Engelsk og AT 2017: Forbudte skove og hærskarer af påskeliljer

Ved første øjekast sagde mange af mine elever, at årets AT-emne om ”Menneskets forhold til naturen” vel nærmest udelukkende lagde op til noget naturvidenskabeligt, diskussioner om klimapolitik og deslige. Nah. Engelsk kan heldigvis meget mere end det, hvilket jeg vil forsøge at vise nedenfor gennem en række tværfaglige emner og litteraturforslag. Meget af det er fiktionsbaseret, fordi det bare tit er det sjoveste.

Synet på naturen, og kan naturen tæmmes? (Fortrinsvist engelsk og historie)

Store dele af menneskets historie har handlet om at tæmme naturen, få noget civilisation ind i den og fjerne det decideret livsfarlige. De fleste kender historien om Lille Rødhætte, som er i sikkerhed derhjemme, i bedstemors hus eller på den menneskeskabte sti gennem skoven. Går hun ud i den utæmmede natur, eller inviterer bedstemor den indenfor, er man død. Det er vel først med industrialiseringen, man rigtigt begynder at tro, at man kan kontrollere alt det vilde, hvilket til gengæld fører til en modreaktion under Romantikken. Den samme bevægelse ser vi til dels i dag, hvor alt er så kontrolleret, at nogle unge tager ud i vildmarken for at dø i en bus, for nu at citere en tidligere kollega om filmen Into the Wild. Lad os få nogle eksempler på banen.

·         Romantikken: I ”I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” skildrer William Wordsworth sit inspirerende møde med en flok påskeliljer, som hans hjerte danser med, mens Samuel Taylor Coleridge i sit ”Frost at Midnight” forsikrer sit spædbarn om, at det skal opfostres i naturen, hvor fantasien kan få frit løb, ikke i den by, hvor han selv voksede op og nærmest intet smukt kunne se. Dette er uden tvivl et modsvar til industrialiseringens gradvise indtog i naturen. Det omvendte ser vi hos Jane Austen, f.eks. i Emma, hvor alting er fint, mens man holder sig inden for de kontrollerede forhold og velplejede haver. Bevæger man sig ud i det utæmmede, er der risiko for at blive overfaldet eller på anden vis blive udsat for noget, man ikke kan styre. Som en kollega pointerede, kan det med at forsøge at kontrollere naturen også blive for meget, f.eks. som det ses i Frankenstein.

·         Spøjst nok ser vi lidt det samme som hos Austen i Harry Potter-serien. Uden for Hogwarts’ rare omgivelser ligger The Forbidden Forest, som er hjemsøgt af varulve (hvis vi kan tro på Draco), Voldemort på jagt efter enhjørningeblod, glubske edderkopper og aggressive kentaurer. Gad vide hvad de egentligt gjorde ved Umbridge, der var så traumatiserende? Under alle omstændigheder er det mere end risikabelt at bevæge sig derind, og et af Voldemorts yndlingssteder er en dyster grotte ved havet. Den store blæksprutte i søen virker godt nok til at være ret flink, og med de rigtige besværgelser kan øde områder være gode gemmesteder i Deathly Hallows, men man kan aldrig helt stole på naturen.

·         For at blive i fantasy-universet spiller naturen flere roller samtidig hos Tolkien. Hobbitterne bliver nær opslugt af Old Man Willow, Mirkwood gør det næsten af med de ellers hårdføre dværge, og et stenskred er tæt på at slå Bilbo ihjel. På den anden side kommer den lalleglade naturånd Tom Bombadil i sine gule støvler og redder hobbitterne, mens Sarumans forsøg på at udslette skovene for at holde sine maskiner i gang fører til en kraftig og sejrrig modreaktion fra Treebeard og de andre enter. Tolkiens holdning til industrialiseringen står vist ganske klart her.

·         Naturfolk: Fra ”half devil and half child” over ”noble savages” til Avatar – den vestlige kulturs møde med folkeslag ”i pagt med naturen” har båret præg af noget omskiftelige holdninger. En sammenligning af indianernes forhold til naturen hos den bortførte puritaner Mary Rowlandson (udgivet 1682) med senere værker som Dances With Wolves ville være en rigtigt god mulighed for at inddrage historisk kontekst for at forstå budskaberne. Emnet kunne også behandles med religion i stedet for historie.

·         Intet AT-emne og engelsk uden The HungerHHunger Games! I District 12 er der sat et delvist funktionelt hegn op for at holde rovdyrene væk. Katniss Everdeen er dog sær, for hun føler sig bedst tilpas i den natur, som har tilbageerobret terræn fra den vigende civilisation. Lige præcis derfor er hun som den ultimative amerikanske survivalist bedst forberedt på at møde det, som The Capitol (der er totalt blottet for natur) sender efter hende i den stærkt manipulerede og kontrollerede version af naturen, hun møder i arenaerne.

