Ancient Middle East - Lesson 1 - Essay Example

? Question Match the terms in Column I with the s in Column II. analogy epithet repetition parallelism apostrophe A. an adjective or other descriptive phrase that is regularly used to characterize a person, place, or thing B. repetition of words, phrases, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure or that compare or contrast ideas C. intentional repeating of a sound, word, phrase, line, or idea in order to create a particular literary effect D. a comparison of two things to show that they are alike in certain respects E. a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, a deity, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding   Question 2   What characteristic of an epic hero does Gilgamesh display when he tells of his plans for the river plant? weakness, since he wants it only for his own use ignorance, since he does not realize it is poisonous kindness, since he intends to give it to the elderly confusion, since he knows it cannot endure   Question 3   One of the themes of the Epic of Gilgamesh is the search for immortality, which involves Gilgamesh's traveling to the underworld. Which phrase best describes the Sumerian underworld that Gilgamesh enters as part of his search? a land of dust and darkness a land of hard work and pain a land of abundance and beauty a land of winged creatures and kings   Question 4   Which of the following is evidence of the influence of Mesopotamian culture in the Epic of Gilgamesh? Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends. Gilgamesh encounters many gods in his journey. Gilgamesh is sometimes boastful. Utnapishtim is immortal.   Question 5   Based on the events in the excerpt of the Epic of Gilgamesh that you read, which of these endings is most aligned with the actual ending for the epic? Gilgamesh attempts to slay Utnapishtim. Enkidu is turned into a frog. Gilgamesh rules Uruk as a wise king. The snake that ate the flower kills Gilgamesh.   Question 6   In The Voice of the Wild Goose from New Kingdom Love Lyrics, the speaker's tone as she describes being in love is tired. helpless. joyous. playful.   Question 7   Unlike the speaker in The Voice of the Wild Goose, the speaker in Most Beautiful Youth Who Ever Happened neglects her work while in love. does not trust her beloved to return. prefers to spend time away from her beloved. worries more about her beloved's happiness than her own.   Question 8   In Most Beautiful Youth Who Ever Happened, the words "love of you goes round and round" reveal that the speaker wishes that her love would stop. worries that her love is hopeless. feels intense, powerful love. sees love as a silly game.   Question 9   The epithet, "O Sole God beside whom there is none!" from The Great Hymn to the Aten, emphasizes Aten's great beauty. supreme power. intense loneliness. extreme isolation.   Question 10   The epithet from The Great Hymn to the Aten, "You rouse them for your son who came from your body, / The King who lives by Maat," implies that worshipers of Aten will rise from the dead. will be like a son to Maat. should fight invaders. should obey the pharaoh.   Question 11   The epithet from The Great Hymn to the Aten, "Lord of all who toils for them," characterizes Aten as kind and loving toward his people. caring only toward people who work for him. caring only toward people who work for others. harsh and demanding of his people.   Question 12   Which of these would NOT be appropriate to include in an original praise poem? an epithet: "Ocean, home to sea creatures" an apostrophe: "Little bird, carry my love to my beloved" compliments to the person or object that is the subject of the poem comments on how the subject of the poem has disappointed the speaker   Question 13   The story, In the Beginning, uses repetition to reinforce the important idea that God ended his work and rested on the seventh day. God thought that the things he had made were good. those who sinned against God would be punished. Adam and Eve were not allowed to eat fruit from every tree.   Question 14   Although the voice of the speakers is different in both the The Creation and The Garden of Eden, what is true according to both? God creates animals before humans. God creates both man and woman. God tells man and woman to be fruitful and multiply. God plants the tree of knowledge of good and evil.   Question 15   Parallelism is primarily used to show the tone of the writer. a relationship between similar ideas. a step-by-step process. the causes that lead to a particular effect.   Question 16   Which of the following excerpts from the psalms contains an example of parallelism? "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, / From whence cometh my help." "How excellent is thy name in all the earth! / Who hast set thy glory above the heavens." "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? / And the son of man, that thou visitest him?" "My help cometh from the Lord/Which made heaven and earth."   Question 17   Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a reflective essay? personal insights narrative detail total objectivity an explanation of the meaning of the event(s)   Question 18   The quote "Look at him now, the strong man who would have everlasting life, even now the mists of sleep are drifting over him" best describes Gilgamesh, the epic hero. the object of Sappho's love poetry. the Egyptian god, Aten. Adam from The Creation.   Question 19   "Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God" from the Book of Ruth is an example of repetition. parallelism. analogy. epithet.   