Christ Figures: Chapter 14

When reading English literature it is in extreme importance to understand the New and Old Testament even if you are not Christian or religious. Literature is composed from the author’s culture and culture is usually developed through some type of religion. For example the American culture was established and derived many of its traditions through Christianity due to America’s settlement by the English that was also Christian based. Readers may not share the same religious belief but having a basic understanding of the principles in the religion is unavoidable due to the mass implication of Christianity into our modern literary arts. Christianity main figure Christ is often displayed in many pieces of work. The author may not make direct biblical connotations however the author may imply Christ traits by a character being crucified, “thirty years of age,” “known to have spent time in the wilderness,” “employed as a carpenter,” and “self-scarification.” Due to Christ repetition of being a creditable person it allows for the author to build good repetition for their character. Although recognize Christ figures “don’t have to be male,” “don’t have to be Christian,” and “don’t even have to be good.” It is also important to remember that a Christ thing doesn’t need to do all the literal things Christ himself did, like stretching bread and fish to feed five thousand. These literal elements are not required for a Christ figure to be represented in literature it is all about the symbolic implications. Understanding the concepts of Christ figures or any other religious bodies will allow the reader to fully indulge themselves in the text, having a better concept of what the author is trying to imply. Although the reader may not practice or believe the same religion the author is portraying do not allow this to be a barrier between understanding the full meaning of the text.