Monday, September 28, 2009
Red Tent p.147-232 Response #3
Throughout The Red Tent Anita Diamant takes creative license with her retelling of the Biblical stories. She takes the Bible stories and then adds what is referred to as "midrash" -- the ancient literary form meaning "search" or "investigation." Diamant does not claim that her story is accurate, but instead admits that through her use of midrash, she is attempting to give the reader the story about what happened before and what happened after what is recorded in the Bible through fiction. We see Diamant's fictional embellishments especially when explaining Joseph's tunic and Jacob's name change. How does the author's reinterpretation of these two events impact The Red Tent and its main storyline? Do you think Diamant makes a good decision? Explain why or why not?
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16 comments:
Kyle Vaccaro Period 1 american lit
When all the wifes and sons of jacob go to vistit the grandmother,
the wifes sow Joseph a red and yellow tunic for the special occison. The other sons dislike it and think its silly but joseph likes it and wears it.
When Simon and Levi kill the men in schechem, Jacob changes his name to Irseal so people will not think the killing when they see jacob.
I think these changes are a good idea, because people who read the book are not hard core bilbist and the athor fills in the gaps the bible leaves and makes it more interesting and believbile.
Diamant's reinterpretation of the changing of Jacob's name, while it does not significantly affect the plot, definitely affects the lens through which we view Jacob's character. In the Bible, Jacob's name is changed as a result of god's wishes for him. Jacob faces god, and at the end of the confrontation, God changes Jacob's name as a BLESSING. In the Red Tent, while the name change is still a blessing of sorts for Jacob, it comes about much differently. After the sons of Jacob have attacked the people of Shechem, and after Dinah has cursed them, Jacob wishes to start over. "...Jacob cowered and took a new name, Isra'El, so that the people would not remember him as the butcher of Shechem. He fled from the name Jacob, which became another word for "liar"..." In this context the name change is much different. It is not an act of obedience to god, it is not a sign of approval from god. Instead it is a show of cowardliness. This can't be an action condoned by god. One way it does affect the plot, is by making it easier to understand Dinah's perspective, and her refusal to return to Jacob's camp. The way he handles the situation makes him seem much more worthy of her contempt. When she returns from Shechem and confronts him, she can see the guilt and comprehension of what has occurred in his eyes, but he doesn't even apologize- he just denies that he had anything to do with it, and continues to rely on Levi. Looking at it this way, i think that it was a good decision, because it makes the plot line as well as Dinah's feelings a bit more understandable to the reader.
In the Bible, Jacob is said to have given Joseph, his favorite son, a 'coat of many colors'. This makes his older brothers jealous, and they eventually sell Joseph into slavery. In The Red Tent, the tunic is s given to him by his mother, Rachel. His brothers tease him about it, but Joseph wears it anyway and claims to prefer it to the dull stuff then the men had to wear. While this doesn't seem to affect the plot significantly in any way( Joseph is still sold into slavery by his brothers), it helps characterize Joseph more. It makes him seem like a good son, enduring his brothers taunts just to please his mother. It definitely makes sense to characterize him this way for two reasons. First, because he is Dinah's main friend up until this point, and this way they are still kind of going through this next experience(going to meet Rebekah) together( the next sentence describes Dinah getting her first pieces of jewelry); and second, it makes it that much more shocking to see how much Joseph's changed when we encounter him later on in the book. It also still serves its purpose in the bible and sets him apart from his brothers- though maybe not as much as it does in the bible. He is teased about it, and ostracized a little, but at the same time, it isn't a huge deal- at least as far as we can tell from Dinah's perspective. Lastly, it helps characterize Rachel, and just shows how much she still cares for her only son.
-preeti :]
Sean Brady Period 1 American Lit.
