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One of the traits that a good writer must develop is the ability to take direction from an editor. It's not always easy. Sometimes, editors get some really bizarre ideas that make the writer wonder what the editor has been smoking, and why they're not sharing. At other times, though, editors come up with pure, unadulterated brilliance.
Such is the case with Sheryl's idea of having all of us here at CT write on the same theme each month. I'm sure she has grown weary of the excuse, "I didn't know what to write for this issue," and giving us all assigned topics takes away that frustration. Personally, I could easily have written analytical commentary about Cardan's Pod each and every month anyway, but I feared Sheryl would have rejected the repeated idea. How delightful to learn that she's completely on board with it! So, without further ado, let's begin.
Do you remember when you were in school, and your English teacher would assign a reading project? Part of the discussion of the story involved ferreting out the deep meanings hidden in the narrative by the writer. If you were anything like me, you probably thought your teacher had slipped a cog, and that there was nothing deeper than just the writer liking the idea of the story. Well, guess what? We writers really DO have an agenda, and we really DO craft encrypted meanings into our stories. While the general perception is that we Genre Fiction writers consider such lofty, cerebral stuff as belonging in the realm of Literary Fiction (to be raved about by critics, and snored over by normal readers), we secretly desire, deep down inside, to BE one of those lauded Literary Fiction writers.
Oh, to be counted among the great authors of Literary Fiction, hated by students everywhere! Oh, to think that our novels would not be greedily consumed in marathon reading sessions, like so much verbal junk food, but instead dallied over, forced down bit by bit, in a drawn out battle of procrastination and determination, much like a plate of healthy Brussels sprouts! To keep our books in their grubby little hands for the longest possible time, our words invading their eyes and minds with a steady barrage of tedium, that would be Heaven to any writer! Ah, but I digress yet again!
We will begin our analysis of Cardan's Pod at the most logical point - Chapter 1. We are introduced straightaway to our main character, Joshua Cardan. Please turn to Chapter 1 and read the chapter before continuing in this discussion. If you do not have a handy copy of Cardan's Pod, you may order one directly from me at www.cardanspod.com, from Amazon.com (in either paperback or Kindle edition), from BN.com, and from many other fine online retailers. The Kindle edition is, of course, an excellent option in that it is delivered instantly to your computer, and you won't have to wait for the Postal Service to carry it to your mailbox.
Have you read Chapter 1? Good. You are therefore ready to dive into the deep analysis the story richly deserves. (forget the false-modesty crap. If the writer doesn't think their story is absolutely worthy of your deepest attention, then how can they expect you to think so?) Joshua Cardan begins the story as something of a sacrificial lamb, hence establishing right from the start that he is an archetype of Messiah. This is further established by his name, since the Hebrew name of Jesus was Y'shua, which, translated straight into English instead of through the Latin and Greek first, would be rendered as Joshua.
Since in Christian baptism, the passage through the water is considered symbolic of the passage through death and the grave, to be returned back to life, Joshua Cardan's being cast overboard and nearly drowned becomes metaphoric of the death and burial of Messiah. Rejected by his own, seen through the murderous actions of his wife, and abetted by another (surely you recognized Lonnie Grinnell as standing in for the Roman Empire), he is rescued and accepted by the Pod, just as the Gentile world embraced Christianity.
These points are vitally important to the further analysis and understanding of Cardan's Pod. Please take the time to meditate on them, and discuss them amongst yourselves, before returning to this discussion next month.
Trust me - you won't want to miss the next installment of my column, wherein we'll discuss the ramifications of Joshua's wife's name, Cynthia, and how it begins with a homonymic spelling of the word, "sin." I am so excited about this next topic, that I am considering cancelling my trip to Hawaii so that I can stay home and get started on the June column.
See you then!
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