Noah’s Ark serves as the thread patching up the seemingly disorganized stores in this unique one of Julian Barnes’ master pieces. A biblical symbol of “the grace in the eyes of the Lord” to the “righteous,” the ark is nevertheless interpreted in a different way than in traditional exegetics. By close reading of each of the chapters in the novel, we hope to sort out the series of metamorphosis of the ark in different ages and Barnes’ hidden theme from among the wrongly targeted criticisms. While the novelist confuses readers in juxtaposing contradictory comments frequently, we try to lay bare how the fleeting images he creates in the work reflect his agnostic hesitation in view of the moral implications imbedded in the biblical references and clarify the religious ambivalence behind his writing.
References
[1]
Andrew, C. (2018). The Ethics of Belief. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2018 ed.). Stanford University.
[2]
Arkdiscovery (2019). The Real Noah’s Ark! http://www.arkdiscovery.com/noah%27s_ark.htm
[3]
Barnes, J. (1989). A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. Vintage Books.
[4]
Barnes, J. (2008). Nothing to Be Frightened Of. Cape.
[5]
Candel, D. (2001). Julian Barnes’s A History of Science in 10 1/2 Chapters. English Studies, 82, 253-261. https://doi.org/10.1076/enst.82.3.253.9587
[6]
Cline, E. H. (2009). Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780195342635.001.0001
[7]
Cohn, N. (1996). Noah’s Flood: The Genesis Story in Western Thought. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300236354
[8]
Collins, L. G., & Fasold, D. F. B. (1996). “Noah’s Ark” Exposed as a Common Geologic Structure. Journal of Geological Science, 44, 439-444. https://doi.org/10.5408/1089-9995-44.4.439
[9]
Finney, B. (2003). A Worm’s Eye View of History: Julian Barnes’s A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. Papers on Language & Literature, 39, 49-70.
[10]
Gooder, P. (2005). The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings. T&T Clark.
[11]
Kvanvig, H. (2011). Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic: An Intertextual Reading. BRILL. https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004163805.i-610
[12]
Lanier, G. L. (2018). Scriptural Inspiration and the Authorial “Original” amid Textual Complexity: The Sequences of the Murder-Adultery-Steal Commands as a Case Study. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 61, 47-81.
[13]
Moore, R. A. (1983). The Impossible Voyage of Noah’s Ark. Creation Evolution Journal, 4, 1-43.
[14]
Nebenzahl, A. (1997). Tiku Bachodesh Shofer: Thoughts for Rosh Hashanah. Feldheim Publishers.
[15]
Nigosian, S. A. (2008). From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts: The Old Testament and Apocrypha. JHU Press.
[16]
Perry, N., & Sriram S. (2017). The State-Contingent Approach to the Noah’s Ark Problem. Ecological Economics, 134, 65-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.12.002
[17]
Salyer, G. (1991). One Good Story Leads to Another—Julian Barnes’ A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. Journal of Literature & Theology, 5, 220-233. https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/5.2.220
[18]
White, H. (1989). “Figuring the Nature of Times Deceased”: Literary Theory and Historical Writing. In R. Cohen (Ed.), The Future of Literary Theory (p. 21, 26). Routledge.
[19]
Young, D. A. (1995). The Biblical Flood: A Case Study of the Church’s Response to Extrabiblical Evidence. Eerdmans.
