Length: 500 words + (you write it, I will read it) 1) Discuss the her

Length: 500 words + (you write it, I will read it)
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1) Discuss the heroic ideal, considering that the idea of the hero has changed over time and culture. Consider how some of the “heroes” we have read about behaved and consider who, if any, would be heroes today.
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2) Discuss the values the writers of ancient literature deem important. Some examples are the importance of hospitality (throughout the Odyssey); the vengeance taken on the serving maids in Book XXII; the importance of courage; the importance of loyalty and honour; the importance of fame, etc.
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3) Discuss the role of women in two or three of our readings. Some of the ideas you might consider are: How do women function? What power do women have and how do they use it? How do men perceive them? Do women see themselves differently than men?
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4) Discuss the tragic flaw (in depth) of Oedipus, considering how we, as contemporary Americansero.
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5) Discuss the role of the Divine (God, gods/goddesses and religion) in the readings thus far. How do you see the worship of gods originating and what changes do you see? Choose at last two different texts, i.e. the Old Testament vs. The New, or The Odyssey vs. Old Or New Testament.
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* remember that R?m? is an incarnate (a god made man) of Vishnu.
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6) Write an essay on lyric poetry. Choose 2 cultures, a subject or a theme (or both) at least 1 poem from each culture and analyze the attitudes of the culture towards your selected topic.
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Cultures:
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Egyptian
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Chinese
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Subjects:
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Love
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Nature
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Personal Experience
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Themes
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Transitory Nature of Love
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Transitory Nature of Life
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Connection with Nature
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Attitude Toward Death
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One’s Place in the World
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8) Choose a character you liked and one you disliked and compare and contrast them in terms of what qualities in each character made you like/dislike that character.
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9) Compare the didactic (moral) teachings of the selections from 1001 Nights and the Old or New Testament or Dante.
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10) Choose a text (any reading) that you thought was farthest from your point-of-view (one to which you could not relate) and then compare it to one which was closest to your own point-of-view and analyze the difference. This assignment asks you to consider not only what the differences are but why they exist as well.
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11) If you are a fan of superheroes, (Thor, Ironman, Spiderman, the X-men, etc.) write an essay comparing one of the heroes we have discussed with one (or maybe two?) of contemporary superheroes. You may use a film for this assignment.
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12) Construct IN DETAIL, your version of Dante’s Hell. To do this assignment, you must first analyze Dante’s geography of Hell, and then write a contemporary equivalent, explaining why you made your choices, and how your Hell reflects 21st century American culture as Dante’s does 13th century Florence. You must describe at least five circles of your hell and also come up with punishment to suit the crime (contrapasso)
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CREATIVE WRITING
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7) Pretend you are one of the characters we have read about ,and write a “secret journal.” This journal well might reveal a slightly different story than the commonly accepted one. Examples: How did Eve feel about getting the eternal blame for getting Adam evicted from Paradise; how did Penelope really feel about the men in her life? What might Jocasta have written about her situation? What is Bisclavret’s wife’s point-of-view, etc. This response paper may also call for some research other than the lecture, as you must remember that you are NOT a contemporary American, but a person writing about a culture that is familiar. Any research must be included as Works Consulted (no in text citation)
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13) Considering The Odyssey and all the adventures of Odysseus, you might write an essay based on a cartoon-like character. Ody the Cat, based on the idea of a cat as Odysseus, for example or Odysseus as another animal from cartoons would work, etc..