Invocation as Self-Change: George Saunders’s Use of Prayer
George Saunders, who was raised in the Catholic Church and became a Tibetan Buddhist as an adult, incorporates prayer into many of his short stories. Using Catholic and Buddhist definitions and conceptions of prayer, this essay examines prayers in three short stories—“Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz,”...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2020]
|
| In: |
Religion and the arts
Year: 2020, Volume: 24, Issue: 4, Pages: 399-414 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Saunders, George 1958-
/ Short story
/ Prayer
/ Self
/ Change of consciousness
|
| RelBib Classification: | AE Psychology of religion BL Buddhism CB Christian life; spirituality CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations |
| Further subjects: | B
Buddhism
B George Saunders B Catholicism B Prayer |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | George Saunders, who was raised in the Catholic Church and became a Tibetan Buddhist as an adult, incorporates prayer into many of his short stories. Using Catholic and Buddhist definitions and conceptions of prayer, this essay examines prayers in three short stories—“Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz,” “My Flamboyant Grandson,” and “Tenth of December”—and argues that, though Saunders incorporates prayer that formally and content-wise appears Christian, the instances ultimately reflect a Buddhist idea of prayer as a means of self-change and as a practice that affirms the enlightenment of the person praying. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1568-5292 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion and the arts
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685292-02404003 |