Violence+and+Dishonesty-+Equal+and+Oppsite+Sins

​​​ Violence and Dishonesty

Introduction: In Genesis, Jacob cheats his brother, Esau, out of his birthright and later their father's blessing. Understandably, Esau vows to kill Jacob who takes refuge in his father-in-law's house. This dialogue represents a conversation that never happened between Esau and Laban, Jacob's father-in-law, in which Esau convinces Laban to sell him Jacob for a price. By using Webspiration to brainstorm, I analyzed two characters from the bible, identified two traits, and conveyed these traits through a narrative script. I also used direct evidence from the Bible and from my dialogue to find evidence to support these traits. Lastly, I assembled all elements of the project into a comprehensive Wiki page including a Reflection section describing my experiences with the project.

Dialogue Recording: media type="file" key="dialogue recording new 6.mp3" width="240" height="20"

Dialogue Script: Narrator: After years of living deprived of his birthright, Esau develops a simple plan to kill Jacob in order to reclaim both his birthright and his father's blessing. Esau: So you are Laban? The brother to my mother Rebekah. Laban: Yes I am my lord, how may I be of service? Esau: I heard that my treacherous brother Jacob is staying with you, that he is in search of a wife. Laban: Yes he is, he has agreed to work for seven years in exchange for my younger daughter Rachael's hand in marriage. Esau (angry): You will send him to me NOW!!! Laban(mocking): For the right price, anything is possible. Esau: Name your price, any price! Laban: Any price? Very well, I shall require livestock. 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 100 female camels and 10 male camels. And slaves, many slaves. Esau(angry): That's ridiculous, you're trying to steal from me! Laban: You did say "any price", my lord. Esau (distracted): Yes, yes I did, any price. You'll have your slaves... It will cost me dearly, but it is worth it... Laban: So it is agreed then. I will try to send you Jacob as soon as possible. Narrator: After fourteen years of waiting for Laban to send him Jacob, Esau started to grow impatient... (sound effect: fist banging on table) Esau(furious): I thought we had a deal Laban! Where is Jacob? Laban: We did have a deal, and we still do... It has just been slightly... modified. Esau: Modified?! Why you treacherous-arrogant fool-I want my brother! Laban: Oh, you'll have him, but only when I'm finished with him. You see, because of his attraction towards my youngest daughter Rachel, he is //very// easy to exploit. In that respect, you're just like him. Esau: What are you implying??? Don't you dare compare me to that coward! That thief! Laban: And why shouldn't I? Here's what is going to happen. Jacob will stay in my household until I see fit, then, and only then will I give him to you. Esau: You can't do that! I want him NOW! Laban: Have some patience. You'll have him... only //later.// Esau: I cannot allow you to cheat me like this. I thought you were an honest man! Laban: Oh really? What are you going to do about it? Kill me? You wouldn't dare. Honesty achieves nothing in the long run! Esau: Now that you mention it, killing you would suit my needs perfectly. (Sound effect: Sword unsheathed) Narrator: Esau draws his sword and nonchalantly placed it at Laban's throat, the tip drawing blood. Laban (nervous):Y-you wouldn't dare ki-kill me. Esau (with a smile on his face)-Oh really? Why not? Is the mighty Laban all talk? Laban (nervous)-I-I'm an ailing man, I'm defenseless. Esau- It wouldn't be the first time I've killed a traitor like yourself. Narrator: Lanban's loyal servant and bodyguard runs into the tent. Servant(concerned): What is it my lord? I heard shouting! Narrator: Esau, with a wild look in his eyes, lifted his sword from Laban's throat and viciously chopped at the newcomer, killing the servant before he knew what hit him. (Sound Effect: Man dying and hitting the ground with a loud thud) Laban: You fool! You murderous scum! Esau: I've called your bluff Laban, and now it's time for you to die along with your friend. I'm sure that there's a special place in hell for traitors like yourself. Laban (nervous): I could say the same for you.... murderer. But whether you like it or not, you need me. Esau: And why would somebody like me //ever// need a weasel like you. I should kill you where you stand. Jacob: Oh, is that your attitude now? Very high and mighty today aren't you? But we both know you need me. If I die, word of my death will spread quickly. And your brother, Jacob, he's much more clever than you think. If I die, Jacob will go into hiding and you'll never hear from him again. I'm your only hope at finding your brother. Esau: All right... Fine. I need you. I've always needed you. But what more must I pay for you to give me my brother. Laban: There we go, now we can talk business. But, it was unfortunate that you had to kill my... associate over there... Now for some odd reason, I'm less inclined to trust you. Esau: Yes ...yes... I apologize for that. That was unfortunate, call it... collateral damage. (sound effect: both men laughing) Esau: I give you my word, there will be no more violence. It will be strictly business from now on. Laban: And I give you my word as well. Esau (forcefully): But these are //my// terms. I want my brother. Soon. I have already paid you and given you ample time. It is time for you to deliver your end of our little bargain. Laban: Yes, I agree... But family ties bind him to me... I'll have to find a way to trick him into leaving on his own.... Esau: I don't care how you do it. JUST SEND HIM TO ME! Laban (chiding): You know Esau, if you wish to do business with me in the future, you'll need to learn to control that temper of yours. First my servant... what was his name? oh, who cares... and now yelling? Esau: And if you wish to keep living, you'll stop acting so patronizing! But that's beside the point... When will my brother be in my possession? Laban: I can't say... about six years or so...? Esau: SIX MORE YEARS?!?! I can't wait that long Laban: Then there is no reason for me to stay here. I'd best get moving if I want to make it home by sun down. Narrator: Esau pauses while contemplating the situation... Esau: ...I'm sorry, that sounds //great//. Laban: So we are agreed then? Esau: Yes, yes we are. (Sound effect: glasses clinking together as in a toast)

