In the Comments section below, please post a response of at least one full paragraph (min. 5 sentences). Your assignment is twofold: 1) you are to demonstrate a clear understanding of the text by attempting to summarize the text's argument as precisely as possible, and 2) you are to use your comment to ask the text (or ask your peers) at least one thoughtful question.
Remember: your comment can respond directly to other students' posts on this text. The goal of this forum is to offer an opportunity for intelligent dialogue related to the works we are studying in class. Respectful debate is always welcome.
In Stephen Crane's poem "A Man Said to the Universe" he basically states his belief of the relationship mankind has to a "large cosmic force." This relationship is seen by the interactions of the "Man" with the Universe, where the man is announcing his presence in an attempt to be recognized. This attempt to be recognized was more a need to be known, it was a need to be known and then some. In the Universe's response to the "Man" it recognizes his existence but states that within itself is no need or conviction to do anything about his existence. My question to this poem is, why or how is Crane able to speak for the universe?
ReplyDeleteFolarin Adewale
As Folarin said the man in the poem poses a question at the universe in order to be known. I believe (in answer to your question Folarin) that he is talking to God. In class we talked about how realists don't believe in a God and (like agnostics) thought that if a God existed they could know nothing about them and that he doesn't care about them. Looking at it from this view Crane is then stating to "God" (the universe) that he exists. He is imploring for a response and in his statement asking for the God to acknowledge his presence. But instead the "God" or Universe disregards his existence and shows no care or curiosity whatsoever. Does this mean that Crane was considering a God to be true? Or was he merely trying to support the realist belief that there is no God, and if there is he doesn't care?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question Anna, I believe that Crane believes there is a God. I think he knows that God is real, but He does not care. As Dr. Camacho put it, He's malevolent. The man wants someone to recognize him, but the universe does not care about him. The universe responds with an approach saying, "I know you are there. Why does it matter?" My question is which is better. Is it better to be known and someone not care or unknown?
ReplyDeleteAs an answer to your question Alex, I believe that it is way better to be unknown than to live knowing that nobody cares. If the universe was to just watch all of the human race suffer and cry asking for help and not do anything about it then there would be no hope for anybody in the world. Life would be meaningless and depressing. Crane states in a four line dialogue the summary of the realist's belief. What would be the appeal of such a lifestyle? Why would anybody come up with that belief in the first place?
ReplyDeleteHolly it is hard to see the point of living if there is no one to care for you. However, Crane must have seen some point in life or else he would not of struggled to survive while shipwrecked and lost at sea. Also, people may have come up with this idea in order to answer the question how can life be so bad if God cares so much? For someone with a a hard life it would hard to believe that there was a God who loves and cares about them. Therefore they accept their bad life and give up on God, saying that He does not care for them. The question is, can we blame someone with an extremely hard life for not believeing that God cares for them?
ReplyDeleteDearest Matt, in answer to your question, no we cannot necisarily BLAME them but it is still there responsibility. Job (like from the Bible) was constantly tested by God and tortured by satan, he lost EVERYTHING and he still trusted God and beleived he cared for him the whole way through. I agree with you on the fact that Crane must have seen some point in life or he wouldnt have stayed alive. I think that realists would ask eachother this question but from a christian perspective it seems like its their responsibly to trust God through thr good and the bad. My question is Why is the realist trying to talk for God if he beleives there either is none, or that if there IS one, that he doesnt care? Like what is he proving by doing this?
ReplyDeleteKelly said the above... im not sure what i did wrong with the bloger thing
ReplyDeleteLike Holly pointed out, "The Man Said to the Universe" perfectly summarizes the naturalist view of God. A Naturalist, like crane, recognizes that God exists, but doesn’t recognize all of God's qualities that we, as Christians know to be true, specifically his kindness and love for us. Naturalists acknowledge a God, but not his compassionate, saving power. God is indifferent to a nationalist. This is summed up perfectly in the line "The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation." God exists and acknowledges man, but the existence of man has no effect on the order of the universe. My question is how Crane would respond, as a naturalist, to the events that happened in his life, specifically the time he spent on the raft in the middle of the ocean. How would he explain his survival in the face of death if God didn't care about him?
