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Mythic Histories, 2008.
This paper provides a critical analysis of 'Pocahontas' by Paula Gunn Allen and 'The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita' by John Thornton.
1,285 words (approx. 5.1 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 43.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer explores how, in "Pocahontas", Allen imbues her narrative representation of the life of Pocahontas with the qualities of the sacred. The thesis is argued that Allen, in keeping with the hybrid nature of her subject and the overarching American myth within which her subject is a critical figure, achieves her objectives by combining the narrative conventions of Indian oral traditions and mythic elements together with western narrative models and an anthropological understanding of myth. The paper further explains that this hybrid approach, as is seen with comparative reference to the story of Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, allows access to the multiple cultural perspectives necessary to understand these otherwise elusive and complex historical figures. From this perspective the paper shows how important an appreciation of the reality of the mythic can be in the comprehension of such women as Pocahontas and Dona Beatriz who would otherwise be alien and opaque to our western secular modes of analysis.
Outline:
Introduction
The Reality of Myth
The Importance of Being Hybrid
From the Paper
"In the realm of the strictly empirical as opposed to the mythic, Allen's hybrid narrative model yields insights into our understanding of her subject and the events of her time that would not otherwise be apparent. Consider, for example, the story of the initial contact between John Smith and the tsenacommacah of which our primary narrative perspective is a text of Smith's written years afterwards. Smith believed - understandably from his English perspective - that the young Pocahontas must have fallen in love with him, as this was the only explanation he could discern for her flinging herself upon his to save him from ritual execution at the hands of her father."
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The Mythic Hero, 2004.
Examines the importance of myths and the mythic hero in culture and society.
3,775 words (approx. 15.1 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 103.95
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Abstract
This paper begins with a discussion of the importance of mythic heroes to society and storytelling and how they serve to teach the principles that are valued within different cultures. The paper then describes the main attributes of mythic heroes and looks at some famous mythic heroes in literature that suit this description.
From the Paper
"Myths have served as cosmology and theology, as entertainment and as educational. They are actually all of these things and probably more. The myth is what the individual or the culture needs it to be. It is not the form that is important as much as the function: a way to experience and describe the mystical aspects of life; a means to understanding and explaining the scientific truths that have, at times, been beyond the abilities of science; to support and validate the social order; and to provide guidelines for living."
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Mythic Critical Analysis of "Time After Time", 2008.
This paper presents a mythic critical analysis of the film "Time After Time" (1979), directed by Nicholas Meyer and written by Karl Alexander and Steve Hayes.
1,059 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 37.95
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Abstract
The paper explores some of the ways in which the popular science fiction movie "Time After Time" (1979) expresses and unfolds its narrative in mythic terms. The paper defines the expressions "mythic criticism" and "the archetype" and shows how the film reveals more of a mythic substratum than its makers may even have intended. The paper concludes that the filmmakers of "Time After Time" have followed the lead of much science fiction by their innovative utilization of fact, fiction and fantasy to create a new myth for the scientific age.
From the Paper
"According to A Handbook to Literature, the critical perspective known as mythic criticism is defined as that "which explores the nature and significance of the archetypes and archetypal patterns in the work" (Harmon and Holman 136). In this context, myth can be defined as that which portrays "a projection of social patterns upward onto a superhuman level that sanctions and stabilizes the secular ideology" (338). The same definition goes on to explain that myths, among their other functions, "attempt to explain creation, divinity, and religion; to probe the meaning of existence and death; to account for natural phenomena; and to chronicle the adventures of cultural heroes" (338). In reference to the archetype, the same handbook defines this term as a "primordial image" which draws upon the "prelogical mentality" (subconscious) of the reader / viewer and is frequently encountered in myth and folklore (41)."
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Mythical Opposition in Western Film, 2007.
An analysis of John Belton's theories of the western movie genre, focusing on mythical opposition of nature and characters in the movie "Shane".
1,615 words (approx. 6.5 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 52.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the western movie genre. The paper specifically examines John Belton's theories in relation to how nature and the main character are engaged in mythological opposition using the 1953 movie "Shane." The paper describes the movie and discusses how the various scenes add to the theme of mythical opposition.
From the Paper
"Every good western movie has a final showdown. The final showdown symbolizes the final battle between the two opposing forces of the movie. In this case the Ryker gang symbolizes chaos and stands in the way of the march of civilization. The Ryker gang is as untamed as the forces of nature. In the final showdown of Shane the Ryker gang and the homesteaders Knight in shining armor come face to face. The scene takes place in a saloon and Shane is at first outnumbered. He stands very little chance of success, yet it feels compelled to continue because he feels that he must win this one for the homesteaders. The Ryker gang cannot prevail and continue with their reign of terror. Shame faces an enemy of mythological proportions and yet somehow manages to overcome them in the final scene."