Webspiration Brainstorm



Esau's Character

While Esau may seem only untrusting of his brother Jacob, in reality he harbors a murderous desire for revenge. Early in the Patriarchal story of Jacob, Esau desperately sells his birthright to his brother, Jacob, in exchange for a bowl of lentils and bread. The painting, titled, //Jacob Offers a Dish of Lentils to Esau,// by Gioacchino Asereto demonstrates Esau’s distrust of his younger brother Jacob. In the painting, Esau is seated with a worried look on his face, while Jacob stands above, courting him with a bowl of lentils.

Esau’s concerned facial expression demonstrates his distrust of his brother, as well as his fear of giving up his birthright. While Esau is definitely untrusting of his brother, later in the story, Jacob goes so far as to steal their father, Isaac's, blessing. Esau responds by saying "I will kill my brother Jacob" (Gen. 27.41). The fact that Esau acknowledged that he would be killing his own "brother," demonstrates his blind anger and vengeance.

This intent to commit fratricide also conflicts with the Bible’s cultural value of the importance of the family, which furthers the violent and vengeful characterization of Esau. A direct act of fratricide had not been committed since the story of Cain and Abel, but interestingly, the motif of hatred towards the fraternal brother was only a means to divert the jealously felt in both cases by Cain and Esau.

Laban's Character

At the beginning of his story, Laban appears vulnerable and helpless, as an aging man in his position might, but as the story progresses, the reader can see that he has no problem using deceitful methods to fulfill his ambitions. In the painting //Jacob Reproaching Laban//, by Hendrik Terbrugghen, Laban portrays a false sense of vulnerability. In the image, Laban is seated, and has one hand extended towards Jacob, who towers over Laban while leaning on a staff.

According to the cultural values demonstrated by the Bible, elders are to be held in the highest esteem, yet by sitting down, Laban allows himself to be perceived as the inferior man in his interaction with Jacob. The reader may believe Laban’s lack of adherence to the customs of his time period is out of vulnerability or old age, but as the story progresses, one can see that Laban is not all that he seems. After Jacob works for seven years in exchange for Rachel, Laban deceives Jacob into marrying his less-loved, but eldest daughter Leah, causing Jacob to work for Laban for another seven years.

Even after twenty years of servitude, Laban continues to exploit Jacob, and Jacob demonstrates his frustration by saying, [Laban] has cheated me and changed my wages ten times" (Gen. 31.7). The redactors use the word "ten" as a way of quantifying Laban's deception more powerfully than "many" or "often" would. While this may be an exaggeration of sorts, it establishes a consistent pattern of Laban's deceitfulness and blatantly develops his character as a deceptive and scheming father-in-law.

