Jessica Gaul

Mid-term

Hooked by Creation and Utopias

Creation has always been a huge controversy in our society; evolution, monkeys, apes, God, etc. have been argued against for as long as I could remember. I use to think that Charles Darwin was my ‘mortal enemy’ because he taught about evolution and I thought he was an atheist. On the contrary, he was a big believer in God, and explored different theologies about God and creation. Learning about Charles Darwin got me interested in learning more about evolution and creation in general, so when we started reading Genesis, I became extremely excited! I wanted to re-read the story of creation and look deeper into the words that meant so much to me. I have grown up to believe the words of the Bible, and I still do, but reading other variations of the creation story perked my interest. It took me into a new world filled with different perspectives of the same story line. It wasn’t until we discussed creation, that another concept came into play: utopias. Utopias are perfect worlds, or very good places in various communities. The Puritans lived in these utopias and created them to escape the real world; most utopias are created to escape reality. Reading and discussing about creation and utopias opened my mind to new ways of thinking and left me wanting to learn more about these concepts.

Two pieces of literature that discuss creation are Genesis and Creation Story 1. In both stories, there is a God-like figure. For Creation Story 1, it is the Grandfather, and for Genesis, it is God Himself. Creation Story 1 talks about the two brothers, Good Mind and Bad Mind, total opposites, who were born from the Skywoman’s daughter, Tekawerahkwa. In Genesis, the two brothers, Cain and Abel, born from Adam and Eve, are also total opposites. Also there are similarities between Good Mind, Bad Mind, Cain and Abel. One similarity that Good Mind and Abel share is that they are both patient and very kind. Good Mind takes the extra effort to make the Earth beautiful and Abel gives part of the firstlings of his flock out of love to God. Bad Mind and Cain are similar because they were eager to get out of their mother’s womb before their brother and are very arrogant. Cain shows his arrogance by expecting favor from God when he gave more of his offering. When Bad Mind kills his mom, he blames Good Mind, a sign of arrogance. However, the characters and some of the details are different in these two stories.

In Creation Story 1, according to White’s Origin stories website, “Tekawerahkwa's sons were very different; one (Bad Mind) had skin as hard as flint and was argumentative and the other (Good Mind) was soft skinned and patient. Flint [the Bad Mind twin] was impatient to be born and decided to use his sharp flint-like head to cut his way out of his mother's body.”  Throughout the story, Bad Mind blames Good Mind for killing their mother, when it was Bad Mind who was the culprit. Bad Mind was in such a rush to come out of the womb, that he came out through her armpit and killed her. Because Bad Mind blamed Good Mind for his action, Good Mind was banished. Instead of wallowing in self pity though, Good Mind created all the beauty of the earth, like the rivers, the mountains and the animals. Grandfather, who resembles God in this story, saw Bad Mind blame Good Mind for the crime and was the one who taught Good Mind how to survive and create beauty. Bad Mind became jealous and decided to take all of the animals and hide them in a cave. Enraged, Good Mind fought against his brother and won, banishing Bad Mind to a dark cave for all eternity.
         In Genesis, Cain and Abel were born from Eve; Cain first and Abel second. Since Cain was born first, he was expected to receive more than Abel. When both brothers offered sacrifices to the Lord, it was Abel who pleased the Lord the most. Furious, Cain took Abel to the fields and murdered him. Afterwards, the Lord asked Cain where Abel was. Knowing he couldn’t hide his crime anymore, he pleads to the Lord to spare him from his punishment, alienation from the world. The Lord took pity on Cain and placed a mark on him so that no one would kill him.

Both stories have been around for hundreds of years, and yet we still read them. Why? Perhaps it is because of the entertainment value, or is it because we all want to know more about creation and the different perspectives on it?  If it was not for this class, I would never have known how much these stories connected to each other. In both selections there is a God, whether it is an old man or a spirit, and they guide one of the brothers along with their journey. In Creation Story 1, Grandfather helps Good Mind after he was banished by teaching him how to survive on Earth and to make it beautiful. In Genesis, although Cain kills Abel, the Lord still protects Cain from being killed; anyone who would have killed him would be cursed seven fold. Both stories thrive on each other. If Genesis was not created, would there be a Creation Story 1? Perhaps Creation Story 1 was developed after reading Genesis? Both questions are almost impossible to answer because none of us were there when they were written. To me, it seems Creation Story 1 was another variation of Genesis, except it is more like a child’s story, rather than a book.

In Genesis, before sin, the world was perfect. This perfect world is a concept we have been studying in American Literature known as a utopia; utopias are perfect worlds. Genesis has the first two humans, Adam and Eve, living on the earth. For Adam and Eve, everything was perfect because they didn’t know about right or wrong. They were perfectly fine being completely naked and running around naming off different creatures and absorbing the beauty that God had just created. Unfortunately for them, a serpent tempted Eve and Adam to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden and their eyes were opened to good and evil. They realized they were naked and hid from the Lord because they were embarrassed. Their perfect world came tumbling down the minute they ate from that tree.
           In another piece of literature, “Verses Upon the Burning of our House” by Anne Bradstreet, the author also talks about a perfect world. In the poem, her utopia at first was her house. When her house burnt down she was devastated. All her memories and her belongings were gone. Towards the end of the poem however, her utopia changes to Heaven. She realizes that Heaven has everything she could ever want, and that all her treasures were already up there waiting for her. ‘There's wealth enough; I need no more. Farewell, my pelf; farewell, my store. The world no longer let me love; My hope and Treasure lies above.’ (lines 50-54) In her poem, pelf stands for property and store stands for possessions. These beautiful words help the reader know that Heaven is the perfect place

In Anne Bradstreet’s poem and Genesis, the characters are already living in their own utopias. However, it takes a traumatic event for them to realize this. For Adam and Eve, their utopia was ruined when they listened to the serpent. As for Anne, the burning of her house made her realize that Heaven was her true utopia.

          All three pieces of literature connect to each other in different ways, either through creation or through utopias. Some of these pieces were very hard to read, like Anne Bradstreet’s poem, and some parts of the Bible, but that’s what gets me hooked on them! I have to re-read them over and over again to understand what they are saying because I am so confused. However, the confusion turns to understanding and pleasure once I dig deeper into the stories and poems and they start to make sense! I can connect with the literature so much more and their words and language start to paint a beautiful picture in my head. That’s what these three pieces of literature do to me. They use such beautiful and unusual words that are hard to understand at first, but are fascinating to read once they are clear.