Non-Western Literature, Paper #2: The Picture of Faith

Our last two works, The Bhagavad Gita and The Guide are both about the nature of faith and enlightenment, and how we can recognize the presence of the divine. In one work, Krishna turns out to be a lowly charioteer, and in the other, a crooked guide suddenly assumes the role of Mahatma for an isolated village. Each work also tries to illustrate what faith looks like, so we can see the “moon” behind the finger and clearly distinguish the two. Though the two works might not completely agree with each other (Narayan is writing a thousand or so years later), they both believe there is indeed a moon to be found if we look carefully enough, even if others deny its existence.

PART ONE: So for your second paper, I want you to find your own illustration of faith. By this, I mean find an image (photo, painting, etc.) that represents something about how you express or illustrate the concept of “faith.” Whether you consider yourself religious or not, we all understand the concept of faith and believe in something, even if only a vague notion of good and evil, or justice, or love. Find an image that represents some aspect of this and describe it in the beginning of your paper: assume we’ve never seen it, so describe it as accurately as possible, while also interpreting for us (explain why it represents your notion of faith).

PART TWO: After you describe your image, I want you to add a significant quotation from any of the works from class (from Writings from Ancient Egypt to The Guide) to caption your image (a few sentences to a paragraph). Imagine this image will be on display with the caption below it, as a way of explaining the image. Choose a passage that you feel can help “illustrate” what you saw in the picture or can help illustrate the words. In the paper, I want you to introduce the work and context of the passage (explain where it comes from), and then analyze the quotation, explaining what you think it means and how it relates to your work of art. Remember, you can choose any quotation you think is useful, but choose something that would help someone see more in the image and about your faith.

ALSO: After you write your paper, e-mail me your image and passage. I will paste all of them into a Powerpoint file and we will share them with the entire class. Don’t worry, this will be very informal; all I want you to do is briefly explain the image and quote when I flip through your slide. This is meant to be an interesting way to share our ideas and take a brief interlude from the normal business of class.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least 2-3 pages, double spaced
• Detailed description and analysis of the work of art
• A pertinent quote from one of the books which is quoted and given appropriate context, and then discussed with the photo/painting
• DUE DATES: Need Picture & Passage by Friday, October 27th; Completed Paper due no later than Friday, November 3rd (the last day of presentations)
• We will present/discuss the images on the week of September 30th in random order, so be ready to discuss it. The paper is worth 15 points, and the presentation is worth 5 points, so skipping or not being prepared will affect your grade.