...We all know what stories and myths are but what some of us might not know is that many stories and myths have meanings behind them. Stories as well as myths teach us a lot about ourselves, the stages of our life and many other different things. Toni Morrison and Leslie Marmon Silko both provide stories which provide guidance and meaning to the characters and to the community. In The Power of Myth, Campbell states “Mythology teaches you what's behind literature and the arts, it teaches you about your own life”(15). Campbell explains to us myths aren't just myths, they can teach us many things about our own life. We can all learn something from a story or myth. Stories can be told to find importance or meaning behind them and they can also...
Words: 1396 - Pages: 6
...Classics 101 May 3rd, 2013 Myth in The Republic After railing against myths many of the books of The Republic, Plato ironically chooses to end his masterpiece on justice with a myth. The story concerns the hero Er and what he has seen in the underworld regarding how human souls choose their lot in life. Plato uses this myth as a way to illuminate three main concepts that all relate back to the dialogues. The first is that it is a means to a guiding principle, a story that might frame an individuals understanding. It also proves that not only is justice attainable it is worthy pursuit. Ultimately the myth culminates in a validation of philosophy as the most honorable earthly pursuit. The myth is a guiding principle, an ever-constant reminder. After nine long books covering a plethora of topics, Plato breaks everything down to a simple story that is able to illuminate the conversation in a succinct way. In a myth, major life questions can be broken down into short, memorable stories. The reason it does this is because the story evokes emotion; the dialogues evoke thought. As a listener of this myth the reader is able to sympathize, pity and rejoice along with the characters of the story. As an reader of the dialogues, the reader is merely a contemplative observer. The emotions reinforce the ideas that are being brought out in the dialogues. The powerful emotions are brought out in this myth by the very first anecdote. The common man in his rush to pick a favorable fate...
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...I think that the word “myth” means something legendary or traditional. Some people say “it’s a myth” because they don’t think that it is true. According to www.dictionary.reference.com, it states that “a myth is something that is a traditional or legendary story that is told to others”. Myths are also things that people don’t think that is true or real and want to prove it. To me, I think that the word “myth” means something legendary as I explained in the beginning. Some things that people claim to be a myth goes as following: the Greek Gods, the loch ness monster, and La Llorona. Myths come in all different types of cultures because it depends on what you believe. Some of the most common mythological themes that come across the different cultures would be: Arabian, Armenian, Celtic, Christian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hindu, Islamic, Japanese, and many more. According to www.bibliotecapleyades.net, it states “there are more than just two types of cultures. There are many more than you can imagine”. People just think there are only a few types of mythology, when different types of cultures have their own style. The relationship between belief, knowledge, mythology, and religion is somewhat tied together. Knowledge is something that consists of acquired information, such as facts, truths, stories, etc. Belief is the assertion that something is true without having necessary proof, evidence, or facts to back it up. A myth is a fictional story, usually with a hero or an event, often...
Words: 297 - Pages: 2
...World Mythology HUM105 08/12/2015 Prof. Lester Lopez Nieves Foundations of Mythology Mythology is in my opinion if not a well-known subject it is by far a very much talked about subject. Everyone I know I know always has different type of opinion or ways of seeing what exactly mythology is. Well, know I get the chance to further my knowledge and understand a little more about what mythology is exactly and have my own opinion about it. After reading the chapters and analyzing them the word myth is defined in my words as some type a story, maybe even a special story that concerns early history of some people or some type of explaining of a social or natural phenomenon. In my opinion it involves supernatural things or events. So, the statement "It's a myth" can mean different things to different people. To me it means something that is maybe unexplainable or not real, but to other it may mean some type of historic event that were told when they were children and to this day believe it is true. If I were to describe "myths" in my own words I will say that myths is something that we grow up with. Where I am from they taught me about "El chupacabra", this in Puerto Rico means some kind of animal that lives in the woods and eats cows. In some other understanding I will say it sometimes means history of our ancestors that many times we find them hard to believe. In the world we live in today we have so many different sets of minds and different...
Words: 1057 - Pages: 5
...Mackey How is the word myth used popularly? For a long time I avoided using the word myth because it means so many different things to different people. Academic experts on myth debate heatedly about what a myth is and how it functions in human life. In fact, with so many conflicting meanings and so much debate, some scholars have declared the word meaningless and abandoned it altogether. (Word press 2014) For example, what does the statement, "It's a myth" mean? “Myth” is derived from the Greek word mythos, which can mean tale, or story, and that is essentially what a myth is: a story. For many, such a general definition proves to be of no real service, and some would add the qualification that a myth must be a “traditional” tale or story, one that has proved of so lasting a value that it is continually retold, through whatever medium the artist/storyteller chooses to employ. In contrast, how is the word myth used in the academic context? Myth is used in many ways and is something to keep you thinking and on your toes. It’s used to look at things different ways like the most recent dress that was going on line, is the dress blue and black or white and gold? Just from asking most of my friends and family it was just about 50/50. Now you have to ask yourself what is the real color. After considering the definition in your textbooks and course materials, write a definition in your own words? To me a myth is something made up but can be very real and has...
