Help with Board Question, Unit Assessment, and Reflection Paper. APA Format Throughout to Include the Reference Page.
Board Question
Who are you in terms of vocation? Reintroduce yourself to your classmates according to the current callings you are answering in life. How are these calls to duty shaping the person you are?
Unit Reflection Paper
Reflective Writing Assignment 3: “My Vocation”
What are your gifts and abilities? What are you most interested in and passionate about? “Where does your deep gladness meet the world’s deep hunger?” To what are you being “called?” Does that calling fit with what you are pursuing with your education?
Your paper should be 500 words and double-spaced.
unit assessment
QUESTION 1
In Good Will Hunting, what, for Sean, is meant by the term soul-mate?
1. |
Someone who completes you |
|||||||||
The one-and-only perfect match for you in the entire world |
||||||||||
Someone who challenges you in every way, who takes you places, and opens things up for you. |
||||||||||
Someone who always makes you happy, who always says the right things, and who always does what you want |
QUESTION 2
Chuckie says to Will, “Listen, you got somethin’ that none of us have,” and Chuckie goes on to argue that Will needs to put that something to use for:
Will. |
Will and his family. |
the people of the world. |
Chuckie and all the guys working at the construction site. |
QUESTION 3
Harding concludes he has had many strange callings, heard many different voices at different times, but it may be that he heard:
none. |
his parents. |
only One. |
just the voice of that Harlem congregation. |
QUESTION 4
When the people of Harding’s Harlem congregation said, “He’s going to be a preacher,” what did they mean?
“He’s going to be a pastor at sometime in the future.” |
“He’s always going to be telling people what to do. |
“He’s going to be a famous preacher.” |
“He’s going to be our preacher.” |
QUESTION 5
Harding felt so strongly tied to those who had been part of the struggle of his people, so strongly tied to those whose voices could no longer be heard, that he was lost forever to:
God. |
life. |
scholarly objectivity. |
subjectivity. |
QUESTION 6
Who gave the speech at the Ceremony of the Twelve?
The valedictorian |
The student with the number one |
The president |
The chief elder |
QUESTION 7
Vocation means:
paid time from away from work. |
a job or a career. |
working hard. |
the work a person is called to by God. |
QUESTION 8
What happened at the Ceremony of the Twelve?
Graduation from school |
Life partners were chosen |
Assignments for the future were announced |
Twelve were set aside for special duties |
QUESTION 9
In The Giver, Jonas was the _________ child born his year.
nineteenth |
eleventh |
twelfth |
forty-third |
QUESTION 10
Why did Harding set aside the call to be a high school teacher?
Because he was black |
Because he was told that the space between his front teeth would cause him to fail his oral exam |
Because his grades in mathematics were not good enough |
Because he wanted to be an athlete |
QUESTION 11
Discuss your own educational experience. Where was it meant to make you fit in and where was it meant to make you stand out? Be specific.
QUESTION 12
Who is your soul-mate? How does he or she challenge you, take you places, open things up for you?
1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Express and understand what is meant by the term vocation.
2. Assess one’s own gifts, passions, and interests and where they might meet the world’s need.
3. Assess the role education has had in one’s life to breed conformity and to develop one’s uniqueness.
4. Hear the many and varied calls that are part of daily living.
5. Express in writing one’s current vocational understanding.
Reading Assignment
Leading Lives that Matter: What We Should Do and Who We Should Be
“Vocation”, p. 111-112
”The Giver”, p. 386-394
”I Hear Them…Calling”, p. 395-403
Good Will Hunting, p. 322_329
Unit Lesson
Vocation literally means calling, and that is the point. Life is structured in such a way as to actually call us to
be and to do. Callings are very real, and we experience them all the time. A child crying in the night is a call to
mom or dad to change a diaper, feed, or calm after a bad dream. A want add in the newspaper that speaks to
you is a call. Those pants getting a bit tight and the number when you step on the scale may be a call to eat
better and exercise more. When the phone rings and it is someone from the company with which you
interviewed last week for a job, and the person on the other end of the line says, “We’d like to offer you the
job,” that is a call. We hear calls all the time. The question being addressed here is to which voices to listen,
especially when listening for the call about how to earn a living.
There are a variety of voices that should be helpful in this case—parents, siblings, spouses, other relatives,
close friends, and teachers. The key here is listening to people who both know you and care about you.
These people will have a sense of what sort of work “fits” who you are. Reports cards, aptitude tests, career
interest inventories, and the like may also whisper calls into your ears.
The first reading assigned is a really just a definition of vocation. Frederick Buechner lists three elements to
the idea of vocation: (1) it is a call from God, (2) it is something you must do—something true to who you are,
and (3) it fulfills a legitimate need of the world. This is the primary understanding of vocation that is used
throughout this course.
In the selection from Lois Lowry’s, The Giver, vocation is explored in a fictional community of the future in
which leaders of the community are charged with getting to know the youth of the community and assigning
each to a specific career that fits the gifts and personality of the youth and the needs of the community. The
book notes an interesting disjuncture that happens in the education process. Early education is geared toward
inculcating socially accepted behaviors, the goal being that the student may learn to “fit-in.” Then education
UNIT STUDY GUIDE
Vocation & Hearing One’s Callings
2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
takes a turn, and one’s differences and uniqueness is sought, and then developed so that one can “stand-out”
and contribute to society in a unique way.
In “I Hear Them…Calling,” Vincent Harding gives expression to the idea that vocation is not static but
extraordinarily dynamic as he recounts the twist and turns vocation takes as he progresses through life. His
story highlights the power of a community of faith in his formative years, as well as the role race played in
closing the door on certainly callings and being the very reason to hear others. He concludes early on that,
“callings are strange things,” but despite the strangeness of callings and where they lead, there is behind
them finally one voice, and that voice is God’s.
Lastly, you are asked to read two sections from the screenplay for the academy award winning film, Good Will
Hunting. Before embarking upon this reading, it is strongly suggested that you watch the film and then
concentrate on these vocational passages. Sean, Will’s therapist, and Chuckie, Will’s best friend, both push
Will to consider what his great passions and interests are in trying to determine what to do to earn a living.
Neither Sean nor Chuckie will let Will ignore who he is, the incredible gifts he has, and the fact that they bring
a special responsibility.
FREDERICK BUECHNER •
“Vocation”
ized and borne, and whether by the very act of breaking it the law is
recogn h ·11 f G d · h “fi
1 sanctified. T e WI O O is t us sancti 1ed in the deed that arises out tru Y · 1 b d 1· · h d
f f edom. Precise y ecause we are ea mg wit a eed that arises from o re h .
freedom, the one w o acts 1s n~t tor~ apar~ by destructive conflict, but in-
d can with confidence and mner mtegnty do the unspeakable namely stea . , ,
in the very act of breaking the law to sanctify it.
FREDERICK BUECHNER
“Vocation”
Frederick Buechner is a contemporary novelist and theologian whose facil-
ity with the English language and whose ability to condense complex is-
sues into memorable aphorisms have made many of his theological for-
mulations especially quotable. Indeed, his special gift for verbal economy
may have encouraged him to produce a kind of dictionary of Christian
theological terms in the book from which the selection below has been
taken, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC. The term that appeared under
the letter Vin that volume was, of course, “vocation.”
The conclusion of Buechner’s short discussion of vocation is perhaps
the most widely quoted formulation of vocation among contemporary
American Christians. “The place God calls you to is the place where your
deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” By “deep · gladness,”
do you suppose that Buechner means “contentment,” or does he mean
the kind of joy that can be present even in the midst of suffering? Which of
those two understandings would be more consonant with the ideas of vo-
cation set forth by the other writers in this anthology?
From Fred .
1973) enck Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (New York: Harper and Row, ‘p. 95.
