Due tomorrow

Paper Topics for Humanities 101 Essay Question # 1Please write a 4 page (1250 minimum word count) essay on one of the following papertopics . You must use evidence from the text to back up your claims. A style sheet withfurther instructions about the paper will be posted in the next few days. BE SURE TOREAD THE STYLE SHEET IN ADDITION TO THE QUESTIONS BELOW

.1. At the beginning of Book 16 of the Iliad, Patroklos comes in tears to Achilles and theepic warrior describes his tearful friend in terms of a young girl crying to her mother.Consider what this simile says about Achilles’ view of his relationship to Patroklos andconsider the other ways (metaphorical or not) in which their relationship is described inthe books of the epic that you have read. How do the descriptions of this relationshipdiffer from those evoking Gilgamesh’s relationship to Enkidu? What is the rhetoricalfunction of these descriptions in both epics? How are they meant to characterize therelationships?

2. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad demonstrate scenes of intense mourning andfunereal ritual. Compare the rituals and mourning for Enkidu’s death either to Achilles’and the Greeks’ response to Patroklos’ death (including Book 23 as well as Book 18) orto the mourning of the Trojans for Hektor (Books 22 and 24). Are there times whenmourning or the rituals of mourning seem to violate other social expectations orconventions?

3. In many ways, the Iliad is a poem about men, warriors who fight and die to gain glory.However, women also play an important part

in the poem, often as a contrast or foil tothe world of warfare. Discuss this dramatic function of women (including goddesses)and consider the ways that women are necessary to the full articulation of the Iliad’svision of life and death. Consider at least two of the following: 1)Hektor's encounterwith Andromache in Book 6, 2) the mourning of Hecuba and Andromache in Book 22after Hektor's death, 3) Thetis as Achilles' mother, 4) the many references to newlywedbrides in a hero's 'obituary' or 'epitaph' in Homeric song. You may also make this acomparative paper and contrast the dramatic function of women (and goddesses) in theEpic Gilgamesh to their function in the Iliad.

4. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad represent heroes in quest of a form ofimmortality, whether as an actual state or through song, art, and monument. In what waysdo these two epic poems represent immortality as a desirable goal? Do the texts questionthis goal?

HUMANITIES 101STYLE SHEET AND SOME TIPS FOR FIRST ESSAY1).2. All essays should be at least 1250 words in length (basically, around 4 pages), doublespaced, in Times 12 pt. Font, with 1 inch margins (approximately). Your paper shouldhave a title and a word count in parentheses. Your name and student I.D. # should be inthe upper right hand corner.3. Please proof read meticulously for spelling, grammar, and syntax errors.4. Pay particular attention to the spelling of ancient names—characters, authors, foreignwords (ie. Greek words), and the titles of books. Some names are spelled differently,

depending on the translation. Use one spelling consistently.

5. Remember either to italicize or to underline foreign words or phrases, as in kleos

(“glory”) or xenia (“guest-host relations”).

6. Be sure to underline or italicize all titles, e.g. the Iliad; or The Epic of Gilgamesh.

ORGANIZATION AND THESIS

7. Be sure to have a thesis statement in your introduction and use your essay to prove it.8. A good essay has the following components: a strong introduction; the development of anargument in several paragraphs that logically evolve one from another; and a final

paragraph that draws a conclusion based on the previous argumentation.

9. Avoid plot summary—your GTFs know the stories. Give just enough information to

situate your reader but focus on your own analysis of the text.

CITATION TIPS10. Be sure that you USE evidence for your assertions, but do not pad your paper withquotations. A good rule of thumb is to have at least twice as much to say about a quote asthe amount of the quote itself. Overall, your paper should not be more than 20% citation.11. When you cite from the Iliad, put the name of the translator, then book number and linenumbers in parentheses, e.g. (Lattimore, 22.50-75). When you cite from The Epic ofGilgamesh, put the translator and page number in parentheses, e.g. (George, p. 25).

2 12. When citing evidence for your assertions, you should either incorporate the quote intothe syntax of your sentence, so that the words quoted flow seamlessly from the syntax ofyour own sentence, OR, you should introduce a separate quote with a colon “:”13. If you introduce a separate quote with a colon, it should either be within the body of yourparagraph, OR, if the quote is more than three lines, it should be set off from the mainparagraph. Given the short length of the assignment, I would discourage you from settingoff large blocks of quoted material from the body of your essay. Try to incorporate your

quotes into the paragraph in question.

14. Please note that it is NOT NECESSARY to use secondary sources for this essay. That

is, all you need to reference is the texts themselves.15. However, you should have a bibliography for the texts that you use at the end of thepaper (but it should not be part of the 1250 word minimum). For both the Iliad and TheEpic of Gilgamesh, you should give the title, followed by the translator, followed by theplace of publication, publishing house, then date. E.g. The Iliad of Homer. Trans.Richmond Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951.GRAMMAR TIPS16. Remember that “it’s” = “it is” and that the possessive for “it” is “its.”17. Remember that (aside from the contraction “it’s”) apostrophes indicate possession: e.g. “Mary’s book”.18. Avoid “comma splices”—ie. Two independent clauses joined together by a comma.19. Avoid incomplete sentences: make sure that all your sentences express a completethought in an independent clause with a finite verb. When you use subordinate clauses, itoften makes for a stronger sentence to have the subordinate clause precede the

independent clause.

PLAGIARISM

Remember: All work submitted in this course must be your own and produced exclusively forthis course. The use of sources (ideas, quotations, paraphrases) must be properly acknowledgedand documented. For more information about what constitutes plagiarism and the consequencesfor academic dishonesty, refer to:https://uodos.uoregon.edu/StudentConductandCommunityStand ards/AcademicMisconduct.aspx.