Anita Diamant, author of The Red Tent, impacts the mood of the storyline greatly when she changes both Joseph's tunic and the story behind the change in Jacob's name. When Diamant Joseph's tunic dipped in goat blood, which is in the bible, to a specialed made red and yellow tunic, she changed the "serious male bonding" mood into a "look at my pretty tunic that my mom made" mood. Diament also changed the reason why Jacob changed his name. In the bible, Jacob changed his name because he was acknowledged as a good person by God so God said " I am changing your name to Isreal!", but in The Red Tent, Anita wrote that ashamed of the bad thing he did, and he did not want to be known for it anymore. Some readers think that the changes are but more logical, but i actually think the changes make the storyline less logical because there is a chain reaction in the change of certain events until the story is not the same story as it was in the begginning.
Tim Benson
In The Red Tent the author Anita Diamant takes the little known life of Jacob's daughter Dinah and embellishes it and makes it believable and interesting.
Joseph gets a colorful tunic from his mother rachel when all of Jacob's family is making their journey to visit Rebekkah. His brothers think it is a little wacky but joseph is proud to wear it. When he wears it he is pleasing his mother and his aunts which makes him very happy and self satisfied. This embellishment by Diamant shows jacob to be very self confident, and to be the most mature of his brothers. Later on when Simon and Levi kill all of the men of Sechem joseph's maturity is embellished and exemplified even more. Adding this was a good decision by Diamant because it helps grately to personify the characters
The other example of "midrash" or Diamant's embellishment is when Jacob changes his name to Isra'El following his name and reputation being completely ruined. After Simon and Levi murder all the men in schechm Dinah completely berates her father for raising such immature, heartless sons. She says, "Their blood stains your hand and your head, and you will never be clean again." Jacob could not take the guilt so being a coward he changed his name. Diamant continues to embelish the situation by saying, "He fled from the name Jacob, which became another word for 'liar' so that 'you serve the god of jacob' was one of the worst insults one man could hurl at another in that land for many generations." In my opinion this "midrash" is needed to show the shame that jacob felt for the actions of his wayward suns.
Juliana Batista Period 1 Lit Studies
In the previous pages we read in "The Red Tent" Anita Diamant's fictional embellishments can be viewed as a pro or a con for the storyline, while I personally believe the additions to the plot fill in the gaps and make the chapters flow, engaging the reader.
You could take the perspective of reading the novel from a historical viewpoint. What reprecussions are going to result from the simple changes in the plot to say, change mood, scenery or envelop the reader in the moment? Will something like this cause the events to spiral into a transformed storyline? The future pages hold the answer, but I think that since they were minor alterations, the fictional tibits make the plot flow better. Agreeing with some of my peers, Josephs loving nature is starkly contrasted to Simon and Levi creating somewhat of a foil because he wears the red and yellow tunic out of compassion for his mother and recognition of her work. In the Bible, where Joseph was given the "Technicolor Coat" by his father, I am not exactly sure if it fits into the perspective of the plot. Since the reader is coming from a woman's world (Dinah) she doesn't recognize the male interactions and it would of been difficult for the author to intertwine the basic ideas. Diamant probably wouldn't of been able to accurately show the jealousy and tensions between the brothers. While adding Rachel into act, the brothers can bicker and ridicule about it and allow it to be shown through Dinah's eyes.
The way Diamant changed the original Biblical change of Jacob's name to the way it is described in the plot works perfectly. Considering the guilt that is laid upon him and the savage murder Simon and Levi committed prior, it only makes sense for Jacob to leave his name for Isra'El so, "people would not remember him as the butcher of Shechem. (208)" If God had rewarded Jacob, the reader would feel a plot disconnect, not understanding how the two events come together.
Seeming that the storyline embellishments actually add to the plot and so far make things fit together, GREAT! I compliment Diamant for her creative and ingenuitive thinking, and at times I forgot I was reading a Biblical based story. It fills in the gaps and engages the reader to explain the path the story has molded to. Just when authors take that creative liscense, they have to be extremely careful to not risk a plot mishap or major historical contradictions for ENTERTAINMENT.