111
VOCABULARIES • Vocation
[Vocation] comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the k Wor a
is called to by God. Person
There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all di’fi”Ce
11 rent ki d
work and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God r th n s of ‘ a erth Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest. an of
By and large a good rule for finding out is this: The kind of k
usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most ::
0
~
0
God
(b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick and
your work, you’ve presumably met requirement (a), but if your work i out ?f
· · d th h ‘ · d · s Writ-mg agarette a s, e c ances are you ve m1sse requirement (b) 0
other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you ha;e p:~:~
bly met requirement (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed
by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren’t
helping your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you
to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.
WILL CAMPBELL
“Vocation as Grace”
Will Campbell, who lives on a farm in Tennessee, has been upsetting
Christian complacencies for many years as a preacher, activist, essayiSt’
and novelist. Like Bonhoeffer, Campbell believes that “when Christ calls a
man, he bids him come and die.” Campbell therefore has no patience for
the idea of vocation as something that simply gives a spiritual gloss to
what we have chosen to do for ourselves by ourselves in any case.
In the story that he recounts below, Campbell challenges the conven-
tional Christian notion that vocation is a purely individual matter. He sug-
h
. ·th others,
gests t at our callings are best negotiated in community WI
andWillD-
From William D. Campbell, “Vocation as Grace,” in Callings/ ed. James Y. Holloway
Campbell (New York: Paulist Press, 1974), pp. 279-280.
112
QUESTIONS 4
. Should I Follow My Talents?
b S
an author it is probably merely a change of em I
When a man ecome ‘ . h. h h h” P oy.
h
. H t kes a portion of that ume w 1c as ttherto bee d
ment to 1m. e a h • h” n e
h
tudy or pursuit; e gives up somet mg of the le I –
voted to some ot er s . d d ga or . , . . which he has hitherto en eavoure to serve oth
medical pro,ess1on, m b h” h h h ers
I
. . h art of the trade or business y w 1c e as been striVi ,
or re mqu1s es P I d ng to
ain a livelihood; and another merchant, or awyer, or octor, steps into his
g
I
d probably does as well as he. But no other can take up h
vacant pace, an ., th t e
. t gular duties of the daughter, the wue, or e mother, as well as sh
qu1e , re h . I I . , e whom God has appointed to fill t at parttcu ar p ace. a woman s principal
work in life is hardly left to her own ch01ce; nor can she drop the domestic
charges devolving on her as an individual, for the exercise of the most splen-
did talents that were ever bestowed. And yet she must not shrink from the
extra responsibility implied by the very_ fact of her possessing such talents.
She must not hide her gift in a napkin; 1t was meant for the use and service
of others. Jn an humble and faithful spirit must she labour to do what is not
impossible, or God would not have set her to do it.
MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK
Good Will Hunting
The title of this 1997 film is a pun. On the one hand it refers to the title
character, whose name is Will Hunting. On the other hand it implies that
the film is about this character’s hunt for something – for his vocation or,
in a larger sense, for his identity- that he can accept with good will.
Will Hunting is a genius. He can work out problems in mathematics
that baffle the professors who teach at MIT, where he works as a janitor.
For complicated reasons that he does not himself fully understand, Will si-
multaneously hides and displays his prodigious ability by sneaking around
the halls of the school at night and writing the solutions to complicated
From Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Boob .
1997
), pp.
125
_
134
. Good Will Hunting: A Screenplay (New York: Miramax
32
2
MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK Good Will Hunting
problems others cannot solve on chalkboards in the hallways. Will claims
that he simply wants to be a manual laborer – a custodian or a bricklayer
_ instead of a code breaker for the government, the job he has been of-
fered. As the scene unfolds between W’.11 and Sean, his therapist, do you
think Will really means what he says, or 1s he troubled by, or even afraid of,
his own genius? Have you ever failed to develop a talent for fear of what
might be expected or required of you if you did so?
The second series of exchanges in the screenplay takes place between
Will and his friend Chuckie, both of whom are doing construction work.
Chuckie thinks that he will be and probably should be a construction
worker for his entire life. Like Sean, however, he recognizes Will’s talent
and hopes that Will will use it. Sometimes our teachers and friends can
recognize and appreciate our talents more than we can. If several of our
acquaintances urge us to pursue a particular vocation on the basis of our
extraordinary aptitudes for that calling, are we obliged to follow their ad-
vice? Why or why not? In his exchange with Chuckie, Will suggests that he
values place – the neighborhood and his friends – over career, desire
over talent. Gary Badcock (see Part I) argued that it is often quite legiti –
mate to prefer place over occupation, desire over talent. What do you
think?
Damon and Affleck won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay
for this film, in which they also starred as Will and Chuckie. Robin Wil-
liams played Sean, Will’s therapist.
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
INT. SEAN’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Will sits across from Sean.
So you might be working for Uncle Sam.
I don’t know.
Gerry says the meeting went well.
I guess.
What did you think?
What did I think?
A beat. Will has obviously been stewing on this.
323
WILL
WILL
QUESTIONS
• 4_ Should 1 Follow My Talents?
(cont”d) ki al N 5 A Somebody puts a code on my d k Say I’m wor. ng . . . k S I k h es
ethin nobody dse can brea . o ta e a ,5 ot at it and
som bg k. And rm real happyw1th myself, cause I did
maybelII Brea m\ybe that code was the location of some r mb YI
J·ob we . ut e e . N ,h Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that 1 annym or h b I o-
cation. they bomb the village where t e re e s \:’ere hiding and
fifteen hundred people I never had a problem With get killed.
(rapid.fire)
Now the politicians are sayin’ “send in the Marines to se-
cure the area” ’cause they don’t give a shit. It won’t be their kid
over there, gettin’ shot. Just like it wasn’t them when their nurn-
ber got called, ’cause they were pullin’ t~ur in the National
Guard. It’ll be some guy from South1e takin shrapnel in the ass.
And he comes home to find that the plant he used to work at
got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy
who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, ’cause he”ll work
for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks.
Meanwhile my buddy from Southie realizes the only rea-
son he was over there was so we could install a government
that would sdl us oil at a good price.
And of course the oil companies used the skirmish to scare
up oil prices so they could turn a quick buck. A cute, little an-
cillary benefit for them but it ain’t helping my buddy at two-
fifty a gallon. And naturally they’re takin’ their sweet time
bringin’ the oil back and maybe even took the liberty of hiring
an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink seven and sevens and
play slalom with the icebergs and it ain’t too long ’til he hits
one, spills the oil, and kills all the sea-life in the North Atlantic.
So my buddy’s out of work and he can’t afford to drive so he’s
got to walk to the job interviews which sucks ’cause the shrap-
nel in his ass is givin’ him chronic hemorrhoids. And mean-
while he’s starvin’ ’cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat
the only blue-plate special they’re servin’ is North Atlantic
scrod with Quaker State.
A beat.
(cont’d)
So what”d I think’ I”m holdin’ out for somethin’ better. I figure
324
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK Good Will Hunting
!”II eliminate the i_niddle man. Why not just shoot m bud
iake h!S JOb and give It to his sworn enem h”k y . dy,
bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the h y, h, _e up gas pnces,
. I G d> Ch . as pipe and Jom the
Nationa uar . rist, I could be elected President.
Do you think you’re alone?
What?
Do you have a soul-mate?
Define that.
Someone who ~hallenges you in every way. Who takes you
places, opens thmgs up for you. A soul-mate.
Yeah.
Sean waits.
(cont’d)
Shakespeare, Neitzche [sic], Frost, O’Connor, Chaucer, Pope,
Kant-
They’re all dead.
Not to me, they’re not.
But you can”t give back to them, Will.
Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts, no …
That’s what I’m saying, Will. You’ll never have that kind of rela-
tionship in a world where you’re afraid to take the first seep be-
cause all you ‘re seeing are the negative things that might hap-
pen ten miles down the road.
Oh, what? You”re going to take the professor’s side on this?
Don’t give me your line of shit.
1 didn’t want the job.
It’s not about that job. I’m not saying you should work for the
government. But, you could do anything you want. And there
are people who work their whole lives layin’ brick so their kids
have a chance at the kind of opportunity you have. What do
you want to do?
