Here is a copy and paste description of the assignment from my school’s e-campus:
UNDERSTANDING THE ASSIGNMENT: PROJECT PAPER – COMPARATIVE ESSAY
Write a 3-4 page essay (750-1,000 words) which adequately address the topic and requirements stated below.
Format your essay according to this formatting and writing standards document. This document includes examples of in-text citations and other great items!
STEP 1: TOPIC SELECTION
Select a topic from the list below and include this topic on your title page.
Ancient Male Rulers
Select any two (2) of these rulers: Ramses II, Shihuangdi, Constantine, Ashoka, Pericles, or Charlemagne. Select rulers from different cultures.
Ancient Female Rulers
Compare the Tang Empress Wu Zetian (also known as Empress Wu or as Wu Zhao; ruled China around 690-705 AD) with either the Pharaoh Cleopatra (ruled Egypt around 51-31 BC) or the Pharaoh Hatshepsut (ruled Egypt around 1478-1458 BC).
Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece
Compare Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece. Compare the way gods and humans were depicted in sculpture in ancient India and Greece, and identify the cultural values and ideals that these art works reflect in each case.
STEP 2: THESIS
In your first paragraph, establish a clear thesis about your chosen subjects that addresses:
who or what you are comparing
the dates covered for each
3-4 sentences on the reason for your choice
STEP 3: SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES
Help: When comparing subject A with subject B in a comparative essay you should be mentioning both subjects in your paragraph. Please do not do the first half of the essay on subject A and then the second half on subject B–that will seem like two (2) separate essays and comparisons will tend to get lost.
Using reasonable and scholarly resources:
compare 2 ways your subjects are similar
compare 2 ways your subjects are different
STEP 4: CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
Help: Remember to compare subjects directly, versus separating your discussion about each.
Consider your findings on the similarities and differences mentioned earlier and what it might suggest about differences between the subjects’ cultures. Using reasonable and scholarly resources:
compare 3 ways your subjects’ cultures are different
STEP 5: MODERN DAY EXAMPLES
Using reasonable and scholarly resources:
suggest a modern day example of your first subject, and provide a rationale for your suggestion
suggest a modern day example of your second subject, and provide a rationale for your suggestion
STEP 6: CONCLUSION
In a concluding paragraph, summarize 2 things you learned that in some way ties together with your original thesis.
STEP 7: REFERENCES & CITATIONS
Include a reference page that identifies at least 3 references. The class text may be included in the list of 3 or more.
In-text citations are required when paraphrasing or quoting another source. (i.e., STEPS 3, 4, and 5 above)
STEP 8: DOUBLE CHECK FORMATTING
Sample Solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
