From_the_Ashes

Outline for From the Ashes Thesis: With the advent of Man’s demise, both Deucalion and Pyrra, from the Greek myth, and Chuck and George, from the story “The Nine Billion Names of God,” experience a discovery of the impending doom, an escape of their circumstances, and a realization of the end. I. As a first comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience a discovery of the impending doom. A. Explain Deucalion and Pyrra’s discovery of the impending doom 1. Narrate the god’s decision to destroy the earth (Rouse 147) 2. Narrate how the gods decide to flood the earth (Rouse 147) 3. Narrate Prometheus’s warning (Baldwin 1) B. Explain Chuck and George’s discovery of the impending doom 1. Narrate the monk’s request (Clarke 163) 2. Narrate the monk’s belief (Clarke 166) 3. Narrate how Chuck finds out about the end of the world (Clarke 166) C. Show how Deucalion and Pyrra’s discovery of the impending doom parallels Chuck and George’s discovery of the impending doom 1. Explain how the god’s decision to flood the earth parallels the monk’s belief of man’s purpose on earth 2. Explain how Prometheus’s warning parallels the high lama’s explanation II. As a second comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience an escape of their circumstances. A. Explain Deucalion and Pyrra’s escape of their circumstances 1. Narrate their survival in a chest (Baldwin 1) 2. Narrate their voyage (Baldwin 1), (Rouse 147) B. Explain Chuck and George’s escape of their circumstances 1. Narrate their conclusions about the monk’s intentions (Clarke 167) 2. Narrate their decision to stall the computer (Clarke 167) 3. Narrate their escape down the mountain (Clarke 168) C. Show how Deucalion and Pyrra’s escape of their circumstances parallels Chuck and George’s escape of their circumstances 1. Explain how Deucalion and Pyrra’s idea to survive in a chest parallels Chuck and George’s decision to stall the computer 2. Explain how Deucalion and Pyrra’s voyage in the chest parallels Chuck and George’s escape down the mountain III. As a final comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience a realization of the end. A. Explain Deucalion and Pyrra’s realization of the end 1. Narrate their landing (Baldwin 1) 2. Narrate their discovery that they are the only people on earth (Baldwin 1) B. Explain Chuck and George’s realization of the end 1. Narrate their assumption that the computer must have finished (Clarke 169) 2. Narrate them seeing the stars leaving (Clarke 169) C. Show how Deucalion and Pyrra’s realization of the end parallels Chuck and George’s realization of the end 1. Explain how the landing of the chest parallels the completion of the computer 2. Explain how Deucalion and Pyrra’s discovery that they are the last people on earth parallels the stars going out From The Ashes Herb Caen, a journalist, once said, “The only thing wrong with immortality is that it tends to go on forever.” Almost every ancient culture on earth possesses an idea of the demise of humanity; some call it Armageddon, apocalypse or judgment day. The ancient Greeks understood, just like Mr. Caen, that human life has its end and new beginnings. The Greeks expressed this belief in the story of the flood. In this myth, the gods decide to erase mankind because of men’s wickedness. When the flood comes and covers the earth, two people are saved, Deucalion and Pyrra. When the floodwaters recede, Deucalion and Pyrra are chosen to repopulate the earth by tossing rocks that grow into new people. Arthur C. Clarke also expressed the end of the world in his story “The Nine Billion Names of God.” In this story, a Tibetan monastery has been compiling what it believes to be all the names of God. They believe that once all these names have been found, mankind’s purpose will have been fulfilled. They calculate that it will take fifteen thousand years to complete the process. Therefore, they hire a computer to finish the job in one hundred days. Although these stories are very different, they can be paralleled in several ways. With the advent of Man’s demise, both Deucalion and Pyrra from the Greek myth and Chuck and George from the story “The Nine Billion Names of God” experience a discovery of the impending doom, an escape of their circumstances, and a realization of the end. As a first comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience a discovery of the impending doom. Zeus decides to visit earth “to see whether men were as bad as they were said to be” (Rouse 147). So he visits “the realm of one Lycaon” and requests to pass the night there (Rouse 147). When they sit down to dinner, Lycaon tries to feed Zeus human flesh. Therefore, when Zeus returns to Mt. Olympus, he calls a council of the gods and tells them “what had been done” (Rouse 147). The gods decide to use a flood to destroy the earth because if they were to use fire, “a great conflagration might rise to the upper air, and set [Mt. Olympus] also on fire” (Rouse 147). When Prometheus, the creator of man, hears about Zeus’s plan, he tells his son, Deucalion: “The day is coming, when Jupiter will send a flood to destroy mankind from the earth” (Baldwin 1). Chuck and George also experience a discovery of the impending doom. The high lama of a Tibetan monastery approaches an American computer company with a “slightly unusual request” (Clarke 163). He asks to have a computer compute all the possible nine letter combinations of symbols from a special language, making sure no letter occurs more than three times in succession. The monks believe that once all God’s names have been listed, God’s purpose will have been achieved and the “very idea [of still living] is