They frequently involve supernatural beings or events. Examples of myths include ‘Ancient Rome’ and ‘The myth of King Midas and his golden touch’. The Fairy Tale genre consists of old-style, fictional stories that are written for children and normally involve a variety of make-believe characters and creatures (e.g. fairies, elves, talking animals, giants or witches) and often a bit of magic as well. They usually describe a fanciful story line which often happened long, long ago.
1. How is the purpose of urban legends of today the same as that of folktales that have been passed down for generations?the way that these urban legends can in some ways serve a similar purpose is that it has always keeped people aware of what's around them. The fact that people have scene or even talked about things that may seem unreal, well that idea even to the non believers, would still be aware. 2. Explain how superstitions help humans deal with the fact that so many things in life are outside of their control.
The first mention of vampires in literature seeped through from European folklore. In the mid-1700s, a vampire panic swept the Serbian countryside. Victims reported being visited in the night by their recently deceased relatives or neighbors, who throttled the life from them. Those struck by these visions died within days. When panicked townspeople exhumed the offending corpses, they found "tell-tale" signs of vampirism: hair and nails that continued to grow after death, blood in the mouth, a lack of decomposition.
This parallels the idea of fear being incorporated within a myth by Armstrong. Armstrong suggests that a myth should either depict or show the overcoming of fears commonly held by its intended audience. She specifically mentions the most principle fear held by almost all humans as well as alluding to a wider range of fears by saying, “Mythology was therefore designed to help us to cope with the problematic human predicament” (Armstrong 6). In this quote, Armstrong highlights the need of a myth to help those who know of it cope with the “human predicament”. In this case Armstrong is speaking of death, however, this idea can be applied to any fear held in the hearts of those reading or creating a myth.
By doing this emotional scene, Pullman is alluding to the Odyssey. This proves that he was influenced by the epic when writing his own novel. It is clear by looking into Young Adult fiction, such as The Hunger Games and His Dark Materials, that authors have been influenced greatly by ancient materials. Myths were once an oral tradition that were then written down by authors such as Homer, so that they can now be remembered and used within literature. Whether it is that a whole series can be based off a myth, like The Hunger Games, or whether it is just a scene, like the land of the dead in the Amber Spyglass, it is clear that through myth ancient materials have influenced Young Adult fiction a great
Cohen suggests that every monster, villain, antagonist, or scary thing in a piece of writing, represents some major cultural issue that the world is facing at that time. Monsters are used to present the cultural problem as something that can be solved. Each of Cohen’s seven theses
Hell -- very abstract in nature -- is usually very vaguely defined. This is because the term finds itself stemming from a plethora of different individuals, cultures, and even religions. Even with all these different sources however; in most cases there is usually a strong correlation when it comes to the types of imagery associated with hell. It is usually described as a place of torture devices, darkness, and flames. Likewise in the play No Exit, the author Jean-Paul Sartre has his own interpretation of hell.
The way sad poems affect us makes us think of different ways it can be interpreted. Out of all the poems he has written to me this one creeps me out the most because the raven is like a constant reminder of how she was dead and now he is and is basically their gravestone. All in all Edgar Allan Poe was
Within the novel “Chronicle of a Death Foretold” it’s shown that the author uses symbolism through the setting of the book to make the novel more interesting and have a more significant or deeper meaning behind it. The author uses key symbols to let us readers know more than just what is on the lines in front of us. By using character’s names the author shows us the difference between how the character is personed versus how they actually act. The author also uses symbols through the setting like the weather or nature, like rivers, birds, and flowers to represent and sometimes even foreshadow
What is interesting however is the powerful threads of curiosity which run through even the earliest gothic adaptations and media. The mysterious atmosphere and implications of supernatural entities act alongside our aforementioned ‘morbid curiosity’ to create the intended effect of horror. Our unconscious curiosity then becomes a tool of terror, one that delights in playing with expectations and “…gives shape to concepts of the place of evil in the human mind…” (Mcandrew, 1979). Coupled with Švankmajer’s unique style and Walpole’s pioneering take on the gothic, we are greeted with a much more potent form of horror: one that unabashedly taps into the psyche and concepts of psychological terror which will be later discussed in this