Muhammad Chaudhry, Period 7, 12/2/21

Muhammad Chaudhry

Period 7

12/2/21

Modern Mythology 2022  

 

Literacy & Learning

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

In class, we have been learning about the Egyptian Book of The Dead and why death is such an important aspect of ancient Egyptian culture. After watching the documentary on Ahni’s Book of the Dead, I have a better grasp of what the Egyptians valued both in this world and the next. The documentary explained that the Book of The Dead was something Egyptians use to guide them in the afterlife, it contained spells and magic to help defeat monsters of the afterlife. When I was watching the documentary, I wondered whether if any of the spells and magic were of any use in the afterlife or if they were just a scam by the priests to extract money from the rich and ruling class. People would really have no choice after the seller makes the sales pitch of them helping them defeat a certain monster or that you can’t go to the afterlife without this certain amulet. The people of Egypt didn’t know what happened after death so even if they weren’t fully convinced they would probably still buy it due to the possibility of them struggling after death.

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

I find Egyptian Mythology very interesting because of the influence it could have had on later religions. The Ten Commandments are all mentioned in Ahni’s Book of The Dead, so it’s very possible to have been derived from there as Moses was from Egypt too. I also learned that you don’t get judged first but you have to make a journey through the afterlife to actually make it to the Hall of Osiris. I find it very interesting that there is a possibility that you die before you even get judged if you don’t buy the amulets in the real world before you die. It just seems very unjust to the poorer people in Egypt who lived a good, honest life but couldn’t afford to pay for the Book of The Dead or the amulets and spells that come with it. Would they just get eaten by the monsters? There are still quite a few questions that I have after watching the documentary.

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

The Egyptian afterlife is very similar to the afterlife of many other religions. A connection I personally made is the weighing of the heart being similar to the weighing of our book of deeds in Islam. In Islam, each person receives a book with all of their good and bad deeds listed inside on the Day of Judgement where every human being will be resurrected. They will then be brought to a scale where their book will judge whether or not they enter paradise or get banished to hell. This lesson has made me realize that you can make a connection to so many things that you hadn’t considered before and it is an eye-opening experience.