MRS. CONTRERAS Language Arts 9 th Grade – Eng I Honors Gifted Room C209

1. Welcome Braddock Bulldogs!!! MRS. CONTRERASLanguage Arts9th Grade – Eng I Honors GiftedRoom C209 2006-2007

2. Home Learning PLACE COMPLETED ASSIGNMENT(S) IN HOMEWORK BOX BEFORE THE BELL RINGS! • "I Am" poem • Paragraph on significance of Gilgamesh’s quest • Response essay to "Allegory of the Cave," McCarthy and Kuh’s “Are Students Ready for College,” and Pinzur’s “Blame Game.”

3. Weekly Forecast8/21/06 – 8/25/06 • Monday – Materials check. Discussion of Mesopotamian, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh questions • Tuesday – (orientation) Discussion of Mesopotamian, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh questions • Wednesday – Test. writing purpose and process. Discuss essentials of paragraph writing and the importance of descriptive language in conjuring up images. (elements of descriptive paragraph and language). Writer's Choice pg 138 • Thursday – (picture day) Describing an imaginary setting. Writer's Choice pg 148. Referring back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, ask students to find evidence of descriptive language. • Friday – Describing an imaginary character Writer's Choice pg 152. Referring back to the Epic of Gilgamesh, ask students to find evidence of descriptive language.

4. Home Learning By Monday, 8/28: • Using your knowledge of fictional story elements (PP slides), as well as descriptive and narrative writing, compose an additional scene for the Epic of Gilgamesh (2 pg maximum). Model your section to the serious tone of the epic. In this imaginary scene, the title character encounters a strange person/creature who either helps him or gets in his way. • Write a separate paragraph explaining where your section would be interjected in the existing narrative and why. Be sure to be as descriptive as possible (paint pictures in your reader's mind). • Print out Rubric. Have a great week!

5. Monday, 8/21/065-minute Writing topic: What qualifications would you assume a literary work must possess in order to be considered a "classic" among world literature?

6. Monday, 8/21/065-minute Writing topic: What qualifications would you assume a literary work must possess in order to be considered a "classic" among world literature? • A work must have gained widespread and lasting recognition by readers and critics alike • They must agree that the work transcends its own historical period and culture (universal) • The Western canon are exceptional works arising out of any cultural tradition • Classicists, look to works of Graeco-Roman antiquity as those who the ancients considered having a high standard of excellence, seldom surpassed

7. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What are some important aspects of Mesopotamian culture? • This area is known as “the cradle of civilization. • Along the Tigris and Euphrates, which flooded yearly facilitating travel and commerce, Mesopotamia, “the land between the rivers,” developed into sophisticated city-states, each having their own ruler, army and “ziggurat” or towering temple. • Sumerians (language related to Hebrew and Arabic) invented writing around 3000 BC and settled in the southern Mesopotamian city-states of Ur and Uruk. • The Akkadians, led by Sargon of Akkad, a Semite group, invaded the region of Sumer and adjoining areas, forming the world’s first empire, but adopted much of Sumerian culture, including its religion and literature.

8. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What are some important aspects of Mesopotamian culture? • The Babylonians, also a Semitic people, conquered Mesopotamia in 2000 BC, establishing its capital on the Euphrates River. King Hammurabi established one of the first sets of laws around 1750 BC. • Around 850 BC, the Assyrians, a Kassite group from Northern Mesopotamia, consolidated a great empire extending from northern Mesopotamia to Egypt and modern-day Turkey. The Assyrians established their capital in Nineveh under the rule of King Ashurbanipal, who established a library of Sumerian and Babylonian writings. • The Chaldeans conquered the Assyrians in 612 BC, destroying Nineveh and founding the second Babylonian empire.

9. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What are some important aspects of Mesopotamian culture? • The library was destroyed when the Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BC. • In 1849, archaeologist Austen Henry Layard unearthed the remains of the buried library, finding the story of a great flood like the one described in the Bible. • The version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, along with other fragments found have allowed scholars to “reconstruct” the epic, although much of it is still missing. Translators use their imagination, literary skills, and knowledge of cuneiform to bring this story to us.

10. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What are some important aspects of Mesopotamian culture? • This area is known as “the cradle of civilization. • Along the Tigris and Euphrates, which flooded yearly facilitating travel and commerce, Mesopotamia, “the land between the rivers,” developed into sophisticated city-states, each having their own ruler, army and “ziggurat” or towering temple. • Sumerians (language related to Hebrew and Arabic) invented writing around 3000 BC and settled in the southern Mesopotamian city-states of Ur and Uruk. • The Akkadians, led by Sargon of Akkad, a Semite group, invaded the region of Sumer and adjoining areas, forming the world’s first empire, but adopted much of Sumerian culture, including its religion and literature.

11. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What are some important aspects of Mesopotamian culture? • Development of cities around rivers, allowing for travel and commerce • Architecture: city walls, gates, thoroughfares • Technology: shaduf (extracting water from river), wheel, sail, plow • Law: Code of Hammurabi (Babylon) • Writing: cuneiform or “wedge-shaped” script (pressing the ends of reeds into clay, hardened by baking) • Math & Science: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy (calendar for irrigation and map of world) • Stratified society: aristocracy/upper class, merchants/farmers/artisans, slaves. Women had more opportunities than in most other ancient civilizations.

12. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh • What universal needs and drives gave rise to early literature? • Explain world’s mysteries • Sing praise and express faith • Impart wisdom • Record great deeds and landmark events (history) • Through story-telling (language and literature) culture was/is transmitted. Before written language and literature, there were stories. People told these stories to define themselves as human beings, and as a people, to explain their place in the universe.

13. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 3) Name and describe the earliest forms of literature. • Myths: traditional stories often about gods that serve to explain natural phenomena, the human situation, or the origin of a belief or ritual. • Heroic literature: records and celebrates the great deeds of heroes and heroines • Legend: a type of heroic literature that celebrates the exploits of an important person; usually the hero and events are based on historical facts. Ex: King Arthur

14. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Mythology: • Gilgamesh encounters supernatural beings on his way to Utnapishtim, who lives on a sacred mountain top. Odysseus, in Greek mythology, visits the underworld. Even up through medieval times, such as Dante’s “Inferno,” we see Dante the pilgrim taking a journey through “Inferno,” “Purgatorio,” and “Paradiso.” • The Gilgamesh epic, typical of Mesopotamian religious beliefs and customs, identifies several deities that take part in determining the course of mankind. For example, The gods intervene to teach Gilgamesh a lesson, but strategy backfires as Enkidu becomes Gilgamesh’s best friend. For their offenses against the gods, one must die, Enkidu. • To a certain extent, the Gilgamesh epic also tries to make sense of the natural phenomenon of a catastrophic flood, the existence of which has been documented in world literature, as well as verified by archeologists.

15. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 3) Name and describe the earliest forms of literature. • Sacred verse: usually in the form of hymns, prayers, psalms express religious faith and are usually written to be chanted or sung. Ex: “Book of the Dead” contains hymns for the god Osiris. • Wisdom literature: instructs or advises on wise and moral behavior, such as a biblical proverb (saying) or parable (brief story with a moral). • Folk Tales: focus on ordinary people having extraordinary experiences. Often these feature magic, exaggeration, and humor. Ex: Aladdin

16. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 3) Name and describe the earliest forms of literature. • Human Condition: as we evaluate many works from different cultures we discover recurring situations, characters and themes. While there are obvious differences, the works also reveal startling similarities. • Quest: a journey to find treasure, achieve a goal or undergo a personal transformation. (Iliad, Odyssey, Aneid, biblical story of Abraham and Moses) • Archetypes: common elements (situations, characters, images) such as a person’s quest for life and self-determination, found in literature of all cultures, regardless of time or culture.

