Comparability of the Floods How the Epic of Gilgamesh Relates and Conflicts the Bible - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1509 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/06 Category History Essay Level High school Topics: Gilgamesh Essay Did you like this example? When the clay tablets of the epic of Gilgamesh were first discovered and translated in 1872, scholars quickly noticed striking similarities between its narratives and those of the bible (Coogan 68). Specifically, the flood stories of these two pieces show the most clear resemblance to one another. In Gilgamesh, the main protagonist, Gilgamesh, seeks to become immortal. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Comparability of the Floods: How the Epic of Gilgamesh Relates and Conflicts the Bible" essay for you Create order In effort to do so, he then speaks to Utnapushtim who tells him about his experience with a great flood. Utnapushtim explains that a council of gods sent a flood that engulfed the whole earth. Before this, a specific god named Ea warned Utnapishtim of the flood and told him to construct a large boat. The boat was to have Utnapishtim, his family, and the seed of all living things as the survivors of the flood. The gods brought rain and the water surged for many days. When the water begins to subside, Utnapishtim sets loose a dove and later, a raven who finds land. The boat lands on Mount Nisir. Following the flood, the god named Ishtar makes a rainbow and places it in the sky as a promise that the gods would never bring another flood. In the biblical flood story, God notes that mankind has become evil so he decides to wipe out all flesh with a flood that will cover all of earth. God chose Noah to survive the flood and commands him to build a large boat with specific dimensions. God al so commands Noah to take his family along with him on the boat as well as animals of every kind. Noah does exactly as God says. The flood comes and surges for forty days and forty nights. When it subsides, the boat lands on Mount Ararat. After all the land is dry again, God forms a covenant with Noah to never bring another flood, and places a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of his promise. While these two stories may appear analogous, one must intently examine both the commonalities and the elements of discord between them in order to conclude the effect of Gilgamesh on the biblical flood story. One can easily identify the plot similarities in both the floods of Gilgamesh and the Bible, suggesting the two may be related. Before the floods begin in both stories, the heroes are characterized equivalently as being righteous. In Gilgamesh, Utnapushtim receives praise for his demeanor less directly, but is nonetheless admired by the gods and known to be selfless. Noah is also admired by God. Genesis reads, Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God (The Harper Collins Study Bible, Gen. 6.9-10). In the Bible, Noah is chosen to be the survivor specifically because of his good nature, much like Utnapushtim. Another major similarity is the global scale of both floods. The Bible says, the flood continued for forty days in the earth; and the waters increased and bore up the ark and it rose high above the earth (Gen. 7.17). In this verse and the following verses, the word earth is repeated several times to emphasize that the flood was all encompassing of the world. In Gilgamesh, the flood is referenced as being indistinguishable from the sky because it was so far reaching. Utnapushtim says, The wind blew, flood and tempest overwhelmed the land (Dalley 113, line 133). When Utnapushtim recalls the flood he, like the bible, recognizes it as surrounding everything on the planet. The two floods also have more obvious alignments such as the mere existence of a flood, the construction of a large boat, bringing all animals along on the boat, landing the ark on a mountain, and the creation of a rainbow. While these similarities are numerous and compelling, one must also consider the inconsistencies between the floods. The specific details of the Gilgamesh and biblical flood stories reveal several disagreements in narrative that establish them as separate entities. Contrary to Gilgamesh, at the very beginning of the biblical flood story, a motive for bringing on the flood is presented by God. Genesis reads, The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually(Gen. 6.5). Here, God justifies his intentions to wipe out mankind due to their corrupt behavior. On the contrary, in Gilgamesh, while the gods discuss a need to destroy everything on earth, they do not provide a reason to vindicate their idea. As the respective stories continue, another significant difference arises with respect to the means of announcing the flood. In Genesis 6:13, God clearly speaks directly to Noah when he first explains the flood and ark plan to him. Contrasting this, Utnapushtim does not learn about the flood from the god s themselves. Ea explains to the other gods, I just showed Atrahasis a dream, and thus he heard the secret of the gods (Dalley 115, line 141). In Gilgamesh, Atrahasis refers simply to the hero of the flood, i.e. Utnapushtim, who was never explicitly told the flood would come but was instead warned in a dream. Later in the stories, an additional critical difference is seen amongst the people who are instructed to be on the ark. God sees Noah as a righteous man, and instructs him to take only himself and his family. In Genesis he says, But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons wives with you(Gen. 6.18). God intently explains the family members Noah shall have by his side on the ark, whereas in Gilgamesh, Utnapushtim does not receive specific instructions on who to bring, and thus he decides for himself. He says, I put on board the boat all my kith and kin/[]/[], all kinds of craftsmen (Dalley 112, line 128). Un like Noah, Utnapushtim is not seen as being someone with gifted lineage, therefore bringing craftsmen who are not his blood on the ark is not problematic. Finally, arguably the most fascinating difference in the