Develop a well-detailed essay of 4-5 GOOD/STRONG paragraphs on ONE of the topics listed below.   MLA FORMAT 1. In Book 9 of  Paradise Lost , Milton makes the claim that his story of the fall from Eden  and Adam and Eve's recovery is "Not less but more heroic" (14) than any of his epic predecessors.  Make the case for two of the following to represent a new kind of hero:  Sundiata, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, Adam and Eve.  Although not required, referring to some of the heroes that we have studied would be useful. 2.  Deception figures largely in  Popul Vuh  and  Paradise Lost .  Compare and contrast Milton's Satan and the Mayan twins use of deception.  How do they differ?  What makes their trickery so successful?  Although not required, referring to some of the other deceivers that we have studied would be useful (to give just one example, some of the deceivers and traitors found in Dante's  Inferno ). 3. Discuss the role of women in  Sundiata.   Compare and contrast its treatment of women with the depiction of women in  Popul Vuh, Paradise Lost,  and/or any of the previous epics that we have studied.  Is woman mainly subordinated to her male counterparts or does she exert some degree of power or agency? 4.  Mortality, the inescapable truth of death, looms large in all three epics.  The Mayan twins die as part of their plan to rid the underworld of dark forces; Sundiata loses his mother Sogolon and must struggle to gain her proper burial; and, of course, Adam and Eve introduce death, not only of themselves but generations of human beings to come.  Despite this powerful presence of mortality in the epics, something positive emerges from these confrontations with death.  Define that positive development and how it arises from (or triumphs over?) its encounter with death.  Choose at least two of the epics for your essay. .

1. Develop a well-detailed essay of 4-5 GOOD/STRONG
paragraphs on ONE of the topics listed below.
MLA FORMAT
1. In Book 9 of
Paradise Lost
, Milton makes the claim that his story of the fall from Eden
and Adam and Eve's recovery
is "Not less but more heroic" (14) than any of his epic
predecessors. Make the case for two of the following to
represent a new kind of hero: Sundiata, Hunahpu and
Xbalanque, Adam and Eve. Although not required, referring to
some of the heroes that we have studied would be useful.
2. Deception figures largely in
Popul Vuh
and
Paradise Lost
. Compare and contrast Milton's Satan and the Mayan twins use
of deception. How do they differ? What makes their trickery
so successful? Although not required, referring to some of the
other deceivers that we have studied would be useful (to give
just one example, some of the deceivers and traitors found in
Dante's
Inferno
).
3. Discuss the role of women in
Sundiata.
Compare and contrast its treatment of women with the
depiction of women in

2. Popul Vuh, Paradise Lost,
and/or any of the previous epics that we have studied. Is
woman mainly subordinated to her male counterparts or does
she exert some degree of power or agency?
4. Mortality, the inescapable truth of death, looms large in all
three epics. The Mayan twins die as part of their plan to rid the
underworld of dark forces; Sundiata loses his mother Sogolon
and must struggle to gain her proper burial; and, of course,
Adam and Eve introduce death, not only of themselves but
generations of human beings to come. Despite this powerful
presence of mortality in the epics, something positive emerges
from these confrontations with death. Define that positive
development and how it arises from (or triumphs over?) its
encounter with death. Choose at least two of the epics for your
essay.