I truly cannot believe this is my last cover letter for this class! Quite honestly, I struggled with this essay much more than the Unit One Essay—I changed my topic twice, vacillated between texts and quotes, and could not decide what puzzle pieces to put together for my readers. At first, I was very disturbed by my inability to be decisive and write. In fact, I was freaking out entirely. How could I possibly sum up all the questions and ideas I’ve explored this year and intertwine them with my favorite texts? I was floored. Then I sat down and I just wrote. I introduced my essay by painting the way I interpret and think about texts (thanks to AP Lit this year), and I follow it by introducing my line of inquiry, and then my claim. I was able to tie together a current event I am incredibly passionate about—the right to immigration—and texts dating back to the 1600s. I realized the reason it wasn’t as easy as my first essay is because I wasn’t just writing about a line of inquiry I had discussed in class; I had to cultivate my own organic thoughts based on class discussions, readings, and my knowledge on immigration today. I am so happy with the way my paper turned out and the thinking it reflects. My hope is that my passion for the texts and my claim shine through in this essay so that the reader can experience the ah-ha moment that I did. Enjoy! :)
Essay: Humanity’s Appropriation of the Divine
Bridget Nabors Dr. Holt AP Lit 12-7 1 May 2017 Humanity’s Appropriation of the Divine Throughout history, texts have shaped the way we learn, think, and feel; literature has the unique capacity to evoke untapped emotions, challenge what we hold as truths, and reshape the world we live in. Books are the writer’s voices come to life, and more often than not the author is communicating something much larger than what meets the eye—it takes organic thought to cultivate the greater intention. Pieces of literature that explore agency, such as Frankenstein and Paradise Lost, challenge readers to rethink the implications of traditional texts, and encourages inquiry beyond what is accepted as true. A token example of a recognized and conventional text is the King James Version (KJV) of Genesis, which many other writings have referenced, challenged, and reshaped. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost explore humanity’s longing for the pursuit of divine power, and the consequences it entails, reiterating the danger Genesis depicts. In doing so, Shelley and Milton’s work serve as precautions to humans who dare to appropriate the divine. Paradise Lost places a different spin on Genesis by giving the reader an intricate backstory to God’s creations. Milton’s epic has the same characters as Genesis as well. In the Garden of Eden, there are a series of interactions between Raphael and Adam that indicates the threat of humans trying to obtain power is present and unwelcomed. When Adam asks about earthly, ordinary things, Raphael answers happily, but when he asks of the divine powers, Raphael is hesitant. Christianity teaches its followers not to question faith, therefore it forbids seeking information beyond what the divine provides—and by defying this notion, one commits sin. The pursuit of knowledge that both Adam and Eve seek in Paradise Lost comes with repercussions; by eating the fruit, Adam and Eve would be all-knowing, making them God’s intellectual equals. God warns against the pursuit, but the temptation is too strong. The King James Version (KJV) of Genesis warns Adam and Eve that, “The fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat it, neither shall ye touch it, ye die,” (Genesis. 3.3). The serpent assured Eve that, “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil,” (Genesis. 3.5). Despite God’s warning, both Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge—and they suffered the consequences. Eve branded all women with the burden of child bearing, and Adam’s life would no longer be one of ease. They were banished from the Garden of Eden, and would taint the human race with sin. As illustrated in both the King James Version of Genesis and Paradise Lost, humanity was founded upon the pursuit of obtaining divinity. However, as made evident in both texts, consciously attempting to be God’s equal, Adam and Eve, as well as humanity itself, bears the repercussions. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, embarks on an intellectual mission to master the formula of creating human life. The ability to create life was one that strictly lay in the hands of God, and a human being engaging in such an endeavor was a drastic notion. Through years of tireless study, Frankenstein finally resurrects pieces of limp corpses into a living, breathing being. At first, he admires his creation, saying, “[He] selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful!—Great God!” and “his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth a pearly whiteness,” (Shelley 35). In the moments after his hard work pays off, Frankenstein is smitten with the creature. Shortly after he swoons over his work, he realizes “he is ugly […] a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived,” (Shelley 36). Frankenstein feels deep remorse and regret after making what he calls the “monster.” In fact, he essentially disowns his creation all together. The monster, after being abandoned in the world on his own, makes it his mission to impose the misery he endured on his creator, which ultimately manifests into the murder of Frankenstein’s loved ones. Frankenstein experiences crippling pain and loss that he otherwise would not had he resisted the temptation to create life, the exclusive power of God. By publishing Frankenstein, Shelley is communicating the extraordinary danger and chaos that comes with humans challenging the divine. Today, given the history of textual evidence, humans attempting to outstep their natural agency is not uncommon. Such yearning for power has existed since the beginning of time, as made evident by Paradise Lost and Frankenstein, and there are consequences to suffer in the end regardless. In 2017, we are in the midst of a political crisis; refugees are knocking on Lady Liberty’s door, and world leaders are pressed to find solutions. Particularly, the new President of the United States, who won on the promise to build a solid barrier between American people and immigrants. Politicians in power of the United States today want to heavily restrict the amount of people they allow into the country and impose harsh initiatives to deport thousands who already call America home. By turning away families who are fleeing violence and disaster, politicians are determining the fait of these immigrants. Whether hundreds of thousands immigrants can build a new life and make a living rests in the hands of lawmakers in the United States. Since the beginning of time, humans have possessed the inexorable right to movement—Native American moved over countless lands following the buffalo, and humanity has a deep-rooted history in nomadic people. By attempting to control the founding trait of humanity—the freedom of movement through out the earth we share—politicians are actively appropriating divine power. Do not be fooled; politicians are not the only ones guilty of the dangerous pursuit—many Americans today, as well as individuals of other nationalities around the around the world, feel the same obligations to restrict human movement between borders. Many argue that it is within the government’s right to control where different people move as a means of security and population control. While it is necessary for governments to regulate immigration, it is intrusive to determine the destiny of an individual in desperate need of refuge, which is exactly what politicians are doing. By preventing movement, these leaders are ultimately deciding where these individuals live or die—which used to be a dilemma that only rested in the hands of God. As Shelley, Milton, and the King James Version of Genesis illustrated, there have been numerous accounts of humans questioning, challenging, or even impersonating the role of God. So what sort of repercussions will modern politicians endure? Only time will tell.
Works Cited Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Hanover, NH: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1996-2016. The John Milton Reading Room. Thomas H. Luxon, Mar. 2015. Web. Oct. 2016. < http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton>. Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Charles Martin. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print. Rogers, John. The Matter of Revolution: Science, Poetry, and Politics in the Age of Milton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell U Press, 1996. Print. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. 2nd ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. Print. The King James Version. Biblica, 2011. Biblegateway.com, https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Genesis&qs_version=KJV