Description
Paper Length: 6-8 pages, double-spaced, approximately 1800-2400 words
Format: MLA-style documentation
Due: 7.28.18—If you submit a draft before July 25th, you will receive back from me via email a graded draft with comments—you may then revise for a full grade replacement until the 28th. Drafts received between July 26 and July 28 will be graded without comments and can be revised until the end of the day on the 28th again for a full grade replacement. No papers or revisions accepted after the 29th except in cases of emergencies, work/service requirements, and the like. Please contact me as needed about the deadline.
For the paper in this class, you will create a close reading of three texts that explicates and interprets both texts through a common theme. Your goal is not simply to show how they differ; in a survey of World Literature, there are very few texts that are going to be similar in style or language. Rather, the goal of this paper is to create an interpretive argument about the works that is both unified and illuminating through careful study of a theme that develops over the course of the works.
For example, one could look at role of leadership in The Illiad, Gilgamesh, and The Art of War or the images of women and femininity in Metamorphoses, 1001 Nights, Tales of the Genji, and Gilgamesh, or the role of imagination and stories in Don Quixote, Metamorphoses, and The Thousand and One Nights. Please check with me regarding your theme before you begin the paper.
Your goal in examining a theme is to: 1) Identify the theme and 2) Show how exploring this theme allows the reader to gain a deeper understanding of the two works.
A thesis for this paper should show your familiarity with the works and that your thoughts go beyond the surface and into the themes and issues raised by the works. No matter your choice, you want to approach the work as if there is deeper meaning beyond what is on the page.
Two external sources must be used in this paper, and these sources must be drawn from the MLA International Bibliography, accessed through the Troy Library here (Links to an external site.). (The Prospectus Assignment will detail four potential sources you've identified that may help your paper--you must use two of those.)
From that link, scroll down to ‘Select a Database’ and go into the MLA Bibliography, Project MUSE, or JSTOR (check all three databases for your research). There will be more information forthcoming on doing literary research on the discussion boards. DO NOT just go to the Internet and do a Google search; there are countless on-line papers on these works. Using them will generally be a detriment to your work as they are generally awful papers and can lead you into a plagiarism case. Literary criticism is not history—it may be historical, but the goal of this paper is to explicate the texts in question, not examine their histories or the histories of the peoples and places that may have existed in antiquity.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
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The war in the Ancient Times Final Paper
The art of war in the ancient societies demonstrate a significant effect as defined by the
texts. The Tales of Genji, an epic of Gilgamesh, 1001 Nights and Metamorphosis are grounded
within the capacity of glorification of heroes. The art of war is more of the heroes than the war
itself, and the gods seem to reward heroes finding favor in them. The epic of Gilgamesh defines
Gilgamesh as the real hero with extra strength. He is a character defined strongly by the gods
with followers relating to him closely as a god. It is only in the metamorphosis where the art of
war is described as a full engagement at the human capacity indicating that there are no real
heroes. The ancient literature of war is unique both in its cause, and it’s not as established as it
was in the period of Art of war to be defined later by Sun Tzu of China which shows the
confrontation of military forces across borders in the protection of wealth, power, women and
children. These ancient wars though established to protect the interest of an individual kingdom
were a one-person show. For example in the epic of Gilgamesh Anu appeal to lady Aruru to
create a rival to humankind to fight with him to relieve Uruk. The research is defined as the
discussion of the literature of war (nature of war) in the ancient times as defined by the epic of
Gilgamesh, the Tales of Genji the 1001 Nights and Metamorphosis.
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Heroes are the rulers most feared by all the men on the accounts they were the gods. In
the 1001 Nights Shahryar, the ruler and his wife are feared by all men. The king who found his
wife and his brother's wife unfaithful kills them and marries and executes virgins the very next
morning. As outstanding and with the undesirable personality no one would directly confront
them and challenge their actions. The whole story is a one-person show, and it would only take
trickery of Shahrazad to control his efforts to kill. Enkidu challenges Gilgamesh actions and
aggressiveness of war. He is born of a hero Ninurta who is a god of war and hunting. With that
foundation, Gilgamesh has all the reason to fear Enkidu who is equal a hero like him. Other than
war the heroes have key defined features that make them outstanding in the time of war. Enkidu
had his body covered with hair and the hair in his head was like a woman The Compact
Anthology of World Literature: Part 1, 81). In the Metamorphosis the changed are the weak
creatures. In the tales of Genji, he was a han...