Egyptian Mythology is a religion that is filled with many gods and goddesses. One such god is named Set. In Mumbo Jumbo by
Ishmael Reed, Set is introduced to us as one of few gods who were around during
the creation of Jes Grew. He is portrayed as totally evil and just someone who
seems awful to be around. He is in constant conflict with his more laidback brother,
who often went around dancing a lot. However, we as readers shouldn’t so
quickly jump aboard the Set hate train. I think that an argument can be made
that Set isn’t necessarily all at fault in the way he handled Jes Grew.
First
off, Set isn’t really like this total madman hell-bent on controlling the
world. He is actually very structured, almost like someone in the military. “He yearned for the old days when he went out to tell the
people to “Move that chariot to the side of the road, O.K. where’s your license”
(Reed 165) It seems that Set had a very strict personality, which would
naturally clash with his brothers seemingly more laid back personality. Despite
this part of his character, it still feels like Set really loves Egypt. He
still wants to constantly expand Egypt and bring it to new heights. He just doesn’t
feel that Osiris know “how to deal firmly with the enemies of the Egyptian
People” (Reed 162). He just has a harsh way of punishing them.
However,
despite all of the love he has for Egypt, Set still ends up suffering. “The people
would plant during the day and at night would celebrate dancing singing shaking
sistrums and carrying on so that Set couldn’t get sleep and was tired when he went
out on the field and drilled marched and gave commands to others” (Reed 162). Generally
speaking, if I was in Set’s position, I would be pretty mad. He is constantly
disturbed by peopling dancing, and just wants a good night of sleep. However,
the people go a step further and end up bullying Set. “He became the laughing
stock of the country. Set can’t dance became the cry:” (Reed 163) I think that
this was just the last straw, and ended up making Set so mad that he was forced
to take drastic measures. He didn’t originally want to be evil, he was provoked
into doing it.
Set’s
descent into madness wasn’t necessarily his fault. I’m not saying that him
murdering his brother is a good thing, but it seems to me that he was almost
forced into doing it. Set was constantly suffering from the abuse of others,
and he just reached his snapping point. I think that an argument can be made on
Set’s behalf that he wasn’t the one responsible for the death of Osiris. It was
all the people who ended up hurting him.
One of the ways Reed makes his point is through exaggeration. He tends to draw his character through caricatures and satire, as 2d and cartoonish, rather than actual human beings with a complex history and mind. I agree that an argument for Set can be made, but I think Reed made him look so bad (or so I assume he did) because he wanted to definitively draw the battle lines between Jes Grew (Osiris) and attonism (Set).
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think one point to consider is the reason why Set wants to "maintain order" in Egypt. Atonists are often in a position of power and as such they are benefiting by keeping the "status quo." Perhaps Reed is subtly critiquing Set's character by presenting his intentions under a guise of order, while he remains a monarch, profiting off of the obedient peasants who want to be freed via Jes' Grew.
ReplyDeleteI think this post is necessary for almost any novel. Every antagonist has some sort of the past which excuses at least some of their actions and it is important to both recognize that and simultaneously recognize how nonetheless the majority of their actions cannot be excused.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that Set starts out pretty rigid and structured, and I think that's the point of his character. Jes grew is something that has to, well, jes grow. It has to evolve organically and flourish without any restraint, so inherently, any restraint placed on it is antagonistic. Although to us (perhaps because we live in an attonist society and value these things) it seems as though Set might be justified by wanting more order, the very fact that he wants order makes him opposed to jes grew, and so he is the natural the villain in the story. It is interesting to think about the potential redeeming qualities Set might have though - great post!
ReplyDelete