Honors

1000-001 Interdisciplinary Humanities Immerwahr July 6, 2013

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

Here is a sample paper assignment and some sample papers (assume they are written by other students). Well discuss these in class, which we hope will help you do a better job on your own papers. Please read the assignment, guidelines, and self-evaluation carefully, and then read the papers. As you read the papers, ask yourself how would you evaluate the three papers. Print out the papers, and make notes on the margins and bring your copies of the papers to class. Also bring a copy of the of this page with the guidelines and also bring a copy of the self-evaluation sheet: papers. You do not need to hand in your marked up copy. Assignment for the model papers. The authors of Genesis selected the text we have now from many older stories and traditions. One of their decisions was to include material on Ishmael. Develop a thesis about Ishmael, helping your reader understand in a new way what role this character plays in the overall narrative of Genesis. Guidelines for assignment:
Follow principles in self-evaluation sheet.
At top of first page, please include my name, your name, date.
Print out paper with continuous line numbers (in word click on the page layout tab, select line numbers, continuous)
Include a meaningful title not just Bible Paper but something that gives the reader a hint of what the paper is about and why anyone would want to read it.
No fancy cover page or binders. Print on both sides of paper if possible.
Four pages double-spaced maximum shorter is better.
Although you may discuss general issues about the text with other students in the class, please do not discuss the specific assignment with anyone other than the teaching staff.
Do not use any outside sources, but rely only on the assigned texts. If you do use secondary sources, they must be cited in a works cited page, even if you do not quote or refer to them.
Use MLA style sheet for citations, but put the works cited at the end of the paper, not on a separate page (save paper!).

Model Paper Exercise

Paper Self Evaluation Sheet 1. Mechanics. Paper has date, title, your name, my name, no problems with grammar or spelling, all quotations cited properly, work cited at the end, no secondary sources consulted, or, if secondary sources have been used, they are cited even if you did not refer to them directly.
__ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree __ Strongly Disagree

2. Assignment. My paper fulfills the assignment.

__ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree __ Strongly Disagree

3. Introduction. My intro gives general topic of the paper and introduces the thesis. Avoids broad generalizations (for example, since the dawn of time, men have . . . ).
__ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree __ Strongly Disagree

4. Paragraphs. Body paragraphs typically begin with a topic sentence that supports some aspect of the thesis.
__ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree __ Strongly Disagree

5. Argument. Paragraphs provide good reasons for believing the thesis, supported by evidence from the text. Paper is written for someone who does not necessarily agree with the thesis. __ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree __ Strongly Disagree

6. Textual evidence. Textual evidence is carefully chosen, from multiple places in the text, not

entirely by passages discussed in class, and properly cited.

__ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree

__ Somewhat Disagree

__ Strongly Disagree

7. Conclusion. Final paragraph adds something to the paper rather than summarizing what the __ Strongly Agree __ Somewhat Agree __ Somewhat Disagree

audience has just read (for example, suggests broader implications, new directions or questions).
__ Strongly Disagree

The points above are general rules that often work. Some topics, however, require a different treatment. If you have not followed some of these principles, be prepared to explain why the thesis you are defending requires a different kind of approach.

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Model Papers:

After telling us about Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, and some other figures, Genesis brings us to the story of Abraham and his two sons. God promises Abraham that he will have many descendants, but Abraham is somewhat dubious about this story because he and his wife are already too old to have children. Finally Abraham does have two children. One of the children is born to Hagar, one of the servants, and the other (Isaac) is born to Abrahams wife Sarah. Each of these children is part of a test for Abraham, and what happens to these children tells us a lot about Abrahams character and Gods plan. Although Abraham and Sarah want to have children, they havent had any children and now they are both much older than anyone could possibly be to have children. Abrahams wife Sarah develops a plan. She will let Abraham have sex with her servant girl, and then say that the child that is born is their child. Presumably no one will know the difference. Abraham does have a relationship with the servant girl and in fact she does get pregnant. From that point on, things do not go smoothly. The servant girl, now that she is pregnant, starts to assert herself over her mistress, saying that she is pregnant and the mistress cant have any children. This starts a battle between the two, but, of course, Sarah is the mistress of the house and she ultimately gets her way, and she mistreats the servant, so the servant runs away from the household. God calls to the servant, however, and the servant girl returns, and has the child. Later in the book the servant girl and her child leave again, and again God calls to the servant to return. There are a lot of inconsistencies between the two stories about Ishmael. In the first story, Sarah gets mad when the servant girl becomes pregnant. At that point, she banishes the servant girl as soon as she becomes pregnant (Bible, Genesis, Chapter 16). In the second story, Sarah seems to have no problem with the child until the child is quite a bit older. Now she becomes angry and banishes both the mother and the son. The purpose of the story of Ishmael is to tell us something about the relationship of men and women. God has told Isaac that he, God, will protect him and give him many descendants. Abraham seems content with that promise. However, his wife obviously does not trust Gods promise. She encourages Abraham to have sex with the slave girl, who then gets pregnant, and then the women get in a fight about it. It really isnt his idea at all. But he is weak and gives in, both because his wife told him to and also probably because it sounds like fun to have sex with someone when your wife is telling you to do it. This sounds a lot like the story of Adam and Eve. God tells both of what they should eat and not eat, but Satan comes to Eve and tells her 3

