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Author Archives: Luis Ganzhi
Posts: 10 (archived below)
Comments: 1
The Courtier and Sports Training
Baldassare Castiglione suggests that to be a great courtier “he must begin early and learn the principles from the best teachers (C242). He gives examples of certain people who have succeeded from the teachings of great masters. Alexander the son of King Philip of Macedon learned “the first elements of letters” (C242) from a knowledgeable philosopher named Aristotle. Also Galeazzo Sanseverino, Grand Equerry of France is able to perform “bodily exercises” is because “he has taken the greatest care to study with good masters” (C242). According to Castiglione once courtier have accomplish to “do things well, and [makes] every effort to resemble and if that is possible, to transform himself into his master” (C242). Then a courtier will be able to successful do his tasks.
Similarly to Castiglione suggestions the New York Times reports that parents are sending their kids to sports academies “before they can walk” (NY times). The idea behind is to develop an advantage in their kids ability to perform the principles of any kind of sports. Parents are also involved in their infants’ activities. For example they “do a lot of jumping, kicking and, in one exercise, something that looks like baseball batting practice” (NY Times). Parents are hoping that by starting their kids early in sports training they will become a future all-star. Both the NY Times article and the Book of Courtier emphasizes that in order to excel in any kind of situation one must start early and learn the rules and principles from the best available source.
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The Thousand and One Nights
The Thousand and One Nights is a collection of tales compose by many individuals. It starts with the story of two great Kings and brothers named Shahrayar the oldest and Shahzaman the youngest. Both kings are betrayed by their wives. After this terrible news both kings become irritated and end up killing their wives. The older king went further with his actions it says that “it became King Shahrayar’s custom to take every night the daughter of a merchant or a commoner, spend the night with her, then have her put to death the next morning” (B414). The residents of the city become frustrated and asked in their prayers to “the creator of havens” to end king Shahrayar’s actions. Witnessing what was happening in her city, a well educated women named Shahrazad decides to marry King Shahrayar “ so that [she may] either succeed in saving the people or perish and die like the rest” (B414). Her father tries to convince her not to do it but he is unsuccessful. Since she was a well educated woman she knew tales that can transform the life of any person. So she told great tale for thousand nights and one night and at the end the life of King Shahrayar have change for good. He said “my soul is change and joyful, it beats with an appetite for life” (B471).
Similarly to the story telling of Shahrazad, Mr. David Grossman wrote a novel of his own experience. His novel is about a mother named “Ora whose son has gone off to battle with the Israeli army” (NY Times). However, the story on his book is very similar to his own experience. Mr. Grossman lost his son during “the final hours of the 2006 Lebanon war” (NY Times). As any person would do, he suffers from the loss of his son. However instead of turning insane as king Shahrayar did Mr. Grossman decides to write and tell the story to the world which is the way he finds relief from his sufferings. In fact he says that “writing is my home. It [is] a place where I again recognized my self” (NY Times). Mr. Grossman also writes books for children and he is working on something new which “is a mix of drama, poetry and prose” (NY Times). This writing might one day be use to transform the life of a person the same way the tales from The Thousand and One Nights transformed King Shahrayar.
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Asian Literature #2
The classic of Asian Literature shows the importance of education. In the Analects Confucius is presented as a great teacher who wants his students to strongly think for themselves and study the outside world by learning the poems. He tells to his students “Little ones, why don’t you study the Poems? The poems can provide you with stimulation and with observation, with a capacity for communion, and a vehicle for grief” (A1045). Another example of importance of education is found in the Memories of Women by Lui Xiang but her argument is that parents should be the primary force educating a child. She is able to realized that the place where they are living is not the right place for her son so she makes every possible movement until her son was able to “played games of ancestor sacrifices and practice the common courtesies between students and teachers” (B24-25).
