Discussion Questions for "Genesis" Reading (Thursday 9/25)

* These are the questions we will use in class for discussion. You are not required to provide answers as your homework. But I encourage you to think about these questions as you prepare for class.

Genesis Discussion:    

1.      How was Adam created?

a.       What does the creation of Adam suggest about the relationship between Adam and God?

2.      How was Eve created?

b.      What does the creation of Eve suggest about the relationship between Eve and Adam?

c.       Eve and God?

3.      What kind of creature is the serpent before the fall?

a.       What about after the fall?

b.      What kind of change has taken place?

4.      Why do you think God forbids Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of Knowledge?

5.      How does God punish:

a.       Adam and Eve?

b.      Cain?

c.       Everybody except Noah

d.      What does this suggest about the relationship between humans and God?

6.      After the flood, God promises Noah that he will never again destroy civilization as he has just done and offers the rainbow as a symbol of this promise.

a.       How does this promise complicate the human-God relationship?

b.      The central concept of Christianity is that a messiah figure redeems all of humanity (this will happen much later in the New Testament). How does God’s promise to Noah foreshadow the later arrival of a messiah figure?

7.      The Old Testament often characterizes God as vengeful, striking down humans for the smallest sins. But one might describe God’s creation of the Earth as an act of play and discovery: he creates light “and saw that it was good.” What kind of character is God? Are there other scenes that support/contradict this view?

8.      List all the creations/changes that this story explains.
Why do you think early Christians wanted to explain these things?

Day 2: Little Red Riding Hood

Red Riding Hood

-          Didactic story (intending to teach, usually adding a moral lesson)

1.       Desirable behaviors/values/morals are defined

2.       Character breaks rules (cautionary tale) OR follows the rules in spite of difficulty (exemplary)

3.       The character is rewarded or punished accordingly

Discussion Questions:

1.       What are the rules of these different stories?

2.       Which version of LLRH are cautionary? And which versions are exemplary?

3.       What do you notice about the figure/body of Little Red Riding Hood in each story? What are the commonalities? Differences?

4.       What do you notice about the figure of the wolf? Commonalities? Differences?

5.       What is the function/purpose of the huntsman?

6.       Who is the hero of each story?

7.       What do the different authors/cultures value? (What behaviors are rewarded or punished?)

8.       Why do you think this story persists? Why is it so popular across cultures? Why do we like it?

9.       Can you think of any Chinse didactic tales? What are they? What behaviors/values/morals are taught?

10.   If you were to write your own didactic story, what values/behaviors/morals would you enforce? Would you create a cautionary tale or an exemplary tale?

Assignment:

Read and Respond: The Bible, Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-9

First Day

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

Kurt Vonnegut from "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater."