Forbidden+Fruit

=Forbidden Fruit =

 By Jane R. Who is God? Nobody really knows his true personality and motivation aside from assumptions and analysis. Sure, he created the Earth and all living things, but he also hid knowledge from man and massacred the entire world (except for a few people and animals in an ark). Could God just be a sadistic, power-hungry wizard with way too much magic on his hands? Unlikely, but possible.

The ambiguity of God's personality lies in the limited amount of dialogue he receives from Michael Coogan. The following conversation, although not written in the Bible, uncovers many insights about God. In this conversation that never happened, God looses his cool around Eve, the infamous first woman, whose disobedient actions result in her banishment from Eden.

Aside from the podcast, the following project will also extract support from Genesis and renowned paintings to analyze these characters and reveal the true personalities motivations that the dynamic duo posses. A brief biography of the artists will familiarize the reader with the paintings, and a reflection of the entire process will summarize this wiki project. media type="file" key="Forbidden Fruit.mp3" align="left" width="569" height="42"

Dialogue

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Eve: (matter-of-fact tone with a slight hint of "valley girl") Um... It's actually been O.K. Adam is at work, and I've been cleaning the house and gardening. (trailing on) I read this book called Perfect Petunias, and the trick is to put a little bit of sugar in the water, but I am such a sweet tooth that- ======

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Eve: (a little more wary now) Well... It was difficult at first. I mean, true to your word, the ground was cursed, and Adam had a really hard time. But then he decided to go into advertising... (wistfully) After that, we moved into the suburbs... and here I am. ======

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Eve: (almost valley girl voice) That was rude. (goes off on a rant) He just shows up out of nowhere and interrupts my story about petunias. He didn't even compliment my garden. Whatever, I doubt I'll see him again for another thirty years or so. ======

Webspiration Chart Character Analysis Through God's unjust actions, one can see his determined attitude to achieve his goal despite the consequences. In Genesis, the Pharaoh of Egypt displeases God by unknowingly marrying Abram’s wife, Sarai. God punishes all of Egypt by “afflict[ing] Pharaoh and his household with great plagues” (Gen. 12.17). The redactors use the word “afflict” because it implies much suffering and a sense of cruelty on God’s behalf. This unfair behavior and exploitation of immense power comes up again and again in many biblical stories, demonstrating the theme of power.

The idea that a person can lose oneself to power and transform into a greedy and selfish individual is also portrayed when Jacob’s ten eldest sons become infatuated with their combined dominion and allow jealousy to cloud their judgment; this eventually leads them to sell Joseph, their youngest brother, into slavery. Both God and the group of brothers demonstrate how easily a "good" individual can succumb to the advantages of power: the ability to get what one desires.

Some people demonstrate greater determination to achieve their goals, as shown in //The Creation of Adam//. Michelangelo depicts God descending to Earth and giving Adam life. One can see God's powerful and determined nature through his detailed facial expression which is juxtaposed to Adam's limp and lifeless countenance. Michelangelo paints God's furrowed eyebrows to emphasize his unshakeable will and to suggest a deeply rooted plan in which Adam plays a trivial role. God's ultimate goal, gaining followers, continues throughout all of Genesis, in which he displays his dominance, creates covenants, and saves the lives of "the chosen people." This ties into the theme of loyalty and how some people, or deities in this case, foster a dependence on it in order to feel important and needed in the world.

Eve's curious nature leads her into difficult dilemmas that result in immature decisions. In the famous // Adam and Eve // painting, Titian portrays the cunning serpent's enticing Eve with the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Titian paints her extended body, but more specifically, an outstretched arm to demonstrate Eve's inner battle because she knows she must obey God yet she feels such a dire interest in the "forbidden fruit." In Genesis, the original depiction of Adam and Eve's exile from the Garden of Eden, the redactors utilize the curiosity motif because it provides such an innocent motivation for defying orders.

Since every story must contain a dispute or conflict of some kind, a curious person who does not know the full consequences of his or her actions presents a perfect outlet for God to show his power. Lot's wife also demonstrates this motif when curiosity drives her to glance at the destruction of Sodom; although not motivated by wicked thoughts or defiance, her disobedience and severe punishment solidified God's power. However, Eve's curiosity precipitates less grievous difficulties. When God asks why Eve disregarded His commands, she hastily replies that "the serpent tricked [her] and [she] ate" (Gen. 3.13). The redactors use "tricked" because it hints at immature behavior, in which Eve blames another for her wrongdoings and never takes responsibility for her actions; in addition, the word insinuates a mastermind or culprit behind the situation, meanwhile portraying Eve as completely innocent.

People's tendency to blame others comes up many times in Genesis, and the redactors use this motif to convey the theme of truth and the fact that people tend to hide reality because of fear or pride. Rachel, another person who attempts to obscure her wrongdoings, steals her father's household gods and craftily prevents him from finding them by feigning a period. A social practice at the time, deception was commonly used as an unethical means of getting away with a crime. Although some profited and others suffered the consequences for their lies, forthright honesty and confession proves to be the best and most descent response because it clears one’s conscience and allows one to repent his or her sins. Similarly, in Judah’s life, he owns up to sleeping with Tamar and is forgiven for his wrongdoings; he also gains power over Jacob’s household for his otherwise unblemished life.