17. Epic Rhetorical Devices… • Repetition: a feature of epic poems where particular words, phrases and grammatical structures are employed • Epithets: words or short phrases that highlight key qualities of the character or objects. Ex: “Then he called to the man Gilgamesh, he called to the child of the gods” (37). • Epic Similes: A long comparison using “as” or “like” that often continues for a number of lines. Ex (Homer’s Iliad) “Like powerful stallions sweeping round the post for trophies / galloping full stretch with some fine prize at stake, / a tripod, say, or woman offered up at funeral games / for some brave hero fallen – so the two of them / whirled three times around the city of Priam…”

18. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 4) What is so unique about the delivery of early literature. • Stories circulated orally for centuries before they were ever written • Poets in most early civilizations were highly regarded as individuals who could recall/transmit vast amounts of cultural information • Heroes/warriors wanted their exploits told for generations to come • Oral literature would “enshrine” an individual, making him/her larger than life • Oral history/stories were later written • Preserved in writing, did diminish their original delivery methods/intent

19. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 5) What is an epic? • Epic: a long narrative poem that tells the deeds of a great person, the “epic hero,” a larger than life figure (while the best, he may also have flaws). Epics weave myth and legend together to express the core values and beliefs of a culture.

20. Characteristics of Epics… • Hero is usually male and holds a high position in society; almost always an important historical or legendary figure • Hero’s actions reflect the values of a culture • Setting is vast in scope, often involving the heavens and the underworld • Plot may be complicated by supernatural beings or events, and it may involve a dangerous journey (elements of mythology) • The tone of the epic is serious; characters often make long and formal speeches • Epics treat universal themes, such as good versus evil, and express universal values, such as honor and courage.

21. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” • One of the oldest forms of literature, written 1000 years before “The Iliad” & “The Odyssey” (700 BC). • Deals with universal themes of friendship, heroism, mortality, and the desire to control one’s destiny (mainly defeating death) • Gilgamesh is a legendary figure, a Sumerian king who ruled Uruk around 2700 BC. Stories about him circulated orally and tales of his adventures grew with time, until written down around 2000 BC. Our version was written by a Babylonian scribe around 1300 BC. • Gilgamesh has extraordinary abilities. Ex: He’s 2/3 god and 1/3 human. • Gilgamesh’s flaws. Ex: arrogant, selfish, destructive. • Flood story is very much like the Genesis flood story

22. Strategies for Reading Epics… • Before you read, learn as much as possible about the culture and time from which the work comes • Notice what the literary form of the work is (myth, heroic literature, sacred verse, etc) • Notice Plot organizers at the beginning of each section. These provide brief introductions to each section of the epic. We are reading an abridged (shortened) version. • If the work is lengthy, map or diagram the plot to keep track of characters and major events • If a passage confuses you, go back and summarize its main idea • If the work is short, such as a song or prayer, read it through once without stopping. Then, read it through again carefully line by line. • Always monitor yourself as you read! Keep the above in mind.

23. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 6) Provide a brief summary of the plot. (The Death of Enkidu) • Enkidu tells his dream to Gilgamesh • Gilgamesh peels off his clothes when he realizes that greatness in life means nothing to the “common lot of man” (37) or death. Great kings become servants in a place of sorrow. • Enkidu dies. • Gilgamesh roams the wilderness in search for Utnapishtim, his father. • Along the way, Gilgamesh encounters the Man-Scorpion (hindrance), Shamash (hindrance), Siduri (hindrance), Urshanabi (hindrance), Utnapishtim (hindrance / help) • Gilgamesh returns to Uruk

24. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 7) How is the epic structured/organized? • Death of Enkidu (35) • The search for everlasting life (37) • The story of the flood (41) • The return (43)

25. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 8 & 19) How is the hero characterized throughout the epic? (strengths) • Gilgamesh is brave. He’s not afraid of the Man-Scorpion by the mountain, nor Shamash (sun god) in the garden, nor the mysterious Siduri (winemaker) by the sea, nor Urshanabi, the ferryman. • Gilgamesh is loyal. Repeatedly, he mentions his grief over the death of Enkidu. • Gilgamesh is determined. He wants desperately to find Utnapishtim, his father, to learn the secret of eternal life. Gilgamesh wants to control his destiny. • Gilgamesh is a fierce warrior. He has seized and killed the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba, a forest dweller who killed lions.

26. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 8 & 19) How is the hero characterized throughout the epic? (weaknesses) • Gilgamesh struggles with an internal conflict (death). • Gilgamesh has unrealistic expectations. He thinks his weeping will bring Enkidu back (37). • Gilgamesh is emotional. He undergoes this journey very soon after the death of his Enkidu. He’s “reacting” rather than “acting.” Repeatedly he speaks of his great anguish. • Gilgamesh is impetuous. He destroys Urshanabi’s sacred stones, tackle, and mast, the very items needed to navigate the boat. • Gilgamesh is mortal and therefore weak. He fails to remain awake for six days and loses the plant to the snake.

27. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 9) What social values are embodied in the story? • Perseverance • Loyalty • Passionate • Bravery • Polytheism • Concerns over after-life

28. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 10) What types of conflict do we see operating in the epic? • Man vs Himself (internal struggle): “O Urshanabi, was it for this that I toiled with my hands, is it for this I have wrung out my heart’s blood? For myself I have gained nothing” (46). Gilgamesh is grieved over having fallen asleep. • Man vs External force (nature, society, fate): “How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead” (37). Here Gilgamesh struggles with Enkidu’s and his own potential death. Death is a force he cannot control. • Man vs Man: typically reserved for actual men. Gilgamesh struggles with supernatural creatures.

29. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 11) What is the principal theme in the work? • The finality of death and fear of the unknown: “[the man-bird] led me away to the palace of Irkalla, the Queen of Darkness, to the house from which none who enters ever returns, down the road from which there is no coming back”(35). • Any exalted existence in life is meaningless in death: “They who had stood in the place of the gods like Anu and Enlil, stood now like servants…” (36).

30. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 11) What is the principal theme in the work? • Death and negative expectations of after-life: “the dream was marvelous, but the terror was great…for the dream has shown that misery comes at last to the healthy man, the end of life is sorrow”(36). • Inevitability of death: “the common lot of man has taken him…I would not give up his body for burial, I thought my friend would come back because of my weeping” (37). • Fear of death: “What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death, I will go…find Utnapishtim” (37).

31. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 12) Find evidence of repetition and epithets in the text. How did these rhetorical devices aid poets? • Repetition and epithets mainly helped poets to memorize and recall information more quickly

32. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Repetition: • Repetition of Gilgamesh’s anguish: “How can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead” (37) “Now that I have toiled and strayed so far over the wilderness, am I to sleep, and let the earth cover my head forever? Let my eyes see the sun until they are dazzled with looking” (38). “How can I be silent, how can I rest, when Enkidu whom I love is dust, and I too shall die and be laid in the earth” (39).

33. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Repetition: • Repetition that foreshadows Gilgamesh’s failure to obtain eternal life: “you will never find the life for which you are searching” (38 by Shamash & 39 by Siduri) • Repetition of Gilgamesh’s qualifications: “I am Gilgamesh who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven, I killed the watchman of the cedar forest, I overthrew Humbaba…, and I killed the lions” (39) “If you are that Gilgamesh who seized and killed the Bull of Heaven, who killed the watchman…overthrew Humbaba…and killed the lions” (39)

34. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Repetition: • Repetition that emphasizes Gilgamesh’s tired state: “why are your cheeks so starved and why is your face so drawn?” (39 by Siduri). “why are your cheeks so starved and your face drawn?” (40 by Utnapishtim).

35. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Epithets: • References to Enkidu: “my brother” (37). “for Enkidu, whom I loved” (37) “my friend, my younger brother” (39). • References to Gilgamesh: “Then he called to the man Gilgamesh, he called to the child of the gods” (37). • References to Utnapishtim: “my father, for men say he has entered the assembly of the gods” (37). “Utnapishtim, the son f Ubara-Tutu” (39). “whom they call the Faraway, who lives in Dilmun” (40).

36. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 13) How is the setting of the story like settings in epics? • Typical of epics, the setting in the Gilgamesh epic is vast in scope. Not only is there a physical city, but often the journey involves going to the heavens, underworld, or other fantastic places.

37. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 14) What is the author’s purpose in the epic? • While we know that epics, long narrative poems, typically celebrated the deeds of a hero, the final lines of the Gilgamesh epic summarize the writer’s purpose. In addition to telling us the story, the writer concludes by saying “[t]his too was the work of Gilgamesh, the king, who knew the countries of the world. He was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things, he brought us a tale of the days before the flood. He went a long journey, was weary, worn out with labor and returning engraved on a stone the whole story” (46)

38. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 15) What allusions do you see in the text? • An illusion is typically an implied or indirect reference in literature to another piece of literature • In the Gilgamesh epic, we find many biblical allusions. This means that we find very similar, if not an exact relationship between this ancient text and what is written in the Bible.

39. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Biblical Allusions… • Connection to Hebrew culture: the association of man as dust and this connection to death is also found in the Hebrew scriptures. “And the Lord God formed man out of the dust in the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). “I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of holiness, and they were forgotten…This also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 8:10)

40. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” Biblical Allusions… “…As the father pities his children / so the Lord pities those who fear Him / For He knows our frame / He remembers that we are dust / As for man, his days are like grass / As a flower of the field, so he flourishes / For the wind passes over it, and it is gone / And its place remembers it no more…” (Psalms 103:14)

41. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Literary Analysis: • Connection to Hebrew scriptures: “for man his days are like grass; as a flower in the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more” (Psalm 103:15-16).

42. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Literary Analysis: • Connection to Hebrew scriptures: “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities…all is vanity. What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away and another comes…The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing…That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-10)

43. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Flood Story Parallels: According to Utnapishtim, the great god Ea tells him that the gods are going to exterminate mankind for their evil doings. Ea tells Utnapishtim to build an arc, complete with exact instructions and measurements. There is a prophecy spoken to the general population. Two of each kind of animal is gathered, as well as Utnapishtim’s family inside the arc. The storm ravishes the land, and no one survives except this family.

44. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Flood Story Parallels: The gods were terrified of the flood. Ishtar laments the destruction of mankind. For a period of time, the rain continued. The arc came to rest upon a mountain top. A dove is released and returns, but the raven doesn’t. A sacrifice is made by Utnapishtim.

45. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Other Biblical Parallels: • Going to a place of sorrow after death (Hell). • The king of Kish whom the eagle carried to heaven in the days of old (Elijah & Jesus). • The description of the garden of the gods with gem-bearing bushes with fruit of carnelian (red) alludes to the “Garden of Eden” story with the apple. • Gilgamesh’s weeping for Enkidu similar to king David weeping for his dead child through Bathsheba.

46. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Other Biblical Parallels: • “Fill your belly with good things” (Jer 51:34 & Psalms 103). • Gods being upset at mankind because of their “babel” (babble) similar to story about God confounding languages. • Gilgamesh tearing off his clothes (sign of grief). • The snake snatches the flower from Gilgamesh at the end of the story (just like the snake takes eternal life away from Adam).

47. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 16) What are the society’s views on life after death? • Mesopotamian views on life after death are consistent with those of those of the Hebrew civilization. • Both associate the burial and death of man with returning to the ground or dust. The tone associated with life after death in both works is negative. These beliefs, the inevitability & dreadfulness of death, are still with us today, regardless of religious affiliation.

48. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 17) What themes make the Epic of Gilgamesh universal or classic? • Friendship • Heroism • Mortality • Self-determination (“life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”) Has to do with controlling one’s destiny

49. Mesopotamian culture, Early Literature & Epic of Gilgamesh 18) How old is this epic, and how has it been preserved? • While the legendary Gilgamesh ruled Uruk around 2700 BC, and stories circulated after his death, the stories were written down around 2000 BC. Written in cuneiform, the Babylonians preserved and translated the epic. The standard version of the text is said to have been written down by a Babylonian scribe around 1300 BC. Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC) preserved the text until its fall in 612 BC. The library at Nineveh was destroyed. Not until 1849 were tablet fragments found by Austen Henry Layard.

50. “The Epic of Gilgamesh”Style, Mood & Tone: • Style: characterized by how the author uses diction, imagery and rhetorical devices (sentence length, figurative language, point of view to create an effect). It may be formal, conversational, journalistic, wordy, ornate, poetic, or dynamic. The style of this epic is formal and poetic. • Diction/Language choice creates a mood for the palace of Irkalla that is dark and ominous: “whose people sit in darkness; dust in their food…theysee no light, they sit in darkness. I entered the house of dust” (35-36). • Tone: revealed by the writer’s style and is the author’s implicit attitude toward the people, places, and events in a story. If we are sensitive to tone, we can get behind a character and speculate on how the author viewed it. We can speculate that the tone is serious and sympathetic.