something like blasphemy” (Clarke 166). The company agrees and sends the computer, along with Chuck and George, two computer engineers, to run it. While the Chuck and George are monitoring the computer, the high lama asks them if they know what will happen when they are finished. Since they do not know, the lama tells them that once the list is complete, “God steps in and simply winds things up” (Clarke 167). One way that these two stories can be paralleled is both include a trigger for the end of the world. The god’s of ancient Greece decide to flood the earth because of man’s wickedness. The Tibetan monks believe that once all God’s names have been compiled, that the world will end because mankind’s purpose will have been fulfilled. A second way they can be paralleled is that both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George are warned of the impending doom. In the Greek Myth, Prometheus warns his children about Zeus’s plans. Chuck and George are told of the end of the world by the high lama. In these ways both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George, experience the discovery of the plan for the end of the world. As a second comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience an escape of their circumstances. To survive the flood, Deucalion and Pyrra flee to the safety of a chest “which was for just such a time” (Baldwin 1). Then “the winds were bidden to gather the clouds; the rains descended” (Rouse 147). In their chest, Deucalion and Pyrra drift “hither and thither,” and they could see nothing but water for as far as the eye could see (Baldwin 1). Chuck and George also escape their circumstances. When they realize that the monks expect the world to end when the computer stops running, they are afraid that the monks might be angry when “the Last Trump doesn’t blow,” and they may be mad at them because it was their machine (Clarke 167). Therefore, Chuck and George decide to “time matters properly” by stalling the computer so it will not finish until they are on the plane home (Clarke 167). Seven days after Chuck and George’s major discovery, they are riding “tough little mountain ponies” down the mountain. As Chuck and George ride, they wonder how the monks will react; will they “smash up the computer in rage” or will they “just sit down quietly and begin their calculations all over again” (Clarke 168)' One way Deucalion and Pyrra parallel Chuck and George is that they both find a mode to transport them safely. Deucalion and Pyrra decide to survive the flood by getting in a chest. Chuck and George decide to stall the computer so they will not be there when the computer stops. A second way they parallel one another is that both have a journey to salvation. Deucalion and Pyrra ride turbulent waters in a chest. Chuck and George ride ponies down the mountain to a transport plane. All these examples show ways that both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George, escape their circumstances. As a final comparison, both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience a realization of the end. When the floodwaters recede, the chest comes to rest on top of Mt. Parnassus. As Deucalion and Pyrra step out of the chest, they see “the fields carpeted with grass and flowers more beautiful than before” (Baldwin 1). They also do not see any people, and they know that they are “the only persons who were left alive in all the land” (Baldwin 1). Chuck and George also experience a realization of the end. As Chuck and George reach the bottom of the path, they wonder if the computer “has finished its run” (Clarke 169). Then, George turns to Chuck to ask him what he had thought of the monastery and Chuck is looking skyward. Then, George looks up and “without any fuss, the stars were going out” (Clarke 169). One way these two stories parallel one another is there is one moment when both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George’s fate is uncertain. Deucalion and Pyrra’s chest lands on Mt. Parnassus. Chuck and George travel down the mountain and think about how the computer has stopped. A second way Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George parallel is that they both suddenly realize that their fate is real. Deucalion and Pyrra step out of the chest and see their empty world. Chuck and George look up to see that the stars are truly going out. These instances exhibit ways that both Deucalion and Pyrra and Chuck and George experience their realization of the end. To conclude, with the advent of Man’s demise, both Deucalion and Pyrra from the Greek myth and Chuck and George from the story “The Nine Billion Names of God,” experience a discovery of the impending doom, an escape of their circumstances, and a realization of the end. In both these stories, the reader has to come face to face with the uncertainty of humanity’s mortality. When reading the Greek myth, one can feel safe knowing that it is in the past, and we are still here. When reading the modern story, however, one does not have this comfort zone to hover in; this story could be any time in the future. Mr. Clarke also does not give a reader any clue as to what happens after the world ends. Therefore, it is up to one’s own mind to decide to believe the end of the world comes about. What ever you believe, however, always believe that something must rise again. Works Cited Baldwin, James. “The Flood.” Old Greek Stories. Authorama. 13 May 2006 . Clarke, C. Arthur. “The Nine Billion Names of God.” Man the Mythmaker. Ed. W.T. Jewkes. New York: Harcourt, 1973. 163-169. Rouse, W.H.D. “The Flood.” Man the Mythmaker. Ed. W.T. Jewkes. New York: Harcourt, 1973. 147-149.