Class 4/8

I liked what Mike said about how all of the people we consider saints were good people who had to deal with horrible things. I mean this book presents pretty much everything necessary to meet those qualifications.

I'm also quite interested to see how much things change once we read the next book in the series.

To me the most interesting part of the discussion was the lists we made about who we would send on this mission. I think this is the most fascinating part.

Within each of the groups certain positions all seemed to be pretty much unanimous. People like a doctor, biologist, pilot, and survivalist were agreed on within the groups and also at the larger class level. People had slightly different ideas about the specifics of these roles but agreed that the roles were necessary. However, in order to fill the other half, it became quite difficult to come to a consensus on what the other positions should be filled with.

Of course the most disturbing news of the whole day, Brad Pitt is going to play a Jesuit Space Missionary. AHHH!!!!!!!!

Reflection on the Sparrow

Hello everyone:

Oddly enough, my favorite part of the entire discussion in class was Professor Jackson explaining that "Devil's advocate" is a Jesuit expression, as part of their [close to] all-inclusive attack on their own beliefs during their training. That said, I wanted to comment on the issue of Emilio being a saint (at least according to his fellow Jesuits on the mission). One of the messages this story does a shockingly thorough job of conveying is that really, REALLY bad things happen to pretty good people. On one level, this sort of idea bothers me a lot, and I tried to convey that in class. Then again, I thought about other people in history who have been popularly labeled "saintly" or something similar: people like Ghandi or Mother Theresa. They did in fact do great things for many people; such are the criteria for being saintly. But then, consider how much hardship and suffering they actually went through while doing good, I might have to agree with DW's diagnosis of Emilio being a saint. He displayed an extraordinary amount of holiness and calling for his current situation, and then acted on it. I hate to say it, but the message of the book that terrible things happen to good people, is almost a criterion for being a saint as well; the person must exhibit holiness, especially in the face of extreme adversity.

Then, I remember what Professor Jackson was saying about how the next book turns all sorts of things upside down - this comment might not even be valid in about two weeks. I am quite curious and intrigued to see where the next book goes.


Have a saintly evening

-Mike

Reflection, Class 11

I wanted to start by making a few comments on Tim's post. Just about his discussion of the Jesuits and missionaries. Did the Jesuits really try to force their beliefs on the Runa? Perhaps their worldview or cultural biases, as we discussed in class, but there was no mention of evangelization or trying to teach them about God or Catholicism. They seemed to just do their thing, i.e. say Mass, and if the Runa came, great if not, that's fine too. I think the story comes off as more tragic because all of the changes that the group brought in the lives of the Runa were by accident, they were something the Runa picked up, like the garden. Granted, we also discussed the nature of the mistakes made by the group, and perhaps the whole revolution idea was more deliberate but again, it spread without their help in the end as most of them were dead.
Also, with regards to Sofia's actions that ended up getting most of the group killed. I don't think it would be believable if she did nothing in that situation. She'd clearly developed as a character, she'd lost much of her detachment both with her contact with the other group members and her marriage to Jimmy (which, okay, might have been a little forced but it sort of comes down to a last man on Earth sort of thing). If Sofia hadn't done anything I think other group members might have, just based on their characterization. Jimmy certainly seemed a caring about others kind of guy and I think he would have done something, maybe tried to protect some of the babies or something along those lines. They might not have called for an uprising but I doubt they could have stood by and done nothing.
Finally, our discussion of who to bring on the trip. I do think that the group wasn't outfitted properly for the kind of mission they were on, they had somewhat less of a full group but they had a good starting point at least. Here's Mel's and my "fun" list for our sci-fi character crew:
1. Han Solo- pilot/con man/skepic, can also fix stuff
2. Emilio Sandoz- still useful as a linguist and could do some comparative religion in a pinch
3. EMH Mark 1 (ST:Voyager)- doctor/comparative culture analyst/biologist, doesn't need to eat so food would last longer too
4. Jayne, with Vera- security guy, knows how to deal with alien worlds already
5. Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1)- anthropologist (any other ideas for a better fit here would be welcome, he's all we could think of)
6. Data- general knowledge/engineer, sort of a walking authority on anything and everything
7. Counselor Troi- empath/diplomat, she also has training in reading the emotions of aliens
8. Maguyver- survivalist, not exactly sci-fi but again, we had a lack of insight as to who else would be useful here

