Question 1
First of all, I’d like to describe each character first. Odysseus was known as a legendary (take note of this word) Greek king and the kingdom or dominion he has reigned over is Ithaca. He was also known for his participation on Homer’s great epic poem or should I say story Odyssey. Gilgamesh on the other hand is the king of a kingdom somewhere in Iraq. Both of these 2 characters are kings and that is their first similarity.
If I am to ask what their similarities with their stories are, I’d say that they are both quite a hero, being a king of a kingdom. Second, with regards with their qualities, even if I was not able to witness their real-life qualities, I think it would be safe to say that they both have their own set of bossy and authoritarian attitudes. They are both kings and they do have to have that attitude; otherwise, kingdom people will never follow them.
Lastly, with regards to these 2 characters’ similarity about heroic expectations, I would say that they are not quite similar because their success and victory story are not quite identical although somehow related. What I expect from a hero is someone with supernatural powers which in these two Greek characters’ cases, are not applicable. Seriously, they command people and what they have in common is perhaps a good sense of logic and commanding ability.
Question 2
For me, the reason why Oedipus gathered so many fans as a hero does not only revolve around his qualities but it also revolves around the people’s perception about being a hero during their time. It is so much with my perception of a hero in such a way that Oedipus, slept with his mom and if you are going to apply his actions today, that would purely be immoral and unacceptable. Therefore, I say that Oedipus cold be an extremely unique figure that way. Also, it would be good to note that his stories are somewhat different with that of other tragic heroes because his story is quite short compared to Antigone’s story who in fact, is his daughter.
Question 3
A public poetry of heroism basically differs with that of a private poetry of the lyric because of its presentation in paper. Poetry of heroism is practically an appeal, an irresistible form of appeal to those characters that unusually wages a war to conduct one and it sometimes even emphasizes how wars could result into a tremendous increase in wealth. At some point, I could almost conclude that it kind of encourages readers or the characters within the story to wage war. A private poetry of the lyric on the other hand could range from several things and it depends on the specific type of poem there is. In general, a lyric poem primarily appeals to the emotion privately or personally and at some point, it could make the whole story focus on the feelings present in particular parts.
Question 4
Hinduism is known as the world’s third largest religion and that is fact. Being so, it has inflicted a lot of influence regarding the way how people, women and men and even the kids, think. In a classic heroism story about Hinduism, the hero usually emerges as a person coming from a specific Hindu affiliation which in Rama’s case is the Avatar of Vishnu. Although still significant, I think it is not the affiliation that counts but the principles and virtues that could be seen from the hero. In the past though, things like these are important and I think it differs with my perceptions and beliefs now. Women are also believed to be an insignificant figure before in some places but I’d rather not stereotype because there are some beliefs although not well known that states that women are still significant.
Question 5
The first them is all about the side by side existence of two religions during the early stages of cultural development in Japan. What I would say about this is that throughout the stories I’ve read, most of the minor and for some major conflicts revolve around this issue and it really is a significant one. Japanese people, even on early times, highly value their commitment to a specific religion and that is why this first theme is such a big deal for them. This is quite different with the second theme about Christianity because Christianity, for me, is quite liberated and freedom-inclined even if it does emphasize disengagement from worldly affairs. However, even if the day of enlightenment sprouted already, it wasn’t as effective as it was supposed to be because religions from the first them are still present all over Japan even today.
Question 6
The main difference between the Muslims of today and before, during the time of Abu Nawas is their liberalism. I think this comparison, in the first place, existed because Muslims before are freely encouraged to engage in literature like poetry and songs and a great example of that would be Abu Nawas, a classical Arabic poet during his time. Though some best literary works can still be seen as an output among Muslims today, it still isn’t like before wherein Muslims are the center of attraction for their works. Most of this man’s works by the way are relating to sexuality and mockery and even third sexes. Most, if not all of his themes are good indicators of liberalism.
