The thing that I remember the most from this week is reading the Koran. I have read most of the New Testament before, so the little selections that we read were nothing new. Most of the class seems deeply religious, so I always feel a little awkward when we discuss the Bible in class. The Koran, however, is a completely new experience for me. To be completely honest, the only thing I have ever heard from the Koran was from the BBC TV show Robin Hood. He would always quote this one line: "For every man there is a purpose which he sets up in his life. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds,” and at the end of the show revealed that it was from the Koran. I guess I thought the Koran would be similar to the Bible – a book about doing good works that people interpret in different ways. However, the Koran was not exactly like that. It wasn’t that different than the Bible, but I felt the underlying message was different. Nothing majorly different – but there were certain small things that kind of threw me off. The one that got me the most was one line right at the beginning of our reading. It was along the lines that only some people would see the “truth” of the Koran and God would cause everyone else to be nonbelievers. I was always taught to spread my religion because if I truly believe in the Bible, that means I truly believe that everyone who doesn’t is damned. How could you not try to save as many people as you can?
12/2/11 Research Paper
I read Rachel Scott’s paper on the imperfection of Greek gods and heroes. It was laid out well, and you could tell she did her research. The topic was one that we have gone over in class, so there wasn’t a ton of new information. However, I still didn’t mind reading it. Some things that I liked were her title and the overall point of the paper - that heroes are admired because they overcome their flaws. A few things that bothered me were that she seems to be questioning why the Greek heroes were looked up to in the beginning of her paper, but in the end talked about how modern heroes are also flawed. If your own heroes are flawed, why question the flaws in the heroes of other cultures? Also, the same information seemed to be repeated in some areas. Maybe use different examples? (I understand, however, that she was probably trying to tie it into the class) Overall a good paper.
11/18/11 Art Museum
I had never been in the art museum here until now, so I wasn’t sure what would be in there of how big it was. The first room (besides the room where you drop off your backpacks) was very open and symmetric. There were two angels on either side, but sort of in the middle, two statues of people running with dogs against the staircase, and two staircases that went up from the middle on each side. Though the statues were not exactly the same, it provided a sense of balance. I went around through the different rooms – some I like better than others. Most of the rooms were laid out in a similar way. The paintings were along the walls and the sculptures were in the middle. That way you can view them from every angle. I like the paintings more than the sculptures for the most part – especially the ones with vibrant colors. There were a few pieces of art that stood out to me. There was a set of tables and chairs that I didn’t get – why were they there. There was a sculpture by Henry Moore. It was kind of abstract, but I noticed it mostly because of the name. There is a large sculpture outside of the library in my hometown called Large Arch. It was also by Henry Moore, and I could see the similarities between the two pieces. Finally, I liked the hanging piece in the front room that was hanging from the ceiling. It was an interesting piece that really grabbed my attention.
My idea for the project: The differences between Greek and Roman gods and why those changes occurred.
11/11/11 Aneid
The Aneid has been up and down for me. At first I did not like it too well. It is not that it is a bad story or even uninteresting – it is just that it is very similar to the Odyssey and I liked the Odyssey better. I enjoyed book 4 a lot more though. I don’t know if it is just because it was father into the story and had more action, or if it was because it was a love story (although a sad one), but I was able to get into it. Sometimes I got a little confused with the different names of the gods, but it wasn’t too bad. Book 6 was not bad, but I didn’t get as into it as I did book 4. Maybe it is because we did a lot more in-class work on book 4. However, it was interesting to see Virgil’s version of the underworld. I wonder how much of that was the common belief at the time, and how much of it was from legend or even made up by Virgil. It is similar to the Greek stories, but also different. I kind of liked the Aneid version of the underworld better than the Odyssey version. Probably because there was a lot more detail. I think that, overall, the Aneid is a good idea. The Iliad and the Odyssey were famous stories that survived for generations. By having a story of the origins of Rome that relates back to the Iliad, it kind of connects them in people’s mind. Even though it is not true, and the connections between the two all exist in Virgil’s work, the connections stay in people’s heads. Overall a very clever idea.
