Zoomed In

The preface to God’s Secretaries: The Making of King James Bible magnifies the piece of writing. It brings high expectations, which is what a preface can be used for, to persuade the reader into the writing. It says of the work as, “The translation these men made together can lay claim to be the greatest work in prose ever written in English.” (God’s Secretaries: The Making of King James Bible, xi), which is an immense assumption to make about any work of writing.

The perception I get is more knowledge, they mentioned examples and authors I was clueless about, translations and writings I hope to learn. I want to be able to understand who are the authors, what they write, and so make my own opinion. This preface is introductory to a high literacy.

According to the preface the writing will be in context to the era, but still different from other pieces written at the time. It says it wasn’t of “self-promotion”. Mentions, how complex it was to take the piece of writing to that level, the arguments, discussions, and the period in context. Most of all it seems political and religious, different from what we have read until now.

What is the word?

Words That Sound Alike: Exercise 1




You had 23 out of 23 questions correct.
Very good!

Cliché All the Way

Movie Titles:

1. What Happens in Vegas
2. In Her Shoes
3. Cheaper by a Dozen
4. Mission Impossible
5. Gone with the wind

Movie Plot Lines:

1. Poor girl/ boy trying to accomplish their dreams usually against all odds. (Ice Princess, Maid in Manhattan)
2. Romantic comedy: funny scenes, happy ending (Trust the Man, How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days)
3. Meeting the family (Meet the Fockers, Family Jewel)
4. Friends and their adventures (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Sex and the City)
5. Saving the United States as if saving the entire world (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow)

Unappreciated

Why does mythology explain some of the things we have now? All the flowers, birds, and even blueberries! When I finished reading a myth it either astonishes me, or disappoints me. Definitely, I don’t believe in what Greek mythology says, but its logic is right there. Is their way to answering why life is life, if that’s their point of view what is there to say?

Echo wants to be the first to begin a conversation. Most of us want to have the final argument. It is always about having the only one and right answer. In the myth it states, “Her bones were changed into rocks and there was nothing left of her but her voice. With that she is still ready to reply to any one who calls her, and keeps up her old habit of having the last word.” This is how mythology interprets what they didn’t understand, as Echo, a nymph. She wanted the last word and she was granted it, for us having the final word is crucial and makes us feel greater. Echo turned out to be the opposite of our intentions. Narcissus the self centred youth, can be interpreted as the flower, or what we know as narcissistic, “The term narcissism means love of oneself, and refers to the set of character traits concerned with self-admiration, self-centeredness and self-regard….While almost everyone is narcissistic to some degree, certain forms of narcissism can be highly dysfunctional” (Wikipedia, Narcissism). Here it says we all love ourselves to some degree, our ego is high or low, when it is too high we are dysfunctional. The same happens in any case of extremity, too much or too little is always a problem. The issue then is in staying in that “normal” spot, being able to control ourselves.

The doomed love of Pyramus and Thisbe proofs barriers. It is explanatory of the unreachable, what we don’t want. We always want what we can’t get, most of the times life works against us. What I like about mythology, is that it proves this point, life is not at all perfect. What we see in Disney or movies in general are mostly happy endings an hallucination of reality. In the case of Pyramus and Thisbe exposes how love can be impossible, and what we think we can get is always influenced by our actions, our beliefs, what we do and what we say. The memories of this imperfection are blueberries, according to Greek mythology this is how they came to be.

We sometimes give love but don’t receive, in mythology it is because of Cupid’s fault. His arrows, his misfortunes are a curse. In the case of Venus and Adonis, it is for his own mother. Venus is in love with Adonis, Adonis dies and his memory is a flower, what we know as Adonis. This love is often seen in real life, but we leave it for what is granted, or maybe because it is not enough. Love can get to be a curse, a calamity but something to be overcome in life.

Myths are never to be forgotten, myths are myths and that is why they are remembered. For me it how myths connect themselves to our present, how Greeks thought ahead, how they had a different point of view. Their religion explained everything to them, which can be why our religion doesn’t satisfy many of us. Now scientific proof has defeated this faith, but what still remains, can’t be taken away.

The Contract!

I, Manuela Giraldo, hereby understand and will abide by the Pre-AP/AP
(Print your name)
Academy’s expectations, obligations, and admission/drop policy outlined below with respect to my

admission status and standing in the Pre-AP/AP Course, English.
(Print the name of the Pre-AP/AP Course)
Pre-AP/AP Academy Expectations;
• Maintain Acceptable GPA,
• Motivated and Positive,
• Responsible and Dedicated Work Ethic,
• Attend Opportunity Day and/or Additional Review Classes,
• Complete AP College Board Exam,
• Sign Pre-AP/AP Student Contract.

