This is one of my midterm essays
from college, one which I find very memorable.
Although it does not fit the topics of crime or criminology, I thought
its content was interesting and people may find it thought provoking in the way
we see war. Before the midterm, I took
time to count the frequency of a particular word in The Poem of the Cid. It took time away from my test taking, but
this was my result.
I
transcribed the essay from the booklet, verbatim.
Front
of the test booklet:
Caroline
Friehs
University
of Pittsburgh
Western
Civilization I
Section:
10AM
Date: 3-31-03
Midterm
Question: Take two people from society,
one from the time the Book of Matthew was written, and one from the time when
the Poem of the Cid was written. Write
how they would have viewed the book.
Compare their views.
My
Answer:
This
is a comparison between two hermits; one who heard the Cid, & the other,
the Book of Matthew. It’s important to
compare the two characters as the same roles in society to make a better
comparison of time.
Matthew: In given the Circumstances, I am a hermit
living in what seems to me the middle of no where. I was a very educated man enough to have read
the Bible, and my favorite book was the book of Matthew. That was well before I became a hermit. It wasn’t until my incurable illness
developed that I headed to my cave for the sake of others not catching it. I look back at the book of Matthew, and I
even kept a copy to read before I die.
It’s amazing that Jesus performed so
many miracles, healing people like me, and it is ironic I was born later than
his time. I wonder if Jesus is with me
even now? I read now, Chapter 8. In 8:2-3, “And behold, there came a leper and
worshipped him, saying Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched
him, saying, I will; be thou clean, and immediately his leprosy was
cleaned.” All it takes is his hand, yet
in his physical absence, all I will get is his spiritual hand. When that comes my ailment will be gone
through death. In the same chapter,
there is a storm at sea, which Jesus calms.
It begins 8:24-26, “And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea,
insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him
saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he
saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and then
and there was a great calm.” I feel the
storm within me, this disease. It grows
more painful everyday. I wish for the
calm to come for me. I flip the
pages. I feel so strongly about the
mysteries of this faith because my death is underway, and the mystery will be
solved. I have faith that I will go to
heaven. In Chapter 13, the Parable which
Jesus speaks of, about the sower and the seeds interests me. I know that I am not the one among the
thorns, nor am I the seed upon the rock.
I am still a Christian, and I believe in all the words of Jesus; no
other, therefore I am not set out for animals to eat away. I have strong roots in the good soil, and I
have grown into a tree bearing good fruit.
This tree is about to die. At the
end of the book, Jesus is crucified, which he accepts. I will have to accept my death if I am to transcend
to Heaven.
Cid: Long after that hermit’s death, time went on,
and there was another hermit. This is
his story.
Here in the mountains, in Spain, I
dwell here for my own security. I ran
away at a tender age, and no one has yet found me. If anyone does find me, I’ll claim to be
severely ill. By now, no one should
recognize me, since I’ve aged so much. I
don’t even know my age any longer. I ran
away, because the dominance of religion in society was driving me into
insanity. The hypocrisies of the bible
and the concept of worship give me rage.
To love only God is not to love thy neighbor. Jesus is not the reason why I am an atheist,
yet the arrogance of the people who are less than holy.
I am not even literate anymore. The last time I came across a book was a
couple of years ago. Along came a
wounded traveler. I helped him, and in
exchange for my kindness I didn’t want any money, for I had not use for it. Instead I wanted him to read me his book, the
Poem of the Cid. After he had
read it, he was astonished at my reaction.
I hold him half of the time I was not listening to the story, but I
manage to take note to the great number of references to God and
Christianity. In the book, god was
mentioned 143 times, but the majority of the time, praise was given for unholy
reasons. The Cid and his followers
killed and robbed people in the name of god, and at the same time not
considering thy neighbor’s feelings or lives.
“I win battles as it pleases the Creator,” (p. 153, stanza 122), “I can
be certain of defeating them with God on my side,” (p. 143, stanza 114),
“overjoyed that by God’s favor they had won the day,” and “Attack them my
knights, for the love of God!” – All these quotes cause me great anger over
what God’s purpose is. Yes, god spared
their lives in time of risk, but they took other people’s lives, whom no one
had the heart to mourn over. Do unto thy
neighbor as thou dost unto thyself. How
could they not recognize their hatred?
Even in the Bible it talks about how you treat others will be how the
Father treats you after death. Justice
doesn’t seem to be granted for the Cid.
He always wins, and ever so simply, never even expecting victory. He thinks his victories of blood and gold are
god given. The only time there is a loss
for him, the loss is the treatment of his daughters. Since he is not the one directly hurt, his
sense of self worth is given more fuel to win the battle at the end of the
epic. It’s easy to always be the hero
and always win, but he never experienced his daughters’ pain. What would have happened to his confidence
then?
Even though these two characters are
hermits, they have polar viewpoints. In
one time period where God is important in terms of God’s teachings, the hermit
feels strong about religion, and feels truly concerned about his
afterlife. The other, in times of war
and persecution of Moors, becomes a recluse to society because of the misuse of
god and religion.
Grade:
A
Professor’s
note: I enjoyed this – Your 2nd
hermit did a good job to hide away – a skeptic like that would be a prime
target of the inquisition!
©2015 Caroline
Friehs
Originally
posted: October 2, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.