floods involves the order in which birds are released to find land. The Epic of Gilgamesh details the order Utnapushtim send the birds; first he sends a dove that fails to find land, then a swallow that also fails, and lastly a raven that successfully saw the waters receding. Almost exactly opposite of the bird order in Gilgamesh, the Bible details Noahs releases in Genesis, saying At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he made and sent out the raven, [], Then he sent out the dove from him, [], but the dove found no place to set its foot, [], He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf (Gen. 8.6-11). Here, we see that r ather than releasing a raven last, Noah releases a raven first, and rather than releasing a dove first, he releases it last. Several other noticeable differences between the floods in Gilgamesh and the Bible also exist, but these previous examples are momentous when analyzing how the two stories may have developed. Because the Epic of Gilgamesh predates the Bible, and because of its likeness to the Bible, many scholars have suggested that the Epic may have been a basis for the biblical flood story. However, when examining both the similarities and the differences between the floods, one cannot conclude this to be true. The flood in Gilgamesh compares to the biblical flood in several ways, these similarities involve mainly the general plot of the floods. Most notably, the character of the hero, the global scale of the flood, the construction of a large boat, survival of all animals, landing on a mountain, and creation of a rainbow are all plot elements that can essentially be interchanged with one another between the stories. Despite these commonalities, the floods establish themselves as separate tales because of their differences. The compelling differences include but are not limited to: the reason for flooding, modes of announcement, the people on board, and the order of the bird releases. C onsidering these differences, clearly the biblical flood story was not extracted from the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, when considering their comparability, the floods certainly have a relationship with one another. One explanation to this, as told by Coogan, is that a common and vague flood story existed in the ancient Near East. Therefore, the biblical writers may have known of a flood story that the Gilgamesh writers also knew (Coogan 69). Another possible way Gilgamesh may have affected the biblical flood story is in the modern interpretations of it. Retellings of Noahs Ark often possess dramatized elements making them more similar to Gilgamesh. All in all, while the flood stories of both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible are comparable, their differences make it difficult to prove that Gilgamesh was a source for the bible and show that they likely separately developed out of a common, unknown flood story.

Black Like Me - 804 Words

Black Like me The book Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin is a moving true story of how a white man manages to experience what it is like to be a â€Å"Negro† or black person in the 1950s. The author did this social experiment by taking medication and dying his skin a deep brown. He wanted to really experience the challenges and changes a black man in this time would go through. By traveling through the far south, Griffin got a taste of what real life was for a Negro. The experiment starts in the 1950’s and continues through the 1960’s. Griffin was a journalist seeking an opportunity to truly get to know what life was like for a Black person, especially in the South. At the time he was a middle-aged white man and grew up in Texas, where he†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"He promised perfect discretion and enthusiastically began coaching me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (23). Griffen soon left Sterling and began traveling through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia. â€Å"How did one start? The night lay out there waiting. A thousand questions presented themselves.† (11) After taking the medication and applying the dye to his bare skin, looking in the mirror was surprising. It took some time to get used to. In the time he was traveling through the south, he encountered situations he had never been in before. Griffen learned many things through his journey, especially about how he was expected to act towards white people. â€Å"Once again a ‘hate stare’ drew my attention like a magnet.† (51). He learns not to stop and loiter, not to look directly in the eyes, and also not to stare at white woman. The author talks about how much of a contrast there was between the life of a privileged white man and a black man in the South. It was harder for blacks to get jobs, to buy meals, and to own a home. He wrote about how he was treated in a store. The clerk â€Å"jerked the bill furiously from my hand and stepped away from the window. 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My Hometown free essay sample

Kelantan, a state as known as â€Å"Muslim city†Ã¢â‚¬ . Actually it not only full of Muslim culture, although it is cradle of Malay culture, it also have other ethnic religion and culture and we live in harmony. So, I want introduce with you all how unique my hometown – Kelantan. First, Kelantan have many ethnic culture, the most difference with other Malaysia state is Thai culture. At many years ago Thais from the near Thailand state with Kelantan that is Sungai Golok come to Kelantan life and make married with Kelantanese. Thais build many Thai temple at Kelantan, there have Reclining Buddha, Sitting Buddha, Standing Buddha and more. Kelantan’s reclining Buddha is longest statue in Southeast Asia can be found in Wat Phitivihan, Tumpat. Standing Buddha in Wat Dua Naga in Bachok also the highest statue in Southeast Asia, it have 32 metres tall. Second, Kelantan also have many delicious unique food. At â€Å"Siti Khadijah Market†, you can find anything you want, so want find delicious Malay culture food must come here. We will write a custom essay sample on My