Sarah Gittins-
As stated by the comments before me, the author of the Red Tent, Anita Diamant has changed the reasons behind certian famous bible stories. I think that the characters have been established, and so Diamant must now use the characteristics that she put into place, which is the main reasons for the tunic story's change. Throughout the book, we never really see that Joseph is Jacob's favorite son. That relationship is just never established, and so, in this interpretation of the bible story, Rachel is more likely to make a mult-colored coat.
As for the "Isra'El" change, this was a wonderful plot change. Granted, it does not stick to the plot line of the Bible at all, but through the curse upon Jacob, the abandonment of the family and the death of many of the characters, the plot line is now made free and open for what ever Diamant wants to do with it. There are no restrictions on this story now, no one to say "That doesn't follow the plot". Also, when in church the other day, I heard the priest say that many of the stories in the Bible might not have actually happened, or if they did, maybe not EXACTLY like that. So who's to say that this huge change in the plot may not have actually happened, and the curse and murders were the real reason that Isra'El became Jacob's new name.
Holly Bisset
Diamant's midrash pertaining to Joseph's tunic didn't really affect the plot of the story. To be perfectly honest I forgot it was even part of the story until I read the prompt for this assignment. However by wearing the tunic despite his brothers making fun of its colours helps indirectly characterize both Rachel, Joseph's mother, and Joseph himself.
Wearing the tunic makes it apparent that Joseph cares about his mothers feelings on a deeper level than his brothers. The tunic also shows how Joseph's mothers favor him over his brothers, probably because he is so kind hearted.
IMPORTANT EXAMPLE OF CREATIVE LICENSE: In the Bible Jacob gives Joseph the coat. Diamant switches it up and has his mothers give it to him.
Jacob changes his name to Israel in the story because his sons butcher an entire city. By changing his name, when he moves away from Shechem he won't need to introduce himself as "Jacob, father of murderers." I'd probably want to avoid any association with a mass murder too.
I think that if Diamant had kept the plot line based around Dinah's life had she not gone to Egypt and had stayed with her family, then the whole brothers killing lots and lots of people thing may have had a different impact. However she was lucky enough to hitch a ride with Re-nefer so now all we know is that Dinah had to start a new life in a new city.
Diamant definitely made a good decision by letting Dinah escape. If Dinah had been stuck with her family then I imagine a shortened version of the ending would be something like: cry cry, die die. THE END. Not exactly a very interesting ending. Also, she probably wouldn't sell a lot of books off of that.
Danielle Barney-
Diamant's reinterpretation of Jacob's name change and Josephs tunic adds a certain realistic element to the novel. By referencing the bible, with these two events Diamant makes readers feel as if the novel is true and not a fictional story. To some people the bible is considered 100 percent truthful, so by adding stories from the bible into a novel it projects a more accurate take on Dinah's life. I believe Diamant makes a good decision because she now makes readers feel more involved in Dinah's life, by displaying factual evidence from the bible, which shows that some of the characters were actually real.
anita diamant does an amazing job of retelling one of the oldest stories ever written in a new light. however, to accomplish this, diamant must embellish and add to the basic storyline. this is known as "midrash." she impacts the story greatly when changing the reasons for joseph's tunic and jacob's name change- however i do not think it was a negative change, as it added an interesting point of view to the novel. when jacob is cast out of dinah's favor for organizing a brutal murder, he is so ashamed of what he has done that he changes his name to israel so no one will know it was him who murdered the prince. i think that is a much more interesting way to have come about the name than just having god tell you that you had a new name. also, when joseph is given the tunic by his mother, this is a moment of love on his mother's part, because she crafted the clothing with such care so that it would be the most beautiful one in the family, and possibly throughout canaan. this is much more endearing than the original bible explanation and you can connect to it easily. for all these reasons, i believe diamant's "midrash" in the novel makes it more compelling and believable.
