Holly Denig, Period 8, 12/15/21

 Holly Denig 

Period 8

12/15/21

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

I found the Bible stories we discussed, and the lesson by our guest teacher Mr Misciagna to be very interesting. I did pick up on some contradictions throughout biblical stories, such as God being all knowing, this including the true nature of people, yet entrusting Noah to repopulate the Earth, after people acted viciously and poorly. The lack of consistency confused me at first, because if God knows that people would act irrationally, and even knew that the city built of bricks would promote negative activity( as proved by his scattering the bricks), then why let Noah repopulate the Earth of people. After pondering this I came to the conclusion that biblical stories are not meant to be taken as a plot, but as a collection of lessons, warnings, morals, and a source of hope and some idea to explain the unknown. Comfort can be found in the idea of creation it provides, and the idea of an eventual return of Christ. This idea being expressed in each of the four viewpoints in the Revelation was very interesting to me. The seven judgments across four chapters, each mirroring each other, did prompt me with the question, of why write the same story so many times. I think each viewpoint may provide a different perspective, or a different lesson. They can be understood and perceived slightly differently, while following the same path. 

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

Today we began the Norse mythology unit, which contrasts many other cultures we discussed regarding values and the roles of women and men. The idea of women being inferior to men has been prevalent in many stories and societies, as well as ideas surrounding the afterlife. The Norse values treat men and women the same, as both are warriors and have the same opportunities in the afterlife. This changes my perception of ancient cultures a little bit, and offers insight into more values of the Norse people. It reinforces the idea of living every day to the fullest that they seem to embody, based on their loose moral code and sometimes difficult living conditions. As a battle based culture, killing and fighting isn’t seen as good or bad, it was just necessary at times.

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

Oftentimes the themes or ideas we talk about in class when analyzing characters or decisions in myths connect to my sociology college now class. I remember the lesson on persephone and hades, when discussing the different motives the god had related to the family unit we had with Mr Manzo. Specifically, we talked about whether or not Hades kidnapping Persephone acted as a push for her to leave her mother, and whether or not the mother has the right to be truly angry, or proper outlets for anger. This related to familial roles I discussed in sociology, about the roles of parents relating to children, with the fundamental ideas of being responsible for teaching them morals and assimilating them into society. Although similar ideas of family relations are not always seen in myths, this story reminded me of those family values in that may Persephone have felt an obligation to her mother and disdain with the idea of leaving. It also connected to the concept of power dynamics, in which her mother held the power over Persephone, and in turn all of the people she harmed.

Additionally, some of the Egyptian ideas relate to sociology, specifically the religion unit. In this unit we discussed how religion acts as a source of hope for people, and a unit of social organization. This held true when we talked about Egyptian religion and the book of the dead, as the Egyptian religion and pursuit of the afterlife created an opportunity for those who sold the book to keep citizens loyal to them and pay great amounts of money to the church organization. It also helps to build a caste system, as the upper class were often the ones who could afford a book of the dead, meaning they would have a better chance of reaching the afterlife, which reinforces a higher status.