=== Gioacchino Assereto was an Italian Baroque artist who painted the biblical image, //Jacob Offers a Dish of Lentils//. Gioacchio Assereto apprenticed under Luciano Borzone in Genoa in the early Baroque period. He is credited with painting two small frescos, //David and Ambimelech// and //Santi Giovanni and Pietro healing the lame.// ===

===Hendrick Terbrugghen was a Dutch painter and one of the leading Dutch followers of the master Caravaggio. Hendrick Terbrugghen painted the biblical scene, //Jacob Reproaching Laban//, in 1627. The painting is currently displayed in London's National Gallery. Terbrugghen painted eighteen notable works, many of which represent biblical scenes. ===

Dialogue Analysis
Through his actions in his interaction with Laban, Esau, the flawed protagonist reveals his overbearing desire for vengeance. When Laban informs Esau that Jacobs whereabouts will come at a price, Esau quickly responds by saying: "'Name your price. Any price'" (Kidman 1)! Esau, blinded by his revenge, allowed Laban to take advantage of him by allowing Laban to name any price. Esau even goes so far as to hurriedly agree to Laban's preposterous proposal even though it would, '"cost [him] dearly'" (Kidman 1). The violent and brave Esau even refrained from asserting himself or bartering with Laban, and due to his sole focus on vengeance, he subjects himself to Laban's scheme. In his second meeting with Laban, Esau reveals his rashness. When Laban attempts to cheat Esau again, Esau overreacts and says, '"I'll kill you where you stand'" (Kidman 2). Esau takes this rashness to an extreme when he kills Laban's servant by: "[chopping] viciously at the newcomer, killing the servant before he knew what hit him" (Kidman 2). In this hypothetical conversation, when Esau is faced with a difficult decision, he often chooses to take what is in his mind the easy way out, and tends to resort to violence. These repeated incidents serve to characterize the protagonist as not only vengeful and rash, but also dim-witted.

==== Although I labored over which characters to use in my dialogue, the rest of the project came fairly easily to me. Originally, I wanted to have Simeon and Levi debating whether or not to take revenge for Dinah's rape. But, my draft of this dialogue ended up with too many characters and an overly-complex storyline, so I decided to write about Esau and Laban instead. The Webspiration brainstorm went very smoothly other than some minor misconceptions on how to analyze the artwork. After rereading my script's first draft, I immediately disliked it, as there was no climax and the characters were too similar. The script's fundamental ideas were sound though, so I had little trouble redrafting it into something more exciting and climactic. However, I did encounter difficulty distinguishing my two characters as two distinct people. I found Wikispaces very frustrating to use, and sometimes, I would have to revert to previous drafts to recover my work. Lastly, I encountered problems with my audio file. The editing process consumed quite a bit of time. Also, figuring out how to convert the audio clip to an MP3 file, upload it to itunes, save it to my computer and finally upload the file to Wikispaces took much too long. Overall, I enjoyed this project and found that it challenged my characterization and character analysis skills with a highly creative element. ====

Citations ​ Assereto, Gioacchino. Jaboc Offers a Dish of Lentils to Esau. 1620. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Biblical Art. Web. 19 May 2010. .

Jacob Fighting with an Angel. N.d. Private Collection.

Reconciliation of Jacob and Laban. N.d. Private collection.

Reubens, Sir Peter Paul. The Reconciliation of Jacob and Esau. 1624. National Gallery of Scotland. The National Gallery. Web. 19 May 2010. [media_collection/6/NG%25202397.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/ online_search/4:324/result/0/ 5656&usg=__t9mqT2BYPpfZAEGL_jL0rqjelS0=&h=587&w=540&sz=126&hl=en&start=12&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=grA2cvH9k AzUMM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=124&prev=/ images%3Fq%3Desau%2Band%2Bjacob%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1|http://www.nationalgalleries.org/ media_collection/6/NG%25202397.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/ online_search/4:324/result/0/ 5656&usg=__t9mqT2BYPpfZAEGL_jL0rqjelS0=&h=587&w=540&sz=126&hl=en&start=12&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=grA2cvH9k AzUMM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=124&prev=/ images%3Fq%3Desau%2Band%2Bjacob%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1].

Terbrugghen, Hendrick. //Jacob Reproaching Laban//. 1627. National Gallery, London. //The National////Gallery//. Web. 18 May 2010. []. // The New Oxford Annotated Bible //. Ed. Michael D. Coogan. Aug. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print. New Revised Standard Version.