European Literature
Stuyvesant High School
Ms. Mazzurco
Fall 2013
Brainstorming Handout for Your Gilgamesh Assignments
Bring in the below completed chart on Friday, October 25.
Using The Epic of Gilgamesh as your primary text, craft an essay that discusses how “the primitive” is affected, and ultimately
transformed, by civilization. I would like you to make an analogy to the modern day as well. For this, you will need to do
some research. Find some recent articles that deal with how the expansion of civilization is affecting the modern world. Select
one, or possibly two articles, and consider how this modern day example relates to your example from The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Part I: How is the primitive transformed by civilization in The Epic of Gilgamesh?
Example #1
Is this transformation ultimately
Significant details
beneficial or detrimental? Explain.
Example #2
Part II: How is the primitive transformed by civilization in your select article(s)? Use this class session to determine
whether your selected article will work.
Example #1
Is this transformation ultimately
Significant details
beneficial or detrimental? Note that
your response must match your response
from Part I.
Example #2
European Literature
Stuyvesant High School
Ms. Mazzurco
Fall 2013
Now that you have mapped out your essay, craft a working thesis statement that encompasses your argument. Your thesis
statement can be more than one sentence and must incorporate both Gilgamesh and your modern day equivalent.
Part III: A Working Thesis Statement
Here is a review of what makes a strong thesis statement.
The Evolution of the Thesis Statement
Suppose your English teacher hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel:
Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn.
"This will be easy," you think. "I loved Huckleberry Finn!" You grab a pad of paper and write:
Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.
Why is this a weak thesis? Think about what the reader would expect from the essay that follows: you will most likely
provide a general, appreciative summary of Twain's novel. But the question did not ask you to summarize, it asked you to
analyze. Your professor is not interested in your opinion of the novel, which she probably shares, or in your ability to retell its
story, which she knows; instead, she wants you to think about why it's such a great novel--what do Huck's adventures tell us
about life, about America, about coming of age, about race relations, etc.? First, the question asks you to pick an aspect of the
novel that you think is important to its structure or meaning--for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes
between the shore and the river, the relationships between adults and children, etc. Now you write:
In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.
Here's a working thesis with potential: you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. It's still
not clear what your analysis will reveal. What meaning does this contrast convey to the reader? Your reader is intrigued, but is
still thinking, "So what? What's the point of this contrast? What does it signify?" You do not want the reader to have to figure
out the answers to these questions herself. But perhaps you are not sure yet, either. That's fine--begin to work on comparing
scenes from the book and see what you discover. Freewrite, make lists, jot down Huck's actions and reactions, etc. Eventually,
you will be able to clarify for yourself, and then for the reader, why this contrast matters. After examining the evidence and
considering your own insights, you confidently write:
Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain's Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American
democratic ideals, one must leave "civilized" society and go back to nature.
This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the
essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html
European Literature
Stuyvesant High School
Ms. Mazzurco
Fall 2013
Incorporating Sentence Variety Into Your Writing
Your essay should have a lyrical quality, a flow that allows the reader to effortlessly glide through your piece. Imagine that you
are composing a bit of music. There should be a rhythm to your sentence structure – a trading off between complex and simple
sentences.
Structure #1: The pithy sentence
Success is boring.
Odysseus employs sophrosyne.
Structure #2: Join an independent clause and an appositive with a colon
An appositive is a subordinate, or dependent, clause that further explains the independent clause. Using a colon to set off the
appositive emphasizes its importance.
This assignment invites you to make a very great contribution: nothing less than a statement of your personal beliefs, of
the values which rule your thought and action.
Structure #3: Join a subordinate clause and an independence clause with a comma
Notice the clear progression of logic in the examples below.
Because I have autism, I live by concrete rules instead of abstract beliefs.
Whenever I read a poem that moves me, I know I'm not alone in the world.
Structure #4: Join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb
Again, notice the clear progression of logic in the examples below.
I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there.
It rained heavily during the afternoon; however, we managed to have our picnic anyway.
They could not make it to the summit and back before dark; therefore, they decided to camp for the night.
Use these conjuctive adverbs for contrast:
however / nevertheless / on the contrary
Use these conjunctive adverbs for logical progression:
consequently / hence / therefore / thus / accordingly / as a result
Incorporating Textual Evidence into a Structured Paragraph
Note that plays, novels, magazines, newspapers, and films are italicized; poems, short stories, and articles are identified by
quotation marks. Please italicize the title The Epic of Gilgamesh in your work, even in your parenthetical citation. Please put
the title of your article in quotation marks.
You can incorporate a direct quotation into a sentence in three different ways: with no punctuation, with a comma, or with a
colon. The quotation cannot stand by itself as a sentence. Here are three effective sentences with quotations:
NO PUNCTUATION: As McMurphy boisterously enters the ward, Chief Bromden realizes that this is "the first laugh [he has]
heard in years” (Kesey 16).
When the lead-in part of the sentence is a dependent clause, use a comma to connect your textual evidence. See below:
COMMA: McMurphy kindly reminds Ellis, who is soaked in his own urine, of his human dignity when he asks Ellis, “Whyn’t
you go get dried up?” (Kesey 25).
When the lead-in part of the sentence is an independent clause, use a colon to connect your textual evidence. See below:
European Literature
Stuyvesant High School
Ms. Mazzurco
Fall 2013
COLON: After his nightmarish reprogramming, Mr. Tabor becomes what the Combine would consider a model citizen: "Why,
I’ve never seen anything to beat the change in Maxwell Tabor since he’s got back from the hospital…” (Kesey 40).