{"id":440,"date":"2020-10-14T21:02:29","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T01:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/?p=440"},"modified":"2020-10-14T21:02:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T01:02:31","slug":"connections-martyrdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/2020\/10\/14\/connections-martyrdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Connections: Martyrdom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This week our class focused on the literary work \u201cThe Trial of the Catonsville Nine,\u201d which surrounds the trial of nine people with a heavy Catholic affiliation. The men and women were being tried for burning 378 draft files with the goal of protesting the Vietnam War. Although we have had many good discussions throughout class this week, the idea that stuck with me most was the theme of martyrdom throughout the literary works that we have read thus far. The parallels between The Trial of the Catonsville Nine<\/em>, Stewart Parker\u2019s Pentecost<\/em>, and John 5 from the Bible are astounding. At first glance, I was having trouble piecing them together while in class. Listening to the thoughts of my classmates and professor, however, the picture was becoming clearer. Personally, I think that martyrdom was the most distinct connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Trial of the Catonsville Nine<\/em>, the nine men and women have an overarching goal to act upon their Christian values and save lives. They are aware that the 378 files burned may be replaced with other draft files, meaning that different men will go to war. However, they wanted to bring attention to the injustice that was the Vietnam War. They did not think that the toll on American lives was worth it. In order for their message to be heard, they complete the task in broad daylight with witnesses present. They go to trial and give their testimonies. They willingly accept their sentences. All of this is done so that their actions are given attention and the morality of the war is given deeper thought by the American public and government. Serving time in jail was a necessary personal sacrifice that must be made so that others (those directly serving in the Vietnam War) could be saved. Similarly, there is an aspect of martyrdom with Stewart Parker. We read in class about his experiences at Harvard with African American students. There were multiple controversial protests, one of which Parker was involved in. His experience in this protest is reflected in Pentecost<\/em>. Peter, a character in the play, seems to be based on Parker and his experiences in the US during the civil rights movement. Last, John 5 in the Bible discusses both testimony and Jesus\u2019s willingness to be a martyr. The Bible also displays the general theme of martyrdom with Jesus, who sacrificed himself for our sins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although we only focused on two literary works from class in comparison to the Bible, the other works we have read parallel the idea of martyrdom as well. For example, in The Informer<\/em>, Gypo is seen as a martyr figure. Gypo is shown spreading his arms out in a Christ-like fashion in the movie, hinting at a strong parallel to Jesus. Those involved in the Chicago Eight trials were also martyrs. They, similar to the Catonsville Nine, were put on trial for their protests against the governmental system. The Chicago Eight were not as heavily affiliated with Christianity as the Catonsville Nine were, but there was most definitely an aspect of sacrificing oneself for the good of others. We have also read multiple speeches written by Martin Luther King Jr. Due to his Christian roots, he emphasizes the need for love over violence. Eventually, MLK is killed, becoming a martyr for many across the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I think that there are more parallels between the literary works than just martyrdom, and I am looking forward to exploring these themes in the upcoming classes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week our class focused on the literary work \u201cThe Trial of the Catonsville Nine,\u201d which surrounds the trial of nine people with a heavy Catholic affiliation. The men and women were being tried for burning 378 draft files with the goal of protesting the Vietnam War. Although we have had many good discussions throughout … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Connections: Martyrdom”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3826,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3826"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":441,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/bloodycoflict\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}