God without Mankind

manunkind

Let's see - the guy takes off without asking for directions, gives no thought to the faithful servant he spurs to death, and for no apparent reason cuts down the tree that shelters him. This idiot thinks he is so irresistible to females that even a wild panther can't help falling in love with him, but he kills her because he does not trust her commitment to him.

Agreed that God without mankind would be as grand but sterile as a desert, but what does a story about male egotistical fantasies have to do with God's need for mankind?

Thanks for posting that story, Letty. I found it rather enjoyable. I particularly liked this bit...
His face had struck me. He had one of those intrepid heads, stamped with the seal of warfare, and on which the the battles of Napoleon are written

There are other well-crafted sentences that make it worth re-reading, but I'll have to disagree with you as far as considering the story "powerful".

But, of course, as they say... Power is in the eyes of the beholder.

Hey, Edgar. Seems that you summed it up.

Well, Gus, Balzac could turn a phrase or two, could he not? I read this story as a child, and the main impact for me then, was the fascination with a wild animal and its relation with a human. Rereading it made me realize how closely it depicts situations today--war, preoccupation with wild beasts, the desert. If you get a chance, sometimes, read the poem "In the Desert" by Stephen Crane. Quite a startling parallel.

Hey, Terry. Always glad to get your input. Actually, the man was a prototype of the soldier and the echelon of the day, wouldn't you say?
And if you'll reread the ending, you'll see that he was simply painting a picture of the desert after the fact --to me, that said volumes.

Wouldn't the A2K civilization be considered godless? Or would that be a reach to categorize this site as civilized?

gus, my quicksand, quicksilver friend, this entire thread was designed to explore the relationship of the human animal to the environment:

"There Will Come Soft Rains"
(War Time)


There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;

Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire;

And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.

Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree
If mankind perished utterly;

And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.

Sara Teasdale.

Stephen Crane

In the Desert

In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, "Is it good, friend?"
"It is bitter - bitter", he answered,
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart."

Often I think that Thornton wilder--Stephen Crane-- the poets--the painters are the only ones with true insight.

But then there is you--there is me--looking at eternity.

and then, of course, when we want to dance and sing there's always Bi-polar bear and the "get down music"...<smile>

I recall In The Desert from a time I was fascinated with Crane. I tried for a time to copy his style. In my early days I thought his Red Badge of Courage was essentially anti war. After reading his poems I revisited that brilliant novel and saw it for what it is - A tale that glorifies war. The central character is at the end a true soldier executing the duties of a soldier to perfection.

edgar..no..no...Crane's central character wanted to be a hero, and courage, the red badge, the wound, was it's symbol. but his mother discouraged him. It took running away to make him understand that war was NOT glorious, but when faced with the enemy, (whoever he/she might be) he stood and fought.

I have no intent of letting poets, writers speak for me, for eventually we must all speak for ourselves.

Let me say this:

When we have looked in the face of death, and "fought the good fight"...we will understand it all. That I believe.

Just read Crane's poetry. It praises war. The Red Badge of Courage is an honest look at war from the vision of one who loves war.

Edgar, I'll have to agree with Letty on this one, but it's been a long time since I've read The Red Badge of Courage, so I could be wrong. I have it upstairs; maybe I'll read it again.

In a world of war and gods , a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners or the gods.
Love ya, mean it.

Letty, do you suppose that the man finally came to realize that God without mankind is perfection? He kept trying to make the panther into a beautiful woman--to humanize her--which led to her death. Man has a history of destroying that which he doesn't understand.

The desert, one of my favorite places, often awakens in me an almost religious feeling, even though I'm an agnostic. The desert is, in a way, God-like. It is just there, majestic, never trying to accomodate; you either adjust to it or you die. Only animals give the desert the respect it is due. Perhaps the animals are the only creatures on earth who can understand what God is--realizing the he doesn't need to be worshipped, only respected. God as nature, when left alone, perfection; when worshipped, but not respected by man, it turns into something like the Old Testament, arbitrary, raging, vengeful and deadly.

Hmm, perhaps there is a God and the human race has never recognized or respected the true meaning of God.

It's near my bedtime--I fear I'm rambling.


"She has a soul," he said, looking at the stillness of this queen of the sands, golden like them, white like them, solitary and burning like them.

Dys and Diane, beautifully expressed.

Remember T.S. Eliot's "Wasteland"? I think the entire reference to "desert" is not the actuality of dunes and such, but the sweeping emptiness of it. On the one hand it's an unsurpassed canvas of regal magnificence , and on the other, desolate and dying.

The panther belonged and willingly died in her milieu. The central character lived, but carried abrasions as a reminder. He finally understood it all.

Good morning, all.

Letty you must read the novel that i have just finished;

"The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel ( won the Booker Prize)
it aludes to exactly what you are trying to get at here.

[read it carefully, there will be a test after]

Hey, Bo. Thanks for the recommendation. Odd, but I have reader's block..don't know why. I'll check out the book on Google.

Indeed I will be ready for any test that you may administer, as long as it's the essay type.

Letty, I would stick to reading "Even Cowgirls get the Blues" but that's just the kinda guy I am...

Hmmm, dys. Can I find that on Google?

sure

SYNOPSIS

29-year old Sissy Hankshaw leaves New York behind for the lush pastures of a midwestern ranch where she's scheduled to model for feminine hygiene advertisements. When she arrives at the beauty-ranch, Sissy's introduced to a band of free-living, free-loving cowgirls rebelling against their drag queen employer and ranch owner, The Countess. Joining the cowgirls in their collective struggle against exploitation, Sissy not only finds liberating comradeship, she also finds romantic companionship