Lives as Fragile as Clay

  Act 1, Scene 3, lines 16 through 57... start rolling and action! It’s the 21st century and we’ve achieved so much from steam engines and printing presses to live broadcasting and mass media production. News channels and advocacy groups stream every aspect of an event, ensuring we witness the horrors within every experience and moment of life around us. However, in recent years this form of media, meant to bring attention to these relevant issues, has in fact done the opposite: destroying our sense of empathy and causing us to become desensitized to the world’s destruction. Reality has become intermixed with fantasy and has driven society into distorting our humanity and power. We see this issue addressed through the eyes of Rolf Carle and Azucena as their pleas are ignored in a time of desperation and struggles. In the short fiction story “And of Clay Are We Created,” Isabel Allende depicts the cruel nature of mass media, most specifically touching on our inactive and selfish responses to individuals in their time of need. This short story serves as a mirror to the fearful but greedy nature of life while still reminding us of our free will and ability to empathize with others on the opposite side of a seemingly lifeless screen. 

Rolf’s significant other is introduced as an outside perspective on the situation involving Azucena. She watches as the little girl drowns to death not only from the physical pull of the mud but the guilt of her perished loved ones and past as well. The public’s response is delayed and careless emphasizing their greed. Instead of a direct exercise of Kairos, society waits for one thing, a person, or a belief to arrive at the scene, in expectation that all will be well. While it may be true, the solution is more complex and depends on action rather than thought. There is an old saying that claims if it is everyone’s responsibility, then it is no one’s (Paquette). This means that if everyone is accountable for doing something, we feel that our actions can simply be replaced by one of the many others. However, when this mindset or value is reflected throughout the entire population, actions are never carried through in hopes that someone else will just do it instead. This idea is represented through the pump which arrives at the scene only after the death of the girl. This pump can only arrive with the help of the public which is revisited various times throughout the story as lazy and ignorant. Various platforms such as “...armed forces, the North American ambassador, and the president of National Petroleum...” are begged for help and aid, all of which give a baseless and uncertain answer. Media provides every aspect of the event as if living “...through those three decisive days.” Yet even though the cries and pains of each individual, the public refuses to act and remains shamefully calm. When compared to Rolf’s lover’s response which is defined as “...frenzied and futile,” it highlights how horrific events such as Azucena’s should be acted upon but are instead faced with the priorities of the “...North American ambassador...” (us). 

In Tom Foster’s piece How to Read Literature Like a Professor, chapter seven delves into the intertextuality of various pieces of Literature through Christianity. The title of the short story, “And of Clay are we Created,” is a reference to Christianity and the inevitability and fragility of life. In the scripture, humans are most often referred to as clay with God being the sculptor. The author uses this main reference to hint at the fears of death, specifically its inevitability, which in turn allows for depth that “...the biblical dimension adds to the story...” (Foster). Clay can be used to maneuver and bend at every angle to create a masterpiece; life. However, just as easily as it was formed, clay can crack in dry conditions and mold back into a slab of gray with a single drop of water.  “‘The sky is weeping,’ Azucena...” murmurs as the water washes over her clay-like soul and signifies her last few moments on earth. Just as easily as she came to be, she was destroyed. Her death was caused by the absence of a simple pump, one that would’ve taken immense time to shift the public’s mental status. Society’s lack of action and mindfulness of the tragic events around the world is an effect of fear, one of the most powerful and moving factors in life. To address the issue would mean to accept that it is real. And when it is real, it means it can easily happen to anyone. That is the driving force behind our actions. Life is fragile and it will continue to be, however, this should not stop us from admitting our weaknesses in life and continuing to save one another.   

Through the desired and impossible pump, we see our responsibilities as humans flee from one to another, eventually never getting fulfilled. From fear of the truth and the fragility of our lives comes laziness and an inability to take action to save another. As destructive as life is, it is also just as beautiful. Death takes over Azucena, a symbol of a lily that grew out of the ground and returns, freed from the confines of clay.