Anh Nguyen - JC and Mimesis
Anh Nguyen
B
2/23/07
Joe Christmas and Mimetic Rivalry
Being violent, sleeping around, and rejecting all forms of prayer and religion, Joe Christmas seems as if he is the opposite of everything that Jesus Christ was. However, when one further analyzes Joe, one can see that Joe Christmas is actually like Jesus Christ and can be regarded as a Christ figure. Joe Christmas was, as stated above, violent, slept around, rejected religion, did not imitate anyone, died for no one, and acts on impulse. However, at the same time, he was a lot like Jesus Christ, other than the fact that both of them had the same initials. Joe had only cared for one person when he was young, Alice at the orphanage. She was like his mother, but never was married and did not give birth to him. Similar to Mary, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, they were Jesus’ and Joe’s mother, except that Alice left Joe when she went and got married. This is where the mother similarities split. Jesus was born on Christmas and Joe was found on Christmas Eve, with father or grandfather watching them, respectively. Also, both of them fled from their homes, unwillingly, at a young age because someone wanted to get rid of them, for Jesus is was Harod and for Joe it is his grandfather, Mr. Hines. Another similarity is that they both have someone who knows what is going to happen to them in the time near their death, for Jesus it is God, for Joe it is his grandfather again. Jesus and Joe were both persecuted for who they were, Jesus for being the king of the Jews and Joe for being Black and a murderer. Jesus walked to his death to get crucified while Joe ran towards Hightower’s place and was killed. In Girard’s Mimesis and Violence, A imitates B and B imitates A, therefore the two vie to become the same person, thus causes violence between the two of them because they vie to become the same. Also, there are scapegoats who are always used by the scapegoaters as those in Jerusalem used Jesus and the people in Jefferson used Joe Christmas so that they would not be blamed. Jerusalem and Jefferson are the two places in which the stories take place; the similarity is that they both begin with the letter J as does Joe and Jesus’ names. At first glance, Joe is everything but that of a figure of Christ, but peering in closer and looking at how his life was in context, Joe was the figure of Christ in Light in August and the ironic thing is that he probably knows it and that’s why he hates himself so much for it. Joe had always hated religion because of McEachern and hates himself. Deep inside, Joe knew he was Jesus and that’s why he hated himself. Joe is Jesus, he is the Jesus of Light in August.
B
2/23/07
Joe Christmas and Mimetic Rivalry
Being violent, sleeping around, and rejecting all forms of prayer and religion, Joe Christmas seems as if he is the opposite of everything that Jesus Christ was. However, when one further analyzes Joe, one can see that Joe Christmas is actually like Jesus Christ and can be regarded as a Christ figure. Joe Christmas was, as stated above, violent, slept around, rejected religion, did not imitate anyone, died for no one, and acts on impulse. However, at the same time, he was a lot like Jesus Christ, other than the fact that both of them had the same initials. Joe had only cared for one person when he was young, Alice at the orphanage. She was like his mother, but never was married and did not give birth to him. Similar to Mary, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, they were Jesus’ and Joe’s mother, except that Alice left Joe when she went and got married. This is where the mother similarities split. Jesus was born on Christmas and Joe was found on Christmas Eve, with father or grandfather watching them, respectively. Also, both of them fled from their homes, unwillingly, at a young age because someone wanted to get rid of them, for Jesus is was Harod and for Joe it is his grandfather, Mr. Hines. Another similarity is that they both have someone who knows what is going to happen to them in the time near their death, for Jesus it is God, for Joe it is his grandfather again. Jesus and Joe were both persecuted for who they were, Jesus for being the king of the Jews and Joe for being Black and a murderer. Jesus walked to his death to get crucified while Joe ran towards Hightower’s place and was killed. In Girard’s Mimesis and Violence, A imitates B and B imitates A, therefore the two vie to become the same person, thus causes violence between the two of them because they vie to become the same. Also, there are scapegoats who are always used by the scapegoaters as those in Jerusalem used Jesus and the people in Jefferson used Joe Christmas so that they would not be blamed. Jerusalem and Jefferson are the two places in which the stories take place; the similarity is that they both begin with the letter J as does Joe and Jesus’ names. At first glance, Joe is everything but that of a figure of Christ, but peering in closer and looking at how his life was in context, Joe was the figure of Christ in Light in August and the ironic thing is that he probably knows it and that’s why he hates himself so much for it. Joe had always hated religion because of McEachern and hates himself. Deep inside, Joe knew he was Jesus and that’s why he hated himself. Joe is Jesus, he is the Jesus of Light in August.
-Anh Nguyen
posted by Anonymous @ 10:09 AM
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