Discussion of metaphor, myth, typology and Findley's novel surrounding the 'flood' narrative will illustrate its archetypal position. The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden provides a mythological foundation, an archetype that helps the reader understand the cause of God's distress that leads him to flood the earth. The metaphor of the seed can be seen through the example of the ark strongly, but again, this metaphor is found earlier with Adam (this will be discussed later). God is mythologically understood through different sources. In the flood we are presented with the myth of a powerful and emotional God. The image of

There are so many examples in the Bible of people who have called out to God to save them from the leviathan. One example that is obviously related is Jesus and Peter walking on the water. In the case of the ark, God proposed the plan, so his protection is offered along with his proposal. In the situation where Peter decided he wanted to join Jesus out on the water, it was Peter's idea to put himself in a position where he could be unsafe, so when he doubted Jesus' power to save him, he sunk into the leviathan. All that was necessary was for him to call out to Jesus and he was saved.

The flood narrative presents much to the reader that is archetypal through metaphor, myth and typological analysis. The flood narrative is multi-dimensional. God's motivation for causing the flood, the metaphor of the seed, God's characterization through his power and providence and God and Noah's relationship as archetypal have been examined. Findley's analysis of the flood narrative offers the reader a unique critical perception of the flood. The flood is a literary archetype. In many ways it is the first example of certain metaphorical and mythological circumstances. Other passages in the Biblical text, and aspects of other works, are tied metaphorically to this narrative.

God's power is the protection from the leviathan. The langage of God's questioning of Job at the end of the book of Job is that Job was not present when God created. Job cannot understand the creation. Job cannot tame the creation. Job needs God in order to rescue him from being swallowed up in the creation. The creation is the present state of existence. The metaphor used in God's speech is the leviathan. The leviathan is an untamable quality of nature; a beast with more power than man could possibly face. God created it, God understands it and God can tame it. God is Noah's protection from the depths, from the leviathan.

In the building of the tower, God punished the people by confusing their speech, making it impossible for them to understand each other. Building the tower was wrong because the people desired to "make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth" (11:4). The concept that God does not want any name glorified but his own is presented in this passage - this is one reason God opposes the people. Another reason for God's opposition to their activities is that it seems God wants the people to be scattered all over the earth. From the above passage it seems the people have the sense they should be spreading out over the earth, because they make a point against doing it, as though it were on the original agenda. Much of God's language following the flood encourages the people to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth" (9:1). The problem in the instance of building the tower of Babel is that the people involved themselves in something that was not in the plan of God, attempting to glorify themselves instead of their maker.

Findley presents God's power as extremely limited. The Biblical text says, "But God remembered Noah" (8:1), and "The LORD was grieved that he made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain" (6:6). Statements like these could be interpreted to mean that God's power is limited in the same way that Findley presents it, but that is a matter of interpretation. It could be thought that because God remembered Noah it must mean that God forgot about Noah, but "remember" could also mean that he kept him in mind, that he did not forget about him. It has been thought to be a problem that God could be influenced by emotions. Patriarchal concepts of masculinity dictate that emotions should not be expressed. Hindu mythology presents the idea that God should be fearless and not be swayed by love, or compassion, but driven by honor. Arjuna does not want to kill his family and friends, but Krishna tells him that in order to maintain honor, he must (The Bhagavad

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Approximate Word count = 5050
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)