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://wwwprincetonedu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Collective_unconscioushtmland
http://wwwsonomaedu/users/d/daniels/Jungsumhtml
Joseph Campbell’s notion of the heroic monomyth (You do not
have to cover all 17 stages, just the major ones) See image
onhttps://adairjoneswordpresscom/2011/04/13/joseph-campbells-monomyth/
Claude Levi-Strauss’ reconciliation of opposites (Binary
opposition theory) Seehttps://prezicom/jiupfykltbne/levi-strauss-and-binary-opposites/
andhttp://wwwcitrinitascom/papers/research-update01/strausshtm
Mircea Eliade’s sacred versus profane, See
https://wwwyoutubecom/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