The title of O'Connor's novel is taken from the King James version of Matthew 11:12: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." Comment on how the title suits the novel. You should familiarize yourself with the context of the statement, who John the Baptist was, what happened to him, etc. You may also find it helpful to check out some other translations of the same passage.
Posts
The violence enacted upon John the Baptists is something like what society and Rayber do to Mason. He is institutionalized and studied – mocked and threatened. The title suits the novel because it comments on both the character of Rayber and of Mason. Rayber attacks the kingdom of heaven with his lifestyle. He ridicules and mocks his uncle Mason. He is opposed to anything related to Christianity, even love. He is driven to attempt to drown his son. On the contrary, Mason is a character who does the opposite. He attempts to kidnap and save children. He is an advocate for the kingdom of Heaven. Regardless of his faith, Mason’s actions can be considered violent. He disappears into the woods, reappearing disheveled, he even shoots Rayber. Both characters, aligned with God or not, undertake violent actions in their respective allegiances. The violence, however, meets in the middle with Tarwater. Tarwater both baptizes and kills Bishop. This action is violent. In this way, he both bears Bishop away from his uncle Rayber, but concurrently bears him away from a life void of religion. Moreover, he baptizes him, arguably saving him. In this one violent action Tarwater is an advocate for God. Rayber attempts to kill Bishop to save himself – Tarwater kills Bishop but also saves him. In his lifestyle of attacking Christianity, Rayber is angry and violent. Likely, in defending the kingdom of Heaven, Mason is angry and violent. Tarwater, who is lost, is also violent – he kills Bishop, but also baptizes him – can be considered a prophet in his own right.
ReplyDeleteIf you wrote the above comment, let me know--you didn't sign it.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 11 of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus acclaims John the Baptist as a divine prophet, despite his imprisonment. Line 11:12 has been translated as reading 'the violent take it by force,' rather than 'bear it away.' So one interpretation may be that men have ravaged the kingdom of heaven by taking away one of its prophets, but another may be that men come to accept the kingdom heaven only after violent acts have been committed. Both of these ideas are reconstructed through the novel's characters. Tarwater violently enters the world as he is born in a car crash, and then kidnapped by his great-uncle. The path that leads him to his final revelation about God is permeated by violent forces, both external and internal. The internal struggle of rejecting or accepting God is embodied in the voice of the 'stranger' in Tarwater's mind, which coerces him to violent acts like burning Old Tarwater's house and drowning Bishop. Rayber's ambivalent relationship with Bishop is also marked by violence, as the religious anxiety Bishop stirs within Rayber leads to his attempt to drown his own son. If Old Tarwater can be considered a perverse version of a prophet, and if Bishop is a divine figure, then two of the prophets of the kingdom of heaven have been born away. Violence is a necessary presence on the path to religious revelation, as Tarwater only realizes his fate as a prophet after he has been involved in multiple violent acts.
ReplyDelete-Dina
Line 11:12 can be broken into two halves, the first half being "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence...” John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod and later beheaded. In The Violent Bear It Away, Mason shares a similar fate, having been imprisoned in an asylum and treated as a study by Rayber. Tarwater becomes a victim of violence when he is raped. Tarwater, in an attempt to break from religion, also commits a violent action against Bishop, a pure figure. The other portion of Line 11:12, “the violent bear it away,” is seen in the violent love for God that both Mason and Tarwater possess. Just as John the Baptist prophecied the coming of Jesus and warned of divine punishment against sinners, Mason and, at the end, Tarwater prophecy the coming of the Messiah and the punishment of sinners. Not only are their messages violent but also their actions are violent. Mason shoots at Rayber and specializes in kidnapping children, and Tarwater drowns Bishop while baptizing him. Prophets are subjected to violence and are violent in their love of God, and both Mason and Tarwater are subject to this throughout the novel.
ReplyDelete-James F.
As seen with John, the Baptist... Tarwater has also been exposed to violence between Mason and Rayber. Rayber is the one who mocks Mason and his ways by voicing to Tarwater that Mason was teaching him what was not real or a part of society. He is hurt by this and tries to rebel from both sets of believes... in the process, he becomes hurt and usually prophets end up enduring some kind of pain and violence. After Tarwater's painful experience, he ends up seeing his true fate, that he must become a prophet. "The violent bear it away" is a perfect title for this novel because all prophets do not cave but endure the ridicule and pain and do end up going into the kindgom of heaven. Julie
ReplyDelete"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away."
ReplyDeleteDuring the time of John the Baptist, the ministry, the kingdom of heaven have been coming and advancing forcefully and that the godly men will take it by forceful action-hence why it is the "violent." What it means is that the ones that have faith will reach the kingdom of heaven and those who do not (Rayber) will not reach the kingdom of heaven. This is an appropriate title for the book. There are many instances of violence throughout the story that are "violent" (actions of force) to show the faithfulness to the kingdom of heaven-to spread what John the Baptist was doing. Rayber tries to undo what John the Baptist preached. The violent acts that occur are kidnappings, a shooting, an arson, drowning, and rape. These forceful acts lead to Tarwater's understanding of his fate-to be the prophet and spread the faith as John the Baptist did.
-Nancy Nguyen
The title is appropriate for the book because of the ambiguous connotations. The word "bear" can mean to suffer with, as well as carry through. That is a question that the book asks; to bear God or to carry through. Tarwater and Rayber demonstrate the two possible meanings. Rayber "carries" his knowledge of God and tries to ignore it, while Tarwater "suffers with" this knowledge and tries to make sense of it. The word "violent" also has connotations that tie with the book. The quote from the Bible indicates "violent" as a noun; however, is it a concrete or abstract idea? What does it mean to be "violent"? Again, Tarwater and Rayber explore this through the text. Rayber experiences an interior violence as he tries to "bear" his knowledge, only to suffer emotional death. Tarwater "suffers" exterior violence that solidifies his faith. Rayber's rationality and Tarwater's encounter with the purple eyed driver are examples of the violence against his faith.
ReplyDeleteThe allusion to John the Baptist is a great connection to the book. Tarwater is the character that becomes like John, who "suffered" with his knowledge and exterior "violence" for the sake of his faith. Rayber functions as Herod, wanting to silence Tarwater for his knowledge. The force of God proves to be beyond both character's control.
-Leah Iannacone
"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it."
ReplyDelete"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
http://bible.cc/matthew/11-12.htm
Who knows how many of those are accurate because it's hard to trust things on the internet, but anyway...
The title of the book as it refers to the Bible relates very much towards to the content of the actual novel.
One way to look at this is by the end of the statement "The Violent Bear it Away" or "The violent take it by force" or any number of the last phrases in the line. Everything here is referring to something violent, forceful, maybe even something destructive - if people are taking something by violent methods. Throughout the novel, many things are taken by force or forced upon a character. The old man forces Tarwater to believe he could be a prophet and forces his lifestyle on him. The lavender character is violent with Tarwater as well and he forcefully takes something from him (his innocence, you could say...). Tarwater forcefully, violently takes away Bishop's life.
Tarwater is violent with nature by setting it on fire when it reminds him of something he cannot deal with (his great uncle, the lavender man, etc).
This could be one way to look at it...
Shannon.
Post closed.
ReplyDelete