11/4/11 Chinese Philosophy
I have been enjoying the selections that we have been reading this week, even if I do not completely understand everything in them. Even though I do not follow the beliefs of Confucius or Daoism, I can still get something out of these texts. A lot of what they say is just good advice. From respecting your parents to finding more than one way to look at things – there is nothing too controversial that I can see. However, that does not mean that I agree or understand with everything that was said. My biggest problem was that I would read a lot of the selections and enjoy them, yet not be sure of what I was supposed to get out of it. (I wonder if people in China find them just as confusing, or if it is the difference between Eastern and Western philosophy that make it confusing for me?) Also, sometimes I thought I understood it, but I didn’t agree with what they were saying. The part that I was the hardest for me to wrap my mind around was the whole inaction idea. I just have trouble thinking of inaction as a good thing. I think that the Daoism texts were more confusing than the writings of Confucius. On the other hand, I also liked them better than the Confucius texts. My favorite part was the writing and prose of these texts. Even the ones that started off as a conversation between two people were still beautiful. It could just be translation, but when I read the Bible it is not very poetic (depending on what part I read though). It makes it more pleasant to read or listen to when it is poetic.
10/28/2011 The Good Life
I think that the good life is an interesting topic for our book to cover. If I were writing a textbook, I would not think to include something like this, yet it is relevant to what we have been reading and learning. In fact, it is relevant to almost any time and place, because the good life is up to interpretation. Each society and person within that society has a different idea of what the good life is. I think that what a culture sees as the good life can reflect the values of that culture. By looking at what the good life used to be, we can see how that culture differs from our own. The discussions over the good life were all good, but the one that intrigued me the most was how materialism plays a role in our definition of the good life. This is interesting to think about, because we see that materialism is a big part of what we see as important or desirable. Also, it reflects our values as a culture. Everything is about what will sell, not if it is good for people. If you look at it from that standpoint, our culture seems really shallow. It is hard to see yourself as shallow and materialistic. If I want something, I think it is because it is cool or because I need it. I don’t admit to myself that I wouldn’t want it if it weren’t for advertising or because I think that things make my life better. It is hard to see yourself in such a harsh light. But if you read the examples of how to live the good life, it seems as if these problems of materialism have been around for a long time. I think that makes the texts as relevant now as they were back then.
10/21/11 Midterm Reflection I think this is one of my better classes, even though it is in the morning. I like the way we just read and discuss. As for effort and participation, I think I am doing ok. If I have a thought about the topic we are discussing, I will raise my hand and share it with the class. Otherwise I just listen to the class. I am learning some in this class. For the most part, however, we are reading material that I have already read in high school. This is not bad though; it is always good to go over something more than once. The presentations are where I think I learn the most. It is just someone presenting facts, but there are always a few things that I didn’t know or realize. I cannot think of one thing in particular that I think needs to change. I like the class for the most part. The only thing I can think of is that sometimes it seems like we cover a topic really briefly. It is hard to retain something when we only talk about it for a day or two. On the other hand, we do have a chance to reflect on it in our journals. My favorite part of the semester is when we have class discussions. It is a good way to share ideas and hear from others in the class. Another thing that I enjoyed was the parodies. People came up with really clever ideas and it was funny to hear them all. It was also fun to come up with a parody and the pseudo author biography. I really had to think outside the box.
10/14/11 Antigone
Having never read Antigone before, I was not expecting too much of it. Agamemnon was one of my least favorite things that we did in this class, and that has been the majority of my exposure to Greek theatre. The only other thing that I had read was a small excerpt from the play Oedipus, which, while not uninteresting, was certainly a little odd. However, I loved Antigone. When I started reading it, the only thought I had was that it was at least better than Agamemnon. Somewhere in the middle( not sure where) though I got sucked into the story. My attention was one hundred percent on the plot and I just had to know the end. Though in the back of my mind I was pretty sure that it was a tragedy, I was hoping that Antigone would be spared. It wasn’t the best thing I had ever read, but it was one of my favorites from this class. The discussion we had in class was also interesting. We talked about if this had happened in a modern context, and lots of people immediately jumped to saying what if her brother was a terrorist. Though that does relate the feelings that the people probably had toward traitors, I think the situation is completely different. Two brothers fighting for power is not the same as a terrorist and an American soldier.
