Week 15 Lab: Overview of Mythology

(Source)

What Is Myth? Crash Course World Mythology #1

• Finding a definition for myth is difficult
• Nonetheless, here is the definition:
• A myth is a special kind of story that has two primary characteristics: significance and staying power
• Significance: Subject matter is about something important, such as how the world works, how it got going, or how things came to be
• Staying Power: Survived over a long period of time such as centuries or even millennia
• Persephone myth: Explains the seasons, relating to plant and harvest cycles to the events of immortals

Theories of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #12

• Plato - Equated myths with lying
• Tertullian and Clement - Greek and Roman myths were influenced by demons to prepare their listeners for the story of Jesus and to provide contrast between Jesus and the Pagan gods
• Sir James Frazier - Myths are primitive science. The wills of deities, people, and animals are related to physical laws and biological processes (Events that can't be explained by physics are caused by gods)
• Freud and Jung - Myths come from the human unconscious and mythical characters are projections of that unconscious
• Freud - People create myths as a way of dealing with harsh realities
• Jung - Different parts of the world create similar mythic characters because they are representations of a certain person's psyche

The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25

• We are all heroes struggling to accomplish our adventure, engaging in a series of struggles to improve ourselves and find our place in society
• Three parts to the hero's journey:
• Part One: Separation
• Starts with a call to adventure and ends with crossing from the real world to the fictional world
• Part Two: Trials and Victories of Initiation
• Hero starts changing into the person they're destined to become
• Part Three: Return
• Hero reintegrates with society, figuring out how they can be accepted by society after their newfound enlightenment

Bibliography
What Is Myth? Crash Course World Mythology #1 by CrashCourse
Theories of Myth: Crash Course World Mythology #12 by CrashCourse
The Hero's Journey and the Monomyth: Crash Course World Mythology #25 by CrashCourse

Reading Notes: Czech Fairy Tales, Part B

(The ogre)

• A father, who was very rich, told his son Francis about Misery in the world. His son, who had been stuck at home all his life, got curious and wanted to meet Misery. So he left home and went out into the world
• As long as Francis had enough money, he couldn't meet Misery
• Eventually all of his money was gone and he had to rely on other people for help
• He traveled some more and came upon a country that was unfamiliar to him. It had a big desert and Francis walked for a long time. He became hungry and thirsty but there was no water in sight
• Then he came upon a staircase that went down into a hole, and so he went down the stairs
• He came upon a cellar with a man sleeping on a table. It was an awfully big man who looked like an ogre
• Francis looked around and saw a bunch of human bones on the ground, determining the ogre was a man-eater
• Francis tried to get out but he was crippled by anxiety and was frozen in place. Instead, he took out his dagger and used it to poke out the ogre's eyes. The ogre sprang up and found that he was completely blind
• Then Francis ran and the ogre chased after him. Even though the ogre was blind, he knew the place well so he kept up with Francis
• The orge commended Francis and told him he would give him a reward for getting the better of him. So the ogre threw a ring at Francis. Francis picked up the ring and put it on his finger
• Once he put it on, the ogre called out to the ring, "Where are you?" The ring answered back, "Here I am."
• This went on for a while until Francis got tired. He tried to pull the ring off his finger but it clung tight, digging into his flesh
• Finally, the ogre got so close that Francis stretched out the finger and the ogre gripped it and broke it off. Francis lost his finger but escaped with his life
• He went back home and his parents asked him if he met Misery. He said he did. It was awful and nothing to joke about

Bibliography
The Man Who Met Misery: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis

Reading Notes: Czech Fairy Tales, Part A

(The basilisk)

• One day a mother went to the market far away in another town. She asked each of her three daughters what they wanted. One of them had an unusual request; she wanted three roses
• On her way back from the market, the day turned into evening and the mother got lost in the forest. She wandered around until she came upon a palace
• At the palace was a garden full of beautiful roses. She forgot to get roses for her daughter at the market so she took the roses from the garden
• Then a basilisk demanded one of her daughters in exchange for the roses that she plucked. He even threatened to kill her. So she promised to give one of her daughters to the basilisk and went back home
• She gave the roses to her daughter and told her she has to go to the castle in payment for them. Surprisingly, the daughter didn't mind and was ok with it. So the mother took her to the castle
• The basilisk told Mary she would have to nurse him in her lap for three hours every day. She did just that for two days. On the third day, the basilisk brought a sword and told Mary to cut his head off
• Mary refused at first, but the basilisk told her he would kill her if she refused. So she agreed and cut his head off
• Then he formed a new head, the body of a serpent. He told her to cut off his head again and she did
• Then the basilisk turned into a beautiful young boy. He said the castle belonged to him and she must marry him. So she did and they lived happily ever after

Bibliography
The Three Roses: The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis

Week 14 Lab: TED Talks About Stories and Storytelling

(Source)

The Danger of a Single Story

• A single story in this context is describing a group of people to be a certain way. This story is repeated over and over and different viewpoints are dismissed
• Stories that are too similar and don't have variety can give a false, singular impression of what the world is like. Variety is needed to cover perspectives from all kinds of different sources
• Publishers are hesitant to publish stories that are different from the common narrative
• Power is the driver behind who tells the story, what the story is, how often it's told, and other important factors
• Stories focus on how we are different instead of how we're similar

Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences

• Humans spend way too much time on fictional stories
• Why? We form connections and relate with fictional characters
• Logically, we know that we don't have a relationship with fictional characters but we have a subconscious feeling that they're real
• A study showed that people would be more sad if the fictional character they had a strong connection to died than a real person who they didn't have a connection to
• What matters is how close someone is to a person, not whether or not they're real
• Pro to having connections with fictional characters: Strengthens empathy
• Con: Consuming the same type of media can prevent the opportunity to form connections with people outside of our known circle

Bibliography
The Danger of a Single Story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Imaginary Friends and Real-World Consequences by Jennifer Barnes

Reading Notes: Italian Fairy Tales, Part B

(The son after he became the Pope. Source)

• A father had a son who went to school for ten years.
• When he could no longer go to school, the father held a celebration for his son where he invited the most noble gentlemen of the country
• They asked the son what he learned from school, and the son replied that he learned the language of the animals
• They laughed at him and make fun of him and his father. His embarrassed father then ordered servants to kill him. The servants told the father they killed his son but they let him escape
• The son fled and came upon a castle with a treasurer. Shortly after a lot of dogs came to the castle. The treasurer asked the son why and the son said that it meant a hundred assassins were going to attack the castle that night. Sure enough, the assassins came and they were easily caught. The treasurer asked for the son to marry his daughter but he declined and said he would be back in a year and three days
• After leaving the treasurer's castle, he came upon a city where the king's daughter was sick. The son found out that it was being the frogs at a nearby fountain kept croaking, and they were croaking because the princess threw her cross into their fountain. After the cross was removed, the king asked the son to marry his daughter. He declined and said he would be back in a year and three days
• After leaving the king's city, he came upon Rome and found three companions. One day, a giant flock of birds came to them and sang loudly. One of them asked why the birds were singing so joyfully, to which the son replied that they are rejoicing the new Pope which is one of them. The son is the one who became the Pope
• After becoming the pope, he sent for his father, the treasurer, and the king. The Pope revealed his identity to his father and said that he tried to have him killed for knowing the language of the animals while the treasurer and king were very grateful for the son's knowledge
• The father apologized and the son accepted his apology

Bibliography
Italian Popular Tales: The Language of Animals by Thomas Frederick Crane

Reading Notes: Italian Fairy Tales, Part A

(The serpent stuck under the rock. Source)

• A hunter, passing by a quarry, saw a serpent stuck underneath a large rock.
• The serpent wanted the hunter to free him but the hunter said no because the serpent would eat him. Serpent promised that he wouldn't eat the hunter so the hunter let him free. Serpent was about to eat him, saying hunger doesn't observe promises, when hunter asked him if he would still eat him if he had no right. The serpent said no he wouldn't, and so they went to find three judges
• First they found a greyhound, who says the serpent should eat him because the greyhound's master wishes to kill him because he is too old and can't help catch hares for his master anymore
• Second they found a horse, who says the serpent should eat him because the horse can no longer travel and his master wishes to kill him
• Third they found a fox. Fox gets everyone to go back to the quarry to reenact the situation
• After they put the stone on the serpent, the fox asks if that is how the serpent was. Serpent says yes, and fox says to stay there

Bibliography
Italian Popular Tales: The Man, the Serpent, and the Fox by Thomas Frederick Crane

Reading Notes: English Fairy Tales, Part B

(Foxy-woxy waiting in the cave to eat the others. Source)

• Henny-penny was out in the cornyard when suddenly something hit her on the head. She thought to herself that the sky must be falling so she needed to go tell the king
• On the way, she met Cocky-locky. When Cocky-locky asked where she was going, Henny-penny told her, and she joined Henny-penny to see the king
• On their way, they met Ducky-daddles. When Ducky-daddles asked where they were going, Henny-penny and Cocky-locky told her, and she joined them to see the king
• On their way, they met Goosey-poosey. When Goosey-poosey asked where they were going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles told her, and she joined them to see the king
• On their way, they met Turkey-lurkey. When Turkey-lurkey asked where they were going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey told her, and she joined them to see the king
• On their way, they met Foxy-woxy. When Foxy-woxy asked where they were going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey told him.
• Then Foxy-woxy told them of a better way to see the king so they followed him
• They came upon a narrow and dark hole which, unknown to the others, was the door of Foxy-woxy's cave. Foxy-woxy told them he would go in first and told the others to follow after him
• Foxy-woxy went into his cave, and after not going very far, turned around to wait on the others
• First Turkey-lurkey went in, and soon after Foxy-woxy snapped his head off and threw his body behind him
• Second, Goosey-poosey went in, and soon after Foxy-woxy snapped his head off and threw his body behind him
• Third, Ducky-daddles went in, and soon after Foxy-woxy snapped his head off and threw his body behind him
• Fourth, Cocky-locky went in. When Foxy-woxy hurt Cocky-locky but didn't kill him, he called out and warned Henny-penny
• So Henny-penny ran home and never told the king the sky was falling

Bibliography
English Fairy Tales: Henny-Penny by Joseph Jacobs