Job Allusions in Literature

After spending a semester and a half listening to various allusion presentations in my second period AP English Literature class, I’ve become significantly more interested in the origins of allusions and their uses in works of literature. Most all of the allusions interest me (especially the scandalous ones!), but one that strikes my particular fancy tonight is the story of Job. I think the concept of exhaustion is one that many of us seniors with AP classes can relate to lately.

I looked through some old print-outs and more internet sources to refresh myself on the story of Job. The man was incredibly devoted to his Christian religion- he prayed all the time and followed the law of the Bible. As to the rest of his life, he was very rich and had ten children. This was a lot of potential sins being created by his legacy (who knows what sins his sons could commit without his control!?!?), so considering this he often burnt various sacrifices to atone in advance (which to me seems somewhat excessive, but… moving on). So the Christian God notices this Extremely Religious man and asks Satan his opinion, who feels that Job only maintains his devotions because he is so wealthy. To prove this, Satan takes away *everything* from Job and leaves his family in shambles (a witch even kills his children). Job’s faith isn’t shaken- instead he becomes sort of like a Buddha and wanders around naked and bald, like a sad religious hobo. So Satan gives him an STD or something and his wife wants him to die and *still*, his piousness is unshaken. God rewards him by restoring his wealth and health and replaces his massacred children with shiny new sons (which to me seems a little bit horrifying). And then it ends. I understand that patience and faith are virtues, but I just can’t appreciate much of this story now that I have closely examined it. Regardless, I appreciate the potential of Job’s story to enrich works of literature and movies and I definitely enjoy the place that this biblical story has.

Though I can’t find instances where Frankenstein directly alludes to the story of Job, I definitely think that a connection to this biblical story is implied. After all, Shelley and Frankenstein are constantly questioning their creators, and the themes of undeserved suffering, advice, anger towards a creator pervade throughout the entire novel. It makes me think that perhaps Shelley might toy with the idea that the Christian God is malicious. I think she might agree with me that Job’s suffering was pointless. Testing one’s faith for the hell of it to me smacks of burning ants with a magnifying class for the hell of it- both are pointless destruction. Anyway, I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for both direct and indirect allusions to that and other biblical and mythological stories that we’ve learned about this year in our allusion presentation. I can better see now how works of literature connect to essential human emotions and shared experiences by viewing allusions in the context of society and history, and it makes the reading experience that much more interesting.