ap_lit_creative_project_eve_v2.mp3 |
If you’re up there watching still then please take sympathy
I was blind but now I see
We are trapped inside our sin, no way to set us free
But can you lay his burden down upon my head
We have wronged you but he followed in the way i led
If I can give my being as a sacrifice
Can you give him still the gift of life
Father I am on my knees (sun is coming up a brand new day is here)
If you’re up there watching still then please take sympathy (can you give your special light)
I was blind but now I see (powerless in light of their machines)
We are trapped inside our sin, no way to set us free
But can you lay his burden down upon my head (But can you lay her burden down upon my head)
We have wronged you but he followed in the way i led (I have wronged you but she didn’t know a thing I said)
And if I can give my being as a sacrifice
Can you give him still the gift of life (Can you give her still the gift of life)
I don’t mind if it all ends here,
If my life will start dwindling
I know you’re always silent
I ask but don’t demand
But if you’re somewhere out there
And if you’re somehow listening
In the light through the overcast
I beg your healing hand
(THE SON)
Can you lay their burdens down upon my head
They have wronged you but they followed in the way I led
And if I can give my being as a sacrifice
Can you give them still the gift of life
Link to lyrics and annotations
In “Redemption”, I explore an interesting phenomenon apparent in multiple AP Lit texts – the heroism that comes with self-sacrifice and humility. Both Eve in Paradise Lost and Klara in Klara and the Sun present themselves as self-sacrificial figures for a greater good, exemplifying a “Christ-like heroism” that Barbara K. Lewis describes in her essay “Higher Argument”. In Paradise Lost, this heroic sentiment eventually changes Eve’s position in a perceived “hierarchy” and turns her into the hero and protagonist of the novel. Interestingly, a similar phenomenon happens with Klara – her self-sacrificial spirit reveals her to have an element of selflessness and kindness, and makes her seem slightly more “human”, thus moving her up in the hierarchy of characters in Klara and the Sun as well.
Both characters offer a sacrifice in order to act as a ‘saviour’ to those they care about. Eve proposes to “abstain / from love’s due rites” (10.993-4) and “seek Death” (10.1001) in order to protect future generations from sin, and Klara is willing to “extract the solution” in her head despite “great fear” (233) in an attempt to save Josie. In the final verse, this sacrifice is exemplified to be specifically Christ-like, in the same way that the Son proposes that his “Death shall pay” (11.36) for the sins of mankind.
However, there is also a more subtle element of heroism that can be found in both characters – the humility that enables them to make these sacrifices. Klara always presents herself in service for others. She claims that her purpose is to “save Josie, to make her well” (211), and even her attempt to replace Josie is only in service of others and not for any semblance of self-interest. In this sense, by not holding much priority for herself, she is regarded as ‘selfless’ in a way. Similarly, Eve is able to be the first to apologise, and put herself in a serviceable position to Adam. Although these acts seem like they “lower” themselves on the hierarchy, Eve and Klara actually are able to heighten their perceived heroism.
Interestingly, the role of God/The Sun is the same in both Klara and the Sun and Paradise Lost. In Eve’s storyline, God (and the angels) are largely “silent” figures except during her creation. While Michael leads Adam to a mountain to talk to him about the future of the earth, Eve is put to sleep (“Let Eve (for I have drenched her eyes) / Here sleep below while thou to foresight wak’st” (11.367-8). Instead of receiving the word of God directly, she must experience it through dreams and visions. Similarly, Klara’s experience with the sun is purely through indirect contact, where she can only offer her prayers to an inanimate object and hope for a response.
This possibly makes the pleading of redemption more heroic – they are pleading forgiveness and making requests where they will never receive a direct answer.
A final perspective that is offered by the song is commentary on the nature of redemption and humanity. The act of pleading for mercy is something that seems to be intrinsically human – Eve only pleads for mercy and forgiveness following her fall, and the Son (the only human figure in heaven) is the one to plead for mercy on behalf of Adam and Eve. This, then, subconsciously puts Klara in a uniquely human position. By having her ties to the sun and pleading for his grace, she seems to be involved in something uniquely human that the other characters have no connection to. When she is viewed in this light, she ‘ascends’ the hierarchy of Klara and the Sun, becoming slightly more human and appeasing even though the acts she performs for her humility (putting herself in eternal servitude for the sake of Josie) seems distinctively unhuman at first glance.