A Dynamic Faith?
Religion figures prominently in Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands, ranging from Marvin’s lessons in Bible study to the horrific Klan bombings of Catholic and Jewish citizens. How do these many experiences shape Reesa’s understanding of God? How does her faith change throughout the novel? (Share an example and give details to show that this instance reflects a change in Reesa’s behavior or beliefs. Please include page references!).
These experiences, meaning Reesa’s, are something powerful that you cannot easily get out of your head. Think about a time when something big happened in your life, whether it be Pearl Harbor or 9/11 or something else to that extent. I still remember 9/11 because of how the events in my day went, and because I remember the look on people’s faces that day. You could sense danger and evil doings. Reesa can see all of these negative events like the killings and bombings. She can see how evil people can truly be. You start to wonder if anyone has good in them. God is a good person who created the world and wants you to follow the great pathway of religion with him. They talk about God this way at church, which Reesa and her whole family attend. When she hears and sees these things, she has trouble believing anyone with so much power and control could let things get so gruesome and awful. On page 101, Reesa asks Vaylie, “Do bad things happen because God wills it so?” She is asking if maybe He is not a good person and lets evil run around for a reason. Her faith changes because in her letter she asks Vaylie if God is good or bad. On page 119, Reesa is lost to whether there is even a person to believe in up there(as in up in the sky, where Heaven should be located at). She asks, “Oh, God, if You’re up there, could You arrange a little help down here?” Reesa went from believing in either a good or bad God, to wondering if there is even one at all. She had her religion shaped and her image of God changed because of terrible times.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the incidents that would occur, Reesa’s understanding of God was quite unsteady and impulsive. She seemed to have lost her insights of God in the beginning when Marvin was killed. On page 119 in chapter sixteen, Reesa said, “And I find myself praying for the first time in months. Oh, God, if You’re up there, could You arrange a little help down here?” It appears as if her faith grows throughout the novel. At some points though, Reesa becomes doubtful like in chapter nineteen on page 134. She said, “To my mind, because of Marvin, God owed us this win, owed the Dodger their stay in Heaven on Earth. But, for reasons beyond me, God came down on the wrong side of right.” In her mind, I feel like she thought that prayer would just reach out to the Lord and she would get what she felt needed mending. By the end of the novel in the chapter of revelations, I think that the last sentence showed that her faith grew. The final sentence said, “It was Marvin, I remember whenever I smell orange blossoms, who showed me my stripes and gave me his wings.” Reesa finally appreciated what she had and understood why she thought that God had misled her at that point of the story. I believe that Reesa’s doubts in God had finally ended and she was much more grateful with her faith.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s relationship with GOD is a rocky one. She is usually compulsive with her feelings towards him, depending on the situation at hand. When things are going smoothly and it appears to her that there is progress being made, she seems to believe he really is there. When things are not going well and there are more bombings, she believes he is just mocking them. On Pg. 119, after the car chase, she is sitting in bed. She keeps thinking about what the Klan could possibly do next, and then she realizes that there is no one to stop them from causing terror in her community. She then prays to GOD, saying, “Oh, GOD, if You’re up there, could You arrange for a little help down here?” This is one of the few points when she is upset with GOD, but still prays to him. Another example of her relationship with GOD is on Pgs. 133 and 134. The Brooklyn Dodgers lose their baseball game that would have put them into the World Series by one run. Reesa wonders how GOD could have let that happen, stating that it would be their “divine right” because of the African Americans on their roster and the 7 All-Stars they also had. She also shows her anger because the Dodgers were Marvin’s favorite team. Seeing as how he died, she believed GOD owed the win to the Dodgers. She says how she believes GOD “came down on the wrong side of right”. This is why Reesa’s relationship with GOD is a rocky one.
