Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar

I remember being in Mrs. Taylor’s English class back in the tenth grade. One of the things we covered in the class was a read through/study of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter”. 

When I was a kid, I was an avid reader. I read far more back then than I do now – I’m ashamed to admit. One thing I’ve never been good at: read more than one book at a time. Today I do read blogs, magazines, and the bible, and have no issue reading all of them at the same time. But I only read one book at a time. I think this falls more so into fiction than nonfiction reading. I can only really grasp one STORY at a time. 

When I started Mrs. Taylor’s class, I asked her if she would give me a week or two notice before we were to start “The Scarlet Letter”, to give me time to finish the current book and hold off on the next one. And that she did. She was a good teacher. 

The issue I found when we got into “The Scarlet Letter”, was something that has since framed how I look at a lot of literature – and that includes such things as the bible. During the class, Mrs. Taylor kept trying to get us to understand what Nathaniel Hawthorne MEANT when he wrote certain passages. The overall book was full of nuanced social and political issues that he apparently was trying to address.

My opinion of “The Scarlet Letter”? Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to make a buck! That’s it. Nothing more. Sure, there were cultural things around him that affected how/what he wrote, but how in the world could we understand what he MEANT? He didn’t leave us a commentary track on the DVD (or whatever).

When I read devotionals and listen to various preachers talk about certain passages, sometimes their idea is to pull out some nugget of information that has never been addressed before, and help you see more of what God MEANT when a passage was written. They take a verse from this book of the bible and connect it to that book of the bible and try to convey something about something.

You know what? The bible is a giant story of the relationship of God to mankind, and mankind to God. That’s pretty much it. Sure there are cool things like prophecies that we see fulfilled (AFTER the fact – nobody caught the meaning of the prophecies WHEN they were given), but most of it is a collection of stories showing how mankind – full of flaws – is loved by a God without any.

Sometimes a story is just a story. Yes, there are lessons to be gained, but sometimes a story is just a story. And that’s okay.

© Emittravel 2014

Secret Messages

I love to read. Daily I try to read a chapter of the bible (currently reading the Darby version - my eleventh translation), blogs and columns, news articles, and a book. Okay, not a whole book, but some part of one. I read both fiction and nonfiction - usually switching back and forth every other book. My point is, I love to read. Sometimes it's via the "eye gate" and sometimes it's via the "ear gate". Either way I love it.

I've been a long-time reader. I'd go to garage sales and comb through the boxes looking for novels to occupy my brain. I remember reading all of the Ian Flemming James Bond novels, and then the John Gardner James Bond novels. When people were reading the Lord of the Rings books, I was reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I read for the pure enjoyment of reading. Today I don't have pains from high school sports injuries, but I do have some nice paper cut scars.

Back in the tenth grade I had the distinct pleasure of taking Mrs. Taylor's English class. Wonderful lady with a passion for books as well. At the beginning of the year she told us what book we would be reading in class. She was kind enough to honor my request to notify me about a week prior to starting the book, so that I could finish the novel I was reading and not start another one (to this day I can't read more than one BOOK at a time - I can read short articles and blogs, but not a full-fledged book). The book? Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter".

Note: my wife remembers reading more than one book in class, but I only remember the one. She's most likely right. She usually is.

Have you ever read "Scarlet Letter"? The Cliff Notes addition doesn't count. I'm talking the book. Tenth grade was a long time ago, but I remember the book. Not all of the details; I probably couldn't tell when the Demi Moore movie "jumped the shark"*, but I do remember it.

I read the book straight through and went on to the next novel. For the class I would reread the chapters we were going over as needed. Mrs. Taylor would painstakingly go through each chapter, urging us to see the nuances of language, and the political and cultural statements Mr. Hawthorne was trying to get across.

This is where I broke with Mrs. Taylor.

Who said that Mr. Hawthorne had all of these concepts in mind when writing this story? Who said that he purposely laced the book with such radical concepts that to come out with them directly would probably have ruined him? What if he was just trying to make a buck? Freud said it best when he said that sometimes a cigar is JUST a cigar. Not every song is laced with back-masked statements about the devil!

Quit looking for secret messages. There is enough of that in the news media (a.k.a. "bias"). Enjoy reading for reading's sake. When is the last time you just read to read? Not a self-help book. Not a political thesis. JUST a good book? Why not take a few moments to peruse a book store and find something that will stimulate the imagination section of your brain. Grab a Nook, a Kindle, or a dead-tree edition and have at it. And after that, go ahead and read something that challenges your intellect.

And if you want to look for the secret messages, you can always read it backwards!

(* Reference to a Happy Days television show episode where one of the characters jumps a shark on skis. You just knew the series was OVER!)

©Emittravel 2012