325
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
SEAN
SEAN
SEAN
SEAN
Ns , 4 Should I Follow My Talents? QUESTIO .
1 didn’t ask for this.
Nobody gets what they ask for, Will. That’s a cop-out.
Why is it a cop-out? I don’t see, anythin: ~ong With la)’in•
brick, that’s somebody’s home Im bu1ldm . Or flXin’ sorne-
body’s car, somebody’s gonna get to work the next day ’cause
of me. There’s honor in that.
You’re right, Will. Any man who takes a forty mi~ute train ride
so those college kids can come 10 10 the mornmg and their
floors will be clean and their trash cans will be empty is an hon-
orable man.
A beat. Will says nothing.
(cont’d)
And when they get drunk and puke in the sink, they don’t have
to see it the next morning because of you. That’s real work
Will. And there is honor in that. Which I’m sure is why yo~
took the job.
A beot.
(cont’d)
\ just want to know why you decided to sneak around at night,
writing on chalkboards and lying about it.
(beat)
‘Cause there’s no honor in that.
Willis silent.
(cont’d)
Something you want to say?
Sean gets up, goes to the door and opens it.
(cont’d)
Why don’t you come back when you have an answer for me.
WILL
SEAN
WILL
What>
If you won’t answer my questions, you’re wasting my time.
What>
Will loses it, slams the door shut.
326
MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK , G d 00 Will Hunting
WILL
WILL
WILL
SEAN
WILL
SEAN
SEAN
(cont ‘d)
fuck you!
Sean has finalry gotten to Will.
(cont’d)
Who the fuck are you to lecture me about life? You fuck.in’
burnout! Where’s your “soul-mate”?!
Sean lets this play out.
(cont’d)
Dead! She dies and you just cash in your chips. That’s a fuck.in’
cop-out!
I been there. I played my hand.
That’s right. And you fuck.in’ lost! And some people would
have the sack to lose a big hand like that and still come back
and ante up again!
Look at me. What do you want to do?
A beat. Will looks up.
(cont’d)
You and your bullshit. You got an answer for everybody. But I
asked you a straight question and you can’t give me a straight
answer. Because you don’t know.
Sean goes to the door and opens it. Will walks out.
CUT TO:
INT. MAGGIORE BUILDER’S CONSTRUCTION SITE – DAY
Will and Chuckie take crowbars to a wall. This is what they do for a
living. As they routinery hammer away, Will becomes more involved in
his battle with the wall. Plaster and lathing fly as Will vents his rage.
Chuckie, noticing, stops working and takes a step back, watching Will.
Will is oblivious ….
EXT. HANRAHAN’S PACKAGE STORE – LATER
Will walks out carrying a brown bag. He is filthy, having just knocked
off work.
327
QUESTIONS
4. Should l Follow My Talents?
cuTTO:
EXT. MAGGIORE BUILDER’S CONSTRUCTION SITE – PARKING LOT
Chuckie is sitting on the hood ~f his Cadillac,_ watching Will across the Will takes a seat next to Chuckie and they crack open their beers. CHUCKIE How’s the woman?
WlLL Gone.
CHUCKIE What? CHUCKIE Sorry, brother.
(beat) Wlll Oh I’m sure, that’s why only one of us has herpes.
CHUCKIE Some shows are worth the price of admission, partner.
This gets a small laugh from Will.
CHUCKIE (cont’d) SHEET METAL WORKER WlLL Fuck you. WILL So, when are you done with those meetin’s?
Week after I’m twenty-one.
328
2 MATT DAMON AND BEN AFFLECK , Good Will Hunting
(IJUCKIE Are they hookin’ you up with a job? WILL WILL WILL cHUCKIE
WILL WILL on or t e next fifty years Yeah, be a fuckin’ lab rat .
It’s a way outta here.
What d~ I want a way outta here for? I wane to live here the rest Look, you’re my best f’.iend, so don’t take this the wrong way, Why is it always this? I owe it to myself? What ifl don’t want co?
Fuck you. You owe it to me. Tomorrow I’m gonna wake up and You don’t know that. A beat. CHUCKIE (cont’d) 329
.V V «KFiiif _ QUESTIONS LOIS LOWRY
The Giver
. h” h falls into the category known as “young adult fiction”. ‘ is ·ddle schoolers an o er a u ts a I e, ,or it probes t’· opular among m1 . . . . e 111- This selection describes an •annual community ceremony in which Chapter Seven
~ow Jonas’s group had taken a new place in the Auditorium, trading witb beenThey were ~rranged by their original numbers, the numbers they had each ch”ld kn . · e num ers were rarely used after the amin: . 1 ewh1snumb f d hmm~· er, o course. Sometimes parents use I e
From Lois Lowry, The Giver (New y 386
>
LOIS LOWRY The Giver
h ·Jd’s misbehavior, indicating that mischief made one unwor- rt e Jonas a 1 was Nme ee • . d Year. It had meant walk and talk It had given him a slight advantage the . d soon to · . h ar or two, a i . d . I
first ye . he later months of that year. But It evene out, as 1t a ways did, by Threhe. the children progressed at much the same level, though by b O ne could always tell who was a few mont s o er t an h • first num er t eir . h” oup Technically Jonas’s full number was Eleven-nineteen, thers m is gr · ‘ 0 smce t ere h” . h new one, a shy female named Harriet. not be an Eleven but a Twelve, and age would no longer matter. He would be Asher was Four, and sat now in the row ahead of Jonas. He would re- Fiona, Eighteen, was on his left; on his other side sat Twenty, a male The initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief El- !hen ~he Chief Elder moved ahead in her speech. J
QUESTION S • 5. To Whom Should I Listen?
She began to describe this year’s group and its variety of pers 1 . . h hd · I . ewasone w o a smgu ar skills at caretaking, another who loved newchild WI unusu sc1enn c apntu e, and a fourth for whom physical lab ence as one _of his groupmates. The caretaking skills were no doubt those of 1 th I h h d d · · nJamm, e ma e w o a eV1Sed new, important equipment for the Rehabilitati He heard nothing that he recognized as himself, Jonas. whteh had performed the observations so meticulously all year. The Com- _Then , at last, the Chief Elder called number One to the stage, and the Each armouncement was lengthy, accompanied by a speech directed at Number One – her name was Madeline – returned, finally, amidst ap- When Two, a female named Inger, received her Assignment as Birth- Jonas noticed that Asher looked nervous . He kept turning his head and Three, Isaac, was given an Assignment as Instructor of Sixes, which ob-
388
I LOIS LOWRY • The Giver
1 ased him and was well deserved. Now th sly p e h ere were th 0ou e none of them ones t at Jonas would h 1.k ree Assign-g p • m1~- h r’s tu · went to the “” d h d ‘ e 1e Elderbe , her grinned an scratc e one leg with the other foot Th . · •When the committee began to consider Asher’s Assignment,” she went “For example, she said, sm1lmg , we did not consider for an instant des- The audience howled with laughter. Asher laughed, too, looking sheep- ‘ In fac t,” the Chief Elder continued, chuckling a little herself, · we even “Especially,” she said , chuckling, “the difference between snack and Asher nodded ruefully, and the audience laughed aloud. Jonas did, too. The punishment used for small children was a regulated system of Poor Asher, who always talked too fa st and mixed up words, even as a Jonas remembered it clearly. He could still see little Asher, wiggling wi t~ 1
wa nt my smack! ” QUESTIONS 5. To Whom Should I Listen?
