Tull 68-74

“Now and then a fellow gets to thinking. About all the sorrow and afflictions in this world; how it’s liable to strike anywhere, like lightening. I reckon it does take a powerful trust in the Lord to guard a fellow..(Pg. 71).

Tull is an extremely Christian man, furthermore emphasizing on one of the themes in this novel; ignorance is bliss. He states how a man should not waste his time thinking of all the sorrow in this world, for it’s the Lord’s will and power to strike pain and misfortune anywhere he pleases. He uses a simile to compare the Lord’s strength against man kind with lightning. Lightning has the ability to destroy anything in its way and is utterly unpredictable. Tull and his wife both fear the Lord but refuse to challenge Him by questioning such destruction. His english reflects on the way he believes a man should think, for it is not as sophisticated as one may want. Thus Tull is not as educated in the language he speaks, nor the religion he follows.

I compared this passage to one of my favorite songs of all time; “The News,” by Jack Johnson. In this song Jack Johnson talks about all the destruction in our world. He notes how you can see all this misfortune through the news, yet you don’t see people getting upset by it or even effected. His mama tries to calm him down by making him think the news is fiction. This all relates back to the common theme; ignorance is bliss. Without knowing or thinking about how disturbed our world is, very day citizens can live their lives as happy as ever. Their lack of knowledge allows them to be completely self-obsessed and ignorant.

Who's the one to decide that it would be alright
To put the music behind the news tonight
Well mama said
You can't believe everything you hear
The diagetic world is so unclear
So baby close your ears
On the news tonight
On the news tonight