10/7/11 Agamemnon/Hero Presentations
Agamemnon was not my favorite thing. It was not that it was badly written or uninteresting- I just wasn’t into it. I found it hard to really get into the story and nothing stood out to me. I think it might have been because it was so long, and it was didn’t capture my attention. It might have been better if we had read it in two sections, or even read the other two plays. I was one of the people who presented this week. I thought our presentation was ok, but not great. I did, however, enjoy the readings we did to prepare for it, in particular the Ramayana. It was something that I had never even heard of, so everything I read was new information. This made it more exciting to learn about than say – Agamemnon. Plus it was a look into another culture, which is something I always enjoy. The stories of Heracles were also interesting. I had heard of the 12 labors before, but all I really knew was from the Disney story. It was fun to find out which parts of the Disney version were true and which parts were false or from other Greek legends. The other group’s presentation was great. I really liked the discussion it provoked. It made me think of this book I read once called Hero Type. In the book a young boy did something that he was praised for and called a hero, but he felt guilty because he know he did it for a bad reason. Then, later on, he stands up for something he believes in, but others think he is evil for having that point of view. The whole book was about what makes a hero, and how much motivation or reasoning should effect what people think about “heroic” deeds. It is something worth thinking about.
9/30/11 Old Testament
Personally, I was not too excited to find out that we were going to be reading the Old Testament. I had read them before for bible school, and I remembered that the books were made up of stories that I had already heard and long lists of genealogies. However, our textbook cut out the more boring parts, so it was not as bad as I anticipated. I enjoyed reading Exodus, Psalms, and Song of Songs the most. Exodus because it was the most like a story, Psalms because they are interesting to read, and Song of Songs because it reminded me of a poem. Though Job was also in the form of a story, it was not as interesting as the story of Moses. Also, when I was little I used to watch this movie call the Prince of Egypt, which was basically Exodus in cartoon form, and when I was reading Moses’s story I could picture scenes from the movie. This made it a lot easier to read. Another thing I wasn’t looking foreword to was discussing the Bible in class. To me, my beliefs are a personal matter and I thought it would be hard to discuss these stories in class without bringing them up. Luckily, that problem didn’t really arise.
9/23/11
Sappho/Creation Myths
My favorite thing that we did this week was the Sappho poems. I had never heard of Sappho before, but it was refreshing to hear of a woman poet from that time period. I have always been a big fan of poetry, and I absolutely loved her poems. They were simple, yet conveyed lots of emotions and thoughts very clearly. Though they were not very long, I could easily relate to and imagine what Sappho was feeling when she wrote that poem. I wish more of her work had survived.
Now onto the creation myths. When I was a junior in high school my teacher had us read several Native American creation myths. It is interesting to see how those compare to the myths from Mesopotamia/Egypt/India. I will have to say that the Native American ones are less violent on the most part.
Another thing that I noticed is that hearing all the creation stories at once makes them all sound made up. Obviously this story isn’t true because here is another one that is different…and another….and another. Even the Genesis story sounds like fiction to me – and I was raised in a Baptist church. I know we are supposed to believe the Bible, but if everyone in the class had heard the Geneses story for the first time today, no one would think that it had a grain of truth to it. It just doesn’t sound like everything else we are told is fact – it is not scientific enough. I am not saying that I don’t believe it, or that it is not true. I am just saying that it sound like something someone just made up to explain something they didn’t know.
9/16/11 The Odyssey
I have decided that the ending is by far my favorite part of The Odyssey. This is not really about content however, but the way it was written. The rest of the story is kind of slow moving, Odysseus telling a story or taking ten years to get home. Even when he does get home, it takes a very long time for him to do anything about the suitors. The whole thing is a little frustrating for me, because it seems obvious what he is going to do – defeat the suitors and tell Penelope who he is- but it takes half the book for him to do it. Though I said that it was not about content for the most part, I suppose it is a little. It is just more exciting to read about a battle and a family reuniting than it is to read about Odysseus sailing around or acting like a beggar. When he was challenging the suitors I was excited because I wanted to see Odysseus act like a hero and the suitors get what they deserved. Though Odysseus was a little harsh – especially towards the women- it was still fun and interesting. Also, though I have enjoyed this story, it was kind of a relief for it to be over. As for the two poems that we read in class, I actually liked the second one more than the first. We didn’t talk about them for very long, but most everyone seemed to like the first one. However, I thought the first poem dragged on a little and it was a little sad to think that Odysseus wasn’t content with what he fought for the whole book – being home with his family.
