I Heard the Owl Call My Name
The Messiah of Quee In the novel, I Heard The Owl Call My Name, Mark Brian is suffering a severe illness and is sent to a village in British Columbia. Here, he will learn about life from the villagers and teach them too. Jesus taught everybody, including his disciples, how to live their life in the presence of God. Christ died on the cross for our sins we committed. Mark dies not from his illness but from an anomalous land slide.
Margret Craven, the author, characterizes Father Mark Brian as a Christ-like figure through Mark sacrifices his life and his customs of life, Mark answering the village’s problems, and the town acting like disciples of Jesus. Mark was first sent to the village of Kingcome, in Indian its Quee, which means inside place, by the Bishop. At first when Mark arrives, the tribe doesn’t accept him but later on, they like him. Mark spends about a year and a half at the village which is how many more years he will live. Also, he gives up his lavish life style to life in a shack.
He has no electricity, no running water, and a slight amount of food to last him a day. To get his food he has to use the traditional method of getting food which is hunting for animal. Jesus went through the same characteristics as Mark. Jesus lived in a time of no electricity, no running water, and especially no type of market to get food. “To keep fed, to keep warm, to keep alive. One woman said, “I am sorry. I have only enough fuel for my own family,” and one man said, “I cannot share with you, friend” (Craven131).
This quote refers to a man who said he could not provide enough food for Mark and he only had enough for him and his family. Jesus and Mark are willing to help everyone in a time of need. Mark sacrifices the rest of his life to help the poor village. Mark helps rebuild the neglected church which means a lot to the village of Quee, which has not been repaired in a long time. He puts a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the reconstruction of the church. Another characteristic is the town coming to Mark for answers. People are always coming to Jesus for answers.
The village is also encountering problems with the younger generation because they are not caring about the old traditions and focusing more on the white mans ideas. Another problem that the village faces is why a white man wanted to buy the giant mask. Marks tell them that people want to buy it so they can sell it and make lots of money. One of the villagers said, “What has the white man done to our young “( 73) and Mark tells them why he treated the young girl cajole so he could steal the giant mask along with getting Gordon’s uncle drunk.
Jesus is always telling his followers that there isn’t always good in life. Jesus wants people to do the right thing in life but they don’t all ways do. The villagers always came to Mark looking for an answer which they could not solve by themselves. This all adds up to the village acting as Mark’s disciples. The disciples of Jesus came to him and would asked questions or Jesus would come to them and ask, why are your doing this or that. Jesus wanted his disciples to not be afraid but have faith in him. Mark is the samel, too.
When he needs a question answered, the village responds and when the village comes to him, Mark responds. Jesus loved everybody and so did Mark. Jesus and Mark end up dying for a cause in their life. The village becomes melancholy with Mark’s death because he put so much effort into helping everyone in the village In conclusion, Mark soon understands that no matter how simple it may be geese flying over a river, trees swaying in the wind, or ordinands leading a tribe of people, everything has a purpose in life.
Mark’s purpose was to help the village of Quee and Jesus’ purpose to spread the word of God. Mark was not able to answer all the towns’ problems, but did help them in a formal way. Jesus dies for us and Mark dies for the village. Mark is a perfect example of resembling a Christ-like figure through him solving just about every problem in the village and willing to help others in a time of crisis. Work Cited Craven, Margaret. I Heard The Owl Call My Name. New York: Dell Publishing, 1973.
