Unafraid To Be: A Christian Study Of Contemporary English Writing.

by Ruth Etchells

What is man? Who am I? What gives me identity? Is there an answer? These fundamental questions have occupied the attention of poets, dramatists and novelists of the last fifteen years. Some of them have expressed bitter anger at the superficial values of a hypocritical society. Some have faced despair at life's apparent meaninglessness. The result has been a determined attack through literature on the Establishment, and the rise of such movements as the Theatre of the Absurd. Other writers have tried to find constructive solutions. They have suggested that man's individual identity lies in the work he does, the values he holds, the relationships he enters into. Ruth Etchells, lecturer in English at Durham University, examines these trends in contemporary English literature, quoting frequently from writers of both verse and prose. She shows that the Christian, too, finds the clue to his identity, understands a meaning in life as a while, through a relationship. But this is not an unstable experience, at the mercy of man's changing feelings and it is the sure relationship between man and God.

Genres: Christianity

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1969

Reviews

[Paul Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on Identity. There are some salient points made that are definitely applicable to us today, particularly along the lines of being men of Consequence (or man in community if you were). We don't just impact each other incidentally, we influence and impact because that is who we are. The journey through respective views ideologically, surveying the arts is also useful and eye-opening. Seeing the shifts in thought.

It does require in my view a disciplined and persistent eye, as some quotations may feel like a break in thought and so you may need to pull back and re-read to trace the sequence in the thought properly.