9/9/11
The Odyssey
As I am reading the Odyssey, I find myself becoming more and more interested in the side stories surrounding Odysseus’s journey. We all (I assume) know how the Odyssey ends and most of the elements of the journey. I never find myself asking, “what is going to happen next?” but rather “who is that person that was mentioned?”
The biggest example of this is when the gods are mentioned or take part in the story. There seem to be so many of them, and each has their own backstory that all the characters know but I don’t. The lives of the Greek gods are like a soap opera. They are all related and cheating on each other and haves lots and lots of drama. They do not seem very holy to me, but they are interesting.
However, it is not just the gods whose stories are mentioned but never explained. There are so many names and stories just barely referred to that it drives me nuts. Especially when Odysseus is talking to ghosts in the land of the dead. It seems as if the spirits come in two main groups – men and women. Many of the men have names and stories I recognize, either from earlier in the book or from the Iliad. Achilles, Agamemnon, and the guy who fell off the roof- these are people I know. It is the women who were intriguing. None of them were really famous in their own right, just related to famous people. Why did Odysseus talk to them and not to the heroes directly? It seemed odd and I am wondering what the significance of it is. I understand why he talked to his own mother, but why other people’s mothers and wives? I thought about this way more than the actual story I was reading.
9/2/11
The Odyssey
I have always been very interested by Greek mythology, so I was happy when I saw that we would be reading The Odyssey in class. The story was already familiar to me when I first read the poem my sophomore year of high school. I had read a version of it called The Adventures of Ulysses when I was younger. It was one of the reasons that I got into Greek mythology. Also, the school play my freshman year was The Odyssey, which introduced me to the layers of the story that The Adventures of Ulysses had glossed over. By the time I actually read the story, there was not too much of it that I didn’t already know.
Now that I am rereading the poem, I find that I am not enjoying it any less. There is so much to the story that I had forgotten. In particular, the first few chapters about Telemachus. I remembered that he was in the beginning, but that was about it. I had completely forgotten about the tales from the others who had returned from the war. The stories of Menelaus and Agamemnon were particularly satisfying because I found them both to be annoying characters in the Iliad. I would say this shows that they got what they deserved, but that message would not carry over to Odysseus. Not only does Odysseus have qualities that I find appealing- the love of his family and home, but he was also one of the great heroes of the war. The Trojan Horse was his idea after all. Though, I suppose the story would not be as good if the audience did not like the hero.
8/26/11 The Epic of Gilgamesh
I have found the Epic of Gilgamesh very interesting so far. The thing that intrigues me the most is how old the story is. It is one thing to know that civilizations existed so long ago, but another thing entirely to read a story from them. Reading this story is a real insight to how people live and think. It seems as if people have not changed all that much despite all the years. The actual story is also interesting, if a little slow and hard to understand in places. I find myself rereading passages several times, but I am able to understand it eventually. I do, however, have a few questions that we never got around to in class. Most of which are about the whole adventure with Humbaba. Is Humbaba a good or bad person? It seemed at first that Gilgamesh and Enkidu were doing the right thing by confronting Humbaba. They had told the gods what they were going to do and had dreams about defeating Humbaba. However, Enkidu ended up getting punished for this later on. I am not even sure what Humbaba was. Is he the spirit of the forest or is that Enlil? I am just not very clear on the whole thing. And now onto my thoughts on the class. I really enjoy the atmosphere and size of the class. I also like how it seems to be set up for lots of discussions rather than just a lecture type of class. It makes me feel more involved in the class. Besides, I have always felt that I learn better when I am able to participate. It keeps me more focused and interested in the material. If only it weren’t so early in the morning. But really, I enjoy it overall.
