A Class Blog exploring American literature and the American experience.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Angels in America: Should we trust them?
In the Act II, Scene 2 the Angel and Prior lead a very interesting dialogue. From the scene do you think the Angel is right? Can we trust the Angel? Why or why not?
I don't think we can trust the Angel because I think that it is being selfish. The Angel tells Prior that human change and unpredictability is causing chaos in the Heavens and in order to stop this, they must be more controlled and be predictable. Prior, along with all the other people on Earth should continue to live the life they're living and be as unpredictable and changing as they want because these two things bring success, character, and so much more. I also think that you cant trust the Angel because it is possible that the Angel is just a figure of Prior's imagination; and if he is imagining it, then it's probably not a good idea to trust what his illusional mind is telling him.
I also dont think we can trust the Angel. I think this because the motives of the Angel are selfish. I agree with Ryan that the Angel tells Prior to do things because of his own desires. The Angel wants god to return and she thinks that God left because humanity was changing too much. So the Angel wants Prior to not change; she tells him that change is bad. This is contrary to what Rabbi Chemelwitz said at the beginning of the book. He says that it is necessary for humans to change so that they can progress. I think the Angel is wrong because the only way to combat the unknown is to jump right in.
I agree with Arnav in saying that the Angel takes it upon herself to say that change in humanity is bad and needs to be stopped. I also think that it is merely for her own gain because after the huge dialogue that the Angel and Prior had in this scene, the idea of the humans stopping changing so quickly and progressing came up multiple times; however, not once was the idea of the angels changing mentioned. The Angel tells Prior that humanity is dooming the heavens because they're tearing God away from where he belongs, but what the Angel selfishly fails to realize is that they are the ones that drove him away. This means that they are the only ones who can possibly bring him back, which means the Angels would have to change and progress, not the humans. The Angel doesn't want to change, however, and places all blame entirely on the humans.
I don't think we can trust the Angel because I think that it is being selfish. The Angel tells Prior that human change and unpredictability is causing chaos in the Heavens and in order to stop this, they must be more controlled and be predictable. Prior, along with all the other people on Earth should continue to live the life they're living and be as unpredictable and changing as they want because these two things bring success, character, and so much more. I also think that you cant trust the Angel because it is possible that the Angel is just a figure of Prior's imagination; and if he is imagining it, then it's probably not a good idea to trust what his illusional mind is telling him.
ReplyDeleteI also dont think we can trust the Angel. I think this because the motives of the Angel are selfish. I agree with Ryan that the Angel tells Prior to do things because of his own desires. The Angel wants god to return and she thinks that God left because humanity was changing too much. So the Angel wants Prior to not change; she tells him that change is bad. This is contrary to what Rabbi Chemelwitz said at the beginning of the book. He says that it is necessary for humans to change so that they can progress. I think the Angel is wrong because the only way to combat the unknown is to jump right in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arnav in saying that the Angel takes it upon herself to say that change in humanity is bad and needs to be stopped. I also think that it is merely for her own gain because after the huge dialogue that the Angel and Prior had in this scene, the idea of the humans stopping changing so quickly and progressing came up multiple times; however, not once was the idea of the angels changing mentioned. The Angel tells Prior that humanity is dooming the heavens because they're tearing God away from where he belongs, but what the Angel selfishly fails to realize is that they are the ones that drove him away. This means that they are the only ones who can possibly bring him back, which means the Angels would have to change and progress, not the humans. The Angel doesn't want to change, however, and places all blame entirely on the humans.
ReplyDelete