Metafiction & Repetition

In my World Lit class, we're reading postmodern literature; one of its characteristics is the presence of metafictional devices. This means that the texts themselves talk about storytelling, or aspects of the writing process. In Samuel Beckett's absurd play, the Endgame, the main character, Hamm, struggles to compose the story of his life. He seems to doubt that his life has been meaningful and that he has acted benevolently to others. He aims to ascribe meaning to his life through storytelling. If only he can articulate his experiences, then they will have mattered.

Likewise, in reading the chapter entitled "Genesis" in Killing the Buddha, the author (A.L. Kennedy) talks about the human desire to make a record of the beginning, or origin, of important events. This of course includes the creation story and subsequent tales contained in the book of Genesis. By composing such a narrative, the Jewish people added legitimacy to their tradition and beliefs. The author does point out the dark, sinful nature of humankind within Genesis, wondering what this says about the fundamental tendencies of people as well as why God would create such a destructive race.

Kennedy started the chapter by talking about his childhood growing up in church and how it conflicted with his parents' actual convictions about religion. He said his mother was just going through the motions with little faith, seemingly bored and disheartened by her experiences. I think it is easy to become disheartened with the state of churches today. So often they are run as businesses, furthering political agendas and disregarding the people. *Sigh* However, on the boredom front, I'm not so sure. I grew up in a Baptist Church, where the hymns, the sermons, and the announcements varied each week. When I began attending an Episcopal campus ministry, I thought, "Oh no. The words will become meaningless once memorized, and then I'll just be going through the motions and not really worshiping." However, I've found this to be quite the opposite of what I expected. Knowing the words and the prescribed plan of action for the service allows your mind to dwell more on the presence of God than on the words and motions of the service. Likewise, I was just reading an article about the Eastern Orthodox Church. The author (Frederica Mathewes-Green) encourages visitors to not be deterred by the repetitive nature of the liturgy. Instead,

"Relatively little changes from Sunday to Sunday; the same prayers and hymns appear in the same places, and before long you know it by heart. Then you fall into the presence of God in a way you never can when flipping from prayer book to bulletin to hymnal."

So, really repetition isn't a bad thing; it's possibly even a means to deeper experience, as long as your mind is focused on encountering God.