Purpose: For this assignment, you’ll choose one of the topics below, evaluating Sundiata and Popul Vuh,
and write a 6-10 paragraph essay arguing for and supporting your
conclusions to submit as a well-developed essay. This assignment will
build your writing, analytical, and evaluative skills.
You may be able to further flush out the writing you have
already done in discussions towards these goals. If you choose a
different topic than the ones on which you have already written, the
discussion posts and responses may still be useful and inspiring to
you. However, be careful you don’t plagiarize your classmates’ work. We
encourage you to use the background material in the course to further
develop your own original interpretations and arguments; researching
other secondary sources is not required for this assignment, and
plagiarism of other sources will not be tolerated.
Tasks:
Topic #2: Both Sundiata and Popol Vuh deal centrally with a heroic quest.
Unit 1B’s introduction to the Five Great Themes of World Literature
states with regard to the hero: “The surest way to understand what a
culture of the past most values is to focus on what it considers heroic,
in that a culture recognizes its heroes as embodying its most important
ideas, the values that are essential.” Discuss what forces Sundiata
and the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque have to overcome and how they
go about doing it.
For Sundiata your presentation will probably focus on Sundiata’s historical destiny; in Popol Vuh,
the Twins’ quest will have a more mythic quality, but you probably will
focus on the meaning for the Mayan culture of the mythic events. One
of the passages you should quote (all or in part) and analyze is the
following:
Hunahpú was sacrificed by Xbalanqué; one by one his arms and his legs
were sliced off, his head was cut from his body and carried away; his
heart was torn from his breast and thrown onto the grass. All the Lords
of Xibalba were fascinated. They looked on in wonder, but really it was
only the dance of one man; it was Xbalanqué. “Get up!” he said, and
instantly [Hunahpú] returned to life . . . “Do the same with us!
Sacrifice us!” they said. “Cut us into pieces, one by one!” Hun-Camé and
Vucub-Camé said to Hunahpú and Xbalanqué. . . . And so it happened
that they first sacrificed the one, who was the chief and [Lord of
Xibalba], the one called Hun-Camé, king of Xibalba. And when Hun-Camé
was dead, they overpowered Vucub-Camé, and they did not bring either of
them back to life (Part II, Ch. 13).
Second, write an essay presenting your argument.
Include quotations from the texts as well as additional details that
illustrate and enhance the points you are making. Use the following as
an outline of what to include:
Explain the general topic and relevant themes (e.g. sacred and
secular, heroes’ journeys) and any relevant terms for that topic
(suggested 1-2 paragraphs). State your thesis – a general statement
about your conclusions.
Apply that topic to both Sundiata and to Popul Vuh (suggested 6-8 well-developed paragraphs, plus a concluding paragraph). Give
specific examples and quotes from the texts to support your analyses.
Use in-text citations as needed. You may want to check the feedback
from your previous assignments to make sure you improve upon your
earlier efforts.
Your final page should be your Works Cited page, in MLA format.
Don’t forget to review the guidelines for How to Succeed in the Written Assignments and the Sample paper in MLA format. Make sure you save time to submit your draft to Tutor.com via the free Tutoring Services link for helpful feedback before the due date. All writing assignments have Turnitin enabled for plagiarism detection.
You’ll be graded on your ability to analyze and evaluate your topic
thoughtfully through your writing, as well as on your language,
organization, and MLA formatting. Familiarize yourself with the
criteria below and the grading requirements by going under
Assessments/Rubrics in your nav bar to the Final Essay Writing Rubric
SP21.
File submissions: Please submit your file as a DOC.X or PDF file.
Criteria on which you will be graded:
Your arguments are thoughtful
Your essay is well-organized
Your analysis is specific and original
Your use of language is clear and effective
Your quotations and Works Cited are correctly formatted in MLA style
This activity may use a different grading rubric than what was used
in past activities. Be sure to check the grading rubric before starting.
