• What elements of the Epic genre (as you are so far familiar with them) are present in Beowulf? How does this English Epic differ from the Homeric or other epic forms you’ve read?
• There are several embedded narratives in Beowulf (e.g. Sigemund and the dragon, ll. 883-914; and the Fight at Finnsburg, ll. 1070-1157). What is their function in the narrative and, considering their placement, in the action of the story?
• Who and what are Grendel and his mother? What is the source of their animosity toward the Danes?
• What goes on in the various victory feasts at Heorot? Is there a structure to them? What ceremonies are performed? Or is it just mead drinking and boasting?
• What is Wealhtheow’s role at Heorot? Consider especially lines 1167-1231—the end of the second feast at Heorot.
• Devise one question of your own to post to the class.

Quran came out when there was violence and there were corruption.It is last most holy book after tora,Bible etc. Everything is explained very detailed in Quran.So is this the final solution to everything? Possibly one of the greatest misconceptions about Islam today is that it is a violent religion whose followers support acts of terrorism. While in reality terrorism and violence entirely contradict the teachings of Islam. Islam is a peaceful religion based on mercy and principles. The Quran encourages people to ameliorate their relationship with God and with the people around them through good character and acts of good deeds. It states in the Quran “if anyone kills a person – unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land – it is as if he kills all mankind, while if any saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind.” Many view this in a very literal sense and view this as Islam condoning death penalty for corruption. But in my view it seems to me here the Quran is against the killing of innocent lives and God is reminding Muslims the sacredness of human life and also teaching the other faith communities before them. Growing up in a Muslim family I grew up believing in Islam as a religion of peace, and I for one believe this statement from the Quran can be interpreted in many ways, just a matter of fact of how one interprets it.

The topic of religion usually produces strongly opinionated statements about each others, now coming from myself who wouldn’t be considered religious but couldn’t be called non religious either, the past few weeks of reading excerpts from each of the three major religious books have been quite enjoyable. The Qur’an has to be one of the most inspiring yet confusing pieces of literature that i have read.  While Islam, judaism, and Christianity all share the idea that God revealed himself to Abraham it is the variations  of each that have sparked my interest.  I love the islamic infatuation with the idea of being just one God.  It makes a lot of sense if someone is all powerful and all knowing and basically can control all facets of life why should we focus our energy away from that one individual?

Now my favorite word in the entire Qur’an CORRUPTION!!!  What a debatable word and one to me i think will forever remain in the grey.  When we look at the words, “if any kills a person-unless in retribution for murder or spreading corruption in the land” (76.37-38..).  The penalty for corruption is death, but what is corruption?  In a time where stealing was punishable by getting your hands cutoff, why was corruption seen as a crime equal to that of murder?  While it can be seen in the meaning of corruption being anything that is to be different then that of the teaching of God, does all religious beliefs other then islamic equate to a punishment of death?  The real major question that derives from this thinking is, why does any individual have the authority to enforce God’s work?  This is something that i cannot seem to grasp, especially when in the verse of Jonah it states “Your Lord knows best those who cause corruption… say, ‘I act for myself, and you for yourselves'”(85.4-6..).  It seems to really contradict the earlier saying of corruption is punishable by death because it seems as if the only one who can and shall judge corruption is God himself.  I believe both sides of supporters and non supporters  of the notion of corruption being punishable by death are simply looking too deep into the words and a true understanding of the definition of the word corruption given the context will never be known, so to all don’t take words too literally.

When reading Beowulf, I found it very familiar as if I had read it before.  I then decided to put the pieces together and it was pretty much a few of the readings we have done in class.  The character Grendel is said to be a descendant of Cain, who Cain killed his brother Abel.  The class  read the story of the two brother back in the book of Genesis in the hebrew Bible.  I researched that Shield Sheafson was abandoned as a baby by his parents, which in the story of “Oedipus the King,” Oedipus himself was also abandoned as a baby and was destined to die.

I found it interesting to read the “Beowulf” and it’s similarities to some of the other works of literature that was done in class.  I would read the poem and it was quite difficult for me to understand because of the language used.  I had to decode the poem by reading it a second time.  I was confused when reading the poem at first, then reading the poem again made it easier to interpret what was going, how Grendel is trying to destroy in sight.  I am still a little confused in what is going, in the poem, and hope to have a better understanding with further reading.  I would like to discuss the poem a little more thoroughly, or an easier way to read “Beowulf.”

