Paul Li, Period 7, 12/22/22

 Literacy and Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.
Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that
learning influences your critical perception.
How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

The book of Job turned out to be a heavy experience when I was both reading through the
book and analyzing it’s themes as Job himself. The phrasing in the book of Job was radically
different from words we speak today, making it hard to understand some of the lines. On top of
that, the story was written in the form of a poem. What hooked my interest to pushing through
reading the entire book was the philosophical questions on the concept of suffering and how
somethings are beyond human comprehension.

It describes the story of a faithful man named Job who initially prospered. He has a large
family, property, and lands and was always virtuous. So much so that God remarked about Job’s
good nature; however Satan objected to God's assessment claiming that the only reason why Job
is virtuous was because of his high standard of living and that if Job were to have that taken
away from him, he would lose his faith in god. God, wanting to see if Satan was right, had
granted him the permission to take everything that Job treasures including his land, property, and
family with the limitation that Satan cannot kill Job. Throughout the story, we get to see the
decline of a man that once had everything, and is constantly searching for answers to why he was suffering. Initially he was still faithful to God and accepted his situation. As time went on
however, doubt eventually started to take hold of him as his suffering did not stop after
contracting skin sores. His friends Elphiz, Bildad, and Zophar offered him no relief, instead
claiming the reason why Job was suffering was because he must have committed a sin, the reason being that God is all knowing, and must have known all the times Job had sinned. Job rejected their belief and instead questioned why God allowed him to suffer when he was undeserving of such a fate, how to appeal to God’s favor, and why God judges humans if he can just as easily forgive them. Towards the end of the book, God spoke in a private conversation with Job, showing him how little Job knows about the world that God has created. God goes into detail on the world around Job and praised his two beasts the Behemoth and Leviathan. Job admits the limitations of his knowledge and God’s power. At the end, Job was able to return to good health, own twice the property he has, and longevity.

In this class we learned about the ancient Greek practice on the performing arts known as
catharsis. A person would purify their emotional state by watching tragedies, and in a way
reading the book of Job was my way of practicing catharsis. Throughout the story, I always
sympathize with Job on his loss with his family members, property, and health. The questions on
why things happen despite whether or not a person deserves such a fate was explored in the book of Job. After all, the reason Job experienced such misery was because God wanted to test Job’s faith. My belief is that this reflects on the nature of the universe being too vast and unpredictable for humans to comprehend whether or not god exists. Tragic events happen, often without much explanation, and this reflects Job’s point of view on how he had no idea of God and Satan’s conversation. In life we are often placed in Job’s situation where misfortune happens whether or not we feel like we deserved such treatment. It is my belief that one of the lessons that can be taken from the book of Job is that despite these downs, we have no choice but to accept it even if it feels unfair and try to make do with it.