On the first tablet of the Gilgamesh, as I read I couldn't avoid thinking about movies for example, The Lord Of The Rings. The dialogue, the names and the way they say things reminds me a lot of those kinds of movies. Gilgamesh, is a king which everyone in the kingdom admires and asks him for his advice on what to do. This is the same as a typical ancient kingdom story you might see in movies. They also describe Gilgamesh as being twice the saze of an ordinary man. They compare Gilgamesh, their king to being two thirds god and one third man.
On tablets II and III, Enkidu goes to Uruk which is the kingdom and fights Gilgamesh. "You are the strongest of all, the perfect, the terror." Pg 15. Even the strongest men admired him and he is describbed as being the best of all. The rest of this tablet says more things about the kong Gilgamesh and also describes how he ruled and things he said. They describe him as full of courage. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are going on a journey together to the forest and here is where the tablet ends.
domingo, 31 de agosto de 2008
Chapter 13
The book had to end some way. The author decided that would be the best, and I certainly agree with him. Ishmael died and that is how the book comes to an end. "Are you telling me that he's... dead?" "Dead is what he is, pardner." Pg 261. Ishmael had already passed all of his knowlege and it couldnt go on forever so I think that was the best way to end this. He died of pneumonia as they explain in the book. The man takes all of Ishmaels things with him, and also takes with hima all of his knowlege. At the begining he says all of his 4 apprentices were failures but this time, the narrator is not a failure. He is really interested in actually trying to use all of his knowlege into doing something to save help the world. In page 248 he asks Ishmael. "What do I do if I earnestly desire to save the world?" Here he shows the student really did get very involved and he is not just another failure.
For me this book was very informative. In a way, I thought of things that I agreed with totally which I had never thought of before. Many of Ishmaels main questions taught me many things that helped me understand why the world is the way it is. The author's terms like for example Leavers, and Takers teach you the difference between our ancestors and us. Also The term Mother Culture explains us the differense of how things used to be to how things actually are. I really think Daniel Quinn was interested in helping humanity and by writing this book, he is getting all of his thoughts through to other people and I think that was his goal in writing this book.
For me this book was very informative. In a way, I thought of things that I agreed with totally which I had never thought of before. Many of Ishmaels main questions taught me many things that helped me understand why the world is the way it is. The author's terms like for example Leavers, and Takers teach you the difference between our ancestors and us. Also The term Mother Culture explains us the differense of how things used to be to how things actually are. I really think Daniel Quinn was interested in helping humanity and by writing this book, he is getting all of his thoughts through to other people and I think that was his goal in writing this book.
miércoles, 27 de agosto de 2008
Chapter Twelve
As the book comes to an end, so do all of Ishmaels teachings and stories. Now is when everything falls together and all of the questions are answered. All of the questions they have stated for example, "How did man become man?" Pg 237 are being answered. Other important questions are "What do I do if I earnestly desire to save the world?" Pg 248. There are many things in this chapter which I consider of great value. At the end Ishmael tells the man their lessons are over, but before this he tells him many things.
"Man became man by living in the hands of the gods." Pg 237. What they also say that by living in the hands of the gods, man evolved and cam to be this way. After man became man and the Takers started taking over the world, they have put an end to creation. If they go on like this there will be no sucessor to life on this planet. There are many points of view to this. Personally I think that going by the book, it is almost impossible for man to go back to the Leaver life and due to this, evolution has probably come to an end. Another interesting part of this chapter is "The premise of the Taker story is the world belongs to man." then they say, "The premise of the Leaver story is man belongs to the world." Pg 239. Which of these is correct? The Takers think that they can do whatever they feel like. This has each time made the world worse. If we would have continued to the Leaver premise, in the other hand, we wouldnt have what we have now, but the world wouldnt be coming to an end. Both of these things are reason of debate. I actually think that it would have been imposible to keep man from wanting more than what they had so the Leavers would have to get extinct eventually.
"Man became man by living in the hands of the gods." Pg 237. What they also say that by living in the hands of the gods, man evolved and cam to be this way. After man became man and the Takers started taking over the world, they have put an end to creation. If they go on like this there will be no sucessor to life on this planet. There are many points of view to this. Personally I think that going by the book, it is almost impossible for man to go back to the Leaver life and due to this, evolution has probably come to an end. Another interesting part of this chapter is "The premise of the Taker story is the world belongs to man." then they say, "The premise of the Leaver story is man belongs to the world." Pg 239. Which of these is correct? The Takers think that they can do whatever they feel like. This has each time made the world worse. If we would have continued to the Leaver premise, in the other hand, we wouldnt have what we have now, but the world wouldnt be coming to an end. Both of these things are reason of debate. I actually think that it would have been imposible to keep man from wanting more than what they had so the Leavers would have to get extinct eventually.
