From the Lost Years of Jesus T. Christ

946 Words4 Pages
Literary Commentary: From the Lost Years of Jesus T. Christ by Jerome Chua From the Lost Years of Jesus T. Christ symbolizes the fight against nature– against fate. And in many ways it can be read as a deeply philosophical work under the guise of a bildungsroman, due to its use of a child protagonist and his loss of innocence. Despite the presence of a supernatural being at the narrative’s focal point, the short story’s uses of theme, plot, imagery, characterization, foreshadowing and allusion, highlight and ultimately personify the perennial human struggle: coming to terms with the inevitability and necessity of suffering. The ability and ultimate inability to control life as a theme, is evident by the magic word that temporarily brings people back to full health: Live. With a single word, Jesus is able to heal the sick, the wounded and even the dead. It is by the discovery of this newfound power that motivates him to help those around him, from the fly with broken legs to the young girl in the coffin. The theme of controlling life is further personified and brought full circle by the next morning, when the suffering that he avoided upon others was put upon new beings, further highlighting its inevitable recurrence. Similar to the greek tragedies, the main problem of the plot lies in the protagonist’s futile attempts to conquer fate. What differentiates this short story from those of greek tragedies lies in the innocence of the protagonist. Young Jesus was seemingly unaware of the nature of suffering as he unknowingly attempted to subvert fate. By his observation of life the next morning, he is able to realize that suffering, and as a by-product– death, is ever present, unavoidable, and even necessary. The switch in narrative focus from the ability to control fate to its inability is even further highlighted by the story’s imagery. This is presented by how

More about From the Lost Years of Jesus T. Christ

Open Document