Bellringer Let’s say you’re reading a story in which a character is casually strolling about and then falls into a pond. How might you start thinking about this event symbolically? What sort of questions should you start asking? What if the character drowns? Survives through sheer will and strength? Is miraculously rescued?

The night's too quiet, stretched out alone I need the whip of thunder and the wind's dark moan I'm not Abel, I'm just Cain Open up the heavens, and make it rain. — Tom Waits, "Make It Rain"

Bellringer (c’td) Rescued: indebtedness, good fortune, passivity, luck, coincidence? These are all possibilities But what if the character is on the brink of drowning and then escapes? How would you feel if you were that character? Can you tie this into a common religious symbol?

Baptism! What is Baptism? What does it represent? Why? What’s the connection between the answer to the first question and the answer to the second?

Baptism Baptism almost always has to do with some kind of symbolic rebirth. In the Christian tradition this represents having your sin washed away and being born again in the eyes of God In literature it could mean MANY things, but a new beginning is usually a good place to start

Baptism Consider the following excerpt from Alexandre Dumas’s novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Edmond Dantes, a starry-eyed 19 year old sailor with a bright future ahead of him is sent to jail by three conspirators who want him out of the way. In prison he learns about the motives of these men and studies a vast array of subjects expanding his knowledge exponentially. In the following scene he escapes.

Baptism What elements of this excerpt suggest Baptism? Why do you think the author decided to focus on this imagery? How does it add meaning to the story?

Baptism But what might it mean if the character doesn’t come up and tragically drowns? Was it an accident? Perhaps it’s a baptism gone awry. Maybe the character doesn’t have the moral requirements to be “reborn” and simply can’t make the transition. On purpose: Sometimes a helpless character might drown themselves in order to take control over at least one aspect of their life. (See The Awakening)

Baptism Baptism probably has something to do with the Biblical flood story (old world destroyed, new world created) but… Keep in mind that, while Baptism is typically associated with Christianity and spirituality, in literature it might just represent a new start. Look back at old Edmond Dantes for example.

Baptism So anytime a character gets wet it’s baptism? No. But it’s a pretty good place to start. As we’ve discussed before symbols can mean MANY different things and it would be unwise to approach analytical reading TOO myopically. Still, it’s something to think about.

Activity Think back to “The Semplica Girl Diaries.” Write a scene in which the main character somehow gets wet. Be creative. Try to write something that will lend itself to a symbolic reading without being too obvious.

Baptism Now that we’ve discussed baptism and it’s potential symbolic meanings, revisit the ending of James Hurst’s “The Scarlet Ibis.” As you’ll recall, Doodle dies in the rain. Does thinking about this scene in the context of baptism open up new potential meanings in the story? Explain.

“The River” by Flannery O’ Conner Write three questions you have about the story. In what way does O’Conner use water or baptism to expand the “message” of the story? What other interesting devices do you see O’Conner using? How? Where?