Thursday, July 3, 2008

The Matrix v. The Shack: The Oracle or The Father?

Please understand that this post is a personal perspective. It's simply my perception.

The discussion on p. 94 about fate vs. freedom strikes me too much like the Matrix. The Oracle tells Neo not to worry about the vase before he ever knocks it over. He then says, "what vase?" as he turns and then accidentally knocks it over. So the question arises whether Neo would have knocked the vase over if she had not predicted he would. This leads to another question as to the nature of freedom vs. fate.

Of course, the only difference in this scene from "The Shack" is that the Oracle is a black lady, and Papa (God the Father) in "the Shack" is a... oh yeah, he's a black lady, too.

I can't help but hear the Oracle's voice when Papa speaks. Not just because I know what the Oracle's voice sounds like, but because there is this thing in literature called voice. Good authors have a voice, and they know how to give their characters a voice. Unfortunately, Papa's voice sounds like the Oracle maybe because that's where Young got his idea. Just a thought.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just read the book myself along with my wife. I thought the narrative was contrived and irritating, but the discussion in the Shack fascinating. But we both immediately thought "Oracle!" as Papa began talking. Good to know we weren't the only ones.