Genesis paper By Kevin Wildcat

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about the apple. Then Eve comes to Adam to tempt him to disobey Gods commandment. In both stories God creates difficulties for the humans (either by banishing them from Eden or, in the case of Abraham, by making him think he has to sacrifice his son), but then eventually takes care of the humans as well. This brings us to the most important message in the story of Ishmael and Isaac, which has to do with the role of women. Women are the ones who tempt men to disobey Gods laws. So the pattern emerges, women tempt, but men are weak, and everyone suffers. Today the question of sex roles is very much present with us. If a woman is raped, many people will say that she provoked the man into doing it by wearing sexy clothing. This is the harm that has been caused by stories like Adam and Eve, people always blame women for what men do. Monica Garey September 5, 2012 Hon 1000 Prof. Immerwahr Ishmael: Two Stories, Two Themes An important theme of Genesis is Gods promise to make Abraham a great nation (Gen. 12:1) with as many descendants as there are stars in the heavens (Gen. 15:5). His long-awaited son, Isaac, is destined to be the father of this line. But we also learn of another son, Ishmael, who appears in two somewhat inconsistent stories and then drops out of the story. Although Ishmael is a minor character, the stories about him support two important themes of Genesis: Gods forgiveness of human weakness and the breadth of Gods blessing. We read about Ishmael in two different passages, one concerning his birth (Gen. 16) and another about him as an older child who is sent into the wilderness (Gen. 21, 9- 16). In the birth story, which happens long before the birth of Isaac, Sarah develops a plan to produce a son by inviting Abraham to have sex with her Egyptian servant, Hagar (Gen. 16:1). After Hagar is pregnant, the two women come into disagreement, Hagar runs away, is called back by God (Gen. 16:6-7), and Ishmael is finally born. In the older child-story, which is set in the middle of the material on Isaac, Ishmael appears to be living peacefully in the household until Sarah sees him playing with her son Isaac (Gen. 21:9). In this story it is Ishmael who is banished, and Hagar must take him into the wilderness. As we saw in the two creations stories, the editor of Genesis sometimes includes two different and inconsistent stories in order to emphasize different themes. Each of these stories also has a different emphasis. The story of Ishmaels birth emphasizes the themes of sin and redemption and has a number of resemblances to the very first chapters of Genesis. Sarah proposes 4

