The Role of a Lifetime
Wednesday, April 13th, 2005 10:22 amIn this world, we all have our troubles. Every single one of us has moments, or months, or years, where we feel we are suffering--must suffer--will continue to suffer more than we can possibly bear. For the biblically literate, the story of Job is the obvious comparison. Poor Job! Calamity after calamity, misery upon misery, all piled on top of this innocent man! He never knew the reason--he was blamed for asking the question--and totally blameless, he endured so much. How could he stand it? He was just like meee!
Who here is familiar with Archibald MacLeish's J.B.: A Play in Verse? It's a modern retelling of the book of Job. Wait, no, that's not quite it: "my J.B. is not a reconstruction of the Book of Job--not, at least, a reconstruction of the kind presently familiar in which the discovery of the model is part of the adventure. My play is put in motion by two broken-down actors who believe, themselves, that the play is the Book of Job and that one of them is acting God and the other, Satan. When J.B. and his family appear however it is not out of the bible that they come."
When we read this play aloud in twelfth-grade English, the teacher wanted each role to be performed by a single person for consistency's sake. So she began to describe each part, great and small, and asked who in the class wanted to read it. When she came to one particular role and began to delineate it, suddenly her eyes grew wide and you could practically see the big light bulb popping on over her head as she turned to me and asked "Do you want to play this part?"
Now, for which role in the story of Job could I have been such an obvious choice?( Extended Quote )
Who here is familiar with Archibald MacLeish's J.B.: A Play in Verse? It's a modern retelling of the book of Job. Wait, no, that's not quite it: "my J.B. is not a reconstruction of the Book of Job--not, at least, a reconstruction of the kind presently familiar in which the discovery of the model is part of the adventure. My play is put in motion by two broken-down actors who believe, themselves, that the play is the Book of Job and that one of them is acting God and the other, Satan. When J.B. and his family appear however it is not out of the bible that they come."
When we read this play aloud in twelfth-grade English, the teacher wanted each role to be performed by a single person for consistency's sake. So she began to describe each part, great and small, and asked who in the class wanted to read it. When she came to one particular role and began to delineate it, suddenly her eyes grew wide and you could practically see the big light bulb popping on over her head as she turned to me and asked "Do you want to play this part?"
Now, for which role in the story of Job could I have been such an obvious choice?( Extended Quote )