12/9/11
New Testament/Koran
The thing that I remember the most from this week is reading the Koran. I have read most of the New Testament before, so the little selections that we read were nothing new. Most of the class seems deeply religious, so I always feel a little awkward when we discuss the Bible in class. The Koran, however, is a completely new experience for me.
To be completely honest, the only thing I have ever heard from the Koran was from the BBC TV show Robin Hood. He would always quote this one line: "For every man there is a purpose which he sets up in his life. Let yours be the doing of all good deeds,” and at the end of the show revealed that it was from the Koran. I guess I thought the Koran would be similar to the Bible – a book about doing good works that people interpret in different ways.
However, the Koran was not exactly like that. It wasn’t that different than the Bible, but I felt the underlying message was different. Nothing majorly different – but there were certain small things that kind of threw me off. The one that got me the most was one line right at the beginning of our reading. It was along the lines that only some people would see the “truth” of the Koran and God would cause everyone else to be nonbelievers. I was always taught to spread my religion because if I truly believe in the Bible, that means I truly believe that everyone who doesn’t is damned. How could you not try to save as many people as you can?
12/2/11
Research Paper
I read Rachel Scott’s paper on the imperfection of Greek gods and heroes. It was laid out well, and you could tell she did her research. The topic was one that we have gone over in class, so there wasn’t a ton of new information. However, I still didn’t mind reading it. Some things that I liked were her title and the overall point of the paper - that heroes are admired because they overcome their flaws. A few things that bothered me were that she seems to be questioning why the Greek heroes were looked up to in the beginning of her paper, but in the end talked about how modern heroes are also flawed. If your own heroes are flawed, why question the flaws in the heroes of other cultures? Also, the same information seemed to be repeated in some areas. Maybe use different examples? (I understand, however, that she was probably trying to tie it into the class) Overall a good paper.
11/18/11
Art Museum
I had never been in the art museum here until now, so I wasn’t sure what would be in there of how big it was. The first room (besides the room where you drop off your backpacks) was very open and symmetric. There were two angels on either side, but sort of in the middle, two statues of people running with dogs against the staircase, and two staircases that went up from the middle on each side. Though the statues were not exactly the same, it provided a sense of balance.
I went around through the different rooms – some I like better than others. Most of the rooms were laid out in a similar way. The paintings were along the walls and the sculptures were in the middle. That way you can view them from every angle.
I like the paintings more than the sculptures for the most part – especially the ones with vibrant colors. There were a few pieces of art that stood out to me. There was a set of tables and chairs that I didn’t get – why were they there. There was a sculpture by Henry Moore. It was kind of abstract, but I noticed it mostly because of the name. There is a large sculpture outside of the library in my hometown called Large Arch. It was also by Henry Moore, and I could see the similarities between the two pieces. Finally, I liked the hanging piece in the front room that was hanging from the ceiling. It was an interesting piece that really grabbed my attention.
My idea for the project: The differences between Greek and Roman gods and why those changes occurred.
11/11/11
Aneid
The Aneid has been up and down for me. At first I did not like it too well. It is not that it is a bad story or even uninteresting – it is just that it is very similar to the Odyssey and I liked the Odyssey better. I enjoyed book 4 a lot more though. I don’t know if it is just because it was father into the story and had more action, or if it was because it was a love story (although a sad one), but I was able to get into it. Sometimes I got a little confused with the different names of the gods, but it wasn’t too bad. Book 6 was not bad, but I didn’t get as into it as I did book 4. Maybe it is because we did a lot more in-class work on book 4. However, it was interesting to see Virgil’s version of the underworld. I wonder how much of that was the common belief at the time, and how much of it was from legend or even made up by Virgil. It is similar to the Greek stories, but also different. I kind of liked the Aneid version of the underworld better than the Odyssey version. Probably because there was a lot more detail.
I think that, overall, the Aneid is a good idea. The Iliad and the Odyssey were famous stories that survived for generations. By having a story of the origins of Rome that relates back to the Iliad, it kind of connects them in people’s mind. Even though it is not true, and the connections between the two all exist in Virgil’s work, the connections stay in people’s heads. Overall a very clever idea.
