The Epic of Gilgamesh Week 2: Ancient Near East - Assignments - Reading - Resources - Images

Reflections Essay

Choose one of the essay topics for this week. You will find the topics listed down at the bottom of this page; scroll down to find them. If you want to write on a different topic, contact the instructor first (make sure you do that at least one day before the deadline so that you can receive an answer back in time).

Links to stories. You need to provide a link back to each of the specific stories that you discuss in your essay.

Image. You are required to include at least one image with the story, along with a link to the webpage where you found the image, plus information about the image. You are free to re-use the images you find at the course website, or you can choose some other image to use that you find on the internet. Remember: even if you are re-using an image from the course website, you need to provide image information about it.

Title. You need to include the words "Essay for Week ___" in the title you give to the post, along with a title for your actual story (for example, "Essay for Week 2: Dangerous Magic in Egyptian Legends")

Length. Your Storytelling post needs to be a minimum of 300 words long (maximum 1000 words). Make sure you do a spellcheck and a word count, and that you proofread your post by reading it out loud.

When you are done, complete the Gradebook Declaration.

Heroes. The word "hero" has a wide range of meanings in English. In the most neutral terms, a hero is someone who is able to successfully accomplish a difficult task. But many people expect more from a hero: they often assume a hero should be a positive role model, or that a hero should make great sacrifices for the benefit of other people. For other people, the test of a hero is the incredible obstacles that he has to overcome (that's what superheroes do!). What is your definition of a hero? Did you find any examples of a hero in this week's readings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Gods and Goddesses. Many myths and folktales involve gods and goddesses as characters in the stories. What impression did you have of the gods and goddesses who appeared in this week's stories? How did the gods act? What kind of personalities did they have? How did they interact with the human characters? How did they interact with each other? Did you learn anything about the religious practices associated with these gods from the readings this week? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Women's Roles. Many storytelling traditions are male-oriented, with the female characters appearing in clearly subordinate roles. Sometimes the stories are explicitly misogynistic, treating women with contempt, suspicion or fear. In other storytelling traditions, women (or girls) emerge as the central characters, and they are represented in a more positive light. What did you think about the way women and girls were represented in the stories that you read this week? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Poetic Speech and Style. Some forms of folklore and mythology rely heavily on poetic speech or other distinctive, stylized speech: puns and other word-play; rhyme and other forms of repetition; hyperbole (exaggeration); riddles and other metaphorical language; magic spells and other ritual speech; etc. Was there a distinctive style of language used in this week's readings? What kinds of poetic speech were used? Was the style of speech an important element of the stories? Did the use of stylized language sometimes make the reading hard to understand? What were the clues you used to understand the meaning of difficult passages? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Tragedy and Pathos. Were any of the stories in this week's readings "tragic" stories? Did sad things happen in any of the stories? Give an example of a scene that you thought was tragic or sad. What were the specific elements in the story that made you respond to this sad scene in an emotional way? Which characters did you relate to most? Why do you think people enjoy reading stories that are sad? Why are we interested in stories that are tragic or stories that have unhappy endings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Resources. Each reading unit has a Resources page, listing websites where you can learn more about the topic. Listed below are some websites chosen from that page. Take a look at these websites, and choose the three sites you find the most interesting. Write a brief paragraph about each site. For each site, include a link to the site and give a brief description of the contents. Explain what you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the sites. How does this information contained in these sites help you in understanding more about the stories from this week's readings?

• Mesopotamian Gods, Goddesses and Demons
• Assyro-Babylonian Mythology FAQ
• Sumerian Mythology FAQ
• Exploring Ancient World Cultures
• Civilizations of Mesopotamia
• GILGAMESH: musical based on the story of Gilgamesh
• Gilgamesh Ebook
• Flood Stories from Around the World
• British Museum: The Flood Tablet

Magic and the Supernatural. Magic and supernatural elements are important for many mythological and folktale traditions. What examples of magic and supernatural elements did you see in this week's stories? What kinds of characters used magic? What did they use magic for? Were there supernatural characters or events in this week's stories? What role did these supernatural characters or events play in the plot of the stories? Would you say that magic and supernatural motifs were dominant elements in this week's readings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Inspiration? Guidance? Model? Were there any characters in the stories of this unit who provided you with a kind of model to follow - either a positive model to imitate, or a negative model to avoid? Are there some incidents in the stories that give you insight into something that has happened in your own life or in the life of someone close to you? Are there values or qualities that you see in the characters that are values or qualities you would like to have more of in your own life? What valuable message or meaning did you find in this week's stories? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.