The other Threes, including Jonas, had laughed nervously. “Snack!” The discipline wand, in the hand of the Childcare worker, whistled . But the next morning he had done it again. And again the i II . nd he was a Three. er, w en Asher! But he learned.· t With greater precmon. And now his lapses are very few. His corrections and “Asher.” She lifted her voice to make the official announcement. “We She clipped on his new badge as he stood beside her, beaming. Then he “Asher,” she said, “thank you for your childhood.” now by the wonderful Assignment his best friend had been given. But he Eighteen, Fiona , on his left, was called. Jonas knew she must be nervous; Even the applause, though enthusiastic, seemed serene when Fiona was
39 0
LOIS LOWRY • The Giver th iven I · 1 dh . e .!twas i g ensitive, gent e gir , an er smile was satisfied d per ect for Jth Chief Elder picked up the next folder and look d d pplause ended all roe d b h d wt at isturnh d •Twenty.” he heard her voice say clearly. “Pierre.” She k’ d · ‘ •ppe me, Jonas crowd, and he kne:,V t at t e enttre community realized that the Chief Elder 3 A mistake. She made a mistake. But Jonas knew, even as he had the mony of Twelve. signment Pierre rec_eived: and was only dimly aware of the applause as the The numbers continued m order. Jonas sat, dazed, as they moved into marked Nineteen. embarrassed, and then avert their eyes quickly. He saw a worried look on He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself smaller in the seat. with shame. wrong?
Chapter Eight The audience was clearly ill at ease. They app au e at d f •red enthusi- 391 0 QUESTIONS • 5. To Whom Should I Listen?
J~nas moved his hands rog~ther, clapping, bu_t it _was an automa . th The Chief Elder waited until the uneasy applause subsided T~rror. “‘I know,” she said in her vibrant, gracious voice, “that you are all She smiled. The community, relieved from its discomfort very slight! Jonas looked up. · Her voice flowed over the assembled crowd. y. I caused you anguish.” of jaunty, self-assured walk that he hoped he could make to the stage when Reassuringly she placed her arm across his tense shoulders. sank. from the audience. They, too, were puzzled. to be our next Receiver of Memory.” astonishment, by each of the seated citizens. He saw their faces; rhe eyes And still he did not understand. NOur community has only one Receiver. It is he who trains his successor. Jonas followed her eyes and saw that she was looking at one of the Elders. 392
Lois LOWRY • The Giver
‘ eyes were now on one who sat in the midst but seemed od ago when Jonas was just a toddler. J will not d II · was 1 ce because it causes us a tern le discomfort.” pen- “We have not been hasty this ttme, she continued. “We could not afford an “Sometimes,” s~e ‘:ent ~n, speaking no~ in a lighter tone, relaxing the aturity, be revealed as simply foohshness and indolence. So we continue “But the Receiver-in-training cannot be observed, cannot be modified. Alone? Apart? Jonas listened with increasing unease. of ,he Committee. They can have no doubts, however fleeting. If, during the “Jonas was identified as a possible Receiver many years ~go. We have “He has shown all of the qualities that a Receiver must have.” qualities. throughout his school days. . ‘ . ,. th I we hoped, also, that tra nsgressions.” She smiled at him. We expect a · 1 done so. da has ever undergone the rigorous training required of a Receiver. He, of course, 393 I L
QUESTIONS • 5. To Whom Should I Listen? portant member of the Committee: the current Receiver. It was he “Jonas ,” she said, turning to him , but speaking in a voice that th . . .. Y ca] He felt fear flutter within him. falls from your bicycle. Yes, you crushed your finger in a door last ye ., . . pany- “But you will be faced, now,” she explained gently, “with pain of a ma _ “But we feel certain that you are brave,” she said to him. has not yet acquired that. The acquisition of wisdom will come through his “We are convinced that Jonas has the ability to acquire wisdom. That is “Finally, The Receiver must have one more quality, and it is one which I The Chief Elder lo For a moment he froze , consumed with despair. He didn’t have it, the But when he looked out across the crowd, the sea of faces , the thing They changed. he felt a tiny sliver of sureness for the first time. 394
‘ VINCENT HARDING • “I Hear Them . . . Calling”
h d un ers b ·e’s beyond.” mg. . of which he was a part, you will be tramed to be our next Receiver of name- . “Jonas.” It was a whisper at first: hushed, barely audible. “Jonas. Jonas.” new role, giving him life, the way they had given it to the newchild Caleb. But at the same time he was filled with fear. He did not know what his Or what would become of him.
VINCENT HARDING
“I Hear Them … Calling”
. . d h h t h”s adult life in domestic 1 •
d · t· e This essay was written and international movements for peace an JUS ,c · . . . h th breaking book There Is 1 sor Emeritus of Religion and Social Trans,ormat,on . . . . .. speaker and writer. Placing this essay just after the selection rom
F (N y rk· Paulist Press, 1974), PP· O
• i7·69,
395 QUESTION S 5. To Whom Should I Listen?
envision another, quite different example of a community that noticed the Callings are strange things. I think I’ve heard a fair number in my time, per- Callings are strange things. The first I remember (or want to remember?) Up there on platforms and stages, at all the church programs, reciting It took a while for that to happen, for I was hearing other calls as well – 396
V1NCENT HARDING “/ Hear Them C 11· · · • a 1ng”
ehoW I got involved with building model . 1 sorn h d 6 h atrp anes 1 ause no one a ot ered to mass produ 1 .. ‘ party, I sup-se ec b ce te evis1on the call came to be an aeronautical engineer (wh t · at’s when 1 k c !ks a ever that is) d 1 ‘t found out that B ac ,o weren’t supposed to b . • an ha n . fi d h e aeronauttcal eng· neers- h h h” h h I s werent good P Meanwhile, the Io ro.-ward _ not entire y against t e_ sometimes showmanship of my Will – But I hadn’t stopped hearing the callings from other sources. In h,g~ · h · f h And high school teach-wit such a wide space between my two rant teet . Now, this thing with writing is part of the strangeness O t e ca tgs. t . h h hurch community was t e b mem ers of my family-tribe at v,crory a e but I know 1t t 397 QUESTIONS • 5- To Whom Should I Listen?
exisied, and if it was the community of believers, they likely did not And by the time I got to college – somehow I think I always knew I had At Gty College, the calling towards writing meant another tension Some of the Tribe was likely worried when, after college, I went off to When I finally had to answer the call of the draft board, it was 19,3. O · Y P st-Army movement seemed fairly well established as I went
398
VINCENT HARDING • “I Hear Them … Calling”
. h aring all the raucous sounds_ of dea1h and animality which . Butnlow from deep sounding sources in the surround~n my e (coming, a.nY of saints), I ~l~o ~c1 e • per aps_ for the first time, to try to listen con- 1 never e.Xpected, under circumstances I would not have chosen, a brother (Strange about t~e Arm~. It neve~ sent me anywhere, except Fort Dix, !twas strange about the call . I still had the words of the odd high school th Viciory Tabernacle sponsored there. That made the graduate school acce_pt-
bl a e, worldly as they knew it was. Now, wou d out How do you explain it? Callings are strange th'”g · strangely it 399 fJ
QUESTIONS • 5- To Whom Should I Listen? Ame~ca: On the _Southside, I hear~ its singing and its screams, saw its d . One day I shall try to understand _and speak more fully of the painful th d u· . . k f me yet an even It ~vere, 1t ~s not yet tim~ to spea o it. This much can be said: th~ Nor is it yet time to speak fully of the ultimately transforming call tha, Then, before graduate work had ended, the call of the Southern Free- We shall understand it better by and by, and also speak more clearly of and Meridian, of Gulfport and Greenwood, of New Orleans and And when, after four years that encompassed a generation of struggle, 400
VINCENT HARDING • “J Hear Them … Calling”
~Ii•&’ through personal tragedy, and there were endin s an . erficial surfaces o my nowmg, brought me in touch with h ast t e Ontinuing movement away ram this America to d . r rr,y c . ‘ war s a radically Teaching, spaces and all. There the latest callings began. Teaching his- 1 had let slip by in the days of the Tribe, understanding things I had only seen I hear all the varied sounds of my homeland, all its human sounds, all its 1 hear all the screaming of my homeland, all the mournful pacing down I hear my people. I hear them calling from Virginia to San francisco,_I way to freedom. . Id. one another through hunger and parting, through torture and sickness, throug c dymg, I hear them calling.