11/4/11
Chinese Philosophy
I have been enjoying the selections that we have been reading this week, even if I do not completely understand everything in them. Even though I do not follow the beliefs of Confucius or Daoism, I can still get something out of these texts. A lot of what they say is just good advice. From respecting your parents to finding more than one way to look at things – there is nothing too controversial that I can see.
However, that does not mean that I agree or understand with everything that was said. My biggest problem was that I would read a lot of the selections and enjoy them, yet not be sure of what I was supposed to get out of it. (I wonder if people in China find them just as confusing, or if it is the difference between Eastern and Western philosophy that make it confusing for me?) Also, sometimes I thought I understood it, but I didn’t agree with what they were saying. The part that I was the hardest for me to wrap my mind around was the whole inaction idea. I just have trouble thinking of inaction as a good thing. I think that the Daoism texts were more confusing than the writings of Confucius. On the other hand, I also liked them better than the Confucius texts.
My favorite part was the writing and prose of these texts. Even the ones that started off as a conversation between two people were still beautiful. It could just be translation, but when I read the Bible it is not very poetic (depending on what part I read though). It makes it more pleasant to read or listen to when it is poetic.
10/28/2011
The Good Life
I think that the good life is an interesting topic for our book to cover. If I were writing a textbook, I would not think to include something like this, yet it is relevant to what we have been reading and learning. In fact, it is relevant to almost any time and place, because the good life is up to interpretation. Each society and person within that society has a different idea of what the good life is. I think that what a culture sees as the good life can reflect the values of that culture. By looking at what the good life used to be, we can see how that culture differs from our own.
The discussions over the good life were all good, but the one that intrigued me the most was how materialism plays a role in our definition of the good life. This is interesting to think about, because we see that materialism is a big part of what we see as important or desirable. Also, it reflects our values as a culture. Everything is about what will sell, not if it is good for people. If you look at it from that standpoint, our culture seems really shallow.
It is hard to see yourself as shallow and materialistic. If I want something, I think it is because it is cool or because I need it. I don’t admit to myself that I wouldn’t want it if it weren’t for advertising or because I think that things make my life better. It is hard to see yourself in such a harsh light. But if you read the examples of how to live the good life, it seems as if these problems of materialism have been around for a long time. I think that makes the texts as relevant now as they were back then.
10/21/11
Midterm Reflection
I think this is one of my better classes, even though it is in the morning. I like the way we just read and discuss. As for effort and participation, I think I am doing ok. If I have a thought about the topic we are discussing, I will raise my hand and share it with the class. Otherwise I just listen to the class.
I am learning some in this class. For the most part, however, we are reading material that I have already read in high school. This is not bad though; it is always good to go over something more than once. The presentations are where I think I learn the most. It is just someone presenting facts, but there are always a few things that I didn’t know or realize.
I cannot think of one thing in particular that I think needs to change. I like the class for the most part. The only thing I can think of is that sometimes it seems like we cover a topic really briefly. It is hard to retain something when we only talk about it for a day or two. On the other hand, we do have a chance to reflect on it in our journals.
My favorite part of the semester is when we have class discussions. It is a good way to share ideas and hear from others in the class. Another thing that I enjoyed was the parodies. People came up with really clever ideas and it was funny to hear them all. It was also fun to come up with a parody and the pseudo author biography. I really had to think outside the box.
10/14/11
Antigone
Having never read Antigone before, I was not expecting too much of it. Agamemnon was one of my least favorite things that we did in this class, and that has been the majority of my exposure to Greek theatre. The only other thing that I had read was a small excerpt from the play Oedipus, which, while not uninteresting, was certainly a little odd.
However, I loved Antigone. When I started reading it, the only thought I had was that it was at least better than Agamemnon. Somewhere in the middle( not sure where) though I got sucked into the story. My attention was one hundred percent on the plot and I just had to know the end. Though in the back of my mind I was pretty sure that it was a tragedy, I was hoping that Antigone would be spared. It wasn’t the best thing I had ever read, but it was one of my favorites from this class.
The discussion we had in class was also interesting. We talked about if this had happened in a modern context, and lots of people immediately jumped to saying what if her brother was a terrorist. Though that does relate the feelings that the people probably had toward traitors, I think the situation is completely different. Two brothers fighting for power is not the same as a terrorist and an American soldier.