hometown or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Nasi Kerabu†, the very famous Malay food in Kelantan, the rice is blue it make from natural pigment and it will mix with vegetable, salted duck egg and Kelantan special food sauce that called â€Å"Budu†. A another unique food is Thai food â€Å"Khao Jam†,†Khao Jam† is Thai word, â€Å"Khao† is rice and â€Å"Jam† is mix, so that is a mix rice with vegetable. It most same with â€Å"Nasi Kerabu† but it more vegetable, and the rice also have colour, but it is green and make from many herbs, â€Å"Khao Jam† also have mix with â€Å"Budu†. Lastly, Kelantan have many beautiful and most historic museum. At the â€Å"Muslim city† must have a Islamic museum, so it have â€Å"Balai Syura†, inside there have Islamic fine arts, crafts and photographs of the belongings of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic historical sites. Another unique and historical museum are â€Å"War Museum†. The oldest brick building in Kelantan was built in 1912. It have records of World War Two and the Japanese Occupation. Conclusion, Kelantan are the unique state, it have Thai culture, delicious unique food and the beautiful and historic museum. Kelantan people also very friendly, Chinese, Malay, Thai, and Indian can communicate and live in harmony. I very love my hometown although it not have many young people entertainments. Kelantan our â€Å"Muslim City† and full of human touch, we respect other ethnic religious and culture and we love it ourselves culture.

Pocket Money Should Be Given to the Teenagers or Not free essay sample

With the development of our modern society, peoples living conditions become much more comfortable. But along with intense competition, parents have less time to consider children needs in all-round. One method to solve this contradiction is to give children some pocket money. Pocket money is useful to children. But whether the children are considerable enough to make correct use of these money. There are two viewpoints about the pocket money. Some people think that giving children pocket money will make them become luxurious. Others think that will not lead to such disadvantage. In my opinion, both of them are partially reasonable. Nowadays teenagers are moving to independence and it will help them if they have some practice in managing money. Giving pocket money teaches teenagers to manage money while they are still young and parents can still guide them. Also, it help teenagers to make choices and to see that sometimes people have to wait and save up some money to get what they really want. We will write a custom essay sample on Pocket Money Should Be Given to the Teenagers or Not? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The important predicament of pocket money must have certainly flashed your mind either during your childhood or as a parent now. Of course, the dilemma is always much more grave if you are a parent. Parents extensively differ in their perspectives of upbringing children in a system of granting pocket money to take care of their petty expenses. At first, the definite expenses that should be termed as petty is pretty much subjective in nature and needs to be well-defined to start with. The second question you need to ask is what is the extent to which a child be given freedom to spend money which is deemed as pocket money? While lot of parentaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns revolves around promoting unhealthy competition amongst children on the amount of money they get and loss of control on a childaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s spending habits, there are also some positive lessons for teenagers such as inculcating money management skills and making tough decision regarding spending desires that offer less value to their lifestyle. Some peoples believe that giving children pocket money really has many advantages. With pocket money, children can buy their daily necessities such as pencils, little toys, and snack food they like. It will give children a certain freedom to select what they want, make them aware rules of the equivalent exchange. Since time to parents is very precious, giving pocket money to children help them to save time spent in shopping, but used in busy working and earning money. Children can get the value of the money when they are responsible to pay for their purchases and they will become more responsible with money matters. It can also lead the children pay for their things from their pocket money itself, so that they get to know how grownups set up a budget when salary comes and pay for living expenses. Some parents think that giving pocket money to their children can saves a lot of time for grownups to buy small things for them. Parents can utilize this time for other important tasks. Once start giving pocket money to children, they have to begin make important decision regarding spending money themselves, this will gives them the sense of purpose and achievement. Besides that, children feel a sense of independence and responsibility towards spending the money in the right way. They learn to understand the value of money. Children will get into the habit of planned income and expenditure. They also learn about saving budgeting. Giving pocket money to children makes them feel an important part of the family since they know that they get a part of the familys monthly income. Therefore, the way of giving pocket money will develop a sense to children of how much has to be done to earn money, learn that money doesnt grow on trees, learn what money can buy, how much they need to buy and what they need to buy. They can have their own money to spend and helping them develop self control and understanding the value of money, and learn to save money. Others insist that there are undoubtedly some disadvantages in spending pocket money. First, young children do not know how to use pocket money appropriately, they possibly consume all the money to buy expensive merchandise that they like, and then ask for extra money from their parents. Some parents cosset their children, and always give them a large