ENGL 340
Prof. G. Steinberg

Response Paper:  Amos, Hosea, and Jonah

Choose one of the following areas as the focus of your response paper:

1. Using Amos and Hosea, can we come to some conclusions about what constitutes a prophetic book (as a literary genre)?  Given these two very early prophetic books as models, what elements, motifs, metaphors, techniques, concepts, and content seem to be typical of a prophetic book?
2. What is unique about Amos vs. Hosea?  How do their tone, imagery, and purpose differ?  How do the individual predilections of each prophet affect his prophetic book and the prophetic elements, motifs, metaphors, techniques, concepts, and content he uses?
3. On Sesame Street, the characters used to sing a song about how "One of these things is not like the others...."  Jonah is obviously not very much like Amos and Hosea.  How does the contrast between Jonah, which doesn't fit into the genre of prophetic books at all, and Amos/Hosea help us to see what is typical of the genre of prophetic books?  What elements, motifs, metaphors, techniques, concepts, and content do Amos and Hosea have that Jonah does not have?  What elements, motifs, metaphors, techniques, concepts, and content does Jonah have that Amos and Hosea do not have?

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