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ReplyDeleteReesa's relationship with GOD is kind of like the stock market. It's good for a little, and then it's bad. An example in my own life in my believing and understanding of GOD was also bad and then became good. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, but is now fine so i liked GOD. Then my uncle died of cancer and i wasn't a fan. Then more bad things occurred. My dog died and my grandma has stage 4 terminal cancer. All though seeing my life from a perspective of me typing it makes me think there is no GOD, i have to remind myself that nothing has happened to me, and i have to thank GOD for that. I think during the story there relationship evolves, and eventually gets better. Marvin's death is a rattling point in there relationship, but eventually becomes good. If my life was being played with like that by a bunch of guys dressed like ghosts, then i don't think i would like GOD to much either; but thats just my opinion. Even when GOD upsets Reesa she still prays to him. She wonders how GOD could let the Dodgers lose the World Series especially since there Marvin's favorite team. Then towards the end of the story her relationship with GOD
ReplyDeleteReesa’s belief in God has changed several times during this novel. Reesa states on page thirty two that her family attends church every Sunday. Reesa then comments that “What happened to Marvin has put me at odds with God these days”. Reesa starts the book with mixed feelings regarding her relationship with God. She wonders why God has let these horrible events happen. On page one hundred and one Reesa wonders if God killed Miss. Maybelle’s fiancé so she could spend her life sorting envelopes. As the story progresses she begins wondering if God even exists. On page one hundred and nineteen, she says “oh God if you are up there can you arrange a little help down here”? Reesa’s feelings about God changed several times throughout the story. She goes from a weekly church goer to questioning God’s decisions, to wondering if he really exists. In the end Reesa’s faith becomes even stronger and she leaves the reader realizing that her relationship with God has grown because of the events in the novel.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Reesa’s faith ever changed throughout the book. For example, in the beginning when Marvin dies she feels that God isn’t there for her, but she still believes in Him. In Chapter 16, Reesa finds herself praying for the first time in months. “Oh, God, if you’re up there, could you arrange a little help down here?” She continued to go to church but in her everyday life God was not on her mind because of all the tragedies in her life. I don’t think she ever really lost her faith completely. It seems as though she forgot. On page 254-255 Reesa says, “Please, God, I have not been good at this faith thing, I don’t even know the words. Please, please help us, help them, know what to do. “ Throughout all the evil things that have happened, Reesa still believes in God.
ReplyDeleteGod is mentioned many times in this book, and Reesa's opinion of God changes a lot throughout the book. Reesa started the book believing in God for the most part, but as her life becomes more depressing when the Klan starts terrorizing her town. Reesa's problem with God comes out of these events for a very common reason: Why do bad things happen to good people? This question is what sets Reesa off of her religion. On page 32, Reesa mentions her confusion with God after Marvin's death, “...what happened to Marvin has put me at odds with God these days...” (page 32). Reesa can't wrap her head around how God would let such a thing happen. On page 119, Reesa questions but shows some belief in God when she asks, “God, if You're up there, could You arrange a little help down here?”(page 119), and then on page 120 she answers her own question with, “The answer is no. God doesn't care whats happening in Florida”(page 120). In that quote Reesa is almost mocking God in a wave of her frustration. Reesa was hoping that something could reinforce her small belief in God, but she felt that her questions against God were confirmed. She felt that if God was up here, He had let her down, and she was unsure whether He was up there at all. Reesa is put back on track with her religious beliefs on pages 254-255 when she prays to God that her dad survives, and her prayer is realized when her father lives and helps to stop the Klan. This reassures Reesa about the existence of God, even though she had her doubts before.
ReplyDeleteReesa has had a tough understanding of god since Marvin was killed, and the Ku Klux Klan started becoming an everyday topic in her household. She had questioned why God had done this to Marvin. As the story began to unfold, she had questioned God more and more with the families’ search to find justice. She questioned why it was her “time in the fire,” as Armetta had told her in chapter 9 on page 61. She began to wonder why God would have these men around, men like J.D. Bowman who had called her a “Little Baptist Jew” in chapter 14 on page 104. Reesa began having nightmares about him, and what he had done to Marvin. When things seemed to be getting better for Reesa, they were taken all away from her. When the Moore’s started helping out with the investigation, Reesa felt that they were finally getting somewhere. However, when the Moore’s were killed in a bombing, in chapter 21 on page 141, Reesa began to question why God had taken the Moore’s away from her too. She felt as if everything was lost to her. As we had further ventured into the book, Reesa began understanding in God’s plans for her. We of course know that God has many paths we must take before we fully understand his motives, and death is one that Mayflower had to deal with, more frequently and violently than others.
