Place yourself in the position of Johnny Marr. If you would have had his experience described in chapter one, explain how you would have attempted to deal with your loss. Cite at least three New Testament verses or passages that could be used to guide your response to this tragedy, and explain how they could have been used for this purpose.
Put yourself in the place of Florence Strickland in the “Second Rendezvous”. If you had just learned that your spouse was having an extramarital affair, explain how you would handle this situation. Cite at least three New Testament verses or passages that could be used to guide your response, and explain how they could have been used for this purpose.
In his introduction, Richard Dooling describes the worldview of the author of Rendezvous in Black, Cornell Woolrich. It appears that for Woolrich, this world is a godless place, ruled by “Fate” and “Chance”. In other words, he believed there is no meaning or purpose behind the events of life. “Things just happen”. For him, this world is a place where the innocent are often the victims of cruel, “monstrous, irrational, barely comprehensible forces”. (pp. xiii and xv) According to film scholar, Thomas Renzi, Woolrich’s pessimistic worldview may have been influenced by the writings of William Shakespeare, including the following passage from Macbeth: “Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” The following passages express the worldview of the New Testament: Rom. 8:28-39, 11:33-36; Eph. 1:3-12, 3:1-20; Col. 1:15-20; 2 Tim. 1:8-10. Contrast the worldviews of Cornell Woolrich and that of the New Testament. Tell which one is more like yours, and explain why.
How does the death of Martine Jensen connect with any of the statements about Woolrich’s worldview given in Question Three? How would the New Testament writers have used their worldview to explain why God would allow a tragedy like Martine’s to happen in real life?
Woolrich’s biographer, Francis Nevins, indicates that Woolrich had an excessive fear that death was the end of existence. According to a friend of Woolrich, Barry Malzberg, Woolrich once said “It isn’t dying I’m afraid of…; I know what it is to die, I’ve died already. It is the endless obliteration, the knowledge that there will never be anything else. That’s what I can’t stand, to try so hard and end in nothing”. In contrast to Woolrich, the authors of the New Testament clearly believed that there is life after death. Cite three New Testament verses or passages in which the author expresses a belief that life continues after death. Which view of death is more like yours, that of Woolrich or the New Testament? Explain.
For which character in the novel do you have the most sympathy? Explain.
Discuss a life lesson illustrated in Rendezvous in Black. Identify at least one New Testament verse or passage that teaches this same lesson.
Include an introduction and conclusion to your paper.