·         Winter Is Coming. Tænk selv videre.

Kan det virkeligt passe? (Engelsk og biologi eller naturgeografi)

Granted, her er jeg på gyngende grund takket være en vis grad af faglig uvidenhed inden for det naturfaglige felt. Ikke desto mindre læste jeg en del SRP’er i historie og fysik/matematik/biotek/biologi, hvor den naturfaglige viden skulle bruges til at foretage en særdeles dyb kritisk analyse af de påstande, som blev fremsat i historiske kilder. Det samspil kunne jeg godt lide, så måske kunne vi gøre det samme i engelsk?

·         Everest-katastrofen i 1996: 10.-11. maj døde otte mennesker i et forsøg på at nå toppen af Mount Everest og tilbage igen. Dette fik stor mediebevågenhed, da disse fortrinsvist kom fra vestlige lande. Flere af de overlevende udgav bøger om deres oplevelser, og der blev både baseret dramadokumentarer, en opera(!) og en spillefilm fra 2015 på begivenhederne. Her er der rig mulighed for at koble sproglige/retoriske og visuelle virkemidler med et kig på, hvorvidt fremstillingerne er realistiske.

·         Katastrofer: Dette var et AT-emne i sig selv for en del år siden og kan sagtens bruges igen her. Hurricane Katrina, tsunamien i Sydøstasien og alle de andre har ført til såvel politiske diskussioner som dramatiserede versioner. I den mere opdigtede afdeling er det værd at undersøge, om film som The Day After Tomorrow, 2012 og The Road er en plausibel gengivelse af, hvad mennesket kan blive udsat for, når naturen ikke længere kan kontrolleres.

Energi eller natur? (Engelsk og samfundsfag)

Hvorvidt den amerikanske natur skal fredes så meget som muligt (som det vist først blev fremlagt af Theodore Roosevelt) eller udnyttes har været en evig diskussion. I 2016 svømmede de sociale medier over med protester mod Dakota Access Pipeline, som bl.a. gik lige forbi et indianerreservat. En af præsident Trumps første ordrer var at vende tilbage til arbejdet, som han måske/måske ikke har en personlig økonomisk interesse i. Da ansatte i det amerikanske Environmental Protection Agency nærmest samtidig fik forbud mod at udtale sig på sociale medier, ikke længere måtte give stipendier til forskning og heller ikke måtte udgive rapporter, som ikke først var godkendt fra politisk side, førte det til alternative twitter-profiler, påstande om brud på den forfatningssikrede ytringsfrihed og meget andet. Dette er absolut et af de igangværende konfliktpunkter.

Helt uden for engelsk: Hvor vigtig er turismen? Island ser for tiden et voldsomt udbrud (pun intended) i antallet af turister, som alle vil se den uspolerede natur, så længe den har toilet- og madfaciliteter i nærheden.

Mere har jeg ikke tid til at skrive nu, desværre. Forslag til yderligere emner er mere end velkomne.

”Greater love has no one than this” – a Christian interpretation of Les Misérables (2012)

When analysing musical and movie sensation Les Misérables, most people focus on the theme of oppression and how, obviously, miserable everyone is – the lower classes, women, all of the unprivileged ones. However, in this paper I wish to show how the most important aspects of Les Misérables are not the social ones, but rather traditional Christian aspects such as charity, forgiveness, redemption and self-sacrifice. As is the case in all musicals, the songs are used to underline the characters’ emotions; accordingly, we have the chance to see their inner feelings and especially the different views on religion. Towards the end of this essay, I will show how one interpretation of Christianity triumphs over the other ones.

As our main character, Jean Valjean naturally undergoes the greatest change. In no way is his change greater than in terms of religion. After his release from the galleys, Valjean sings that he will never “forgive them what they have done.” He is a spiteful creature full of hatred and breaks the Eighth Commandment by stealing. Of course, that he steals the valuables of a church makes his sin even worse, and at this point Valjean has clearly lost sight of the Light of the Lord. Nevertheless, upon receiving forgiveness for this crime by the Bishop, who claims to have “saved your soul for God,” Valjean has a religious revelation. In the song “Valjean’s Soliloquy,” our main character is confronted with all of his transgressions while in church, asks “What have I done, sweet Jesus, what have I done?” and begs for a chance to redeem his wrongdoings. From this point on, Valjean commits his life to helping others no matter their social background. By saving the fallen woman, Fantine, helping children and mingling with the poor people of the street, Valjean certainly imitates the ways of Christ on his ongoing road towards redemption. When Valjean learns that he – somewhat unwillingly – is the reason why Fantine has been forced to resort to prostitution, he is overcome with guilt and is ready to pay any price to rescue her daughter, Cosette. Incidentally, Cosette dreams of a “Castle on a cloud” – an obvious metaphor for Heaven - shortly before meeting the savior-like Valjean for the first time.