Dialogue Analysis The protagonist of the podcast, Eve seems to be an utterly immature and self-centered person, but her innocence and curiosity for lifecounterbalances her personality and makes her a "good" human being. When God visits Eve, he finds that she has not learned anything from her former disobedience and exile; she amuses herself with gardening and a suburban house. Unknowingly frustrating God and prompting him to punish her, Eve focuses only on herself and states that God "'was rude [for showing] up out of nowhere and [interrupting] her story about petunias"' (JaneR). An ironic situation, Eve is offended by God's rudeness when in fact she had not shown the proper respect. In addition, Eve's focus on such a petty topic like "petunias" induces the reader get a sense of Eve's self-indulgent personality, in which she focuses on non-important things that bring her recreation and pleasure instead of focusing on helping Adam and mending her relationship with God.

Later on however, God appears again and brings Eve a gold gown that does not fit her. Disappointed, Eve asks for a next size up and God refuses to aid her under the pretext of a lost receipt. Eve mumbles a dejected "'Oh. I understand" (JaneR). Jane chooses the word "understand" because the reader knows that Eve has fallen for God's ploy, in which she believes in God's excuse and shows no suspicion whatsoever. This evident innocence changes the listener's entire perception of Eve from an egotistical and almost "mean" person to one that does not know any better and believes in God. This one word also solidifies God as the antagonist, who takes advantage of Eve's open personality to achieve his own, unjust fulfillment. Artists Information

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B orn on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Michelangelo di Lodovico Duonarroti Simoni painted, sculpted, and wrote poems during the Italian Renaissance. An extremely passionate man, Michelangelo was highly regarded during his lifetime and even rivaled Leonardo da Vinci, creating some of the most influential works in history. Highly prolific, some of Michelangelo's best known artworks include //David, Pieta, the Last Judgement, the Creation of Adam, Adam and Eve//, and //the Garden of Eden//. Forced to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by Pope Clement VII, Michelangelo worked day and night, feverishly painting so that he could focus on the love of his life: sculpture. After seven years, Michelangelo almost lost his sight and suffered from terrible cramps, but his most well-known and defining paintings were finished; the Sistine Chapel is still standing, and millions of people admire and learn from his masterpieces to this day. =====



Michelangelo : An In-Depth Biography
T iziano Vecellio, also known as Titian, is a famous Venetian artist of the sixteenth century. Known for his use of color and mastery in portraits, mythologies, landscapes, figures, and altarpieces, Titian lived a long life, as apposed to many other painters at the time. During his lifetime, Titian showed significant growth and underwent drastic changes in his style of art. Some of his best known works include // Assumption of the Virgin, Two Satyrs in a Landscape, Death of Saint Peter Martyr, Venus of Urbino, and the Sun Amidst Small Stars .//

Titian : More information about Titian

Reflection An engaging and interesting project, this assignment demanded the use of many different skills including technological know-how, acting and expressing feelings through voice, and patience. The primary obstacle I faced was the audio-cast because it required a lot more effort and practice than I had expected. I realized that if I wanted to use my sister as the voice of God, I would have to pause the recording after every sentence in order to change the tone of her voice without changing mine; this then required the manipulation of each pause length in order to make my podcast sound like a normal conversation. Lastly, I had to rerecord the entire conversation because the background sounds took away from the podcast, and I had not realized how loud my room is due to the traffic outside and my family's ongoing chatter in the living room. Recording proved to be extremely frustrating and time-consuming, but the process taught me to analyze the possible complications that could occur (like my mother knocking on my door), and dealing with them accordingly; I also found the quietest room in my house, where I sometimes do my homework now.

The most enjoyable part of this assignment was organizing the wiki layout and inserting different pictures and altering the fonts; I think that the aesthetic aspect of this page functions as the major strength of my project. The major weakness of my project, on the other hand, lies in the length of each section. Although sentence limits were established, I could not cut down the amount of words I used despite my multiple attempts. Although I utilized many semi-colons, commas, and dependent clauses, I found that this made my paragraphs sound too condensed and "all over the place." I think that if I organize what I want to say in a short outline and cut out the unnecessary details beforehand, my writing will flow smoother. I plan to use this strategy in my next writing assignment.

Citations Adam and Eve //. Lyons Corner House, n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. . // “Apple - Granny Smith.” //Fruits R Us//. Wrensoft, n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. .

“Creating Inspiring Briefs - A Note to Clients.” //AdLiterate: Radical Thinking for the Brand Advice Business//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. .

“Macdonald Gold Gown.” //StyleHive//. N.p., 2010. Web. 16 May 2010. .

“Michelangelo.” //Famous Lives that Shaped World History//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. . // The New Oxford Annotated Bible //. 1962. Ed. Michael D. Coogan. Augmented Third Edition ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. New Revised Standard Version.

“Petunia.” //Flowers - CS//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. .

Ramble, Harry. “Abyss.” //About Harry Ramble//. N.p., 14 Sept. 2009. Web. 16 May 2010. . // St. Louis Design Community Connections //. WordPress, n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. .

“Titian.” //Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History//. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010. Web. 16 May 2010. .

“Titian.” //My Studios//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2010. .