Similar to Confucius, Bill Gates “has made education-related philanthropy a major focus” (NY Times). He wants to rebuild the education system. He suggest to end how teachers are evaluated base on their seniority and on masters’ degree because he believes that it has nothing to do with the teachers’ capacity to increase students performance (NY Times). He also suggests rewarding teachers for teaching large classes and in need schools. And most important he wants to solve how “the nation’s $500 billion annual expenditures on public schools is allocated” (NY Times).
Mr. Gates ideas to rebuild our failing education system are excellent. However, in order to accomplish the task parents should also put their part. Parents can teach the importance of education the same way Lui Xiang did years ago. When her son returned from school before the class ended she gives the best advice fro her son she tells him “The superior person studies to establish a reputation and gain wide knowledge…. If you don’t study know now, you will surely end up as a menial servant and will never be free from troubles” (B25). After the lesson her son “studied hard from morning to night” (b25). By combining the efforts soon we might have the best education system in the world.
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Asian Literature # 1
Reading the classics of Asian Literature I come to understand that the majority of women in ancient China lived oppressed lives. Even women with high education and from imperial family did not escape the oppression; however life for these well educated women was slightly easier than for the large population of poor women. They had to understand their place in society which was a “private space, of the domestic household, largely separated from the public realms within which males operated.” (B 22)
Since early childhood females were considered inferior to men. Men parents had more preference to “teach their boys to read books and study histories” (B28) and forget about their daughters. Also women could not remarry because a husband is considered as heaven therefore “a wife cannot [her husband]” by doing so she will be leaving heaven. The rules of a woman were very extreme for example “when she goes outside her own home, let her not be conspicuous in dress and manner. When at home let her not neglect her dress” (B30) also woman were not allowed to gather as a group to discuses about their lives.
Marriage in ancient China might have been arranged by their father. Since a woman’s thoughts and opinions were not considered important they could not complain about the father’s orders to marry a man that in some cases they never met before. Once married, a girl would live with her husband’s family and she is required to obey all the members of his family. If a wife wants to gain the love of her husband “she must win for herself the love of her parents-in-law. To win for herself the love of her parents-in-law, she must secure for herself the good will of younger brothers and sisters-in-law” (B31) only then she will have harmony in her life. Woman in early China were “frail things and [could not] do as [they] wish. (B267)
So may years have gone since the sufferings of the women in China and one would think that these is something of the pass. However, on November, 8, 2010 an NY Times article states that in some places of the world women are still considered inferior to men. And the only way to escape from this prison is by setting themselves in fire. There is nothing they can do because “The Choices for Afghan women are extraordinary restricted: Their family is their fate. There is little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to server her husband’s family”. (NY Times) They can not run away from home because these women are afraid of being rape and put in jail. And when these runaways women return home they are used as “honor killings” (NY Times). Oppression for Afghan’s women is mainly from her in-laws. In one case in particular a 17 years old who had suffered years of abuse from her in-laws burn herself because her father-in law believed that “she was not brave enough to do so”.
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Possible midterm questions.
- What is the role of Penelope in Odyssey; discuss how she is portrayed in this epic.
- Compare the Underworld in Gilgamesh and the Underworld in Odyssey. what did Gilgamesh and Odyssey learn from the experience?
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The Odyssey
“How can one human be so inhuman to another simply on the basis of who they are?” (Sam Dolnick and Colin Moynihan, A17). The New York Times reports that in the past week a group of gang members attacked three men because the gang members thought that these three men were gay. During the assault they tortured the victims with burning cigarettes, box cutters blades. This group of young men went around showing off their toughness by attacking people who were different.
Similar to the victims in the attack, Odyssey suffers the same punishment when he returns to his home. When Odyssey and Eumaeus are heading to town, they are confronted by Melanthius who taunts them: “Look!” he sneered one scum nosing another scum along, dirt finds dirt by the will of god it never fails! Wretched pig-boy, where do you take your filthy swine. This sickening beggar who licks the pots at feast?” (A, p 465) Melanthius attacks these two men because they are different, but he doesn’t know one of these men is Odyssey the great King of Ithaca. Melanthius not only kick and punch Odyssey but also, he violated the laws of the city which are to give food to the poor and welcome to their home to a stranger.
