Paper Homework
Background
We all love stories. From childhood to adulthood, we all learn best when we listen to stories - stories from our parents, our grandparents, our aunts, our uncles, our teachers, our leaders, our friends. The fact is that all humans - from whatever country, whatever culture, whatever age, whatever gender - all of us love stories.
There are all kinds of stories and many names for categorizing them. We have literature, folk tales, legends, myths, sacred texts, and biographies. But what do they have in common? They wrap us up in a narrative that means something to us, that helps us understand the world and know how to live in it. They help us understand what it means to be human. All of us have certain deeply held beliefs, and most of us have many fundamental beliefs in common.
There are many ways to hear stories. Of course, you can read a book. But you can also just keep your ears open and hear dozens of stories each day from the Internet, the TV, your phone, your friends, your family, your preacher, your mailman. Are you addicted to fantasy fiction or mystery novels? Are you fascinated by the ancient Greek and Roman myths of gods and goddesses and their interactions with mortals? Is there a television show you cannot bear to miss? Maybe there is a film you saw a long time ago that you have never forgotten. What stories did you grow up with? Did you have a favorite book as a child that you still remember and think about from time to time? Did your grandfather tell you stories of his childhood? Did you grow up listening to your uncle telling tale tales? What did you learn from the stories you read, watched or heard? What are some of the stories that are most meaningful to you?
What to create
You will write a 500 word essay that showcases a story that has meaning for you. You will tell us that story, analyze its meaning, and then compare its meaning to that of a story from another culture that you have read about in this class.
Who you will create it for
You will be writing to your instructor and classmates to help us to get to know you better. In telling one of your favorite stories and explaining why it is meaningful to you, you will provide a window into your life and the common humanity we all share. We will picture ourselves sitting around a campfire on a dark winter's night, listening to you.
How to create your project step-by-step
Step I: Set your paper for DOUBLE-SPACE. In the upper left-hand side of your essay, put your name, professor name, class name, and date. Below that, center your essay's title.
Step II: Begin your paper by telling, in your own words, the story you have chosen to share.
Step III: Next, give the background of your story. Did you read it, hear it, or see it performed? Who told it or wrote it? When did you read or hear it? What initial impression did you have of it? How did your first impressions evolve and grow?
Step IV: Explain the meaning and the value of the story. What values and beliefs does your story express? What is the theme or point of your story? Explain the relevance of the story's meaning to your life and beliefs. Does it define a value you hold? Does it set an example for behavior? Does it define your family in some way? Does it capture a relationship that you hold dear? Does it capture your zest for life and adventure?
Step V: Compare your story to a story that you have read for this class. Do your story and the ancient story have similar characters? Similar themes? Similar meanings? In your comparison, you should show that you understand that basic human stories are the same regardless of time or culture. Here are some possibilities:
1) Bromance! - Gilgamesh and Enkidu (Gilamesh)
2) Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned - Ishtar (Gilamesh)
3) Death before dishonor - Achilles (Iliad)
4) Pride goeth before a fall - Oedipus (Oedipus the King)
5) A person can be too clever for his own good - Odysseus (Odyssey)
6) The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates (Plato's Apology)
7) Even your best friends can turn on you - Julius Caesar
8) Duty to the gods, duty to country - Aeneas (Aeneid)
9) Brokenheartedness - Dido (Aeneid)
10) The hero's journey - Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Beowulf, etc.
11) A mother's fierce love for her children - Beowulf
Step VI: Conclude your essay by explaining how your story and the ancient story illustrate the universality of the human condition.
Step VII: Make your Works Cited page a separate page at the end.
How to make your Works Cited page
At the end of your essay, make a WORKS CITED page. Put "Works Cited" at the top and then list the sources you used in alphabetical order.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Reference
1) You may use a book you have read as your source. Document it this way: Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999.
2) Destination M106: Ur, "Reading: The Sumerians and Mesopotamia."
3) "Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest." Mesopotamia. The British Museum.