– Cat presented about “Atheists in Literature”
– First slideshow was a catalogue of famous atheist authors
o Joseph Conrad
o Oscar Wilde
o George Orwell
– Some categories of atheist literature:
o Classical dysopian novel
o Religious satire/commentary novel
o Humanist novel
o Some examples:
§ Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzche
§ His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
§ The Crucible, Arthur Miller
Representation of Atheism, Humanism, and Anti-theism in literature
– Moby Dick: The whale, Moby Dick, is a representation of God
o The will of Moby Dick cannot be defeated, only accommodated or avoided
o Moby Dick cannot be physically or scientifically described
o God-like characteristics of Moby Dick:
§ Impersonal force
§ White (color connotations reversed: white now represents evil)
§ Hogs n’ Gods. Hogs = people?
– Huckleberry Finn contains religious satire
o Uses ironic situations to illustrate absurdities such as:
§ Superstition and folk beliefs
§ Hypocrisy of slave-owners
· Right vs. wrong
o Huck relies on his sensory experiences of the world, his own logic and developed conscience to sort out right vs. wrong. This is a contrast to blind following of Biblical guidelines.
– 2001: A Space Odyssey
o This is a humanist novel
o Evolution is not “the end” but merely a stepd in a thousand directions of possible beginnings.
Some conclusions:
– Not enough female atheist novelists.
– Portrayals of atheism sometimes depend on anti-theism (or inversions/reflections of Christianity)
– People interpret their marbles and made parallels to themselves as atheists as part of an exercise to compliment Cat’s presentation.
AgASA 