The Sparrow: Pre-class Reaction

The issue I had with this book, is that I loved the humor and the characters and the relationships they were starting to build (although the marriage between Sofia and Jimmy seemed to convenient and strained to me). But I loved Emilio’s personality and humor, and Anne and George are amazing in their interactions and in how they interacted with others, plus I enjoyed Sofia’s growth and how the rest of the characters all became a family. The problem I had is that early in the book I knew all but one would die, and Emilio ends up mentally and physically damaged. It was in a way depressing, but I guess it serves the book’s purpose.

First, I want to comment on the nature of the deaths, they were mostly accidents or a situation getting out of hand. The thing that gets to me is the point this makes. These people went in good nature with good intentions…and the thing that got most of them was taking a walk and being unaware of danger and planting a garden. It made me think just how powerful some latent effects can be. They were all smart and took a lot of time planning, obviously they didn’t (nor could have) account for everything. I am big on cross cultural communications and understanding, which was exactly their goal. So the lesson I take away from this is how important it is to be careful in such an alien (no pun intended) setting. Their mistake was that they let their guard down and didn’t pay attention to the warnings and they viewed this world too much through their own biased lenses, and it is very hard to get out of that view, or to gain enough knowledge to gain an objectified view on things. But they brought in elements into this alien society without thinking too far down the line (the gardens), I find it ironic that such a seemingly small detailed led to such chaos.

Second, I would like to briefly mention the questioning of faith. As I mentioned in my response to Tim’s post for some reason some religions especially Christianity, Judaism and Islam (Buddhism doesn’t have this affect on me) very easily call up a negative response in me…they just rub me the wrong way. The fact that hopeless devotion seems to have let Emilio and his friends to this end (he even says he was blinded by his love for God and he trusted God so much he let his guard down…he uses the metaphor of nakedness) is “amusing” to me, in a sad ironic kind of way. I don’t find pleasure from their end (as I said I liked these characters) but I find blind devotion scary just for that reason, people become narrow minded and seem to miss so much and just focus on pleasing God. I like what Anne said at one point…I live a good life for myself not because I fear or want to please God. I find that better motivation for good values and actions rather than some belief in an all powerful being directing me in my life. And I also agree with the point she raises…people always make excuses for God, at some point people stop questioning: “It must be God’s will.” And I found it scary that in the end the Father General said that Emilio was closer to God after this experience, the only thing I can do is groan in frustration. Bad things happen in life, and some don’t have a reason or an explanation, the same for good things…and people always try to attribute it to luck or fate or destiny or God…things happen and pitting your life on some unseen force to me seems like a life that can easily be wasted. One shouldn’t try to justify death or suffering as some supreme beings will, it is a part of life, and something everyone needs to learn to cope with. I don’t mean to come across as negative, I am not sure in my views of life, I am 20 years old, there is no way I can be, and I know that there are things that are bigger than me and that I can never grasp or understand, because I am human, but I REALLY can’t understand blind devotion to some “GOD.”

The Sparrow: Terribly close to home

Hello everyone:

I just wanted to start my post in a fairly unique way: all of the Ohioan locations in this book are within 20 minutes of my house. I have been up around John Carrol, and the Jesuits there are friendly, and not even exclusively Jesuit for that matter - I know Lutherans and Methodists who work there and fit right in. That said, I feel like fact checking a secretive trip on an asteroid probably wouldn't go down at John Carrol, at least not very easily. East Cleveland is not in fact a very nice place at all; that hasn't changed from the writing of this book 12 years ago. Cleveland Heights does have an odd array of brightly colored young people that array themselves in coffee shops (by color it seems sometimes) and then take root there for 4-6 hours. That said, I know a bunch of people from there: many of them are great cooks, a fair amount are doctors, and a few even own a piano. I just needed to get my personal connection to the book out there, because it was odd reading a Science Fiction book partially set in locations right near my house; it made me connect with this book in a different way than I usually connect with any book. How many supposed trips to visit alien life have originated in YOUR part of town?