401 f’
QUESTIONS • 5. To Whom Should I Listen?
I hear my people, lurching, flooding towards freedom during the Civ;I I hear them, mourning, weeping, wailing, prostrate around the thou- I hear them coming North, I hear them in the armies, I hear them in the I hear them in depression, picking their way through garbage piles, I hear them in war, dying for a land that will not protect them. I hear I hear my people marching, refusing to stop, refusing to be quiet, refus- I hear Malcolm, I hear Stokely, I hear Rap and Feather, I hear Ruby and Callings are a strange thing. I know what it means: I am a witness, in I am a witness (teacher, preacher, ranter, raver, dissident, resistant, radi- I know what it means: I am historian – now recognizing all the long 402
VINCENT HARDING “/ Hear Them … Calling”
ns I am now of them, deep calling unto deep. Their Voice h 1.,t ne, f thetr ‘. .. . · orever ost to song O • bJ·ectiV1ty, forever seared by the passton of their r, mint, f 1., and death and love – and intimations of the morning P Y _.,i , o ue d . . h h . . rtvt-‘°’~ ermitted, summone to JOm t em, t err struggle is mine, and I am fumily.) my mother sighing, scrubbing all the floors in all the white hom ‘ 0 would like to hear my father, and one day I suspect I shall.) J the pain and death. . . d I know what it means. It means I am called to be father, rock and 1 hear a voice, of my wife, Rosemarie. I know what It means. I am to be Callings are strange things. I think I have heard many v01ces tn many 403
str
Other i>’Orkers file out of the site. They drink.
WlLL She went to Medical school in California.
I don’t know what to tell ya. You know all the girls I been with.
You been with ’em too, except for Cheryl McGovern which was
a big mistake on your part brother …
My fuckin’ back is killin’ me.
A passing SHEET METAL WORKER overhears this.
That’s why you should’a gone to college.
CHUCKIE Suck my crank. Fuckin’ sheet metal pussy.
(beat)
Yeah, sit in a room and do long divisi , h
(1-!UCKIE
cttUCKIE
CHUCKIE
CHUCKIE
WILL
CHUCKIE
Yah, but it’s better than this shit. ·
At least you’d make some nice bank.
of my hfe. I want to be your next door neighbor. I want to take
our kids to httle league together up Foley Field.
but m_ 2.0 years, i_f rou re livin’ next door to me, comin’ over
watchm the fuckm Patriots’ games and still workin’ construc-
tion, I’ll fuckin’ kill you. And that’s not a threat, that’s a fact. I’ll
fuckin’ kill you.
Chuckie, what are you talkin’ ..
Listen, you got somethin’ that none of us have.
I’ll be fifty and I’ll still be doin’ this. And that’s all right ’cause
I’m gonna make a run at it. But you, you’re sittin’ on a winning
lottery ticket and you’re too much of a pussy to cash it in. And
that’s bullshit ’cause I’d do anything to have what you got! And
so would any of these guys. It’d be a fuckin’ insult to us if you’re
still here in twenty years.
Let me tell you what I do know. Every day I come by to pick you
up, and we go out drink.in’ or whatever and we have a few
laughs. But you know what the best part of my day is? The ten
seconds before I knock on the door ’cause I let myself think I
might get there, and you’d be gone. I’d knock on the door and
you wouldn’t be there. You just left.
Now, I don’t know much. But I know that.
5. To Whom Should I Listen?
The ewer. w ic d Id d I 1·k c
p . f nduring interest. It 1s set in a seemingly utopian, futurist” cal issues o e . re
world organized in ways that are meant to remo~e pain and conflict from
everyday life. Yet there are evidently a few cracks in the system; Jonas, the
novel’s protagonist, has begun to notice unusual things and to have some
questions about the society in which he lives.
young people are assigned to the work the adults believe will be most fit-
ting for them. Clearly, the process leading up to this ceremony is proof
that the adults have paid careful attention to the gifts of each child in the
community as well as to the community’s need for certain kinds of work to
be done. Does this ceremony therefore embody Frederick Buechner’s defi-
nition of vocation (see Part I)? And in what ways does the Assignments
ceremony fulfill Russell Muirhead’s proposal that everyone should have
“fitting” work (see Chapter 2)? How might Buechner and Muirhead criti-
cize this process?
t e new Elevens, so that they sat in the very front immediately before tbe stage. •
given at birth Th b N · g But
ork: Dell Laurel-leaf. 1993), pp. 50-64.
·tation at a c I !ways chuckled when he heard a parent, exasperated,
thY of a nam · h”ning toddler “That’s enough, Twenty-three!”
call sharply to a w
t n He had been the nineteenth new child born his
Jonas that at his Naming, he had been already standmg an
bright-eye ‘ rule more maturity than many of his groupmates w o
had been born m t
After T ree, h Id h
. h were other Nineteens, of course, in each age group. And today,
h the new Elevens had been advanced t 1s mornmg, t ere were rwo nowt at d h d ·1 . h h Eleven-nineteens. At the midday break he ha exc ange sm1 es wtt t e
But the duplication was only for these few hours. Very soon he would
an adult, like his parents, though a new one and untrained still.
ceive his Assignment fourth.
named Pierre whom Jonas didn’t like much . Pierre was very serious, not
much fun, and a worrier and tattletale, too. “Have you checked the rules,
Jonas?” Pierre was always whispering solemnly. “I’m not sure that’s within
the rules.” Usually it was some foolish thing that no one cared about –
opening his tunic if it was a day with a breeze; taking a brief try on a friend’s
bicycle, just to experience the different feel of it.
der, the leader of the community who was elected every ten years. The
speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood
and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the
profound importance of Assignment, the seriousness of training to come.
kn This is the time,” she began, looking directly at them, “when we ac-
. owledge differences. You Elevens have spent all your years till now learn-
ing to fit in to t d d” b . • s an ar 1ze your ehaVIor, to curb any impulse that might set
you .~part from the group.
lure ~ut today we honor your differences. They have determined your fu-s.
though she singled no one out by name. She mentioned that ther ona il!es,
“th al · •fi · d ren, One
b ” J 0 rwas an o V!ous p easure. Jonas shifted in his seat, trying to recognize each refer-
Fiona, on hts left; he remembered noticing the tenderness with wh · h h
had bathed the Old. Probably the one with scientific aptitude was Be
~ s_ e
Center. on
_ Finally the Chief Elder paid tribute to the hard work of her committee,
rruttee of Elders stood and was acknowledged by applause. Jonas noticed
Asher yawn slightly covering his mouth politely with his hand .
ASStgnments began.
the new Twelve. Jonas tried to pay attention as One, smiling happily, re-
ceived her Assignment as Fish Hatchery Attendant along with words of
praise for her childhood spent doing many volunteer hours there, and her
obvious interest in the important process of providing nourishment for the
community.
plause, to her seat, wearing the new badge that designated her Fish Hatchery
Attendant. Jonas was certainly glad that that Assignment was taken; he
wouldn’t have wanted it. But he gave Madeline a smile of congratulation.
mother, Jonas remembered that his mother had called it a job without
honor. But he thought that the Committee had chosen well . Inger was a nice
girl though somewhat lazy, and her body was strong. She would enjoy the
three years of being pampered that would follow her brief training; she
would give birth easily and well; and the task of Laborer that would follow
would use her strength, keep her healthy, and impose self-discipline. Inger
was smiling when she resumed her seat. Birthmother was an important job,
1f lacking in prestige.
glancing back at Jonas until the group leader had to give him a silent chas-
tisement, a motion to sit still and face forward.
“‘eJ1 h ve been a Birthmother, anyway, he realized . h not that he
could a rt through the list in his mind, the possibl w,A t . amusement. He
..ied to so e sstgnments h
u• d But there were so many he gave it up· and t at re-
!llaifle ‘ rn He paid strict attention as his fri;nd anyway, now it was
M e If-co nsciously beside the Chief Elder. stage and
1o0d se . kn s ,. 11 of us in the community ow and enjoy Asher • th ch· f
gan- nS f l · e audience
chuckled so t Y· . .
on, •there were some poss1b1lmes . that were tmmediately discarded. Some
ihatwould clearly .. not ha:e been ng~t for_A sher.
