Minority Report Apparently I'm the minority reporter The dissenting opinion. (Thanks Dr. Case)
Sunday, December 6, 2015
As the Crow Flies
This week we heard from the group that read the the Wendell Berry novel Jayber Crow which seemed to be about a man who was trying to find himself. Jayber wasn't satisfied with his life in Port William and decided to leave and become a preacher but then he decided that he didn't want to be a pastor and dropped out. Jayber goes on floating through life in this manner for the rest of his life. I understand Jayber's want to find where he belongs but it seems irresponsible to just up and leave when you feel that you are done in a certain area. I haven't read the book so I don't know if he had anyone relying on him in those towns or anything like that but it seems selfish to leave whenever you feel like it. Somewhere there is probably some context to his choices but to me it seems that he isn't really thinking of anyone other than himself. It seems to me that Jayber doesn't necessarily believe that he HAS to live where he was originally from but his idea of place is simply wherever he happens to find himself at a given time. His sense of place isn't based on where he's from but rather where he is supposed to be. He believes that God is sending him where he needs to be and is telling him what he needs to do. I don't think that Jayber necessarily adheres to the idea that he HAS o live in Port William but rather thinks that he is needed there. I agree with this particular idea, if Center Point turns out to be the best place for me to live I'll happily live there but I don't think you should pigeonhole yourself to only living in a certain place because you happen to be from there.
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I was really curious as to what happened to Jayber's faith after he quit studying to be a pastor. Did he still take that faith seriously? Was he following a call? It is curious that many of the characters in the novels we read ended up in their original place. And then we had the speakers from Flint in class and lunch tell us about their stories. But this does not necessarily mean that we have to follow this plan. It is not realistic. I think the point Wendell Berry is trying to make is that we have a kind of advantage to planting outselves in our original place. We have more connections and have more opportunities because of these connections. But, then again, sometimes original place can be hard to make a difference in because people know you just as people in Nazareth knew Jesus and did not take him seriously. I guess it just depends on the situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ellie. Berry's point is that we have an advantage in staying rooted in our original location, but we can also become rooted and just as influential in other locations. I had the same thought, though - it did seem like Jayber's impulsive decisions to move were a bit selfish, but if God was calling him to different places then we can't really argue with that. At some point I think we need to recognize that we may devise our own plans that seem intelligent and logical, but God may guide us in a completely separate direction and it is our job to follow Him.
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