"There are five different prayers: for health, wealth, a death, a birth, a sin" (167).
Atwood's idea of ordering a prayer at Soul Scrolls was possibly inspired by Tibetan prayer flags, which are small flags purchased with prayers already written upon them. Even more interestingly, Tibetan prayer flags feature five colors, with each color representing a different element, which could, in turn, be related to the five prayers in Atwood's novel. For instance, yellow, which represents the earth and soil could become health; green, which represents vegetation and water could become wealth; red, which represents the sun and fire could become sin; and so forth. The flags are also said to release prayers when blown in the wind, with hardly any need of human intervention, similar to the machines praying with hardly any human intervention.
http://www.tibetanspirit.com/tibetan_prayer_flags.asp Copyright © 2001-2004.
nice thinking here -- I like how you take it all the way through -- not just skimming over the first possible line up
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