• The Muslim faith prescribes 5 articles of faith, or “pillars” of Islam: 1) daily prayer, 2) charity, 3) fasting, 4) pilgrimage, and 5) profession of faith. Where do you find examples of or injunctions to these acts in the selections you read?
• The Qur’an retells several episodes from both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Gospels. What facts differ in the Islamic telling and how do this differences change the emphasis?
• It what ways does the Qur’an proclaim a new “covenant” with the “People of the Book”?
• Why do you think the Qur’an emphasizes both the singular (unitarian) nature of God and the humanity of Jesus?
• Come up with one additional questions form your reading to pose to the class.

In my opinion, “parable” as a literary genre, is a form of telling the story which can encourage the readers to look for the hidden meaning in the story.  Parable can be a type of analogy or metaphor. In the LUKE 15, we can discover a group of three lost parables, which is “The lost sheep”, “The lost drachma” and “The lost son”. The first lost item is the lost sheep, the shepherd has one hundred sheep and he misses one of them. After searching, the shepherd finds it back. He is happy and telling his friends and neighbors to “rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost”. In “the lost sheep”, animal is a distinctive features in the parable. As well as “the lost sheep”, the woman tells her friends and neighbors that “Rejoice with me because I have found the drachma that I lost”. The inanimate object “drachma” is as a character. Jesus continues telling the story of “The lost son”. The father has two sons. One of them, a lost young man, repents to his kind father for the sinful things he does to his father. He father kisses him, forgives him and takes him home. For his son’s returning home, he orders the servants to celebrate it with a fattened calf. The father says about his son “he was lost and has been found” at the end of the story. What his son lost is his soul. However, he finds his way back home.  I understand that everyone will make mistakes even lost in our life. But if we realize we lost and come back in repentant, we will be welcome back.

I like the father in this story, not everyone can be acting like his father in the real life. Can we give a chance to the lost people to repent and change?

• The Norton editors describe the Gospels as, perhaps “the single most influential text of world literature.” How many images, motifs, characters, sayings, etc. from the readings do you recognize from other texts or from everyday speech?
• How would you define “parable” as a literary genre? What are its distinctive features? Choose one example to interpret in detail.
• Jesus also explains his use of parables as the fulfillment of a prophesy of Isaiah from the Hebrew Bible. How would you explain the use of parable in strictly literary terms? What does it allow that more literal genres might not?
• The Gospel of John is often described as the most mystical of the synoptic gospels. How does it differ from the others in terms of style? Why, for example, is Jesus called “the Word” (Logos)?
• What is the Matthew’s purpose for the graphic description of Jesus’s passion and crucifixion? How do you respond as a reader? How is he reader meant to respond?

• In the Norton headnote, xing is translated ‘evocative image’: “Xing brings natural images into suggestive resonance with human situations.” How does xing function both in the form and the meaning of the first 4 selections?
• These poems are clearly different in form and scope from the epic verse we’ve read so far. But are there similarities as well: In religious and moral instruction? Literary elements? Traces of oral performance?
• How do repetition and variation function in the poems? Think in terms of the analogies the poems draw between natural and human cycles.
• Why do you suppose these poems are so central to Confucianism? What values in the teachings of Confucius are celebrated in these poems?
• In the Analects, Confucius writes “The three hundred Poems are summed up in one single phrase: ‘Think no evil’.” Is this evident in the poems you read? Where?

War is the worst part of human kind history. It is very hard to describe what happens in war and no one will ever know what really happens during war. If a veteran or a firsthand witness from war told us the stories, we will not be able to relate nor understand the inhumane detail. Based on the previous stories we read specifically Iliad, we can learn how they disrespect the defeated party in the war. For example, Hector wanted to take Patroclus body when he was murdered but the Greek were able to recover Patroclus body. Achilles disrespected Hector’s corpse but was recovered by Priarm. Both situations were able to divert from disrespect. It is not uncommon for them to make sure that they will show how powerful they are by torturing the dead and disrespecting their mourning rituals.

In contrast, the decline of Zhou had a different discipline in war defeat. They had an arrangement “Battle started with an agreement on both sides, states that were in mourning for their rulers were not attacked, and, if a state was defeated, the conqueror respectfully continued the ancestral sacrifices for the vanquished ruling lineage.”(Early Chinese Literature, 1314). Zhou is in throne but slowly taken over by Chu, Wu and Yue in the South and Qin in the west. All parties have their unique discipline to follow through their agreement.

For some reason, I do see that Asians have more discipline throughout history. Like Japanese military leader, when they fail or did something wrong, they will take their life away. They cannot live with their failure and it is respectful for them to honor their family by killing themselves.

I do hope the war will end soon. I do hope we can live harmoniously. However, we all have different perspective in life that sometimes we all clash. I just hope that the winning party can humbly take their winning and do not mangle the dead bodies, let them come home to their native soil. There is no point of rubbing it to the losers. We need to follow Zhou’s agreement with their enemy. We should be able to bring home all fallen soldiers or civilians caught in the horrific war.

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