Cesar Velez, Period 8, 1/18/2022

 Cesar Velez, Period 8, 1/18/2022

Literacy and Learning

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

    In Egypy around 1550–1069 B.C., the Ancient Egyptian society had reached a period of peace which led to many cultural and scientific advances. One of these cultural advances can still be found in museums today. The Book of the dead. The Book of the Dead was a set of spells that was tought to aid the souls of the deceased through the dangerous afterlife to reach the fiels of reeds. A peaceful place where the Egyptians couls live out eternity. The Book of the dead was through to hold the seccrets to passing the challenges of the afterlife includeing the most important of all, final judgment, where your heart would be weighed against the feather of the goddess Maat. The book of the dead is often refered to as the first religious text because it introduces the question of what happens after death. Is there an afterlife? Is it good or bad? Wha determines wheter its good or bad? All of these questions can be answered in the book of the dead. We can also see parellels between the book of the dead and man other religious texts from around the world. For example, the Egyptians elieved that the path to the feild of reeds can only be reached to by those who were worthy. This would be judged through a series of gates along with the final judgment that would see whether your heart(or your soul) was worthy of eternal paradise opposed to your soul being eaten. This can also be seen in Christianity where only those who are deemed worthy by god would be allowed into heaven and those who were not, would face eternal damnation in hell. 

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

    One of the most interesting pieces of new information I learned in class was how Ani’s Book of the Dead was aquired. Ani’s Book of the Dead is still one of the most preserved peices of egyptian religion. Becasue of this it offered a great sense of understanding behind the Book of the Dead as whole, as well as insights into egyptian language and culture. Today Ani’s book of the dead is displayed in the British Meuseum, but how it came to be there is contreversial. In 1888, Sir E.A. Wallis Budge travelled to Egypt in search of new antoquities to bring back to the British Museum. The trading of antiquities was made illegal in Egypt to prevent them from leaving the country aboard the ships of people like Budge’s. Nevertheless, Budge found a way to evade the authorities and acquire Ani’s Scroll, a full Book of the Dead. As he left with the scroll, there were two sides to that story that are still in debate today. On one side, Budge, who wanted to bring the scroll back to Britain where he could story it and it would be preserved. And the Egyptians who felt cheated of their own history and culture. It is hard not to judge his by todays standards as the fact remains, he illegally smuglled Egyptian artifacts out of the country and into Britain. This make you realize that nothing in this world is perfect. With everything we gain, there is always sacrifice. In this case, even though we were able to learn more about ancient egypt, the result are tainted as Egypt would continuously lose its own culture and history. 

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

    When looking back at the scroll of Ani and how it as acquired there is a clear connection to the world of politics. The story of how the scroll of Ani was acquired is a perfect example of how there are always two sides to every story. Budge wanting to learn and preserve the artifact, and Egypt wanting to preserve its history and culture. We cannot see the whole story unless we see it form both sides, this is also exactly the case when we talk about media in politics. The medias job is present information tothe public with the least amount of bias possible. But unfortunately this is rarely the case. News sources can skew information to one side by framing it in a ceratin light and creating a nariritive that fits their agenda. In modern politics there is never one news source that you can count on for all your news. One source might highlight the humanity of a situation while another might express the harsh reailities. Similar to the story of Ani’s scroll, to understand the whole truth, we must understand as many sources as possible, because without variety we become isolated from the rest of the world, alienated from the whole truth.