martes, 26 de agosto de 2008
Chapter 11
As I read through the book, and get to pages 213 and 214 the book states a very interesting statement which I understood as a question. "That's what makes the story worth knowing?" Pg 213. Ishmael has told many stories throughout the book but I had never wondered what made his stories worth knowing. Stories might explain to you something that happened in the past, or something that is supposed to happen in the future. There are also many types of subjects for stories, and many ways to interpret. The story might be worh knowing and also might not be, depending on how yo take it. So, are all of Ishmaels stories worth knowing? I certainly do think so, they have a point of view and I think it is good to know different points of view on many subjects.
In this chapter Ishmael and the man discuss human life before and after the agricultural revolution, and compare the hunter-gatherer life, or Leavers to the other life or the Taker. First in page 220, the man says something very important about hunter life. "Because it's a struggle just to stay alive." Leaver life is really a struggle and in many ways different to Taker life. Then to keep explaining this point, they say on page 225: "If the drought is very bad, then we too dwindle." Here the conversation betwen the two characters leads you to something that for me was very important in the book. If you are a hunter, you depend on an enormous series of things to keep you alive. It can be the climate, the amount of animals available for you to hunt or as they state in the book a simple drought can kill you. After humans started the agricultural revolution, they were not dependant on what happened. "When you have more food than what you need, the gods have no power over you!" That was the difference between the Leavers and the Takers. "The Takers are those who know good and evil, and the Leavers are . . . ?" "The Leavers are those who live in the hands of the gods." Now all of this Leaver, Taker theory comes togethes and was helps you understand about the people who loved before and humanity as we know it today.
The humans have been able to find a way to only depend on theirselves and that is what have made humanity prosper so much. It is probably one of the biggest answers to how things came to be this way.
In this chapter Ishmael and the man discuss human life before and after the agricultural revolution, and compare the hunter-gatherer life, or Leavers to the other life or the Taker. First in page 220, the man says something very important about hunter life. "Because it's a struggle just to stay alive." Leaver life is really a struggle and in many ways different to Taker life. Then to keep explaining this point, they say on page 225: "If the drought is very bad, then we too dwindle." Here the conversation betwen the two characters leads you to something that for me was very important in the book. If you are a hunter, you depend on an enormous series of things to keep you alive. It can be the climate, the amount of animals available for you to hunt or as they state in the book a simple drought can kill you. After humans started the agricultural revolution, they were not dependant on what happened. "When you have more food than what you need, the gods have no power over you!" That was the difference between the Leavers and the Takers. "The Takers are those who know good and evil, and the Leavers are . . . ?" "The Leavers are those who live in the hands of the gods." Now all of this Leaver, Taker theory comes togethes and was helps you understand about the people who loved before and humanity as we know it today.
The humans have been able to find a way to only depend on theirselves and that is what have made humanity prosper so much. It is probably one of the biggest answers to how things came to be this way.
lunes, 25 de agosto de 2008
Ishmael: Chapter 10
For first time in the book, the author changes the setting and the way the novel is going. Until now we have been in the same room, the same 2 characters and the same argument, Ishmael teaches all of his meaningful thoughts to the man. The chapter starts off by telling you that a relative of the man arrived at town. This of course keeps the man from visiting Ishmael for a couple of days. After this, the man finds himself having to do some work and is kept away from Ishmael for another 2 days. After all of this, when the man finally gets back to Ishmael he is no longer there. The man dedicates himself to look for Ishmael. After looking very hard for him, he finally found him on the Darryl Hicks Carnival. "Ishmael was in a dim corner as far from the entrance as it was possible to be". Pg 195. After some time they decide to continue their lessons from there. "There is no need for you to become failure number five. We can go on as before." Pg 195.
After all of Ishmael's valuabe lessons, the man starts to really think about things differently. He starts to feel the need of continuing the lessons. In some way he gets to a point where he looks for Ishmael so hard he seems desperate to finish the lessons. After Ishmael continues to teach, he tells the man something that really got me thinking. "Yes. And what we teach our children is how to make things. How to make more things and better things." "Why dont we teach them what works well for people?" "I'd say it's because we don't know what works well for people." Pg 203. This is something I agreed with on the moment I read it, even though I would have never thought about it. Ishmael has really taught me some very valuable things throughout the book.