Question 20   All of the following are characteristics of an epic hero EXCEPT reflecting the values of the culture he represents. possessing superior strength, knowledge, and cunning. eventually becoming king of his society. undertaking a long quest or dangerous journey.   Question 21   The words, "And God said" at the beginning of The Creation, are an example of an epithet. symbolism. repetition. parallelism.   Question 22    "The Lord is thy keeper: / The Lord is thy shade" from Psalm 121 is an example of parallelism. symbolism. epithet. analogy.   Question 23   "When you set in western lightland, / Earth is in darkness as if in death;" from The Great Hymn to the Aten is an example of parallelism. epithet. analogy. metaphor.   Question 24   Choose two epithets that characterize Aten from The Great Hymn to the Aten. Discuss what each epithet reveals about Aten and also about the speaker. Use details from the hymn to support your answer. Your answer should be one to two well-developed paragraphs and free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Epithet 1: Provider of light The hymn deploys this epithet to describe Aten as the provider of light. He rises in the eastern lightland and illuminates the world with his beauty and splendor. The image in this epithet portrays Aten as a benevolent entity that fills every land on earth with his beauty. It also attributes to him traits such as might and radiance. Though far away from earth, his rays reach the land, to give it light and sustain life. During the night, when earth’s “creator rests in the lightland,” murk looms over the land, predators hunt preys and life becomes chaotic. Thus, the epithet characterizes Aten as the provider of the essential element of light and the protector, the one who controls good and bad, happiness and gloom on earth. The epithet indicates that the speaker is an ardent devotee of Aten, and worships him as the provider of light and the one who possesses might and benevolence to protect earthly beings. The speaker recognizes light as the main resource for sustaining life on earth. He also connects light as an element that maintains good on earth. Hence, he thinks of darkness in terms of preying predators. He believes that by providing light, Aten, the creator, establishes peace on earth. Epithet 2: Creator of Life This epithet proclaims Aten as the creator of life on earth. It portrays him as one who causes “semen to grow in women” and as the “giver of breath to nourish all creatures.” Thus, Aten is the one who creates and sustains life on earth. He is also the one who makes the child open its mouth and supply it food when needed. It, therefore, transpires that Aten is responsible for creating and maintaining life on earth. From this epithet, it becomes apparent that the speaker upholds Aten as a supreme power that is responsible for creating and maintaining life on earth and for providing the living beings with everything they need. The speaker thinks of Aten as the supreme being.   Question 25   Identify at least one example of parallelism from both Psalm 23 and Psalm 137. Explain what makes the example parallel and what effect the parallelism has on the meaning of the psalms. Your answer should be at least two well-developed paragraphs and free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Parallelism in Psalm 23: “I will fear no evil, for you are with me” – Evil is bad, which is in contrast to the concept of God being good. The speaker contends that since God is with him, he has no fear of evil. Thus, this component of contrast makes it an epithet. By this contrast between God and evil the psalm emphasizes the greatness of God above evil. By contrasting the good of God with evil and making the speaker say that he does not fear evil because God is with him, the parallelism in this psalm seeks to instill faith and confidence in humans and achieves it as the true believers in God eschew the fear of evil. Another use of parallelism in Psalm 23 is: “Your rod and staff, they comfort me.” It usually brings fear in a human when he confronts a rod and staff as they are symbols of power and authority. Thus, the emotion illustrated in this psalm contrasts the symbol used. This contrast seeks to establish that even things that are fearsome, when in God’s hands, evoke a sense of confidence and comfort in humans. Parallelism in Psalm 137: “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill,” and again, “Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you.” This can be construed as parallelism both in terms of their structure as well as the ideas they convey. Do not remembering and forgetting are different means of expressing a same idea. Similarly, both the lines follow the same structural pattern and, therefore, they fall into the definition of parallelism. The parallelism used in these lines emphasizes the importance for humans to remember their mother land. By contending that forgetting God or the motherland is like a person’s right hand forgetting the skill. Then it also compares this to a similar situation where one’s tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. Doing one’s work and speaking to one another are inevitable acts in a human’s life, without which he or she cannot survive. Thus, the parallelism in this psalm strikes home the point that for a person to survive, he or she should keep remembering God and the motherland.   