ReplyDeleteMike Lentz
I'm not really sure that placing the blame on anyone is the relevant issue here. By saying it is someone's "responsibility" to trust God through everything, it kind of diminishes what Christians believe, anyway. By making it a responsibility, the comforting aspect of having a relationship with God begins to sound more like a dictatorship or a job. Sure, it is our responsibility to follow laws of society, but if your best friend slaps you in the face, is it your responsibility to apologize for having your face where they put their hand? Maybe Crane is venting his frustration regarding blind faith; being part of a religion seems be complete dedication for a cause, without fully knowing how legitimate that cause is, until your life is over and your time is gone. In midst of hard times and loneliness, questions about the bigger picture inevitably flood through human's minds. Its hard to believe that someone is looking out for you when you can't seem to catch a break. We all want a spiritual sign of some sort, but they seem to be so rare. Are we just too blind to see what God puts in front of us? Or when we do get signs, are we just overanalyzing and seeing a change in fate as a sign, since we need comfort and it is convenient? It seems as though Crane feels more like an abandoned child, created and then left because his Father didn't care, rather then a human being blessed by God's grace. If God cares so passionately about His creation and has the power to do everything, why can't he give Crane a sign or instill a feeling of worth within him? Through Crane's eyes, God either abandoned him and left him, or still watches him suffer and laughs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelly. I think that people need to realize that life is not always going to be easy. If people are following God, the Bible shows how those people will have tough lives. Paul followed God and was tested while he worked, nothing came easily for him. I think that the poem is about a man speaking to God like Anna said. I think that the man is wondering if God knows who He is, which He does because God created everything. In a different sense, I think the universe's reply is God saying that he did not know the man as a Christian. This is similar to the story where a person gets to heaven and says to God "Don't you know me?" and God basically says "no." The man thinks he is a Christian but he wasn't. My question is, if the man was talking to God, why didn't God know him? Did He not know about the man at all or did He not know him as a Christian?
ReplyDeleteMike, I agree with what you are saying about Craine and naturalists in general and their belief in a God that acknowledges but does not care for us. I also believe what Matt said about Craine seeing a reason to live and acting on it by surviving through that harsh time he went through even though he did not believe God was there for him. I think that would be an answer to your question Mike. Even though Craine did not believe God cared about him, he still saw meaning in his own life and truely believed that he could find away out of his situation purely by himself. That is after all how a naturalist would explain their accomplishments in life since they do not believe they are being protected. I want to know why the man found it necessary to tell the universe that he existed. The man obviously knew the universe was aware of his existence because he asked the universe the question. Is it just the sense of wanting to be acknowledged or even further, wanted?
ReplyDeleteI also agre with the posts above that the poem is talking about a interaction with a man and God. However i feel that he is sharing his views on how humans and God really act despite the Christain belief. I Think he is saying that when men ask out to God (prayer for example) that we are trying to reach out and communicate to something were not even sure about (the universe). And that in reality the response we recieve is "eh so what who cares, i know your there but really why do i care"? If you think about it coming from his personal experiences in the boat, this is a very logical approach that one would take considering they were trapped in a boat for a long time and although they asked for help it seemingly took forever to come. What i want to know is whether he is actually ackowledging the beliefs that there is a god, or acknowledgeing
ReplyDeleteI think that Relish makes a good point in saying that maybe this poem is about Crane's personal experience and how he thinks the relationship between Christians and God are. However, I think it might reflect his own personal view on the matter from a naturalist perspective. If Crane is the man in the poem that yells out " Sir I exist!" then maybe he is longing for God who he knows exists to respond to him and intervene in his own life. However, I think that maybe Crane is writing from personal experience where maybe he's wanted God to respond to him in a certain way and he feels that instead, God hasn't. Crane if he is the man in the story seems to acknowledge that there is a God when he asks the universe if he exists. The universe also seems to acknowledge that the man exists but says it does not feel any "sense of obligation." This basically means that the universe feels that it does not need to intervene in the man's life- what the naturalists believe. However, my question is why would Crane not call God,God in this poem instead of referring to God as the universe?
