Mythology, Religion, and Thing Betwixt (Unit 3) Journal

Due Friday 5/10 by 12:00pm on BV

(No physical copy needed)

Name:

Date:

ENGL 2111–F/11:00AM

Section 1 – General Plot Summary (150+ words):

Please write a summary for ONE of the texts we covered this unit:

The Descent of Ishtar

Erra and IshumGilgamesh

The Ramayana OR the Mahabharata/Bhagavad Gita

Metamorphoses (talk about the stories in general or give an intro for the Metamorphoses then summarize ONE of the stories)

The Analects (Confucius) (talk about the sayings in general)

The Book of Songs (choose either one poem or talk about the poetry in general)

Augustine’s Confessions

Do not simply copy this summary from another site. The point of this section is to demonstrate that you read the work(s) from the unit. Plagiarism in any section will result in a failing grade for the entire journal. Plagiarism includes “patchwork writing”, where only small phrases or words are changed from the original source, but the rest remains the same. DO NOT DO THIS!

Section 2 – Quote Breakdown

Select one significant, impactful quote from one work in EACH of the following areas from Unit 3:

Mythological works (those dealing exclusively with the gods)

Descent of Ishtar

Erra and IshumGilgamesh

Mixture Works (those dealing with spiritual teachings and the gods)

Ramayana

Mahabharata/Bhagavad Gita

Metamorphoses

Religious/Practical works (those dealing with practical teachings or human behavior)

The Analects

The Books of Songs

Epistle to the Romans OR Acts of the Apostles

Augustine’s Confessions

These quotes must be at least 4 lines long and be of substantial significance to the plot/focus of the work and demonstrate the connection between the work and one of this Unit’s themes.

Below the quote, you must breakdown the situation said quote comes from and analyze it. Example: Include who is speaking to whom and why. Explain its significance to the plot or overall story and connect to the Unit’s theme. Do not simply summarize what is going on in the quote. Summary does not equal analysis.

The breakdown for each quote should be 150+ words minimum. As a general rule, refrain from including your opinions, such as “I think…” or “I chose…” in your quote breakdowns. This is considered informal and unnecessary in an analysis. Instead, demonstrate your ability to analyze and connect the work(s) with the theme of the unit and to each other, if necessary.

Finally, the set up below is how your quote section should be organized. Failure to include any of the individual parts will result in loss of points for the section. Meaning you must have a citation above each quote, the quoted material with an in-text citation at the end (line numbers for plays, page numbers for prose), and your breakdown for the quote as the final part.

Mythological Work Citation:

Quote 1 (include physical quote and line numbers)

Break down

Mixture Work Citation:

Quote 2 (include physical quote and line numbers)

Breakdown

Religious/Practical Work Quotation:

Quote 3 (include physical quote and line numbers)

Breakdown

Section 3 – Discussion Prompt: 600 words minimum

Throughout this Unit, we have looked at many different spiritual texts that impart teachings and ruminations about human existence, many of these teachings relating to religious belief systems. Whether these belief systems incorporated powerful gods and demi-gods or simply discussed proper etiquette regarding human interaction, learning and discussing how other cultures of the Ancient World viewed humanity’s purpose and existence on Earth is important, as many – if not all – of these belief systems are the progenitors of religions we know of today.

Choose ONE of the prompts below. You must use quotes from the text to back up your claims and examples. Simply putting the line numbers after the quotes will suffice for MLA formatting in this section. Remember: this section is meant to be in essay format. Therefore, your answer needs to have the following:

An introduction and conclusion

A well-organized structure

Multiple paragraphs (do not have one solid block of text)

Quotes formatted with the ICE method (Introduce your source; Cite/Quote; Explain the significance to your thesis/prompt)

Just as with the quote breakdowns, refrain from including your opinions, such as “I think…” or “I chose…” in your discussion prompt. This is considered informal and unnecessary in an analysis.

For this prompt, trace the effect of the god’s actions on humans’ lives across one of these three texts and compare/contrast the interactions with those in Ovid’s Metamorphoses:

Descent of Ishtar

Erra and IshumGilgamesh (demi-gods count as well)

The tale(s) from the Metamorphoses that you use for the comparison is up to you. Just remember to make clear connections between the works and be clear in which work/character/situation you are referring to at any point in your response.

More on next page…

Select TWO of the following works with spiritual teachings to compare and contrast:

the spiritual teachings of Bhagavad Gita/Mahabarata OR the Ramayana

The Analects (Confucius)

Daoist teachings and poems

In your response, you must discuss the core of each belief system, the teachings provided in the selected work, and how those teachings can be applied to every day life. Then, in your conclusion, state which one you believe would lead to a more balanced life and why. (This final statement is an expression of your opinion but your statements must be backed up via information from the text.)

Compare and contrast Augustine’s conversion to Christianity via his Confessions with Paul’s conversion story in Acts of the Apostles. Be sure to mention their individual origins, the moment that lead to conversion, and how those said conversions altered their lives as men and as believers. (Feel free to look up more of the Book of Acts in a Bible or on a Bible website if you would like more information on Paul’s conversion.)