. t·lllg Asher an Instructor of Threes.” ,gna .
ish but pleased at the special attention. The Instructors of Threes were in
charge of the acquisition of correct language.
gave a little thought to some retroactive chastisement for the one who had
been Asher’s Instructor of Threes so long ago. At the meeting where Asher
was discussed, we retold many of the stories that we all remembered from
his days of language acquisition.
smack. Remember, Asher?”
He remembered, though he had been only a Three at the time himself.
smacks with the discipline wand: a thin , fl exible weapon that stung pain-
fully when it was wielded. The Child care specialists were trained very care-
ful ly in the discipline methods: a quick smack across the hands for a bit of
minor misbehavior; three sharper smacks on the bare legs for a second of-
fense.
toddler, As a Three, eager for his juice and crackers at snacktime, he one day
said ‘smack” instead of “snack” as he stood waiting in line for the morning
treat.
impatience in the line. He remembered the cheerful voice calling out,
corrected. “You meant snack, Asher! ” But the mistake had been mad· they
precision of language was one of the most important tasks of e. And
dren . Asher had asked for a smack. small chiJ_
came down across Asher’s hands. Asher whimpered, cringed, and as It
himself instantly. “Snack,· he whispered. corrected
week. He couldn ‘t seem to stop, though for each lapse the discipli~ OWing
came again. escalating to a series of painful lashes that left marks Ae wha
I all f; . . on s er’s
egs. Even tu y, or a penod of nme, Asher stopped talking altogeth h
“For a while.” the Chief Elder said, relating the story, “we had a silen
. She turned to Mm with a smile. “When he began to talk again, it was
apologies are very prompt. And his good humor is unfailing.” The audience
murmured in agreement. Asher’s cheerful disposition was well known
throughout the community.
have given you the Assignment of Assistant Director of Recreation.”
turned and left the stage as the audience cheered. When he had taken his
seat again , the Chief Elder looked down at him and said the words that she
had said now four times, and would say to each new Twelve. Somehow she
gave it special meaning for each of them .
The Assignments continued, and Jonas watched and listened, relieved
was more and more apprehensive as his own approached. Now the new
Twelves in the row ahead had all received their badges. They were fingering
them as they sat, and Jonas knew that each one was thinking about the
training that lay ahead. For some – one studious male had been selected as
Doctor, a female as Engineer, and another for Law and Justice – it would be
years of hard work and study. Others , like Laborers and Birthmothers,
would have a much shorter training period.
but Fiona was a calm female. She had been sitting quietly, serenely, through-
out the Ceremony.
e important Assignment of Caretaker of th Old
su1 t:r seat beside him again. an pleased when she
,oo onas prepared ~,mself to walk to the stage when the a
and e e own to the
fo rward the next new Twelve. He was calm no h h’ group
com•• He rook a eep reat a_n smoothed his hair with his hand a
d H d h h d
ht stunne . a e ear wrong? No. There was a sudd h h . thoug, h h. enusmthe
had moved from Eighteen to Twenty, leaving a gap. On his right, Pierre, with
starcled look, rose from his s~at and moved to the stage.
thought, that she hadn’t. The Chief Elder made no mistakes. Not at the Cere-
He felt dizzy, and couldn’t focus his attention. He didn’t hear what As-
boy returned, wearing _his ne~ badge. Then: Twenty-one. Twenty-two.
the Thirties and then the Forties , nearing the end. Each time, at each an-
nouncement, his heart jumped for a moment, and he thought wild
thoughts. Perhaps now she would call his name. Could he have forgotten his
own number? No. He had always been Nineteen. He was sitting in the seat
But she had skipped him . He saw the others in his group glance at him,
the face of his group leader.
He wanted to disappear, to fade away, not to exist. He didn’t dare to turn and
find his parents in the crowd. He couldn’t bear to see their faces darkened
Jonas bowed his head and searched through his mind. What had he done
I d d the final Assignment;
but the applause was piecemeal, no longer a crescen ° O um
asm. There were murmurs of confusion.
meamngless gesture that he wasn t even aware of. His mind had shut tic,
of the earlier emotions: the anticipation, excitement, pride, and ev~ut all
happy kinship with his friends. Now he felt only humiliation and t n
e
spoke again. · en she
cemed. That you feel I have made a mistake.” con-
by her benign statement, seemed to breathe more easily. It was very silen{
“I have caused you anxiety,” she said. “I apologize to my communit ”
-We accept your apology, ” they all uttered together.
“Jonas ,” she said, looking down at him, “I apologize to you in particular.
“I accept your apology,” Jonas replied shakily.
“Please come co the stage now.”
Earlier that day, dressing in his own dwelling, he had practiced the kind
his turn came. All of that was forgotten now. He simply willed himself to
stand, to move his feet that felt weighted and clumsy, to go forward, up the
S[eps and across the platform until he stood at her side.
”Jonas has nor been assigned,” she informed the crowd, and his heart
Then she went on. “Jonas has been selected.”
He blinked. What did that mean? He felt a collective, questioning stir
In a firm, commanding voice she announced, “Jonas has been selected
Then be heard the gasp-the sudden intake of breath, drawn sharply in
widened in awe.
“Such a selection is very, very rare; the Chief Elder told the audience.
“We have had our current Receiver for a very long time ,” she went on.
The Committee of Elders was sitting together in a group; and the Chief El-
der s th rn It was a man Jonas had never noticed b t dly separate
f~!ll al: e;,es. He was watching Jonas intently. e ore, a bearded man
“‘1th~, failed in our last selection,” the Chief Elders -d I ” vv e at so emnly “It
enyears • H .b we ontheex .
en Jonas didn’t k.n~w what she “:as referring to, but he could sense the dis
,orn fort of the audience. They ~h1~ted .. uneasily in their seats. –
other failure.”
iension in the Aud1tonum, ~e are not entirely certain about the Assign-
ments, even after the m~st pamstaking observations. Sometimes we worry
(ha! the one assigned might not develop, through training, every attribuie
necessary. Elevens are still chHdren, after all. What we observe as playful-
ness and patience – the ~equireme~ts to beco~e Nurturer – could, with
: observe during training, and to modify behavior when necessary.
That is stated quite clearly in the rules. He is to be alone, apart, while he is
prepared by the -~urrent Receiver for the job which is the most honored in
our commumty.
“Therefore the selection must be sound. It must be a unanimous choice
process, an Elder reports a dream of uncertainty, that dream has the power
10 set a candidate aside instantly.
observed him meticulously. There were no dreams of uncertainty.
With her hand still firmly on his shoulder, the Chief Elder listed the
“Intelligence,” she said. “We are all aware that Jonas has been a top student
“lnregrity” she said next. “Jonas has, like all of us, committed mmor
he would present himself promptly for chaStisement, and he has a ways
“Courage,” she went on. “Only one of us here to Y . the most im-
15
I
minded us , again and again, of the courage required. who re.
h ” h · · · d f · 1 e entire community could ear, t e trammg requ1re o you mvo ves pain. Ph si
pam.
“You have never experienced that. Yes, you have scraped your k . nees 10
Jonas nodded, agreeing, as he recalled the incident, and its accomar.
mg misery.
nitude that none of us here can comprehend because it is beyond our exp!.
rience. The Receiver himself was not able to describe it, only to remind us
that you would be faced with it, that you would need immense courage. We
cannot prepare you for that.
He did not feel brave at all. Not now.
“The fourth essential attribute,” the Chief Elder said, “is wisdom. Jonas
training.
what we looked for.
can only name, but not describe. I do not understand it. You members of
the community will not understand it, either. Perhaps Jonas will, because
the current Receiver has told us that Jonas already has this quality. He calls
it the Capacity to See Beyond.”
whatever-she-had-said. He didn’t know what it was. Now was the moment
when he would have to confess, to say, “No, I don’t. I can’t,” and throw him-
self on their mercy, ask their forgiveness, to explain that he had been
wrongly chosen, that he was not the right one at all.
happened again. The thing that had happened with the apple.
