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(2014
midterm assignment) Sample Student Midterm answers 2014 #1: Long Essay |
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Sarah Robin Roelse
March 1, 2014
Connecting Origin Stories from Utopias
to Morals to Recreation
I’m choosing to write about
origin stories, not because I am not
religious in any way, but because I find it fascinating how, while even from
cultures across the world, they seem to have overlapping content, moral lessons,
and ideas. I find the concept of
creationism to be very straightforward, to be honest – I believe in evolution,
not some higher power; but that doesn’t discount the fact that there are many
people all over the world that do
believe so heavily in these stories; it has genuinely been intriguing to learn
about this semester, and I think that most of the material that we have covered
can be related back to a origin or creation in some way or another, through
intertextuality.
In the most well-known origin story, “The Bible,” we have
God’s creations, Adam and Eve, who succumb to temptation and eat what is
referred to as “forbidden fruit.”
After their consumption and initial sin, their eyes are opened for the first
time and they see the world for what it is, they realize the difference between
good and bad and understand what it is like to be alive – for this, they must be
punished, for it was God’s wish that they never taste the particular fruit.
Generally, humans see this act as the definitive climb of civilization
for mankind, but in a moralistic and religious sense, it was our great downfall.
Many Native American tribes also have their own versions of the creation of
mankind, some of which involve the Earth being formed on the back of a tortoise,
others believing in a more Christian sense that there was a tribe of gods living
above the realm of Earth before coming here to further its existence.
In both instances of these mentioned stories, there is a mention of good
and evil, which happens to present itself in the form of temptation; in the
Native American tales, we see temptation between two siblings’ fight amongst
each other, in The Bible, we see temptation as the serpent presenting a ‘full’
life to God’s creatures. I find it
odd how there is such overlapping moralistic and thematic elements to both
cultures’ origin stories; neither of these groups of people were close to each
other in proximity, yet they have such similar ways of describing their thoughts
on how the world came to be.
One reasonable way to connect the overlap in these origin
stories is to consider the explorers who crossed the sea to new territories that
may have transmitted stories from one culture to the other.
An instance of this could be with the friendly welcoming and associations
that Christopher Columbus created with the Native American people; the fact that
he was a man of Christianity may have bled over into the Native’s origin
stories. These particular origin
stories (Genesis and Native American) can be compared to the letters written by
Christopher Columbus on his transatlantic tour once he reaches, what is now,
South America. Columbus was seen as
some holy figure that could essentially do no wrong in the eyes of his ‘new
found’ civilization; it wasn’t until Columbus started seeking riches that he was
turned on by these people and against his own people, the King of Spain.
In a sense, the catalyst for Columbus’ new friends turning on him was the
fact that he introduced the beautiful “New World” to all of his Spaniard friends
who were only interested in destroying and plundering something amazing and rich
with character.
One of the chief comparisons between the Native American’s
realm of Earth, Columbus’s New World, and The Bible’s Genesis stories are the
way their utopias are described:
Columbus sees the New World as being full with trees, mountainous and
hilly, with rivers in abundance, and great land for planting new life; the
garden of Eden which Eve and Adam inhibit is much similar in the fact that is
contains overflowing beauty, has fertile soil for their every planting whim, and
contains countless creatures; and the Iroquois see their land as bountiful,
ready to be filled with life, and to sustain the life placed there.
The second comparison to make between the Native American origin stories,
Genesis, and Columbus’s letters is the presence of a moralistic good and evil;
in each story there is a battle going on between what is right and what is wrong
– ultimately, the wrong wins, and in a sense it shaped how humankind is today.
As a collective people, we struggle with the dilemma of choosing between
good and bad ideals on a daily basis.
However, while origin stories are usually about the creation
of man, they can also be about the changes that man makes or the beginning of a
new period for mankind.
In regards to The Declaration of Independence, the article which shapes
our country, origin means the way people build from here (1776) to the present,
it is the way in which our founding father’s wanted to create community and
raise life into America. This time
period laid the foundation for our current world, one that is beautiful and
based on making life better (which connects back to the aforementioned creation
stories which talk of beauty and affirmation of life).
Another instance where we see people bettering themselves, perhaps not
even with the notion of creationism in mind, is in the poem by Simon J. Ortiz,
“A New Story,” in which a woman is morally looking to better her community’s
outlook on the Native American Indian culture.
While this can be argued as not fitting into an origin theme, I feel that
because this woman is taking an interest in trying something new, that she
is trying to recreate herself – which
is, in a general way, what origin and creation stories are all about.
In a sense, every day that we live is an origin story,
because it gives us the opportunity to create or be something new.
When we look at texts such as “The Bible,” “A New Story,” various
creation stories from Native American tribes, or even “The Declaration of
Independence,” we see that while origin stories can mean the beginning of a
people as a whole, it can also just mean the rebirth of something that wasn’t
quite whole to start with. I think
that taking a look at origin stories is so important because it manages to
create a connection between so many different cultures that we still find
relevant today; there are many practicing Christians, Muslims, Native American
Animists, and even those of us who think we should return to our doctrine days
of The Declaration; because of these stories and periods in history, we all have
some sort of common ground to stand on, which is where the origin begins –
making humanity a whole.