10/7/11
Agamemnon/Hero Presentations
Agamemnon was not my favorite thing. It was not that it was badly written or uninteresting- I just wasn’t into it. I found it hard to really get into the story and nothing stood out to me. I think it might have been because it was so long, and it was didn’t capture my attention. It might have been better if we had read it in two sections, or even read the other two plays.
I was one of the people who presented this week. I thought our presentation was ok, but not great. I did, however, enjoy the readings we did to prepare for it, in particular the Ramayana. It was something that I had never even heard of, so everything I read was new information. This made it more exciting to learn about than say – Agamemnon. Plus it was a look into another culture, which is something I always enjoy. The stories of Heracles were also interesting. I had heard of the 12 labors before, but all I really knew was from the Disney story. It was fun to find out which parts of the Disney version were true and which parts were false or from other Greek legends.
The other group’s presentation was great. I really liked the discussion it provoked. It made me think of this book I read once called Hero Type. In the book a young boy did something that he was praised for and called a hero, but he felt guilty because he know he did it for a bad reason. Then, later on, he stands up for something he believes in, but others think he is evil for having that point of view. The whole book was about what makes a hero, and how much motivation or reasoning should effect what people think about “heroic” deeds. It is something worth thinking about.
9/30/11
Old Testament
Personally, I was not too excited to find out that we were going to be reading the Old Testament. I had read them before for bible school, and I remembered that the books were made up of stories that I had already heard and long lists of genealogies. However, our textbook cut out the more boring parts, so it was not as bad as I anticipated.
I enjoyed reading Exodus, Psalms, and Song of Songs the most. Exodus because it was the most like a story, Psalms because they are interesting to read, and Song of Songs because it reminded me of a poem. Though Job was also in the form of a story, it was not as interesting as the story of Moses. Also, when I was little I used to watch this movie call the Prince of Egypt, which was basically Exodus in cartoon form, and when I was reading Moses’s story I could picture scenes from the movie. This made it a lot easier to read.
Another thing I wasn’t looking foreword to was discussing the Bible in class. To me, my beliefs are a personal matter and I thought it would be hard to discuss these stories in class without bringing them up. Luckily, that problem didn’t really arise.
9/23/11
Sappho/Creation Myths
My favorite thing that we did this week was the Sappho poems. I had never heard of Sappho before, but it was refreshing to hear of a woman poet from that time period. I have always been a big fan of poetry, and I absolutely loved her poems. They were simple, yet conveyed lots of emotions and thoughts very clearly. Though they were not very long, I could easily relate to and imagine what Sappho was feeling when she wrote that poem. I wish more of her work had survived.
Now onto the creation myths. When I was a junior in high school my teacher had us read several Native American creation myths. It is interesting to see how those compare to the myths from Mesopotamia/Egypt/India. I will have to say that the Native American ones are less violent on the most part.
Another thing that I noticed is that hearing all the creation stories at once makes them all sound made up. Obviously this story isn’t true because here is another one that is different…and another….and another. Even the Genesis story sounds like fiction to me – and I was raised in a Baptist church. I know we are supposed to believe the Bible, but if everyone in the class had heard the Geneses story for the first time today, no one would think that it had a grain of truth to it. It just doesn’t sound like everything else we are told is fact – it is not scientific enough. I am not saying that I don’t believe it, or that it is not true. I am just saying that it sound like something someone just made up to explain something they didn’t know.
9/16/11
The Odyssey
I have decided that the ending is by far my favorite part of The Odyssey. This is not really about content however, but the way it was written. The rest of the story is kind of slow moving, Odysseus telling a story or taking ten years to get home. Even when he does get home, it takes a very long time for him to do anything about the suitors. The whole thing is a little frustrating for me, because it seems obvious what he is going to do – defeat the suitors and tell Penelope who he is- but it takes half the book for him to do it.