He blinked, and it was gone. His shoulders straightened slightly. Briefly
She was still watching him. They all were.
·nk it’s true,” he told the Chief Elder and the comm • “I d “I t 1 , . . umty. on’t
tand it yet. I don t know what 1t 1s. But sometimes I see someth”
drnaY e I ;.n h took her arm from his shoulders.
;Jo:as.” she said, speaki~g not ~o him a!one but to the entire commu-
nity y We thank you for your childhood.”
l,{ernor . d I f Then she turned . an e t the stage, left him there alone, standing and
facing the crowd, which began spontaneously the collective murmur of his
Then louder, faster. “JONAS. JONAS. JONAS.”
With the chant, Jonas knew, the community was accepting him and his
His heart swelled with gratitude and pride.
selection meant. He did not know what he was to become.
1
Vincent Harding has been ,nvo ve t roug ou
fairly early in his career, as he was wnt1ng t e pa · . • ( g8i) Presently Profes-
a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom 1n Amenco
· 1 . , • at Iliff School ofTheo ·
ogy 1n Denver Harding continues to be an inspiring ‘ . fi The Giver allows us to
11
rom Callings! ed. James Y. Holloway and Will D. Camp be ew
gifts of a young person and sought to shape his future. How does Har-
ding’s sense of the scope and needs of the community that is “callin ,,
him change over time? Do his relationship to this community and h· g t~ 1s vari-
ous ways of responding to the call of his people deepen or threaten what
we might call , with Charles Taylor, his “authenticity”?
haps fewer than I was supposed to – or maybe it was more; I’m not certain
now. Sometimes they proved to be nothing more than echoes bouncin off
from other lives Oives I sometimes thought were mine) and passed on ~heir
way. Others puzzled me, and led me into ways I do not yet understand.
Some I understand and fear. A few – perhaps more than I know – I have
followed as fur as they led; and some are still moving. Still moving, prepar-
ing to join themselves to the sounds of the new summons, and I suspect
there are yet borders to cross.
came through the Black believers who were my extended fa mily in a Harlem
congregation. I felt their loving, often demanding grip on my life at an early
time – maybe 6 or 7 – and heard the call through all their voices and
fiercely possessive hopes.
the poems and Bible verses, I heard them set me apart: “He’s going to be a
preacher,” that call said (really meaning, he is going to be our preacher, ours,
to assure the continuance of our hopes beyond the borders of our lives), and
it was a while before I understood that it was supposed to be my calling, that
I should hear it and respond.
or thought I was, though I’m sure I didn ‘t name them that- and was trying to
move wi th them. Like the calling to be an athlete. (This was before Jackie Rob-
inson, so I’m not sure where I thought that road would lead. Perhaps I simply
thought that a man should be able to spend his life doing what he really liked,
and I liked everything that had to do with balls and bats and running and
jumping and falling and feeling the strength of bodies against each other. I
liked them fa r more than the violin and then the piano lessons that my mother
hoped in vain I’d like.) That lasted for a while, but f wasn’t growing as tall as I
thought an athlete ought to be – especially one who thought he was called to
play fi rst base, among other things – and f began to hear other calls.
b
pO ~bably wouldn’t ~ave een able to afford one) and art! sets yet (and
we P brothers and sisters to share the sometimes I P1 dy because there were no one y ays With Th
d
What J did in out was t at my mathematical skill , •-
enough to pass t e test or t e ig sc oo where all the really bright, aero-
nautical enginee~types were supposed to attend; so that call too was
ressed aside. I think the model aITpla_nes were pretty good, though.
1
ving,_ t1ghthly grtppmg community was pressing me
into minor church offices, and other responsibilities. And I continued to be
up in front at the _programs (we, education-oriented folks that we were,
mostly of West Indian hentage on the way from Africa, we called them Ly-
ceum programs, following traditions of self-improvement deeply instilled in
the African people of this country and elsewhere), reciting, only now it was
a kind of quasi-acting we used to call Dramatic Reading. That was how I met
James Weldon Johnson and Pa_ul Lawrence_ Dunbar (not really knowing who
I was meeting, not really hearing many things they were callmg to me), and
Walt Whitman and Alfred Lord Tennyson and a lot of even stranger people.
Then on youth days I would periodically be the preacher, and that was
enough to assure my extended family – and I think my mother too – that
the call they heard was authentic, needing only the seasoning of time and
the deepening of commitment, much seasoning and deepening- because I
had some ways about me that they weren’t quite sure were supposed to go
with preaching in a Biblically-immersed community of saints. .
school the teachers were the media, and I heard the call to high schoo
teaching. Then one odd teacher told me I’d never pass the oral examination
ing was put aside for a time. f h 11· I
have not yet moved deeply enough into the chambers of the paS
to e c:-
tam about where and how it came. Per aps t e c ·f rterly • h ‘bl d acting as t my qua
voice ere too, encouraging my terrt e poetry an at doc-·1· h B’ble lessons were gre
reports or my summaries and hom1 res on t e 1 . the younger
u ( . . t ry feeltngs arnong ments arousing, of course, certain con ra h Day Christian
. T b rnacle Sevent .
Church). That original voice is at least temporarily (oS
to me,
then that they had helped open me to one of the major tensions of know
of callings, a sometimes fier:ce stretching between writing and spe:[ World
tween writing and preaching, between scholarship and rninist ~g, be-
midst of the people. ry in the
ro go to college; and since there was absolutely no money for such a thin 1
had to go to the only college I knew where you could at once attend Wi h g,
tuition and also have all the teachers and the loving tribe beam and say ~’h out
wonderful, City College, that’s a hard school to get into” – the loudest ~allow
was towards writing, pressing me deeply into short story courses, journali~
courses (finally majoring in History because there weren’t enough writin
courses), still experimenting With poetry, mostly devoied to working Wit~
the weekly campus newspaper, eventually becoming the inevitable FIRST
NEGRO editor of that ancient institution of wisdom and scandal.
pressed me cowards a period of largely white friends and co-workers wh~
vied with the ancestral community for my loyalties and my attention, led
me into certain strange pathways which shut out voices I should have heard
led to great pain. But callings are strange things. ‘
something else that wasn’t really preaching, to graduate work in Journalism.
(With all due respect to their worries, I was more worried about the Army
then. That was a call I hoped to avoid for as long as possible.) Again the ten-
sions of coilege were there, perhaps multiplied, as I was clearly being
groomed for another FIRST NEGRO position. The serious and painful dou-
ble voices were there, raising questions about the calJings of the believers
down the hill. through the park, in Harlem. and the callings which some-
times seemed so right and noble and GOOD FOR THE RACE) up at City
ColJege and over at Morningside Heights – and the worlds were deeply in
tension. Callings will sometimes do that.
Knowin~ of n~ movement, lacking courage and desire co g~ the path of a
CO.: wh1Ch I did know a bi1 about – bu1 didn’t really hear that call, perhaps
didn t wane to – I went in. I wanted desperately to be sent to Germany or Ja-
pan or ~ven Korea, any place outside of this country- for “education,” not
from alienation. yet. By then I thought I had flltered out the central call
among_the callings. and prepared for the next FIRST NEGRO experience, at
some liberal newspap i k Times. So m
er, my pre erence, of course, being the New Yor
iJt, • the Army, but determmmg to be a good sold’ Substnute
for ll e inetting overseas somewhere. ter, perhaps even an
officer, ~n the strangeness that has surrounded so much f l’fi
I
I kfJOW • d . d d h g ancestral com-
~iously, with ant1C1pat1on, for the callings. I think I wanted to see if! would
hea.r confirmations of the voices which had come through the believers or
[he teachers, seeking some release from the te~sion, suspecting perhaps that
rnight be pressed acres~ new borders, followmg, listening. And in a place 1
spoke and asked me if I had ever thought of teaching; and for reasons far too
complex and too far away to speak of now, I knew that I had heard the voice,
,he calling for that time.