ReplyDeleteIn "A man said to the Universe" by Stephen Crane it is evident that the man is calling out in desperation to be heard. He wants the universe to know he is there, because being one of 7 billion humans on the planet Earth it is only reasonable that he feels unimportant in the greater scheme of things. Ironically, the response of the universe pretty much confirms the man's feelings of worthlessness. What I found unique about this poem is that it applies to the scenario of any non-Christian. For anyone that is not saved, there is no purpose for them in this world. When they die they are going to hell; but unless they believe in heaven and hell, the only other option is that they will simply die...and their body will rot in the ground. The man's perspective shows that he is seeking to find worth in his life, and so he is calling out to anyone who will listen; only to be disappointed to find he has turned to the wrong power, one who doesn't care. My question is: What does Stephen Crane believe about human worth and our purpose in life?
ReplyDeleteI feel and agree with Rachel that any man who is a non Christian tries to make a name for himself is pointless because whatever he does means nothing in this world. There is no purpose for them here if they do not have or believe in God. If the man in his poem is a non Christian and he's telling the "univers" (God) that he exists, it does not make the "universe" (God)have any more obligation towards that person. As for Lena's question, by Crane not directly saying that the universe is God, it creates a double meaning to the poem. Everyone wants to be known in the universe, but not everyone is. Everyone wants to go somewhere good when they die but not everyone will. Crane makes us think about his work and what he's really trying to say.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I like your point that non Christians do not have a purpose for them in the world. This makes sense, because from a Biblical perspective, our purpose is found in serving Christ, and living for Him. Living for ourselves does not bring happiness, and makes us feel empty. It sounds to me that Crane believes that human life is defined by what makes us "happy" on earth; or in other words, living for ourselves and what we THINK makes us happy, but in the end it doesn't satisfy us. A perspective like Crane's is depressing because we may be "happy" for a short period of time, but the worldly happiness does not sustain us.
ReplyDeleteI looked at this poem from an atheistic point of view and it was strange. If atheists believe that we are just here to live for nothing and die without anything happening after then this poem should not alarm them. They would not be scared of God not caring for they don’t believe in God. I think we as Christians find this scary because we all have our doubts and this poem makes me think "what if he doesn’t care?" I don’t know why He would care but apparently he does. My question is which perspective is Steven Crane writing from? Atheist or Believer?
ReplyDeleteTo answer Peter's question, Crane is writing from a Believer's point of view. Though Crane believes that there is a God, he does not believe that God cares. Crane writes from a man's perspective who is asking the universe (God) if "he is there?" The fact that the universe answers the man proves that Crane believes in a God, just not one who holds concern for mankind. This is the reason that Crane writes this poem and why its considered the quintessential naturalism poem.
ReplyDeleteI think that this poem is coming from a person who believes in God strongly and wants to have a personal relationship with Him, but realizes God doesn't want to. Therefore, Crane has the man declare his presence to the universe and wants it to show that it cares about him. Then, has the universe say it knows the man exists, but doesn't care. Through this poem I can feel that Crane is expressing his belief that there is a God, but He doesn't care about us on a personal level. My question is; why does Crane, who was born into a religious family, show this animosity towards God by saying He doesn't care about us?
ReplyDeleteStephen Crane, although he never personally identified himself as such, was essentially a Deist. He not only believed that God created the Earth and everything in it, but he also stood by the idea that God was very proud of His creation in the beginning. However, later on in the history of this world, when His creation that He once was so proud of began to make errors and sin, God ran away from the world in hopes to get away from its wrong-doings. Crane believed that when God left the Earth and its make up, that humanity and nature took a turn for the worse and have been on a ridiculous voyage ever since, never recovering. All of his ideas that were just stated can be found in section VI of his work known as, "The Black Riders and Other Lines".
ReplyDelete