Question 26 Compare the epic hero Gilgamesh to a modern hero (real or fictional). Describe two characteristics of each, using specific examples to illustrate each characteristic. Your answer should also explain what those characteristics reveal about the values of the society from which each hero comes. Your answer should be at least three paragraphs and should be free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Gilgamesh: He is a strong, powerful and knowledgeable person and like other epic heroes, undertakes a journey, albeit into the underworld. His strength is established by the fact that he builds the wall of Uruk-Haven, and fortifies the sacred Eanna Temple. He also opens several mountain passes, digs wells on the mountain flanks and crosses oceans. Anu, the god of the firmament, grants him the totality of knowledge and this knowledge enables him to foresee the flood. Though a hero, Gilgamesh displays traits of weakness, especially when he prioritizes his benefits over common interest and pursues his immortality. This act can be perceived as a weakness as it is not in common interest. Harry Tasker from “True Lies” by James Cameroon: Harry, an undercover operative of the modern times, can be compared to an epic hero. He is also powerful and knowledgeable and embarks on a series of adventures, traveling across the globe. His knowledge becomes apparent by the fact that he recognizes the most sophisticated weapons and can use them and he speaks different languages without giving hints to the listeners of any variation in the accent. Harry is selfless, determined to fight terrorism and does not reveal any sign of weakness. He remains committed to the cause of fighting terrorism, the most serious evil of modern times. He does not even share his professional identity with his wife who has shared 18 years with him, which itself is illustrative of selflessness for achieving a common goal. The character of heroes as illustrated in literary works reflects the culture of the community from where such heroes come. Mesopotamian culture is polytheistic and Gilgamesh derives favor and wrath from different gods. This culture also does not see gods as free from weaknesses. Thus, their cultural attributes reflect in Gilgamesh’s strength as well as weakness. In the same manner, American culture in the modern days detests terrorism and is vowed to fight it. Harry’s traits conform to the society’s views. It also reflects in the modern society’s wish to gain knowledge, to travel to different parts of the world etc.   Question 27   Literature reflects the customs and values of the culture that produces it. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Great Hymn to the Aten are works that represent two of the cultures studied in this lesson (Mesopotamian and Egyptian). Using two examples from each work, explain what the work reveals about that culture. Your answer should also explain what each work reveals about the differences between the two cultures. Your answer should be at least three paragraphs long and should be free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Mesopotamian culture is basically polytheist and it believes in multiple gods. This can be evidenced from the fact that Gilgamesh, the epic hero, has to encounter many gods in the duration of his journey. It also comes to fore that Gilgamesh, being an epic hero, is emotionally immature, as he remains controlled by fear of loss of life, especially revealed when he says, “wherever my foot rests, I find death.” On the other hand, Akhenaten trusts and believes only in one god, Aten, who for him, is everything. His belief derives from the monotheist Egyptian culture that worships only one god. Besides, the Mesopotamian legend, Gilgamesh is shown as one who has characteristic flaws. This is because Mesopotamian religious culture is founded on the concept that even gods have weakness. Gilgamesh strives to attain immortality, which is a basic weakness in one’s character as it is not for common good. When the number of gods increases, it appears that the strength of human faith dilutes and they also aspire to become immortal. On the other hand, Akhenaten perceives Aten as a supreme power sans flaws or weaknesses. This is so because Egyptian culture is monotheist and they believe that this single god is mighty. This culture perceives Aten as both the creator and the one responsible for maintaining life on earth. They do not have any other gods to take care of different aspects of human life on earth.   Question 28 Unlike the people of Mesopotamia, the Hebrews were monotheistic, believing in only one God. Using the excerpts from Genesis in the textbook and the Epic of Gilgamesh, explain the difference in how the two cultures portrayed their deities. Your answer should include two specific examples from Genesis and two from the Epic of Gilgamesh. Your answer should be at least two paragraphs long and be free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Both Mesopotamian and Hebrew culture differ drastically in the portrayal of their deities. While the former culture is polytheist, assigning different gods for different aspects of life, the latter lays their faith in one god for all purposes in their life. The Mesopotamians attach their faith in Shamash for pleasing nature and seeking shelter from its fury like floods or earthquakes. Similarly, they attribute Ishtar as the goddess of love and war. A significant factor is that they have eternal entities from both genders. On the other hand, the Hebrew civilization believes in one god and portrays him as the supreme being. He is the creator as well as the one who will take responsibility for all aspects of human life. They consider him as the one who has produced heaven and earth. There is nothing beyond him for them. They do not believe in a female god or goddess. He is the supreme, all in one and one for all. Read More