On a recent Sunday, the assigned reading-for-the-day
in the Orthodox Church contained Jesus's explanation of why He taught in
parables: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of
God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and
hearing they may not understand" (Luke 8:10). Jesus also says in this
section, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 8:8).
The idea of teaching truth in parables got me
thinking about one of my favorite books. Written by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society is a 2007 novel marketed toward
middle-school-aged children, but I would argue that the wiser you become, the
more meaning you can gather from it. My husband and I have read it several
times, and it seems that every time I pick it up, I notice new things about it.
Mr. Benedict is a kind, eccentric genius afflicted
with narcolepsy. Through a series of tests, he gathers a group of misfit
orphans with unique skills and an unusual concern for truth. Though extremely
reluctant to put them in harm's way, Mr. Benedict recruits the children to
infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the reclusive
mastermind Mr. Curtain is using children as instruments of an evil plot. To
paraphrase Mr. Benedict's words, the only reason he would put the children in
danger is that he believes they will fall into greater danger if he doesn't
(79).
The institute is teaching students dark messages
that can be condensed into short phrases and broadcast to the world
subliminally, using special technology that attaches them to television, radio,
and cell phone signals. Children's minds are the most effective at this work,
and Mr. Curtain tricks them into sending his broadcasts through his Whisperer
machine. By surreptitiously spreading his messages throughout the world, Mr.
Curtain is gradually gaining control of every mind. The children--who name their
team "The Mysterious Benedict Society"--must learn how to stop Mr.
Curtain before he gains complete control over the minds of the world.
I see a lot of parable-like elements in The
Mysterious Benedict Society. Some of them jumped out at me right away. The
way that Mr. Curtain subtly implants ideas in people's minds over the air waves
is a clear reference to the subliminal messages that we absorb while consuming
media. We can take on the attitudes and ideas that are presented to us without
even realizing it, if we don't consciously engage with them.
In another example, the author asserts that love of
truth is what gives the main characters the ability to become heroes.
Christians see Christ as the ultimate Truth, and to seek and love truth is to
seek and love God. I think the author highlights this characteristic to subtly
let attentive readers know that he is presenting a Christian worldview.
In future installments, I want to outline more of
the symbolic elements of the book and what I gathered from them. As I said in
the beginning, I keep finding new things to love about this book, and I'm eager
to share what some of those things are!
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