Derek Dong, Period 5, 12/22/20, Day B

Derek Dong
12/22/20
Period 5
Modern Mythology 2021

Write about your thoughts regarding the most current reading.

Our most current reading was the Book of Job. The story in the Book of Job centered around the life of Job and a debate between Satan and God. Job had always lived a wealthy and peaceful life, avoiding to commit any sin or evil. Satan believed that Job was only good because of the great life that God blessed him for. If he took away all the good in Job’s life, he would curse God instead. Satan did exactly just that and Job was in great pain and suffering as a result. Job’s friends began to question his faith, but he kept his faith even though he really wanted to complain to God for what happened to him. God finally came to him and showed him all the unlimited power that God had. Job also realized that his knowledge of the world was very limited in comparison. God returned twice of what Job had previously because of his realization.

One of the most important themes of the Book of Job was the suffering of the good people. When Satan took everything away from Job, he began to question what he had done to deserve the suffering and why should a human, who had done nothing but good, ever be punished. But after being shown by God what he didn’t know, Job realized that sometimes there simply wouldn’t be an explanation for why certain things happened. Instead of asking “why me”, ask “why not.” When people keep trying to pursue reasons for why bad things happen to them, it is very easy for them to lose themselves in anger. However, if we just believe that they happen for a reason naturally and look ahead to the future instead of the past, it will be a lot easier for us to move on from bad events.At the end of the story, God rewarded Job at the end of keeping his faith. But it can be controversial because in real life, we often are not rewarded even if we go through a period of suffering.  

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception?

The idea of many things in life happened naturally was just introduced to me recently and it definitely changed my perception of how I view many of the challenges and hardships that I have faced previously in my life. In the past, I often questioned why I needed to go through the things I have gone through or why bad things happened in life. I would ask “why me”. However, with the perspective that things happen naturally and for a reason, I am now able to look back at the things that happened in a very different way. It gives me a lot more positive outlook on my life. It also helps me focus on the many lessons that I have learned from those tough times.

How is what you’re learned applied to any classes/the world around you?

The Book of Job presents us the idea that instead of pursuing the reason for people suffering, people need to realize that many things in life are out of our control and happen naturally. With this lesson in mind, people can have a more positive outlook on events that have happened in life. For example, it is very easy for people to lose motivation because of the ongoing pandemic. But by having a more positive view on everything that is happening around us, we can navigate through these tough times. Having a more positive mindset can also keep us mentally healthy. In a time when it is very hard for everyone to stay healthy mentally with quarantine, lack of social interactions, and even potentially the loss of loved ones or those that we care about, it is important more than ever to stay positive in order to keep ourselves healthy.