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The book of Job
In the book of Job, Job is a wealthy and powerful man from a city named Uz. He has an extended family and livestock. He is “blameless and upright” carefully avoiding wrong doing so that he will not upset God (A 126). One day the “sons of God “, were having a meeting and Satan is also present. God tells Satan about Job’s personality, but Satan says to God that Job is a good person because God gives him a lot. God tells Satan to torment Job to show that Job will always be loyal to God.
The book of Job is about loyalty and friendship. After the news that Job receives about his livestock, servants and children, Job reacts only by tearing his clothes and shaving his head, but he blesses God in his prayers. Any human being would blame God for this kind of losses but Job did not, instead he maintains his loyalty to God. However, his friends are not showing any kind of pain for his losses even his wife tells him to “Curse God, and die”, (A 126) but he never wants to turn against God. Now his friends after learning what has happened to Job “, they made an appointment together to come to condole with him and comfort him” (A 126). They stay with him for seven days and seven nights and nobody said a word because they saw Job was suffering from his loss. However, as the days went by one of his friends Eliphaz believes that Job’s suffering must be the result of some sin Job committed, and then Bildad and Zophar agree with Eliphaz. To make things worse Zophar states that for whatever sins Job has done he deserves the punishments he has received.
A New York Times article on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 states, “Obama’s Chief for Economics Is Set to Leave” (Stoldber A1).This will be in addition to the many top level advisers that already left. This should not be happening at this time when the president’s popularity is decreasing. As Job’s friends turned against him, these executives are turning their backs on President Obama. These executives, by leaving their positions, are in a sense punishing President Obama. Similarly to Job, what has President Obama done to deserve such actions?
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Genesis and Gilgamesh
I never knew that there was another flood than the one in genesis. It is so impressive how the two stories are identical. For example, in both stories something angers the gods in Gilgamesh and God in Genesis. In Gilgamesh the gods decide to destroy mankind because they are making noise, which I don’t understand because being gods they should have the power to intercept noise. In genesis, God decides to destroy mankind because he sees “that the evil of the human creature was great on the earth and that every scheme of his heart’s devising was only perpetually evil.” (A, 34)
Another similarity between the two histories is the amount of people God and the gods decide to save. In both accounts, one good man Utanapishtim from Gilgamesh and Noah from Genesis are selected and ordered to build a boat or an ark. In Genesis God decides to save Noah because he “found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (A, 34) So Noah is the only person elected by God to create the future of humankind. In Gilgamesh, Ea informs Utanapishtim in a dream that he will be the one to help civilization to survive. However, there is a small difference between the two histories. For example, in Genesis Noah decides to take his family members and no other human beings, but in Gilgamesh Utanapishtim takes his family and the craftsman.
Also in both accounts when the boat or the ark comes to a stop after the flood, Noah and Utanapishtim send out birds to find out if it is safe to come out from the boat or ark. Utanapishtim sends out three different birds, the first was a dove but it returned, then he sends a swallow and the bird also returns, finally he sends out a raven and the bird finds land and never returns. In Genesis, Noah sends out a raven but the bird didn’t find land and returns to him, then he send a dove the first time the bird didn’t find land and returns to the ark, the second time the dove didn’t return.
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Gilgamesh
Nadal is champion of the tennis world; he is the youngest player to win all three majors in the same year. On the other hand Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk who wants to build an empire that will last forever. Nadal also wants to win the US open championship because it was the only title that he had not won also by wining he would be in an elite club which not a lot people can reach.