Words: 813 - Pages: 4
...American Dream As a Myth Erica Rideout HUMN240-F1WW Professor Deborah Rosenstock July 7, 2012 The myth of the American Dream does not have to be taught or learned. Growing up in America, it is imbedded in our minds at a young age that America has it all. American is the land of opportunity and allows its citizens to work hard and gain an uncapped amount of success. However, it is more apparent that this “dream” has transformed into a myth over the several years since its creation. Once upon a time, America was seen as the place to gain opportunity and success. However, as times continue to change, this vision of the dream continues to slip out of American’s hands and more into the mind as a myth. The major component of the myth of the American Dream is a simple one. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. Our American ancestors have fought for freedom and gained it allowing fellow Americans endless opportunities that can lead to great success. These opportunities do not just end with Americans; they are extended to all nationalities that come to America with hopes of living the so called American Dream. Although the American Dream may just be a myth, it definitely gives people hope. Most times, that hope is enough to lead to the drive and determination necessary to reach some level of the American Dream. There are several artifacts that help display the myth of the American Dream. Two artifacts that I have chosen are relevant to views...
Words: 978 - Pages: 4
... June 5, 2014 Sharon Worley A myth is used popularly when it is used in a story or a fact is a legend. Something that is factually true. A myth "Does my butt look big in these?"( Stan Rogal 2006). The word myth can be used to dismiss another culture or belief if it is truer than another’s. It’s a myth means that, something that people believe to be true but isn’t. Something that people will say when telling and explaining something to you wanting you to believe them and think that it is a true fact. A myth is sometimes used as an explanatory narrative to describe how things mysteriously happen in stories and religions. It somehow explains how the world is how it is. The word myth is used in the academic context in a variety of academic setting; its main purpose is to analyze different cultures and their ways of thinking. Within the academic setting, a myth is known as a true fact and over time has been changed within the society. A definition of myth in my own words would be made up stories that explain the existence of different cultures with different religious beliefs from people. Some myths can be legendary stories or just traditional about an event or super hero. I believe different cultures address similar themes as a way to explain a culture's origin and history. For decades myths have been passed on and have become an integral part of many cultures. It is much more likely that myths were perhaps important to us and used throughout the different...
Words: 818 - Pages: 4
...word myth used popularly? For example, what does the statement, “It’s a myth” mean? In contrast, how is the word myth used in the academic context? After considering the things in the definition in your textbooks and course materials, write a definition in your own words. The word myth is used in stories told people don’t know if the stories told are true or not. My personal belief is that a myths can be both true and not true tales. My reason for this because things in the area that happened more than fifty years ago or longer could be turned into false information after the years and years of being restated, no one knows because this area has happened so long ago in time. Myths are stories that were passed on from one generation to the next one its fiction and non -fiction. Myth is used in academic context as being an explanatory narrative, & illustrates how people should act and the existing social order. They are collectively authored and are created by people traditions and oral traditions are told and retold over time. My definition of myth is something that has reason for it could be true or untrue depending on the topic; you just have to use logic to determine the truth of the quote or statement. * Why do myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes? Think about how myths explain the unknown and the tribulations of mankind. The reasoning why myths from other cultures are similar is because of their story lines...
Words: 808 - Pages: 4
...method for clarifying the world from their own particular perspective. Along these lines, there is to be perceived a separation in each society's perspective of the world and, as Joseph Campbell expressed in his book Myths to Live By, a sure "solidarity of our species." The characterizing contrasts and similarities between most societies can particularly be found in every society's close to home story of creation. The story of Genesis in the Bible, for instance, could give a lot of knowledge into the comprehension of the world in the brains of a noteworthy part of the United States today. As talked about in Genesis: A Living Conversation, the maker, God, in this section of the book of scriptures, is seen regularly by numerous Americans as a parental figure, and in contrasting this creation story with others, for example, the Greek story of creation by Hesiod and the Zuni myth of rise, one would be connecting the myths of three human advancements as well as the most essential thoughts of these three civic establishments. In this article, I will thoroughly analyze the creation stories of the Bible, the Zuni, and Hesiod through their topics of the primordial void before creation, the fall of mankind into what we now know, and the female central. In numerous myths of creation, there is the real trick of a period before time and/or space and/or request – a thought of nothingness before something goes along to set things in movement. The primary sentence of Genesis states "At the...