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something that does not have Gods full support, and Abraham agrees to her request. God ultimately forgives them and repeats his promise to Abraham (Gen 17: 18). In this way, the birth-story is somewhat like the story of Adam and Eve. Just as Sarah talks Abraham into doing something that God does not approve of, Eve persuades Adam to eat the fruit (Gen. 2) against Gods wish. Just as God forgives Abraham and Sarah, God also helps Adam and Eve by providing garments for them (Gen 3:21). There are also similarities between the birth-story of Ishmael and the story of Cain and Abel. We learn that Ishmael will be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone and everyones hand against him (Gen. 16:12) just as Cain became a restless wanderer on the earth (Gen.4:12). Although Cain is banished for his evil, God puts a mark on him to protect him (Gen 4:15) and in the same way Ishmael is promised descendants as well (Gen. 16:10). The second story of Ishmael (the older child story) emphasizes the theme of Gods blessing for all people, not just the descendants of Isaac. In this version the story of Ismael in the middle of the story of Isaac (Gen: 21:9-20). Because the stories are side-by-side, the reader will automatically compare Isaac and Ishmael and see similarities. For example, both boys are taken out into the wilderness by a parent, almost die, and are miraculously saved by divine intervention. The specific details also emphasize the comparison. Both stories start at the same time of day, as Abraham sends Ishmael away early the next morning (Gen: 21:14) and begins his own journey with Isaac early the next morning (Gen. 22: 3). Just as Hagar puts her child under a bush (Gen. 21.15), Abraham sees a ram caught in a bush (Gen. 22.13). Finally, both boys are saved from death by a divine messenger (Gen. 21:17; 22:11). The biggest difference between this story and the earlier Ishmael story is that now there is no hint of a curse on Ishmael. Now we learn that God was with Ishmael as he grew up (Gen 21:21). By putting this second story in the middle of the story about Isaac, the author of Genesis seeks to compare Ishmael and Isaac, rather than showing their differences. The child-story emphasizes Gods protection of both Ishmael and Isaac. The two Ishmael stories together compliment each other, which is probably why the editor included them both. The birth story emphasizes Gods willingness to forgive human frailty, while the child story emphasizes that God blesses all people. In todays world, we live in a time of great tension the between the Jewish and Christian descendants of Isaac and the Egyptian and Arab descendants of Ishmael. The message of Genesis is that both people are from the same father, and share in Gods blessing. Work Cited Senior, Donald, and John J. Collins, eds. The Catholic Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. Fred Tolentine 5

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Ishmael and Isaac From the beginning of time, humans have wondered what they need to do to gain Gods favor, and many writers of our own time are still struggling with this question. The story of Ishmael gives us some insight into this question. The message is that God does sometimes test us, and, if we fail the test we may be punished, but ultimately God watches out for us. From the beginning of the story of Abraham, God has made a promise. In exchange for obedience, he assures Abraham that he will give him many descendants and be his God. Things seem to be going well for Abraham with one exception. He is 75 years old when the story starts, and his wife is ten years younger than he is, and doesnt seem to be having any children. In Genesis 12, verse 15 we get the idea that not only does she not have children with Abraham, but she doesnt get pregnant during the time that she is in Pharaohs palace, even though she is probably having sex with Pharaoh. In Genesis 16, Sarah comes back into the story. Because she is so frustrated with the fact that she isnt having any children Sarah proposes a new strategy. Abraham can have sex with her slave girl, and have a child with her, and then somehow she would be their legitimate child. This sounds a lot like what we saw in Genesis 2, when Eve proposed disobedience to Gods command. In fact, Hagar does get pregnant, and a son is born (Genesis 16:15), who is named Ishmael. This whole plot does not work out very well. There is jealousy and bad feeling between the two women and Sarah runs away and God has to send a messenger to bring her back. And then he pleads with God not to harm Ishmael, saying again how surprising it is that he could have a son now that he is 100 years old (Genesis 17:17). God is merciful to Ishmael, however, and promises that although the covenant will be with Isaac, who will be born to Sarah as was promised, Ishmael also will be blessed. As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. Gen. 17:20. God forgives Abraham and Sarah for doubting his promise, and although Ishmael will not be the recipient of Gods promise to Isaac of an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants (Genesis. 17:19), God will still look favorably on him. Abraham must, however, undergo another test. Because of his doubt of Gods promise, he must face the most frightening question of all. Is he willing to sacrifice the son he has waited for so long, to show his obedience to God? This time he does have faith, and the promise comes true (Genesis 21). 6

Hon. 1000 Prof. Immerwahr

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The stories of Ishmael and Isaac illustrate a larger theme in Genesis. The pattern goes something like this. God makes a promise, and then people sin. The humans receive a punishment, but ultimately God forgives them. So God promises a son, but Abraham doubts, and has Ishmael. Ishmael will be punished and become a wild ass of a man, but he will also be forgiven (Gen. 16.12). We can see this pattern in the story of Adam and Even, and in other parts of Abrahams own life. Just as Adam and Eve disobey and are cast out, God ultimately watches out for them. So Abraham receives a promise, doubts, and then must be tested, but is ultimately forgiven. Ishmael and Isaac are the two sons of Abraham. Ishmael is born because Abraham lacks faith in God. Both Ishmael and Abraham are punished for this lack of faith, but both are ultimately redeemed. The pattern of Genesis continues through this story. Work Cited Senior, Donald, and John J. Collins, The Catholic Study Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.