Gilead

Samuel was Israel’s spiritual advisor a prophet sent by God. There was no king over Israel at the time of Samuel (the priest). The Israelites wanted to be like the other nations with a ruler to govern, guide them, to protect and fight their battles. Samuel sons was not worthy to rule the Israelites, they were drunkards, dishonest, and a no nonsense type of judgement. (“1 Samuel 8:5 5 and said unto him, behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like…

When reading the Old Testament, particular attention must be paid to the context. Amos was a sheepherder and did not belong to a family of prophets, according to the book of his name. Yet, God called him to speak to Israel. He was one of the twelve Minor Prophets, active during the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel in the 8th century BCE. Therefore, an exegesis is important in order to distinguish what a particular passage meant to the people at the time it was first heard. Amos is the thirtieth…

Toni Morrison 's The Bluest Eye and Margaret Atwood 's The Handmaid 's Tale are novels that include many instances of violence in order to demonstrate how brutality informed the ideas and lives of their characters. The Bluest Eye introduces the character of Pecola Breedlove, a young girl whose life has been characterized by habitual exposure to violence. Pecola develops and maintains the idea that she is unworthy of better circumstances and the frequency of violence throughout her life foster…

The city of Iowa City has become legendary for their creative writing and literary works. The University of Iowa has contributed to this legacy and made it world renowned; their unrivaled approach to language, writing and literature has solidified it 's spot at the top among schools. Iowa City has always placed an emphasis on creative writing and literature. In fact, writinguniversity.org has gone so far as to say that, "For 80 years, Iowa City has been teaching the world to write." It is true,…

‘Big pharma’ refers to global pharmaceutical and biomedicine companies that lobby governments, media and other entities to expand their influence. In spite of being responsible for the modern innovations in medical devices and drugs, progress for research and development for new drugs or treatments is painstakingly slow. Like software updates or patches, the development for treatment has seen incremental therapeutics, such as small changes to existing formulations but rarely does the public see…

In this essay I am going to be discussing who killed King Ahab. Some important questions that arise in relation to this narrative are the questions of, who deceives whom? How is the character of the prophet complicated and the nature of the prophecies complicated by this narrative? And how is the character of God complicated by this narrative? These are the questions that I will be trying to clarify in this essay. Noted in 1 Kings 22, the historian tells us that ‘For three years Aram and Israel…

her smile. Atwood also presents the notion of a perhaps more commanded version of patriarchal power in her novel, predominantly through the Commanders; the masters of the house and through the theocratic dictatorship of the regime of the Republic of Gilead. The epiphany experienced by Offred “and of course she is, the new one, and…

“But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only that one word… nevermore.” (55,60) In the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, the speaker is mourning the loss of his dearly beloved wife Lenore whom he adored. “Sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore… rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore” (94,95). He is solemnly sitting in his dreary chambers overcome with loss, when a raven appears, flies into his chambers, and lands above his chamber door. He begins to ask the…

When power is abused, society crumbles. This is demonstrated through the two different texts between the futuristic, dystopian, totalitarian society portrayed in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and the seventeenth century Elizabethan era monarchy of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Firstly, throughout both of these respective texts, power is established through the rankings, government, and social structure of society. Additionally, the fierce power of women’s sexuality is clearly evident…

Happiness Nevermore The crushing weight of painful memories imprisons the soul with endless sorrow and despair. In the narrative poem, “The Raven,” written by Edgar Allan Poe, the raven is symbolic. During the night, while the narrator is reading in an attempt to forget his sorrow for the loss of his love, Lenore, a strange, black raven flies through his window and perches above his bedroom door. The narrator proceeds to ask the raven several questions and the raven surprisingly answers each…