As the story progresses, so does Valjean’s selflessness. Although he has the chance to let an innocent man go to prison in his stead, Valjean reveals his true identity and is forced to flee. While living in Paris, he visits the poorest parts of society and tries to help them, something that almost turns lethal when the Thénardiers recognize him. Valjean’s most unselfish act and moment of complete redemption appears in the middle of the 1832 Revolution, however. When he understands Cosette’s feelings for Marius, Valjean decides to protect the bold youngster, even if it means sacrificing himself. This is seen in the song “Bring Him Home,” in which Valjean calls upon God, asks him to “Hear my prayer” and save Marius, dramatically adding “If I die, let me die,” which is a clear reference to the Christian doctrine that “Greater love has no one than this; to lay down his life for his friends.” This, of course, is also what Éponine does for Marius, which guarantees her a place in Paradise in spite of her earlier participation in her family’s criminal antics.

The short-lived revolution also gives Valjean a chance to show his complete transformation regarding forgiveness. When given the chance to execute Javert, who has been taken prisoner by the revolutionaries, Valjean openly forgives his arch nemesis and even tells him where to find him. Over the course of the years and after finding religion, Valjean has finally learned to let go of this earlier hatred and learned to love, as he sings towards the end. It is no surprise that he is awarded a place in Paradise at the end of the movie, when Fantine and the Bishop lead him to salvation.

As a stark contrast to Valjean’s natural and open love and charity, we have the false Christians: The Thénardiers. When Valjean comes to them in order to retrieve Cosette, they claim that providing for the little girl is “no more than we Christians must do.” The cunning couple have certainly treated Cosette terribly and their Christian façade is nothing but a sham, which they try to use to create sympathy for themselves. Over the course of the rest of the story, they consistently lie, cheat and pretend to join the revolutionaries, who in a very Christian manner sing that “the blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France” – the martyr being a traditional Christian hero. The Thénardiers have no other desire than to rob these martyrs, and the only thing they manage to get right about religion is as they are thrown out from Marius’s and Cosette’s wedding while stating they will “see you all in Hell.” There is no doubt that that will be the final destination for false Christians.

Unlike the Thénardiers, Javert’s Christianity is utterly heartfelt. In one of the scenes (“Stars”) in which he reveals his deepest thoughts, Javert shows a certain understanding of Christian beliefs. By stating that Valjean has “fallen from grace,” Javert shows an obsession with the idea that all humans are born in sin. In the song, Javert sings that “those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward,” a hope that he desperately clings to. As a man ashamed of being born in a prison, Javert manically follows a single-minded interpretation of justice. In the chorus of “Stars,” Javert keeps underlining that anyone who “falls like Lucifer fell” must burn forever, just like Satan is eternally condemned to Hell. Unlike Valjean’s kind-hearted charity, Javert shows nothing but contempt for the unfortunate ones in society and continually refers to the lower classes and prisoners as “Worms and maggots,” “garbage” and “scum.” Christ may have walked among the paupers and cast-outs, but when Valjert does so, it is only to harass and arrest them.

Upon facing Valjean’s forgiveness, Javert’s world is completely shattered. Just like his earlier reference to Lucifer’s fall, Javert rhetorically asks “What sort of devil is he?” about Valjean. The fact that Javert automatically sees forgiveness and the devil as two sides of the same coin borders on the comedic and shows how little grasp the virtuous inspector actually has of his religion. In his final soliloquy, Javert sings that “I stare into the void,” which is the exact same phrase that Valjean used when facing his sins in the church. Unlike Valjean, however, Javert is unable to embrace the thought of forgiveness. Incapable of facing a different world, Javert decides to plunge to his death. Ironically, committing suicide will deny you entry into Heaven in traditional Christianity, which shows how completely Javert has failed.

This conflict between different interpretations of Christianity leads us to the message. In the iconic final scene, Valjean, Fantine and the revolutionaries are united beyond death, standing atop an enormous barricade. Parts of this barricade are seemingly made from empty coffins, symbolizing that Death will finally be defeated on Judgment Day and the dead will be resurrected. The barricade itself seems to be a metaphor for true Christianity keeping the faithful ones safe from outside threats. Unsurprisingly, Javert is not present among the dead, as he represents a flawed interpretation of Christianity: The wrathful, aggressive and judgmental approach belongs to the darkest part of the Old Testament and does not take the forgiving, merciful aspects of the New Testament into account. The message is that the true and victorious interpretation of Christianity relies on love, forgiveness and peaceful living in harmony with your fellow men. Although the students started a violent revolution, in the afterlife they sing that they will “walk behind the ploughshare, [they] will put away the sword,” mirroring the famed words of the Book of Isaiah about a peaceful world. Faith in the Lord, Hope for Paradise and Charity towards your neighbours – Les Misérables teaches us that this is how to secure a place in the Kingdom of Heaven, not by judging others.