I also want to build upon what Jen said about Jesuits - having been accepted into Fordham, I went to visit that school and was amazed at the odd dichotomy of most professors and administrative staff being priests but only as a slight spice to their personality, rather than an upfront article of clothing (of course, names like Father Reinert were a give away). They were in fact able to mingle about the crowds of prospective students

All of that said, there was a point in the book that really bothered me a whole hell of a lot, much more than most books ever have (and probably ever will). On page 285, Sandoz bitterly poses to Behr that "Have you ever wondered about Cain, Ed? He made his sacrifice in good faith. Why did God refuse it?" This line haunted me for the rest of the book; I was bothered by many of the subsequent (all-too-human) atrocities that occurred, be it the murder of the children, or the forcing of Sandoz into sexual slavery, or the violence that was stirred up between the Runa and the Jana'ata because of the gardens. It was that one line that bothered me throughout, and bothers me still. The story of Cain and Abel centers around Cain's offering of the average fruits of his labor being held in lower regard by God than Abel's offering of the prime of his flock - this angers Cain, and he murders Abel out in the fields. In the context of the story itself, I detect at least two implied meanings: in the specific conversation, I believe Sandoz is referring to his willingness to be celibate and not fall more deeply in love with Sophia, and then is subsequently raped by the Jana'ata repeatedly. More generally, the sad reference here seems to be referring to Sandoz's entire life, spent doing the right thing in a veritable sea of bad things (based on his upbringing and later improvement of the part of Puerto Rico he comes from), only to have this all be apparently seemingly rejected by God. Now, a slew of images assaults me - this sentiment reminds me of every zombie movie I have ever seen, when one IDIOT in the party of survivors lets their guard down for a moment and as a result dooms several/all of the others to death: the viewer can see it coming, and it is infuriating (at least to me). Or, perhaps to reference the book itself again, the utter frustration that Sandoz experiences in the dichotomy of the starving children in Africa and then the empty-headed, self-centered and essentially inconsequential people in the coffee shops in Cleveland Heights (but you could substitute any rich suburb or urban area here) - I will end my comment alluding to a quote from the book (the page now forgotten): the effects of trying to do good and then having it not be enough and/or being surrounded by those who do not try the same is like vomiting poison. This story tires me out, almost makes me want to shake my fists in despair... but for some reason I do not.

I am looking forward to two things: tomorrow's discussion, and then reading the sequel to this wonderful, yet haunting, novel



-Mike

The Sparrow

Having read Jen's post I am very interested for our discussion tomorrow to see if other people had the same reaction to the book as she did. The reason I am so interested is because the book had very little impact on me.

Now before you all think I'm some sort of evil monster please remember that it is just a book, not the real thing.

I see how most people could be affected by the events that occurred in the book. However, the one thing that would make most people be even more astonished at the events is the one thing that serves to detach me even more.

Most of you, I assume, will feel that since the work was being done in order to "help" all of the alien bodies that it is even more offensive that Santos was abused in this way. I believe that in many ways missionaries do bring this sort of thing on themselves. I feel that it is abusive to try to force your beliefs on another society like the Jesuits did in the book. Now this by no way justifies what was done but it does lead to motive. This is not some new thing. Missionaries throughout history have had horrible things done to them because if you go to a society and begin saying that everything they have ever believed is wrong and you start trying to make them change, they are likely to respond negatively.

The fact that this occurred with an alien population reinforces the point even more. Not only was it someone with a different set of beliefs that was trying to change their way of life, it was a completely alien creature that had no way to properly understand each other.

To me the most touching part of the narrative is when he actually began to question his beliefs. I know most people would think that is a tragedy that he lost his faith. I think that questioning is the best thing he could possibly have done. It is horrible that he had to undergo those experiences to cause him to question but it is good that he stopped to seriously consider what it is he believed.

I know most of you are probably going to give me looks of sheer horror when I see you all tomorrow but I'm just fine with that.