Religious Dopplegangers

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We are the Other - Easter Sunday, 38th & Chicago Bus Stop, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2012)

Jaymie, who this morning was on his way to Word of Grace Baptist Church, grew up a block from the bus stop. After I asked him what his favorite word was he told me a story about his mom. He was with her when she was on her deathbed, a picture of Jesus hanging over her. “I thought she was gone,” he said, “but then her eyes opened and her face started to glow.” He told me that people don’t believe him when he says that her face glowed.

When he was nine his mom had a nervous breakdown and she was sent to a state hospital. His father wasn’t around so he and his two brothers and sister were separated, ending up at various orphanages and foster homes. One brother he never got to know, who was a baby when this all happened, called him out of the blue ten years ago. Some sixty years had passed. He said his name was Steve and that he now lived in Cleveland.

He has no idea what happened to his other brother who had polio and an iron lung. “Maybe he was adopted,” he said. I was going to ask him about his sister but then his bus came.

Jaymie worked at grain mills most of his life and made decent money. Keeping up with his expenses was always a problem though. When I asked him for his contact information so I could give him a photo he said that he’s homeless and is at a Catholic shelter. “I gambled too much last year”.

--Written by Wing Young Huie, 2012 --http://know.wingyounghuie.com/tagged/We+are+the+Other/page/2

Upon first examination, this picture features an old man on a bus stop bench, holding a small chalkboard sign that says "salvation."  He has a tote bag of belongings and is holding what looks to be a bible. He is dressed for colder weather.

However, when you look closer in on the picture, the story of this man comes to life. He has very religious roots, as Huie explains in his back story. Huie implies that "salvation" is the man's favorite word. The man's face looks confused, like he doesn't know quite what is going on. Nevertheless, he maintains a tight grip on the bible in his hand, demonstrating a deep connection to Christianity within the man. We see the simplicity of the man's life by his lack of belongings as he awaits his bus to who knows where.

I picked this picture because this man is a doppelganger of a man in my church. To me, this man represents the "other" version of the man I know, if he were in a complete different financial situation and had experienced the hardships that this man has. Both of these men have a strong belief in Christian religion and center their lives around it. Huie represents the "other" in this picture as those who are less fortunate and homeless. He shows this by the meekness of the man awaiting his bus with his small bag of belongings. The man could have been a beggar, as he is homeless, but instead Huie chose a man who is just trying to go along with his life although he does not have much. His tight grip on the bible and the word on the chalkboard represent the things he finds most important in his life: both of which are rooted in God.

Atwood's depiction of the "others" is also through the lower class, but via the handmaids. She uses language to develop the difference in social classes. This is seen in how the handmaids communicate with others. Offred is even more alienated because she goes against the language of the "others" when she is in a comfortable environment. 

Both of these sources show a foundation of religious belief in relation to the "others" and how it influences their lives. While Huie's photo is more positively based upon religion, Atwood shows the negative misuse of biblical teachings and how they can restrict the "others."