Ryan Reynolds-
By using midrash to alter some stories from the bible, Anita is creating several more sub plots. As Preeti, Kyle, Sarah, and others said, Jacob is given a name change more out of shame, as in the bible he is granted a name change because he does a good job serving God. Also, as stated before by many others, Josephs multi-colered tunic is given to him by his mother instead of Jacob as it is told in the bible. By Anita making these changes to the bible and incorporating them into her own story, it uncovers a whole new meaning. I think Anita made a good choice, after Simon and Levi killed the men in Schechem, Jacob's name is changed to Isra'EL so he worships the God of Jacob which is another name for liar. Instead of using the exact story from the bible, Anita can now create a whole new story based off her own change, so her book is not copied from the bible. Same with Joseph's tunic, instead of copying the story from the bible, she midrashed the story so after she can expand on it since she does not have to follow the way the bible told the story.
I really like the way Diamant changed the story around, although it is completely different than what I heard. In the story i was told, Joseph was given a tecnicolor dreamcoat from his father, showing who is favorite son was. It had A LOT more than two colors. In this book the wives sow Joseph a red and yellow tunic for a special occasion (visiting the grandmother, Rebecca) Also in the book the other sons dislike the tunic, but Joseph wears it anyways. In the story I heard, they were all jealous of Joseph and he was proud to wear his "coat of many colors." Later they ended up selling Joseph off to slavery.
After Simon and Levi murder all of the men in Shechem, Jacob changes his name to Isra'El so that people would not remember him as the butcher of Shechem. His name, Jacob became another word for "liar," so that "You serve the god of Jacob," was one of the worst insults. From what I've heard this is very different from the bible because his name changing was actually a blessing. I actually do like the way she changed it because she made it more believable and realistic. I am also glad Dinah didn't give up because of her husbands death. Re-nefer is becoming a new mother figure for Dinah and is helping her though the worst times. Without Re-nefer I think the story would have been cut much shorter.
~Juliana Fiore
Ashley Mooers-
In The Red Tent, Anita Diamant embellishes the life of Jacob and his family to make the story of the Bible more interesting and to keep the reader hooked. When Jacob's gets the news that Rebecca wants to see them, Rachel makes Joseph a red and yellow tunic. It is fancier than what his brothers have, and he gets teased for it. Joseph doesnt care, and said that he'd rather wear the colorful tunic than the old plain ones. This shows that Joseph is self confident and doesnt need comments from others to make him feel good about himself. When Jacob's sons, Simon and Levi, kill the men of Schechem, he does not want to live with the insult his name becomes, so he he changes it Isreal. He was being cowardly when he did this because plenty of other men have killed others, but they lived with the burden they had, but by changing his name, Jacob is pretty much hiding from the shame his sons have made of him. I dont think these changes are good because when people read The Red Tent, they should know what really happened.
Michael Ficenec-
In biblical stories, Jacob gives Joseph a tunic of many colors, which his brothers are jealous of. In Diamant's story, his tunic is dyed red an yellow by his mother, and Jacob is teased for the tunic. This changes the story by shifting the focus from the relationship between men to focus on Rachel and her relationship with Joseph. It also seems to show a relationship similar to that of Rebecca and Jacob. By Rachel giving Joseph a tunic instead of his father, and by Jacob enduring the taunts made to him by his brothers, it shows a stronger bond developing between mother and son as opposed to father and son. The change to the overall plot is not very different, but it does shift the focus or the story and helps seperate him from his other brothers, since he is favored by his mother, just like Dinah. In the bible, Jacob changes his name to Isreal after he wrestles with god and god tells him to change it. In Diamant's version, he changes his name out of shame and so that no one will recognize his name after his sons killed all the men of Sachem. On page 208 Dinah thinks,"Nor would I have been mollified when JAcob cowered and took a new name, Isra'El." This name change was not one of god, but a lowlier action based on shame and murder. These actions also give reasons for Dinah to run from her family, as her family is no longer blessed and experiances horrific deaths and misfortune, like Jacob's animals leaving him, and the death of his wives. Similar to the change made to Joseph's tunic, this does not greatly alter the events of the story, but alters the mood and quality of Jacob's house, as he is no longer blessed and must run from his own name. I think Diamant made a good decision by changing these events, because it detaches the reader from Jacob and any of his positive, so when Dinah leaves there is no regret. The change with Joseph tunic also takes the focus away from Jacob, so the reader focuses more on Dinah and the relationships of women than those of men.