Pre-AP/AP Academy Admission/Drop Policy;
• First Progress Report with Teacher’s Signed Approval…receive no course credit,
• End of First Semester with Teacher’s Signed Approval…receive only partial course credit for grade of 6.0+. No partial credit will be awarded for any grade below 6.0,
• Students who Drop Pre-AP/AP Courses or who Do Not take the College Board AP Exam will have the Pre-AP/AP Designation for that course removed from their transcript and they will not receive any grade or GPA enhancement awarded for taking that Pre-AP/AP course.

Please note that at any time during the school year if the teacher deems that you are not meeting the expectations above for any or all reasons, then that teacher will require that you sign an additional academic probation contract. Your admission status and/or removal from the above identified Pre-AP Course will then be re-assessed based on your abiding by the academic probation contract signed and agreed to by you and the respective Pre-AP/AP Teacher.

Student Signature of Agreement,

Manuela Giraldo

Date: September 23,2008

Destiny for the Greatest

When you state, “Nothing is impossible” and someone wrecks your thought by saying,”Yes, death is impossible”, you have to agree. Gilgamesh in a fearful way believes avoiding death is possible, or in other words wants to find the possibility.

Tablet VIII of Gilgamesh describes his regret of Enkidu’s death, how sorry he is, and Tablet IX relates his thoughts towards death, to a journey of what we believe is impossible. He begins his journey by wondering, “Enkidu has died. Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that?” (pg.48). He perhaps intends to be more than human; he contradicts what he had said of Enkidu at first, “You wore the garments suitable for a prince. You sat in the place of honor nearest the king. The great ones of the earth bowed down before you.” (pg.47). I state this since Enkidu was his companion, his equal and when he died, this equality died as well.

Immortality is a matter searched, unknown only identified to be from the gods, the unreachable. As said in Ishmael, we as takers always intend to be equal or more than the gods, we pretend to be the greatest. Gilgamesh then would be recognized as a taker, one who seeks more, one ambitious, and one who has the world in his hands. When he visits Utnapishtim, he goes through a tough journey but at the end it is described as, “…and all the other gems the earth has yielded for the delight and pleasure of kings. And beyond the garden Gilgamesh saw the sea.” (pg.53). Even the text says how things are destined to be, for the kings. For the greatest, the ones who believe are greater than the rest. Also what is meant is how when man is to conquer and rule he sees more and devises his destiny. Destiny, the once inevitable, a subject belonging to conquer, a subject as high as the gods.

Outlining Enkidu

• Strong: “He is like Gilgamesh, twice the size of ordinary men, stronger and taller than a battlement.” (pg.12)
• Loyal: “Enkidu the companion will not forsake you.”(pg.19)
• Confident: "It is I, Enkidu. The strength of the wild man born in the wilderness cannot be withstood."(pg.14)
• Temperamental: “Then Enkidu was enraged against the goddess.” (pg.35)
• Stormy-Hearted: “The stormy heart of Enkidu the companion…” (pg.38)

Prejudice Among the Gods

In several occasions I have seen how Gilgamesh is valued deeply by the gods, but he doesn’t do as well. He is always challenging, and for being a king, the hero, he is rated greatly. Enkidu is underestimated, although he has the same qualities as his brother. In Enkidu’s dream, “Then Enlil that Enkidu must die but Gilgamesh, the gifted, must not die.”(pg.37), self-explains this point. Apparently, in unaccountable times the dreams the characters’’ have become true, either in a mythical way or in a real way.

The gods are naïve of how Gilgamesh treats them, and the way they honor him. When he acts badly he gets a bearable but fearful punishment. When these accumulate, it is his companion who gets the load, only for being there to motivate and strengthen. The gods and population only see a mighty ruler when mentioning Ishmael, but when talking about Enkidu he is just primitive.

Here is where the united man separates, in Endiku’s death, so I imagine that further in the reading Gilgamesh will be incomplete, different, not the same.

One Man

Dreams are a mystery. They can be analyzed and represented; people have always found them interesting. Gilgamesh encounters a dream every night, always wondering what they mean, and every time Enkidu says, “The dream you dreamed tonight is fortunate.” (pg.22). As a mythological epic creatures and gods of all ways, come together. In this case we encounter Huwawa, described as a demon, who finds the fearful side to the brave and confident Gilgamesh, as well to his companion, “The aura of Huwawa is the terrors.” (pg. 25), represents the horror he brought.

The Cedar Forest is no more than an obstacle for Gilgamesh and his companion to come together. I guess it is the first of much courage taking occasions. It is an obstacle, one of those experiences you have to go through to learn a life lesson. Then I would say Gilgamesh understands the importance of having a companion, a moral support, a courage support. In the quotation, “Then the two men together seized the demon…” (pg.28), proves how after such fear together, they were able to overcome it together. Another point to make is how Enkidu in a certain point becomes Gilgamesh’s conscience, between good or evil, Enkidu or Huwawa. Here is were I come to say that they become one man, one force, with strength of two but the mind of one.