ReplyDeleteReesa’s understanding of God changes throughout the novel. At the beginning of the story Reesa Believes that God has a reason for everything. She remebers all of Marvin’s teachings about God and takes them to heart. In chapter five, on Palm Sunday she shows how much she believes in God by Marvin’s teachings she almost wins the competion. Then, as unfortunate events happen she starts doubting God. On page sixty and sixty-one, Reesa breaks down crying about marvin to Armetta, and Armetta says “God is the potter” and that it’s all “time in the fire.” She means that God lets some horrible things happen to strengthen you and test your faith. Reesa is very unsure and thinks that she and God aren’t on speaking terms. Armetta assures her that God has plans for everyone. Then, as the book goes on, things start looking better and Reesa finally understands what Armetta meant by time in the fire. She realizes God has always been there even when she doubted him. In the end Reesa’s understanding of God is that He does everything for a reason. That everything He does shapes you (time in the fire).
ReplyDeleteReesa's relationship with God changes throughout the novel. When she is remembering Marvin teaching her about the way the Bible is organized and how to do well in Bible drills (p. 32), Reesa is not looking at God as a big influence in her life. Church is just a place to go for Sunday school, Bible drills, and picnics. After Marvin's death, Reesa begins to wonder why God lets "bad" things happen: Marvin's death, bombings, killings, baseball loses. John Gorman talk about Reesa's unrest with God in his entry. Reesa shows that she is really thinking about God and what or who God is when she writes to Vaylie on page 101:"Do bad things happen because God wills it so? Or is evil something with a mind of its own?" These two questions show that Reesa's relationship with God is changing throughout the events of the novel.
ReplyDeleteRessa’s belief in god is unstable, and it changes several times throughout the entire story. Marvin had brought Ressa close to god.
ReplyDeleteAfter his untimely death, she drifted from god, and her beliefs. On page one-hundred nineteen, Ressa finds herself praying, something that
she has not done in months. She questions his existence also on page one-hundred nineteen, when she says. Oh, god, if You’re up there,
could You arrange a little help down here. Ressa relationship with god is shaken again on page one-hundred thirty-four. After the Dodger
lose the pennant to the Giants. She feels that after Marvin’s death that he owes them that win, that he owes the Dodger’s their stay in
Heaven on Earth.
Reesa sees god as almost an On/Off thing. It is actually quuite rocky as 15gormanj said. Her belief changed many times throughout the book. When she sees all these horrific events happening she wonders why god let these events happen. Why does her family deserve this suffering? On page 101, she asked God if he killed Miss. Maybelle's fiance,so she could sort mail the rest of her life. Also, in her letter she asks Vaylie if God is good or bad. That shows that her perspective on god is a very rocky thing and that her faith changes a lot throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the book, Ressa questions her faith in God many times. There were countless tragic events happening all the time in Mayflower involving the Ku Klux Klan. The McMahons seemed to be a very religious family, praying to God frequently. For a while, God did not seem to help out that much. On page 32, Ressa states, “Though what happened to Marvin has put me at odds with God these days.” This is a perfect example of how Ressa questions her faith in God throughout the book. Also Ressa asks god for help in desperate times. She even throws a little sarcasm in her prayers. For example, on page 119 she asks, “God, if you’re up there, could you arrange a little help down here?” At some points, Ressa becomes enraged with god. Like on page 120, when she states, “The answer is no, God doesn’t care about what happens in Florida.” However, Ressa does start having faith in God again. Pages 254-255 show that when Ressa’s prayer is answered and her father lives to rid of the Klan. Reesa’s faith in her religion changed drastically throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel Reesas idea of her religion and of God changes throughout the novel, it starts off juvanile where she thinks of Church as a place where there are picniks, and games, to where it changes where she is wondering if God has forsaken her, and her family, then due to expriences she has throught the novel, she seems to mature about things, and starts to get a real understanding of her religion, and God. I think the biggest thing that happened to her that really made her understand, was when Armetta explained that people are like pots, and need to go through the fire before, they can understand his ways, and that Marvin dieing, is the fire for Luther, Armetta, and the Macmahons. Throughout the novel to she seems to refer back to that quote also.
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