N.J. and Fort Benjamin Harnson, Indiana.- part~y be_cause I knew how to
[)’Pe and play handball . Strange, too, that time of hstemng. I ended up reject-
ing all my inclinations_ towards the g~od soldier, ~ecame a C.O. in my heart.
Strange, too: I had decided to engage ma very senous and sustained study of
ieachcr in my mind, ard decided that if I were going to teach it might be
beuer to try college, where I assumed that spaces between teeth didn’t
count. But I knew nothing about graduate schools, and finally, when press_ed
10 choose among the ones where I had been accepted, opened myself wilh
fea r and trembling to the voice of the tribe/community/church, and went to
Chicago- two weeks after discharge from the Army-where I could be of
assistance as interim, part-time pastor of a little mission congregation
at
I Id be anchored in an extension
of the tribe; so they thought the calls and prayers had finally rawn me
of 1hc sttange and various paths_ I had explored. . s In Chicago. for the
f, . . H rlem and the Bronx –
1rst time – after having grown up m a I k b O condition in was in Chicago that I finally heard and saw the B ac ur a
rcmunanon and its terror. sensed tts freedom and its captivity. And w _e-
there was much I did not then understand about such calls I kne h· hile
calling me. ‘ w t ts Was
callmg which took me away from the little m1ss1on congregation _ d
timately away from my immediate (but not my ultimate) relationshi an ul-
tribe of my childhood and my youth. That calling is not fully clear t/ to
e
move to an mterrac1al congregation as a lay pastor of a team ministr
seemed to allow me to hold the tension of Blackness and whiteness (it y
of co~rse, a time when such things seemed most urgent), the tensio::r
teachrng and preaching, of study and ministry. But those are only superficial
statements, and should be received as such for now.
led to marriage, a call far different than any I had known, a call I was in too
~any ways unprepared to understand in all the richness of its meanings and
tts summons. But I know it is a calling, mine.
dom Movement became overwhelming, pressing aside almost every other
voice.. There was no escaping it. It possessed me during my first, exploring
journey into the South (grasped me there sitting on Martin King’s bed in
Montgomery where he rested recovering from his stabbing). It came to Chi-
cago in the body of the students and found me. While sit-ins and freedom-
rides were still sweeping across the South, we left Chicago and went South,
hearing, following a call.
it, that calling. Now let it suffice to say that it was then that all the fiercely
gripping, special callings of the South began, calls of the Movement, of
Southwest Georgia (home of my wife’s parents, repository of so many
memories of hope and fear) , of all the stretching land upon which my peo-
ple walked. and worked, and ran , and stood, and died. Then it began, all the
callings of Birmingham and Tuskegee, of Montgomery and Mobile, of Jack-
Charleston, of Hickory and Atlanta, of Ella Baker and Amzie Moore, of
Ralph Abernathy and Bill Shields, of Bob Moses Parris and Annelle Ponder,
of Jim and Diane, of Septima Clark and Slater King, of Clarence Jordan and
Siaughton Lynd – this was the beginning of new callings.
when the Movement had passed its height, it was possible to hear strange
c . Then finally the fimshmg of graduate work dg h d beginnings
•”””· ·h b antebeg·· ,. h. g _ still wit a space etween the front two h tnnmg of
“” ,n 11· b teet Th•”‘ the latest ca mgs egan. From somewhere -·had B
. ed?- there was an urgent aching to understand the meanin ud~ha vis-
,, d. the 2oth anniversary of Hiroshima that need I g of Vietnam, an on f k . • pungedmep h
suf~” , brutal tale, that heroic defense of life, and provided t. e meaning o u,a f new impetus fo
,ransformed society.
iory I was called to understand h_ow little I knew of history. Teaching Black
siudents, I learned how httle thss Black student, this FIRST NEGRO, had
b
movement towards new life. And when I knew that, I began_ as in the
ArntY, on1y a different army now- to listen again, hearing some things that
in the Movement. I began to hear voices more loudly than ever before, and
,hey will not be silent, for they are me.
animals, its spirit-filled rivers and lakes, its waterfalls, its mountains, its
grass and trees playing with the wind. I hear them all.
1o 1he slave baracoons, all the piercing, dying shouts, all the parting wailing
sounds. I hear children, crying children, I hear men, I hear women, calling,
now desiring only to be remembered, and vindicated. I hear them between
lhe decks of the ships called Jesus and St. John, and Liberty, and Justice. I hear
!heir whispers and then their bursting yells as they come on decks prepared
10 die, and, if necessary, to kill for their freedom. I hear them calling, falling
on 1he decks, thrown, often leaping to their ending – but not endmg – m
ihe waters. I hear them singing as they go under the waves – free. .
hear their songs and their cries and their defiant shouts and their longdsi-
1 h h lost in the wil er-
cnces through all the horrors called slavery. I ear t em k h .
Dess, I hear them moving, seeking the North Star, determined to ma et eir
I hear them in preaching and praying, ho mg h h·Idbirth and
1
War, seizing their own liberty. I hear them fighting and falling, rising and
hoping again. I hear them in all the halcyon hopeful first days of Recon-
struction, in all the bloody years that followed, when hope was crushed by
the force of white arms and the power of white betrayals.
sands of trees where brothers and sisters were hung and burned and muti-
lated beyond recognition by a savage people. I hear them vowing never to
give in, never to tum back, to endure, to resist, to live, to go on. I hear their
calling.
mills, I hear them in the railroads, I hear them in the fires, I hear them in the
waters, I hear Nat Turner and David Walker, I hear Douglass and Delaney, I
hear Harriet and Sojourner, I hear Ida B. Wells and Bishop Turner, I hear
Garvey and DuBois, I hear Bessie Smith. I hear them calling.
sharing even that with one another. I hear them calling for Robeson, for Fa-
ther, for Daddy, for Adam, for Solidarity, for help.
them coming beyond war to struggle for truth. I hear them in court. I hear
them in the streets. I hear ladies walking in Montgomery. I hear Martin
preaching in the churches, hear his footsteps on the road. I hear old folks
singing in churches, standing before dogs. I hear students risking their lives,
freezing in jail, singing while hungry, laughing when afraid, not being over-
come. I hear them calling.
ing to be satisfied, refusing to die.
Jim. I hear Jonathan. I hear Angela. I hear Attica. I hear dying Panthers and
preachers. I hear living men and women. I hear them. I hear voices, and I
know what it means.
spite of myself, beyond myself, and their voices must be heard.
cal. revolutionary, silent carrier) , witness ro their truth and power, pressed
forward by the force of their being, by the integrity of their struggle, by the
silent roaring of their voices. No turning back.
ago callings – summoned to tell their story, for them, for myself, for our
children . They shall not be forgotten .
It mea , undly into me that I am flesh of their flesh bo f h . as en-pro,o . . , neo t e1rbo
I rly o bl b d h tery move-schO a unwilling and una e to e etac ed from their struggle. Bound b
1eged, P d into tomorrow, searching for the way to carry the struggl -”ed forwar e, to
cau b nds to build the new land of their hopes. kthe o , . Th fi .
brc• 11. s are strange thmgs. ey md you tn the midst of your own (Ca mg
J hear ‘ . d .
es bearing with love and pam an aruaous prayer the burden that 1
w,s/am. eans I am still son, hope, strength, promise for tomorrow, beyond knoW ttm
all I hear voices – of my chtldren, Rachel Sojourner and Jonathan DuBois.
1 believe that ancient rivers of our people flow tn them. I hear their voices,
an th ncourager for the struggles of tomorrow, baptizer in the rivers of s11tng ,e
their past. . .
busband and man, strength and solace, lover and companion in the way,
ttSting place and summons to joy in the mornmg. . .
times and places, but it may be that I have heard only One.