Johnny Got His Gun

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(World 3752). Updike uses his beliefs to form stronger meanings in his writings.
John Updike has a strong faith in human intelligence. He believes that people can use it to explore the universe. He finds the world "to be a place of intricate and marvelous patterns of meaning" (Contemporary Vol. 5 449). With this faith he is able to bring things into focus that would not ordinarily be seen. "I describe things not because their muteness mocks our subjectivity but because they seem to be masks for God. . ." (Contemporary Vol. 7 486). Updike is able to see past the facade of normal, ordinary life.
John Updike uses his insights in his writing to emphasize human feelings. He suggests in his writings that "the human conscience constantly suffers guilt for transgressing the laws of two different moralities" (World 3754). John Updike recognizes this feeling of guilt and is more able to clearly show the connections of the past to the present. His writings are also able to capture a "sense ...

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the teachings of "Karl Barth and his predecessor Kierkegaard." He [Updike] was drawn to the insistence that God is the "Wholly Other," and that "man cannot reach God and that only God can touch man" (Broadening 280). This suggests that God has a great hold over man and that He has a power to change things in our daily routines.

Morality is an issue in religion and in aspects of humankind. Man has tried to become more moral through God, yet there are great differences between God and the role of God that Mankind assumes. "Updike has often quoted approvingly [of] Barth’s remark that ‘one cannot speak of God by speaking of man in a loud voice.’ For both men the distinction between the ...

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