Hey Response #3 Group --
Okay some reminders: you definitely need textual evidence to support your opinion and you need to summarize a lot less. Keep that in mind for next time.
Some really interesting ideas here: the idea of a new lens and thus a better understanding of Dinah's perspective, and then later someone else looked at the new idea we get of Joseph, and the twist on historical perspectives... nice work!
Things to think about: why is it important that it is no longer (as Sean perfectly puts it) "male bonding" but instead "look at my pretty tunic that my mom made"? Or, does it really not make a difference as this is fiction?
Jeremy Adams-
In the Red Tent by Anita Diamant, there is a great deal of midrash used. This is done so that the reader can get a feeling of what happened before and after the bible. It also helps to understand what the role of women in biblical times was and what their lives were like.
One example of this is when Jacob changes his name. In the bible, he does it because God told him to. In The Red Tent, he changes his name to Israel because he does not want to be associated with his homocidal sons, Simon and Levi. He does not want people think of him as the father of murderers.
Joeseph was given a multicolored tunic from his mother, Rachel. It was the cause of much ridicule from his brothers. Despite this, Joeseph claims that he loves it and swore that he "preferred the garment his mother had made for him over the dull stuff that men were given to wear." It can be inferred that Joeseph had a very close relationship with his mother, and he was Jacob's favorite son.
These changes that the author made are for the better. She not only expands upon the stories of the bible, but she takes away the religious aspects of them. That is why it was not God who wanted him to change his name. Diamant focused mostly on the other parts of the family so that it would not be repedative of the bible. Anything not in the bible was written about in The Red Tent.
Richard Thompson
In the Bible, Jacob's name change and Joseph's multicolored tunic are significant events that "define" the characters of Jacob and Joseph. However, Diamant's change in both events seems to make each one a little more realistic than its biblical counterpart. Joseph's multicolored tunic, in both the Bible and The Red Tent, sets him apart from his brothers as the younger and favored son. The Bible states that Jacob gave Joseph the tunic, and his brothers' jealousy presses them into selling him into slavery. In The Red Tent, Diamant writes that Rachel gives Joseph the tunic, which she wove herself. He is still set apart by his brothers, but it is their persecution and not their jealousy that causes them to scorn him. He is still sold into slavery in The Red Tent, but the tunic is not one of the main reasons why. The changes made to this event help the reader to understand it and relate it to events today (to some extent). It makes much more sense to the modern reader for Joseph's mother to give him the tunic, and for his brothers to make fun of him but not completely shut him out. Overall, the change in the story of Joseph's tunic does not impact the storyline of The Red Tent, and Diamant's decision here was a good one, as the modern reader is her targeted audience.
Diamant also changes the circumstances of Jacob's name change in The Red Tent. In the Bible, God asks Jacob to change his name in his honor, hence Jacob's status as a servant of God amongst the Chatholics (and yes, I am a Catholic). But in The Red Tent, Jacob changes his name for a completely different reason. After his sons killed the men of Shachem, Dinah curses him and his sons, as she can see the guilt of his crime written all over his face. He flees their valley home, and changes his name to Isra'El. This name, for me, held some significance. For one, the followers of God in the Bible came to be known as the Israelites, and lived in the land of Israel. Also, Diamant calls the god of Jacob "El", and the "El" part of Jacob's new name seems to point out a relationship between Jacob and his god, whether it be good or bad. Diamant's decision to change the circumstances of Jacob's name change was definitely a good one. As Preeti said, this new sequence of the event allows the reader to understand where Dinah is coming from in her scorn and hatred of Jacob. It also makes the storyline more realistic, as the changes to Joseph's tunic did. Jacob's cowardliness and the way that he shrinks from his responsibility and the consequences of his actions make him seem much more human to the reader. The change in this event has a huge impact on the storyline of The Red Tent, as it causes the reader to see the wise and pious Jacob as a kind of cowardly villian or protaganist in the story.
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