Raped by God

When thinking about the ending to "The Sparrow" the one theme that will always be in the forefront of my thoughts is being raped by God. Throughout the novel I had the notion that figuratively Emilio had been raped by God because he had given his entire teenage and adult life to following God and spreading his word and what he got in return from him was having all of his friends dead and having completely mangled hands. Now that seems like he got pretty screwed by someone he literally gave everything to. What makes this theme pop so much when I think about "The Sparrow" is the fact that Emilio said “I am in God’s hands. Whatever happens now to me is God’s will.” Only a few moments after he says that he is literally raped. Emilio put his entire trust into God to guide him and God led him to extreme emotional and physical pain. In the present time in the novel, Emilio has a war raging inside his own mind about if God exists or does not exist. This battle is so tough for Emilio because if he comes to the conclusion that God doesn't exist then he has nothing to blame but himself for all that has happened to him and also wasting his life devoted to something that does not exist. On the other hand if he comes to the conclusion that God does exits then he thinks God hates him or that God is an evil being or a monster for allowing one of his devoted followers to be destroyed in every sense of his life. This battle will rage for a long time in Emilios head because after being devoted to something your entire life and loving what it has done for you, to have it end in the rape of his body and mind he will have to wrestle with how he feels about the existence of God for the rest of his life.

By: Adam Zack