Effective Use of Figurative Language in the Story of Joseph - Essay Example

Anonymous ELIT2055X World Literature Essay 2 March 28, 2009 The Effective use of Figurative Language in Joseph’s Story The story of Joseph in Genesis has become very popular especially to children. Nevertheless, it has also inspired musicals that appealed even to adults such as “Joseph the Dreamer “ and “Joseph and the Amazing Dream Coat”. The story of Joseph is compelling since it narrates an ordinary person’s struggle against adversity in almost all stages of his life. Even as a young boy of 17, he has already experienced rejection from his very own family members. However, it must be realized that Joseph was fulfilling a mission that God gave to him of which he was not aware at the beginning. Despite the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that he encountered, it was God, not the circumstances that Joseph prevailed upon that orchestrated Joseph’s rise to becoming a ruler. At the beginning, God had already manifested his plans for Joseph when he dreamt of the binding sheaves ( KJV, Gen.37:7 ). The sheaves that bowed to Joseph represented his brothers, while the sheaves that stood upright, obviously meant Joseph. The sheaves bowing is an example of personification since sheaves do not bow or give respect to fellow sheaves. Undoubtedly, this deepened the resentment that Joseph’s brothers felt. They were already jealous of Joseph since he is the favorite son and the coat symbolized that favoritism by Israel. This dream foretold of his greatness which seemed impossible at first since his family are plain herdsmen. Considering the cultural context at that time, it would be improbable for foreigners in that land to become a person in authority since the Egyptians discriminated against other race .In this situation, we will already recognize that Joseph alone could not become a ruler if there was no divine intervention. The second dream which also bothered even his father was the dream about the sun, moon, and stars bowing to him ( KJV, Gen. 37:9 ) Again, personification is exemplified here since the sun, moon , and stars bowed to Joseph as if they were treating him as a King. The gesture of bowing was used for the second time to emphasize “ courtesy “ or even “respect “. Bowing is commonly known as a gesture that recognizes nobility. Even Israel( Joseph’s father) was disturbed by the meaning of this dream. The stars personified Joseph’s brothers, while the sun and the moon represented his parents. The dream, for the second time, foretell of his impending destiny as a ruler that even his own family would bow down to him. Having a second dream with almost the same meaning is emphasizing a point. Indeed, Israel became bothered since he felt that something different would happen to their life because of the dreams. The dilemma was that he cannot figure out what will exactly happen. After having read this part of Chapter 37, the reader immediately senses some foreboding of disaster. Elements of jealousy, resentment, and favoritism is a deadly brew for a plot. The reader feels that the dreams of Joseph will someday materialize but there would be a lot of conflicts that would transpire along the story. Aside from the dreams, another example of figurative language used here was the colorful coat given by Israel to Joseph. During that time, men usually wore coats to protect them from the harsh elements. The coat was functional but Joseph’s coat was far beyond functional. It was beautiful since it had many colors. This coat made Joseph to stand out among his brothers. Undoubtedly, the cost was given to him with great affection by his father since he was a son conceived in old age. This was explicitly stated in Chapter 37: Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also, he made him a tunic of many colors.( KJV, Gen 37:3) In the King James version, many is italicized, putting an emphasis to the meaning of having a colorful coat. The coat was a result of his love for Joseph which is favoritism when viewed from the perspective of his brothers. As a reader, one can identify sibling rivalry because of that much coveted coat. Different things can be given by parents to children to show their affection which affects other children in the family. The coat in contemporary times can be as simple as an Ipod or a gadget which still evokes feelings of covetousness among siblings. During that time, the coat, is a living symbol of Israel’s love for Joseph. It was enough to stir jealousy from his other sons since he did not give them such special garments. In fact, the result of which was not just plain jealousy but hatred. It must have been almost bitterness since they would not even talk with Joseph well. All of the feelings were buried inside until they found an opportunity to exact revenge. Ironically, the more they despised Joseph, the more that he had dreams which deepened their jealousy as previously discussed. Thus, the coat became an object of hate that they gave back to their father torn and bloodied. The brothers were devious in conceptualizing the plan and all of the hate felt were vent towards the coat. The imagery of the coat torn and bloodied elicited strong emotions from Israel. Specifically, the goat’s blood which is appalling and gruesome portraying a violent death. The sadness and shock from imagining the horror of Joseph’s death being devoured by a wild animal was too much for him. He immediately tore of his clothes and mourned for several days, he was inconsolable after losing his favorite son in a tragic death. Consequently, the brothers felt and believed that the issue with Joseph is already finished with him being sold as a slave in a far place. On the contrary, it was God’s plan to have Joseph experience being sold to the Medianites who sold him to Potiphar. This incident is actually the start of Joseph’s rise to greatness with few problems in-between. Chapter 39 did mention that God made Joseph a successful man , that even Potiphar saw this in Joseph. Joseph was trusted by Potiphar but he was desired by Potiphar’s wife. Joseph was a “handsome man in form in appearance” ( KJV, Gen. 39: 6). This illustrates the use imagery which explains why the wife of Potiphar wants to have sex with him and the imagery was established well since he was persuaded more than once by Potiphar’s wife. However, Joseph’s respect for his master and morality dissuaded the advances of Potiphar’s wife which cause him trouble. Even after he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and sent into prison, Joseph still gained the favor of the keeper of the prison. Throughout the transition of events, God was with Joseph and continually blessed him in many ways as stated in Chapter 39 v. 23: The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with Him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.(KJV) Again, it is established that Joseph’s circumstances inside the prison could have been oppressive if not for God’s favor upon Joseph. As to why God treated Joseph this way, eliminating obstacles for him, it is only revealed at the end of the story. It has become obvious as the story progressed that even the imprisonment of Joseph was used for a purpose: interpretation of dreams. This gift helped him win the gratitude of the chief butler that referred him to the Pharaoh. In Chapter 42, Joseph’s talent in interpreting the pharaoh’s dream was put into good use. It saved the land from the seven years of famine as represented by the image of seven, poor , ugly, and gaunt cow ( KJV, Gen. 41:19 ) The imagery depicted by the seven cows were very disturbing for the Pharaoh, it was very effective since he said that “such ugliness I have never seen in the land of Egypt “ ( Gen.41:19 ). The contrast of imagery between the seven poor, ugly, gaunt cows and the seven good cows was impressive since the Pharaoh awoke after having these visions. In fact, that bothered him until he could find someone to interpret those dreams. After Joseph’s successful interpretation of the dreams, he was appointed by the Pharaoh to become a ruler, next in authority to the Pharaoh. The famine that occurred in the land was instrumental in making Joseph reunite with his family. Eventually, he was able to forgive his brothers which was the climax of the story. In the end, Joseph himself testified to his brothers that: But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God, sent me here before you to preserve life….So it was not you who sent me here but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt ( Gen 45: 5, 7). The circumstances in Joseph’s life were not accidental , they were part of God’s divine plan in the very beginning. Indeed, even if he underwent slavery, nor persecution, everything turned out right for him. Joseph realized this when he became a ruler of the land and always acknowledged God’s help. The story is not only filled with values that make us admire the character of Joseph, it is filled with the everlasting presence of God. The reader is awed by figurative language used in depicting Joseph’s dreams as well as provoking jealousy towards the dream coat. Nevertheless, the most significant lesson is that God can prevail any circumstances in our life as long as we believe he has a purpose for us. Works Cited Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc. National Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN:0-8340-0426-7. Chapter 37.verse 7. Chapter 37, verse 9. Chapter 37,v.3 Chapter 39 v.6. Chapter 41, v.19. Chapter 45, v. 5 and 7 Read More