Samuel Kramer s Argument That The Ancient Civilization Of...

Samuel Kramer’s argument that the ancient civilization of Sumer and the modern-day world are â€Å"fundamentally analogous† (p. 250) is supported heavily throughout his literary work History Begins at Sumer, and has evidenced this from the social perspective, as well as from an institutional one. The first social comparison Kramer mentions is that of Juvenile Delinquency. Starting from page 14, Kramer describes a fathers point of view about this social disease and describe that his child is one of few who, rather than attend school, meet at the street corner and loiter. He continues, with the father expressing his anger. â€Å"I, night and day am tortured because you. Night and Day you waste in pleasures† (p. 17) is a perfect example of the parent’s emotions, and can be related to the modern household, for both the ancient parents and those of today focus on making sure their children rise to economic success. In Sumer, the father wishes his son to be like him, a scribe, and does not understand why the son doesn’t work towards that goal (p. 15). This contrasts with the modern family, where parents want children to, not only supplant them, but ascend to a higher economic position. Nevertheless, in today s world and that of the past, juveniles forming like-minded gangs prevails, and is but one example of comparison. Secondly, best described on page 11 of History Begins at Sumer, â€Å"apple-polishing† was yet another example used within Kramer’s argument. In 2016, many see the only way to