After all of Ishmael's valuabe lessons, the man starts to really think about things differently. He starts to feel the need of continuing the lessons. In some way he gets to a point where he looks for Ishmael so hard he seems desperate to finish the lessons. After Ishmael continues to teach, he tells the man something that really got me thinking. "Yes. And what we teach our children is how to make things. How to make more things and better things." "Why dont we teach them what works well for people?" "I'd say it's because we don't know what works well for people." Pg 203. This is something I agreed with on the moment I read it, even though I would have never thought about it. Ishmael has really taught me some very valuable things throughout the book.
domingo, 24 de agosto de 2008
Ishmael
Daniel Quinn's book, Ishmael is a book like no other I have read. The author is actually trying to tell you something important and does this in a very special way. He starts the book with a quote that already grabs you attention, "TEACHER seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person." Pg 4. This is how the author gets to you and starts telling you his thoughts. I think that he wrote this book to say what he thinks about humanity in the past, present and future. Here is when he introduces Ishmael, the gorilla.
In my point of view Ishmael is the author and it's the way he approeaches the reader. This gorilla is very wise and knows things about humans that are certainly true and that explain why man kind is the way it is. The book has 2 characters, Ishmael and the narrator of the story, which is Ishmael's student. During the book they show all of their classes and their dialouge. In this way Ishmael isn't only teaching the man in the book, he teaches the reader everything. Ishmael says things about humans that really get you to think and ask yourself the question of "how things came to be this way?" Under my point of view, the fact of Ishmael being a gorilla mekes it easier for you to understand he is teaching you something about humans. Being half way into the book, this is what I have seen and hope to finish reading it soon.
In my point of view Ishmael is the author and it's the way he approeaches the reader. This gorilla is very wise and knows things about humans that are certainly true and that explain why man kind is the way it is. The book has 2 characters, Ishmael and the narrator of the story, which is Ishmael's student. During the book they show all of their classes and their dialouge. In this way Ishmael isn't only teaching the man in the book, he teaches the reader everything. Ishmael says things about humans that really get you to think and ask yourself the question of "how things came to be this way?" Under my point of view, the fact of Ishmael being a gorilla mekes it easier for you to understand he is teaching you something about humans. Being half way into the book, this is what I have seen and hope to finish reading it soon.
jueves, 21 de agosto de 2008
Homework QUESTions 1
A. What is the difference between a blog and a book?
A blog and a book have grate differences. There are both physical and content differences between the two. The physical differences are that a blog is online, and evreything that happens to a blog is through the internet. A book is simply a stack of paper which you read and get what the author is telling you. You cant reply to it in any way. In a blog you can comment on the entries other people post and ask questions and react to what they say. In reading a blog you follow many links and move from blogs to videos etc. That is very different than in reaing a book which is very strait forward.
B. How have blogs changes recently?
Recently, the blogs have become much more popular since their appearance in 1999. In the last months of 2007 there were about 100 million blogs. Of course there blogs in maany languages since it has become so popular. With technology you can see blogs very easily and fast. You can also see videos and photos.
C. Why might you read a blog
You might want to read a blog to see the opinion of other people abour the news, or political issues. Also you can discuss with people about you interests and get people that can answer any questions you might have.
D. Is there reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
There is a reason to doubt such objectivity. Since anyone can go into a blog, they can say whatever they feel so that means they are not being objective at all. Objectivity is something very hard to get when you are writing in a blog since you bay be commenting on something and that is based completely in what you think.
E. If you kept your own blog, what would you title it?
On my own blog I might probably give out sports news and give anyone the chance to comment about what they think. The title of my blog might be The Sports Center.
A blog and a book have grate differences. There are both physical and content differences between the two. The physical differences are that a blog is online, and evreything that happens to a blog is through the internet. A book is simply a stack of paper which you read and get what the author is telling you. You cant reply to it in any way. In a blog you can comment on the entries other people post and ask questions and react to what they say. In reading a blog you follow many links and move from blogs to videos etc. That is very different than in reaing a book which is very strait forward.
B. How have blogs changes recently?
Recently, the blogs have become much more popular since their appearance in 1999. In the last months of 2007 there were about 100 million blogs. Of course there blogs in maany languages since it has become so popular. With technology you can see blogs very easily and fast. You can also see videos and photos.
C. Why might you read a blog
You might want to read a blog to see the opinion of other people abour the news, or political issues. Also you can discuss with people about you interests and get people that can answer any questions you might have.
D. Is there reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
There is a reason to doubt such objectivity. Since anyone can go into a blog, they can say whatever they feel so that means they are not being objective at all. Objectivity is something very hard to get when you are writing in a blog since you bay be commenting on something and that is based completely in what you think.
E. If you kept your own blog, what would you title it?
On my own blog I might probably give out sports news and give anyone the chance to comment about what they think. The title of my blog might be The Sports Center.
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