amount of pocket money. Such conditions will make children become more and more prodigal. Second, since adults do not supervise the procedure of shopping, children could probably buy something that is not suitable for their age, such as adult magazines. The aâ‚ ¬? Current Pocket Money Trends in Malaysiaaâ‚ ¬? survey has cited that metropolitan children in the 12-20 ages group get as much as RM500 to over RM1500 a month of pocket money to spend on apparels, physical appearance, cell phone and other lifestyle products. A child may not be cautious in spending money, he or she can easily spend on frivolous unnecessary items. Children are not expected to know the value of money so they are never expected to make a wise decision regarding money. A child can easily get into trouble if there is no supervision with regards to money matters. He or she can be the prey to the bullies at school or play area if they are carrying lots of pocket money. Children may always think they will get paid for everything they do to help, you have to find the money to pay them regularly, it is hard to know what the pocket money is supposed to pay for and there will always seems to be something more. Although children learn to understand that amount of money is limited and they need to always choose between their various desires to ensure correct use of their pocket money. Some parents believe that pocket money should not be given since that will make the child feel that parents money is not his/her money, it could lead to unhealthy competition amongst children on the amount of pocket money they get, and they will loss of control on where children spend the money. By judging these two viewpoints above that I mentioned, I think that parents should give their children a limited amount of pocket money and there must always exist some preconditions such as the amount of pocket money must be finite; parents should instruct their children how to use the money moderately and what is suitable to them; for a costly merchandise, parents themselves should take children to buy it. With these preconditions, pocket money will do no harm to their children. Parents need to explain to them where the money is to be used. For example when you first give the amount to your daughter, you need to explain that this money is to cover her school special lunch; candies or soft drinks requirements for a week. If the child is given money without any direction, you could run the risk of the child using the money is a way that does not agree with you. In such cases, parents need to be very careful in not micro- managing where the child spends the pocket money, else the child will get irritated and will not get the aâ‚ ¬? sense of independenceaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that parents want to instill in the child. Once children start spending, sometimes away from their parents in going to school, sports classes, tuitions, and they need to carry some amount of money on them. In the beginning, the amount of money should be small and should be periodically reviewed as the child grows. For example parents could decide that every birthday, they will give an increment to your childaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pocket money. If your child excels in academics or sports, they could get higher pocket money increments! How much is the best as the pocket money? Parents must always ensure that they give comparable pocket money to their children. It should neither be too much or too little compared to friends. Giving more pocket money than friends will make your child spend more and consider money as frivolous and easily available. If your child gets less pocket money than his/her friends, it will lead to an inferiority complex and the child might start resenting you. An idea might be to give your child a set amount each week, putting half in a savings account. At the end of a time agreed on by you both, perhaps three months and the child can spend the saved money exactly as they wish. If they choose to waste it on lollies they can do so. However most children want something special and usually prefer to save for that particular thing and not waste it on a brief pleasure. This helps teach them the value of saving. Another way treat pocket money as a way of punishment. Parents must be careful not to use pocket money as a way of punishment to their children. Often, parents use aâ‚ ¬? suspension of pocket moneyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as an easy way of punishing their children. This format of punishment is not wrong to use but must be applied carefully. For example if the child has a broken a beautiful vase and you want him/ her to understand the value of the same, you can penalize the child by deducting/ taking away the monthaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pocket money. But you cannot start using pocket money as a weapon to get the child to abide by all your wishes. For example you might want your child to have two glasses of milk everyday which he may not want to; in such cases by incentivizing the child for more pocket money will be wrong to do since such a format of giving money is not pocket money but aâ‚ ¬? bribeaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Similarly, pocket money penalty cannot be used as a blanket punishment to all wrong-doings. If the child starts feeling that he/she will never really get pocket money due to some punishment, he/she might be tempted to steal money from parents. If you decide to give pocket money you need to work out, how much is reasonable, whether the money will be paid for doing chores, how much must be done to earn it, and how much is simply because aâ‚ ¬? you are a member of the familyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, how much each job is worth, whether all children get the same amount or the older child gets more, how much control parents will have over the use of pocket money or do they have to save some, what can they buy with it, when you will pay? Because the children wont learn about the responsibility of money if parents dont honor the agreement.