note that: Truman Capote published "In Cold
Blood" with a dedication to Jack Dunphy and Harper Lee.
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