Double-Entry Journal Examples
Some of you seemed a little confused in class about the format, so here are the possibilities for your
journal. You can do either one; just choose whatever format helps you the most.
1. Double-Entry (if you feel confident going straight from quote to analysis)
QUOTE
“___________________” (pg)
ANALYSIS/CONNECTIONS
What does this quote mean? What are some
connections I can make here to things I know
about life and about mythology?
2. Triple-Entry (if you need to work out what is literally happening in the quote you chose)
QUOTE
“___________________” (pg)
SUMMARY
ANALYSIS/REFLECTION
What does this quote say? What What does this quote mean?
is actually happening here? What are some connections I can
What is the literal meaning?
make here to things I know
about life and about mythology?
Example 1
QUOTE
“But the men of Uruk uttered in
their houses, ‘Gilgamesh sounds
the tocsin for his amusement, his
arrogance has no bounds by day
or night. No son is left with his
father, for Gilgamesh takes them
all, even the children; yet the
king should be a shepherd to his
people. His lust leaves no virgin
to her lover, neither the
warrior’s daughter nor the wife
of the noble; yet this is the
shepherd of the city, wise,
comely, and resolute.’” (62)
(SUMMARY)
The men in the town are saying
Gilgamesh takes children away
from their parents and sleeps
with women before their
husbands can, even daughters of
warriors and nobles’ wives. They
are saying he is the king and
should be a shepherd.
ANALYSIS/CONNECTIONS
This passage shows that the
citizens of Uruk are uneasy
about their leader. They
appreciate his strength and
accomplishments but they need
someone to stand up to him so
that he won’t keep taking
advantage of his citizens. They
long for someone who will be
just and lead them the way a
king should. The word
“shepherd” might signify that
the people are like sheep, unable
to find their own way or think for
themselves very well without a
good leader, and they need
Gilgamesh to become that great
leader for them. The citizens of
today are like this as well in
some senses: they need a leader
who is accomplished, but they
don’t want to be taken
advantage of or used by this
leader.
Example 2
QUOTE
“… when [Enkidu] was satisfied
he went back to the wild beasts.
The, when the gazelle saw him,
they bolted away; Enkidu would
have followed, but his body was
bound as though with a cord, his
knees gave way when he started
to run, his swiftness was gone.
And now the wild creatures had
all fled away; Enkidu was grown
weak, for wisdom was in him,
and the thoughts of a man were
in his heart.” (65)
(SUMMARY)
After Enkidu is with the woman
the animals run away from him,
and he tries to follow them but
he’s lost his strength and can’t
run like he used to. He’s weak
because he’s thinking like a man.
ANALYSIS/CONNECTIONS
In this passage Enkidu has been
“civilized” through his encounter
with the woman and has
reached a state of “manhood”
because of his relations with her.
He has been made “fully human”
in this sense, and has lost his
animalistic, or innocent, outlook
on life. The animals can sense
this newfound wisdom and
“civilization” in him and so run
away. This idea of Enkidu being
slowed down because of wisdom
suggests that being wise or
having information about the
world is a heavy burden, and we
cannot return to out stage of
innocence after learning these
things about the world. The fact
that a sexual encounter was the
thing that made Enkidu more
aware is important because that
connects to our own growth in
understanding and loss of
innocence.