To accomplish their goal both Nadal and Gilgamesh have a remarkable victory. Nadal’s victory came this past Monday over Novak Djokovic in the US open final. During the two weeks of competition Nadal’s effort was noticeable because he won his previous matches very easily. It was not until the last match that he lost a set, but he was able to rebound and finally won his long dreamed US open singles title. Similarly, in the Epic, Gilgamesh travels long distances to fight an enemy named Humbaba. As a result, Gilgamesh is able to cut down the cedar trees and bring them to his kingdom.
They also have to overcome their weaknesses. Gilgamesh’s weakness is his fear of Hunbaba. While in the forest Gilgamesh has dreams that a monster is attacking him, but his friend keeps telling him that his dreams are positive and that they will come up victorious. Nadal had his own problems; for example his knee injury which kept him for limited competitions throughout last year. Also, he had some personal problems where he could not completely concentrate on the competition.
At the end both of them have a sense of pride about what they have accomplished. In the New York Times article Nadal states, “But I feel clearly much more at home in New York than in 2001.” (The New York Times Wednesday, September 15, 2010, B16) Gilgamesh has a sense of pride when he says to the boatman
“Go, Urshanabi, onto the wall of Uruk and walk around.
Examine its foundation, inspect its brickwork thoroughly—
Is not even the core of the brick structure of Kiln-fired brick,
And did not the Seven Sages themselves lay out its plan?
One league city, one league palm gardens,
One league lowlands, the open area of the Ishtar Temple,
Three leagues and the open area of Uruk the wall encloses.” (A, 97)
These lines above show us how proud Gilgamesh is of his kingdom, and he offers his realm to the boatman by saying this is my city, my place.
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Making Connections “Gilgamesh”
Reflection
When I started reading The Epic of Gilgamesh I thought that Gilgamesh the King of Uruk would destroy the living world, but after I finished reading it I found out the opposite. Gilgamesh creates a kingdom that will prevail for many generations. Although, it is not until the end that he realizes that he is mortal and starts thinking about sharing with his people.
Many parts of the poem are similar with the Holy Bible. For example, throughout the poem it is mentioned seven days and seven nights. The Bible states that it took God seven days and seven nights to create the world. Also, the Bible states that a flood took place in the history of human kind and only selected living creatures were saved in an ark. In the poem Utanapishtim was saved from a flood along with living creatures in a boat.
I think the bottom line of the poem is trying to tell us that we as humans being should live in peace and harmony, and if one of us has great powers we should leave something positive so that our predecessors follow our footsteps.
Connection
War is destruction, terror, evil and death. the New York Times article states that President Obama had a meeting with Middle East leaders to talk about ending the war that has prevailed between Palestinians and Israelis for decades. This war can be compared to Humbaba In the Epic of Gilgamesh Humbba is described as:
“Humbaba’s roar is Flood
his mouth is Fire, his breath Death!
He can hear any rusting in his forest 100 leagues away!
Who would go down into his forest?
Who among even the Igigi gods can confront him?
In order to keep the Cedar safe, Enlil assigned him as a terror to human beings” (A,68)
It tells us that Humbaba is an evil to society; therefore he should be eliminated. That is what the great king of Uruk decides to do, but in order to accomplish the task he needs help. The only person who can help him is Enkidu because he knows how to navigate the forest where the enemy is located. The former enemies decided to pursue this task even though they knew the danger that waited ahead. The only thing that was important to them was to leave a footprint that would be inerasable in our society.
the New York Times article states that, “In some fashion , that is Mr. Netanyahu’s own claim – that only someone like himself, with hawkish credentials, can and will produce lasting peace because only such a leader can bring his people with in him” (New York times Thursday, September 2, 2010.) Mr. Netanyahu seems to be willing to end this war, but he needs help to accomplish this difficult task. Therefore, it is important that the leaders of our society reunite and come together because they might know something about the enemy as Enkidu knew how to navigate in the forest. So coming together as one is a major step to solve the problem that is affecting the land of our civilization. If together these leaders are able to put an end to the destruction they will leave a footprint that will be remembered for the generations to come.
Click to read the article: New York Times.
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