Good news from outer space by
Good news from outer space byThe key ingredients that make the society in the book “Good News from Outer Space” by John Kessel seem so full of mordant farce are chaos, technology, belief and faith run amok. The book is set in our present year of 1999, and it seems that all of the conventional thoughts and explanations that help life make sense, are no longer needed. All that remain are the lunatic explanations that have gained adherence within society.
Although the society in the book might seem more like an exaggerated version of our current way of life, what’s to say that in a couple of years or months, ours will not mirror the one in the book? After all, we are approaching the millenium. This paper intends to relate the world created by John Kessel to the world we now inhabit; this world where science and religion, for most, are the mental constructs that give us some sense of control over this obscure universe.
The most significant aspect of this fictional society is the belief of a “Second Coming.” This shows great similarity to present day society simply because of the huge percentage of Christian followers who also believe in a “Second Coming.” The Reverend Jimmy-Don Gilray, a major character in the book, is convinced that God will send a messenger to arrive on earth on January 1, 2000 in a spaceship. Using television, the smooth preaching Gilray manages to herd the followers in like cattle by the thousands. The words roll off of his tongue like honey and his followers are easily convinced that the perilous times of their last days have come Gilray’s prophecies are given light in the following quote: “They have been fulfilled. That’s how we know we’re in the Last days. The Bible predicts that certain events will happen: the Jews will return to Israel-they have been there since 1948. A burning star named ‘Wormwood’ will fall upon the earth and poison the waters, killing many men-in 2985 a meltdown occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union. ‘Chernobyl,’ in Russian means ‘Wormwood.’ The Roman Empire will be re-instituted in a ten-headed beast-in 1997 the European Community established a ten-person commission to fight the worldwide depression. The nation of Gog and Magog will come from the north to fight a war in the valley of Armageddon-we see the Soviet Army bogged down in a stalemate in the Middle East today where, among other territory, they currently occupy the valley identified in the Old Testament as ‘Har-Magiddo.’ The soviet premier, an avowed atheist who has forged an economic union with the U.S., bears the Mark of the Beast on his forehead.” (p.62)
Gilray’s beliefs distinctly resemble those of past characters in our own world. Characters such as the infamous David Koresh and his Branch Davidians who believed in the coming of God and who also bought land that was suppose to be near...
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