martes, 21 de agosto de 2007

Entry # 3


"The dream you dreamed tonight is fortunate." (Gilgamesh, pg.22).

As many people in the history of humanity, I believe that dreams carry messages we are unable to figure while living our daily life. For me, they are a source that marks every one of us in a way. It can be so insignificant you don’t even remember the dream the minute you wake up, or so incredibly sublime you will never forget. In my case, I have only had two dreams that really changed me as a human being; in fact they were more like nightmares. It would be a waste of time for me to tell you about them because most certainly they will sound completely ridiculous and meaningless. But for me, they are so full of magic or wisdom they changed my life. So I believe that dreams are a sort of sixth sense, a sense some have more developed than others. It is also sort of magical in a way. In this epic, I’ve noticed the role that dreams play in the story; they either fill you up with confidence, or destroy your faith and self-esteem. So dreams aren’t simple stories, they are a sixth sense, a way out, simply magical situations.

lunes, 20 de agosto de 2007

Gilgamesh Entry #2

At this point in the epic I don’t see Gilgamesh as a true hero. To me, there is a list of qualities that a hero must have in order for me to direct to him as one. Beginning with the ordinary, a hero must be somehow strong. It does not matter if it is physically, mentally or spiritually. It just has to have an extraordinary strength, a well developed ability. With this said, here is where I begin to see the difference between a regular gifted person and a true hero. A hero must be inhumanly brave. This also fits in the category of strengths I was talking about above. Being just very courageous is not enough. A hero has to be able to confront anything. Although heroes are allowed to feel scared, what makes them one is the fact that they can make fear an easy obstacle to overcome. Their bravery is stronger than death itself. Finally, the third and last quality a hero must have. The quality that I believe Gilgamesh lacks; generous heart. A true hero must have a heart big enough for everyone to fit inside it, everyone but him. He must accomplish his deeds in benefit of his people, and not to satisfy his own ego. He must act according to his heart, not his brains. Here is where I see a flaw in Gilgamesh. He might be the strongest of them all, the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh the great, but he lacks this third gift. He will try to defeat Huwawa, the guardian of the Cedar forest just so he can reestablish his position as the strongest of them all. In other words, he wants to feed his ego. So until this point in the epic I don’t consider him a true hero.

Gilgamesh Entry #1



I feel a strong bond between Gilgamesh and myself. Even though I’m not the king of Uruk, the strongest of them all, inside me there is a little slice of him. I am as stubborn as I could possibly be. I can be going directly towards hell, but as long as I believe in myself, I will never stop. There is no human force that can prevent me from taking action once I put my mind to it, even though the road I’m deciding to take could send me straight to the dumpster. Here is where the similarity between Gilgamesh and me appears. He is so stubborn, he could be taking himself directly towards death, but he already put his will into it, and there is nothing can stop him. By beginning his journey into the Cedar Forest, in search of Huwawa, its guardian, he could be making the biggest mistake of his life. He will do anything to reestablish himself as the strongest of them all, to proof himself of his own abilities. So as me, Gilgamesh is blinded by his belief in himself. This I see more as a flaw than a quality, although sometimes it’s very useful.


sábado, 18 de agosto de 2007

Purpose of my Blog


My blog is basically a space to comment about the books I read during my 9th grade English course. I will be commenting my opinions on the passages, and recording the thoughts that come to my mind after reading them. When finished with this project, I will have a complete portafolio of how my analizing improves as time goes by, and how my ideas will evolve over a perdiod of time.