World Literature Final Review

Final Exam Review

World Literature

The Epic of Gilgamesh

• About a Sumerian king who lived between 2700 and 2500 B.C.

• A major theme is that humans will always seek immortality.

• An archetype is a recurring theme or pattern in literature.

Genesis - Creation & Flood Stories

• Snakes, trees, and gardens are archetypes

• The Creation and the Fall story explains how human suffering originated

• The description of the four rivers in the creation story gives a historical context

• The Flood story relates god's covenant with mankind.

Rustam & Suhrab

• The theme is the potentially tragic outcome of a lack of communication

• The irony is clear when Suhrab unknowingly tells Rustam (his father) that he came to find his father but hasn't seen him

The Thousand and One Nights (The Fisherman and the Jinnee)

• A major theme of The Fisherman and the Jinnee is that Allah punishes those who repay kindness with evil

• The Thousand and One Nights are stories within stories which reinforce an important point from the one before it

The Mystery of Braham

• To understand Braham, one must first understand what it is not (food, life, mind, and reason)

• Braham is everyone's source and destination

• Bhrigu moves from a physical notion to a spiritual one as he searches for Brahman

Sibi (The Mahabharata)

• The theme is that great rewards await those who do their duty despite hardship

• Sibi feels he must protect the dove because it sought his protection

Oedipus the King

• A central issue of this story is the acceptance of one's destiny

• It is ironic that Oedipus says that he will never come near his parents because he kills his dad and marries his mom

The Aeneid, Book II

• The fall of Troy is mostly due to the Trojan's naivete

• Suspense is created by letting the reader know soldiers were hidden inside the wooden horse

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is a long narrative about a ________ king who lived between 2700 and 2500 B.C.

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__________ recurring themes or patterns in literature.

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One of the major themes in The Epic of Gilgamesh is that humans will always seek ___________.

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In Genesis, snakes, trees, and garden are examples of __________ symbols.

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An important purpose of The Creation and The Fall in Genesis is to explain how human _________ originated.

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The description of the the ____ ______ surrounding Eden establishes a historical context for The Creation story.

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The purpose of the story of The Flood is to relate God's ________ with mankind.

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The theme of Rustam & Suhrab concerns the potentially tragic outcome of a lack of _____________.

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It is ______ that Suhrab tell Rustam (his father) that he is searching for his father but has not seen him.

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The Persian view of the world as displayed by Rustam & Suhrab is that humans are ruled both by _______ and divine intervention.

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The theme of "The Fisherman and the Jinnee" is that Allah punishes those who repay kindness with ____.

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Stories that are included within other stories _________ an importan point from the one before it.

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In The Mystery of Brahman, the concepts of food, life, mind, and reason are _____ notions about Brahman.

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Varuna tells Bhrigu that Brahman is every person's source and ___________.

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As he searches for an understanding of the Brahman, Bhrigu moves from a physical notion to a _________ concept.

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The theme of Sibi (from The Mahabharata) is that great rewards await those who do their ____ despite hardship.

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Sibi feels he must keep the hawk from eating the dove because the dove sought his __________.

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A central issue of Oedipus the King concerns the acceptance of _______.

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Oedipus says, "I will never come near my parents." This is ironic because he killed Laius (his father) and _______ Jocasta (his mother).

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Oedipus ______ himself as a direct result of the messenger's news.

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In the Aeneid, book II, Aeneas attributes the fall of Troy primarily to Trojan _______.

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Aeneas creates suspense in his narrative by letting the reader know that Greek soldiers were hidden inside the wooden _____.