Though I said that it was not about content for the most part, I suppose it is a little. It is just more exciting to read about a battle and a family reuniting than it is to read about Odysseus sailing around or acting like a beggar. When he was challenging the suitors I was excited because I wanted to see Odysseus act like a hero and the suitors get what they deserved. Though Odysseus was a little harsh – especially towards the women- it was still fun and interesting. Also, though I have enjoyed this story, it was kind of a relief for it to be over.
As for the two poems that we read in class, I actually liked the second one more than the first. We didn’t talk about them for very long, but most everyone seemed to like the first one. However, I thought the first poem dragged on a little and it was a little sad to think that Odysseus wasn’t content with what he fought for the whole book – being home with his family.
9/9/11
The Odyssey
As I am reading the Odyssey, I find myself becoming more and more interested in the side stories surrounding Odysseus’s journey. We all (I assume) know how the Odyssey ends and most of the elements of the journey. I never find myself asking, “what is going to happen next?” but rather “who is that person that was mentioned?”
The biggest example of this is when the gods are mentioned or take part in the story. There seem to be so many of them, and each has their own backstory that all the characters know but I don’t. The lives of the Greek gods are like a soap opera. They are all related and cheating on each other and haves lots and lots of drama. They do not seem very holy to me, but they are interesting.
However, it is not just the gods whose stories are mentioned but never explained. There are so many names and stories just barely referred to that it drives me nuts. Especially when Odysseus is talking to ghosts in the land of the dead. It seems as if the spirits come in two main groups – men and women. Many of the men have names and stories I recognize, either from earlier in the book or from the Iliad. Achilles, Agamemnon, and the guy who fell off the roof- these are people I know. It is the women who were intriguing. None of them were really famous in their own right, just related to famous people. Why did Odysseus talk to them and not to the heroes directly? It seemed odd and I am wondering what the significance of it is. I understand why he talked to his own mother, but why other people’s mothers and wives? I thought about this way more than the actual story I was reading.
9/2/11
The Odyssey
I have always been very interested by Greek mythology, so I was happy when I saw that we would be reading The Odyssey in class. The story was already familiar to me when I first read the poem my sophomore year of high school. I had read a version of it called The Adventures of Ulysses when I was younger. It was one of the reasons that I got into Greek mythology. Also, the school play my freshman year was The Odyssey, which introduced me to the layers of the story that The Adventures of Ulysses had glossed over. By the time I actually read the story, there was not too much of it that I didn’t already know.
Now that I am rereading the poem, I find that I am not enjoying it any less. There is so much to the story that I had forgotten. In particular, the first few chapters about Telemachus. I remembered that he was in the beginning, but that was about it. I had completely forgotten about the tales from the others who had returned from the war. The stories of Menelaus and Agamemnon were particularly satisfying because I found them both to be annoying characters in the Iliad. I would say this shows that they got what they deserved, but that message would not carry over to Odysseus. Not only does Odysseus have qualities that I find appealing- the love of his family and home, but he was also one of the great heroes of the war. The Trojan Horse was his idea after all. Though, I suppose the story would not be as good if the audience did not like the hero.
8/26/11
The Epic of Gilgamesh
I have found the Epic of Gilgamesh very interesting so far. The thing that intrigues me the most is how old the story is. It is one thing to know that civilizations existed so long ago, but another thing entirely to read a story from them. Reading this story is a real insight to how people live and think. It seems as if people have not changed all that much despite all the years.
The actual story is also interesting, if a little slow and hard to understand in places. I find myself rereading passages several times, but I am able to understand it eventually. I do, however, have a few questions that we never got around to in class. Most of which are about the whole adventure with Humbaba. Is Humbaba a good or bad person? It seemed at first that Gilgamesh and Enkidu were doing the right thing by confronting Humbaba. They had told the gods what they were going to do and had dreams about defeating Humbaba. However, Enkidu ended up getting punished for this later on. I am not even sure what Humbaba was. Is he the spirit of the forest or is that Enlil? I am just not very clear on the whole thing.
And now onto my thoughts on the class. I really enjoy the atmosphere and size of the class. I also like how it seems to be set up for lots of discussions rather than just a lecture type of class. It makes me feel more involved in the class. Besides, I have always felt that I learn better when I am able to participate. It keeps me more focused and interested in the material. If only it weren’t so early in the morning. But really, I enjoy it overall.