David Gao, Period 1, 12/14/21

David Gao

• Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or non-fiction covered in class.

The Egyptian book of the dead is a book of spells from which the ancient Egyptians believed would  increase their chances of successful navigation through the afterlife to reach eternal life. The subject of eternal life even after death is a recurring idea in many religious beliefs that in some way or form your own life will continue whether it be reincarnation or heaven or the afterlife or the underworld. And although they all sound different they all stem from a fear of the unknown, of death. The fear that eventually all that I’ve experienced was for naught. I think that being able to believe in something that allows you to live life without as constant a fear of death would be nice, being able to simply enjoy things as they are and then as long as you were a good person you could feel confident that the life you lived was to the best of your ability and have few regrets because you had another lifetime ahead of you in death. And there is also the belief that eventually you’ll meet the people you love again like was shown in the book of death documentary so even in death, separation was not permanent all you had to do was simply wait and then you and your loved ones could be together forever. The way that these religions got people to accept their own mortality is pretty clever and I can see why religion appeals to so many people even if it is not entirely based on logical science, it gives people something wonderful to believe in.

• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

I previously had very little knowledge of Egyptian religion and culture. I knew that the pharaohs would get mummified and buried with their treasures and so that they could continue being rich in the afterlife but I did not know that ordinary civilians could also reach eternal afterlife. This system being extended to commoners reminded of a marxist lens. In Egyptian culture typically only the wealthy would be prepped for entry into the afterlife but clearly from the book of the dead we can see that even ordinary egyptians were prepping for the afterlife too but at a heavy price as seen in  the “Book of the dead'' documentary by National Geographic. In the documentary Ani’s wife was seen telling Ani that a book of the dead would cost half an entire year’s salary, a very steep cost. The documentary on Ani’s book of the dead gives deep insight into how the socioeconomic system of ancient Egypt operated. Since Pharaohs were at the top of the socio economic pyramid (Pun intended)  they obviously would be prepared heavily for the afterlife, but later on it would spread to the common people. Even still a Book of the Dead would be difficult to attain for most people because of its steep price, but despite that people would still put almost everything they have into it because if they could save for the next life then it would almost seem justified to throw their current one away. The struggle of the common man to the wealthy is obviously seen as the system was originally constructed in a way that would only allow the important figures of Egypt to attain eternal life, and then once found beneficial the idea of securing eternal afterlife was spread to the commoners to generate money, which benefits the already wealthy. And in line with the marxist lens it is said that in response to corruption rebels would form a new order. Although I’m not certain if a new order was actually established, we can tell from the fall of Ancient Egypt that the continually widening economic gap between the common and the wealthy people certainly played a role in its collapse.

• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

What I’ve learned from this class shows me how widely things can be seen through a marxist lens as it applies to almost every time period and any place. The book of the dead and mummification symbolize the wealth and prosperous afterlife of those that could be mummified, while those who cannot have to live knowing that they are less likely to reach eternal life than somebody who had money. The situation seems even worse when you consider that those that cannot afford a book of the dead likely already live in much worse conditions than those who can, so essentially their current life is terrible and they have little positive outlook for another chance in the afterlife. And this thought applies to other times and places around the world. In the 16th century the protestant church established an indulgences system which would essentially allow people to buy their way to heaven, and in return Martin Luther ushered in the Protestant Reformation. Two widely different places, the protestant reformation in Europe and Ancient Egypt in North Africa, with almost two thousand years difference, and yet the reign of the wealthy over the common persists and even now, in many countries around the world the wealthy experience a much greater quality of life compared to the average person.