clue #5

1. Who is Effie waiting for?

I have read the story "About Effie" 3 times and I am still puzzled by what the author is saying. When I first read the story, I was convinced that Effie was just another crazy girl who was good at doing her job. But after thinking about it for a few moments, I began to think about the possibility of the existence of the man. If he was real, then how could he come on a cloud? And why would there be music? And plus, what was the whole big deal on lightning and thunder? When the part in the text came up about the man riding on a cloud, it reminded me of the short superhuman guy from the movie The Incredibles. It also reminded me of Jesus. But I soon discarded this idea after I realized that we as people don't exactly know how Jesus will return to earth. But when the part about there being music came into the text, I began to suspect that somehow the man was related to Jesus.

2. This story contains a lot of Christ imagery. Write down three seperate sentences from the story that might symbolize Jesus and explain why Timothy Findley might have written these into his story.

1) "Will he take you away?"

"Of course he will. That's why he's coming. That's why I'm waiting."

2)"On a cloud," she whispered. "A big black cloud. That's a rule."

3) Then she looked at me and all of a sudden I felt it. That it wasn't just some knight in shining armour she had in mind. Or some crazy man on a black cloud, either. No, sir. Whoever he was, he surely was coming. You could tell that just from the way she looked.

--> In the first example, it seems as if the "man" could even be death. Everybody is waiting for death whether they like it for not, and in a sense death does "take you away." On the other hand, when Jesus comes back, it says in the Bible that he will take his children with him to heaven, and we will have a place that is prepared for us in heaven.

-->In the second example, it states that the man will come on a cloud. I am not sure about this one but whenever people draw Jesus going up to heaven, they always draw him on a cloud (actually, I think this is somewhere in the Bible, at the end of one of the Gospels I think). I think this is some sort of key connection as well.

--> In the third example, it clearly shows that whoever is coming is clearly coming. So I don't think it is just some physical man. I believe it is something that she can't avoid, some sort of inevitable thing coming closer and closer.

3. Can non-Christian authors reveal truth about God's World?

I believe that yes anybody can reveal truth about God's World. God's World is the Earth that we live in and what others believe to be true is in line with the Christian faith. God's World has many different aspects to it and something as simple as a reference to a higher being having created the Universe still reveals truth about God. Revealing of truth doesn't always have to be direct; it can be indirect and still be true.

Mini Question

1. What is the theme of "About Effie"?

I'm not sure what the theme of "About Effie" is. If I had to make a theme statement I think it would have something to do about "the man" Effie is waiting for, and some idea from the scene where Effie is crying amidst the thunderstorm. A theme statement might be the following: Everybody is waiting for death and the acceptance of death can give you peace.

2. Find a verse from the Bible that relates to the theme of "About Effie" and include it in your written response.

Well, I'm still not exactly sure what the theme of "About Effie" is, but according to the answer in which I put in for question 1 (Mini Question) here is a verse.

Romans 6:23 (New International Version)

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Maybe Effie wasn't ready to accept this fact yet? I'm not sure, but in the end of the story it seems to me that she has accepted the coming of the man, whomever he may turn out to be.