Myth Paper 2
First, write a 750-1,000-word letter to a younger relative or one of your children that explains one or several aspects of your life story, personality, biography, or family life in the form of a myth that could be explored using one of the theories of mythology below:
- Carl Jung's archetypes and the collective unconscious Seehttps://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Collective_unconscious.htmland http://www.sonoma.edu/users/d/daniels/Jungsum.html
- Joseph Campbell's notion of the heroic monomyth (You do not have to cover all 17 stages, just the major ones) See image onhttps://adairjones.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/joseph-campbells-monomyth/
- Claude Levi-Strauss' reconciliation of opposites (Binary opposition theory) Seehttps://prezi.com/jiupfykltbne/levi-strauss-and-binary-opposites/ andhttp://www.citrinitas.com/papers/research-update01/strauss.htm
- Mircea Eliade's sacred versus profane, See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YrHgjIgAdQ
You will have to learn one of these theories to complete this paper. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions, or if you found another resource and don't know if it's a good one.
The trick here is to mythologize part of your life. In other words, write a myth that could be interpreted using one of the above theories. For instance, give each of the different parts of your personality different names and characters and tell a story about them (Jung). Or, relate a difficult episode in your life by using the stages of Campbell's heroic monomyth. Or, talk about how the opposite parts of your life, your personality, or your background are incorporated and reconciled within you by telling a story about those opposite parts using symbolic characters (Levi-Strauss). Or, talk about those things in your life that are sacred and about those that are profane, perhaps using different symbols or characters again (Eliade).
Then, write a one-paragraph interpretation of your myth using your chosen theory. Do NOT forget this part!
I realize this is not an easy assignment, but see what you can do, and don't be afraid to have some fun. The point of this assignment is to see how something from your life can be a kind of myth or be represented by mythological characters, and then to apply a method of mythology to that aspect. If you are unsure of your approach, do not hesitate to contact me.
Your paper should be about 750-1000 words long.
Grading Rubric
- Did I pay attention to all instructions? Did I choose one of the four theories, write in letter form, upload in the correct format, use the correct length, put my name on the document? = 2 points
- Is my writing clear and well organized? Is the story I have chosen relevant to the task at hand? = 2 points
- Did I do something creative with it by mythologizing a personality, a life story, etc? Does my narrative sound like a myth or does it just sound like a story? Did I do something interesting and creative and still make it understandable? = 4 points
- Did I apply the theory I relied upon to my personal narrative? In this application paragraph, have I shown that I understand the theory? Is my application of the theory clear and concise? Or is my understanding of the theory a little fuzzy?) = 4 points
- Have I spelled things correctly, used proper grammar, used an appropriate tone for my audience, written to my audience's level of understanding? = 3 points
11 years ago 15
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