Words: 1506 - Pages: 7
...famous story about the Trojan horse. This paper will show why I believe that sometimes myths may not be merely myths at all, but may actually have more validity to them than one may think. These so called myths should not be so easily dismissed and I will try to explain why I truly believe this. The mysteries concerning these stories are the basis of the Homeric tales, the Odysseus, and the Iliad, written by a man whom history calls Homer, but no one is even sure if this was his name or maybe even his profession. There are many theories surrounding this alone. Many claim that he was a blind man and may be a descendent of singer, story tellers. Before Homer, epic stories were memorized and then sung. These were in fact true accounts of history, not like songs that are sung today. The Homeric stories are some of the oldest written stories of all time, (dating back to around 800 B.C.E.). The Trojan War is believed, (by scholars), to have taken place between 1800 and 1300 B.C.E., but the first written accounts were not written until, some five centuries later, after the Greeks adopted the Phoenician writing system. Stories, until then, had been handed down by word of mouth. The Homeric tales are tales of love, of soldiers, of vengeance, of war, of interplay of the Divine and the mundane, of human behavior, of interplay between the Divine and the mundane, of heroes, and of the ultimate deceit. Although, scholars of today have many reservations concerning these stories, one thing...
Words: 1390 - Pages: 6
...the year! In the U.S. an estimate 17 to 21 million people suffer from a fear of Friday the 13th. There has been myths told, one of those many myths are that if you cut your hair on Friday 13th someone in your family will die. In my perspective the myths & all of that is not true. There have but stories and accidents that have happened on Friday the 13th that were tragic and were myths. Following into myths some of the tragic ones were if you break a mirror on Friday the 13th, you will have seven years of bad luck, leading to if a child is born Friday the 13th...
Words: 936 - Pages: 4
...definition of myth: “a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially: one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society.” Poignantly, this definition does not include the common correlation between myth and falsification. While myth may include ostensible histories or exaggerated events, falsification is not crucial nor significant in the creation of myth. Whether or not a culture’s myth relies on scientific or historical fact is irrelevant to the core of its application. A culture’s myth or belief is vital in the realm of their world view, stresses, and precedencies, not its...
Words: 1858 - Pages: 8
...Sindhuja Muppa November 21, 2013 Writing Workshop Mythology “Myths are common stories at the root of our universal existence” (Seger). In the essay written by Scott Russell Sanders, "The Men We Carry in Our Minds" discusses Sander’s perspective on men in comparison to the impression that women carry in their minds. The essay, “Creating the Myth” by Linda Seger shows on how stories are based on our own life experiences. Sander’s argument about how the impressions of men or women are based on ones life experiences relates to Seger’s depiction of myths through the use of rhetorical questions and dialogue. Primarily, Sander uses rhetorical questions in order to discuss how ones life experiences illustrates stories of myths. Sander addresses about when he experienced a situation where he met women telling him men have plenty of joy and privileges. He writes, “and for the first time I met women who told me that men are guilty of having kept all the joys and privileges of the earth for themselves. I was baffled. What privileges? What joys?” (Sander 229). Sander is shocked to find out that women feel that way about men. It is an amusing statement to assume that men have certain stereotypical characteristics in society because it is not necessarily true that woman cannot do some things similar to men. Life responsibilities are equally made for everyone. Sander disagrees and pushes back to how much of a struggle men have to go through in life, equally as women. These questions enable...
Words: 681 - Pages: 3
...to each of the following: * How is the word myth used popularly? For example, what does the statement, “It’s a myth” mean? In contrast, how is the word myth used in the academic context? After considering the definition in your textbooks and course materials, write a definition in your own words. The word myth is used in popularly when someone is telling or speaking of something or someone that is not real or is not telling the truth. It does not matter if it is only a little or a lot. Stories that seem to be too be true. For example my mom used to tell me that I had it good. Back when she was growing up in South Philly, she had to walk 20 miles to school (10miles each way)in snow that came up to her chest with her big brother shoes with no hat or gloves. When she left out it was dark and when by time she got home it was dark. When I would complain about having to walk to the bus stop in the winter time, or how cold it was at the time. * Why do myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes? Think about how myths explain the unknown and the tribulations of mankind. Myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes because believe it or not everyone around the world goes thru some of the same things. They may be on different levels some more serious than others or even easier, however in some way we all doing the same things, it is just that the culture may be a little different. We...
Words: 701 - Pages: 3
...of an other-than-human class. Myths about natural objects play a critical role because their stories tell of these natural objects as characters, such as the sun and the Winds, that reinforces their other-than-human class (which is not always characterized as “human” form). In some cases, such as the myth of the Thunder Birds, these beings in other-than-human classes may be animals (which in this case, took on the human form through metamorphosis to marry the set of brothers)....
Words: 685 - Pages: 3