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"Big Fish: A novel of Mythic Proportions "--Review, 2007.
A review of the short novel "Big Fish: A novel of Mythic Proportions", by Daniel Wallace.
1,684 words (approx. 6.7 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews Daniel Wallace's novel "Big Fish: A novel of Mythic Proportions" and highlights the elements of fantasy that are found in the work. The role of the fantastic is analyzed and it's impact is contrasted with the concrete and realistic outlooks of other characters in the novel. In particular, the paper focuses on the protagonist William and the depiction of his expedition to unravel the truth. The reviewer concludes that Wallace proves that words have the power to transform reality into a group of ideas that leave an impression that does not disappear.
From the Paper
"William's desire to understand his father through a staunch reality is never met in the novel, and there is a reason for this. Edward, even in his last days is trying to compel William to see the world through the eyes of fantasy, to make everything more meaningful. William wishes that Edward would speak the truth, rather than what he, as a boy and as an adult believes are his father's attempts to spin his life into fantasy to impress him, despite his long absence form his son's life. William gives the impression that he believes his father's stories are a fabrication that he has concocted, during long hours in lonely hotel rooms, while he traveled the south as a salesman. He seems not to believe, at first in any truth in the fantasy. "
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Mythical Symbolization, 2002.
How "The Comedy of Errors" brought out mythical symbolization of Greek animals.
650 words (approx. 2.6 pages), 3 sources, $ 26.95
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Abstract
This paper focuses on the theme of transformation in the "Comedy of Errors" brought out by the mythical representations of the Greek animals.
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Japanese History Documents, 2002.
Compares and analyzes two important documents which shed light on early Japanese history.
1,650 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 5 sources, $ 62.95
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Abstract
This paper examines two sets of Japanese documents: One from approximately 500 A. D. and one, a millennium later, from the Tokugawa shogunate. They are compared and contrasted. The earliest documents are mythical and religious in tone and the latter deals with the bureaucratization of society, particularly the Samurai class.
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"Troy": A Mythical Remake, 2006.
A review of the 2004 movie "Troy".
850 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 0 sources, $ 30.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews the mythic film "Troy" and compares it to Homer's "The Iliad", upon which it is loosely based. The paper discusses how the film bring to life mythical heroes and villains in a the great tale of love, war, loyalty, deception, honor, victory and defeat. The paper traces the love story between the beautiful Helen of Troy, who was originally the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and Prince Paris of Troy, who secretly takes Helen home to Troy with him after visiting King Menelaus in Sparta. The paper also asserts that while the movie is not a verbatim account of the book, it is true to its essential nature as a long, vivid, colorful tale about war and peace, and about human pride and foibles.
From the Paper
"The factuality of the events told within the Iliad itself remains debatable. For instance, historians still do not know if there really was a great Trojan war of the sort described in the Iliad, , or, if so, if such a war was really about love, jealousy, and revenge, or perhaps more likely in actuality, about commerce. The Trojan War, if it happened at all, may have just used the excuse of Helen's and Paris's illicit love to restart the same tired conflict between Troy and Mycenae Greece, after a brief respite. Based on historical, anthropological, and other research, there was in fact some sort of Trojan-Greek conflict at this time. Therefore, he Trojan War, as we know it through the Iliad, was not simply a figment of a blind man's rich poetic imagination."
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Rituals - Way of Mythical Life, 2002.
A look at the use of rituals in "The Story of the Grail" by De Chretien Tores.
1,400 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 1 source, $ 53.95
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Abstract
This paper takes the reader on a journey though time when it analyzes the function of ritual in "The Story of the Grail" by De Chretien Tores. The stories of mythical times continue to entice and fascinate readers even today. They are imaginations candy and a way to escape to the world in which magic exists and superpowers are the norm. The story of Perceval and the Grail is an especially touching one.
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Mythical Components of Medieval Travel Literature, 2000.
An explanation for the fantastical components of medieval travel literature.
2,460 words (approx. 9.8 pages), 7 sources, $ 74.95
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From the Paper
"To the modern person many of the claims made by the writers of medieval travel literature seem completely outlandish and impossible to believe. The truth is, however, we have a society that has been pretty much isolated from contact with the majority of the world for a fairly long period of time. The peasants of these small hamlets would never venture outside their village for their entire life. Generation after generation of these people tilled the same soil and lived in the same home for hundreds of years and never saw anything even the slightest bit out of the ordinary for these incredibly prolonged periods of time. Therefore, when the first crusaders returned from the east describing things such as camels or travellers to India describing elephants and other such animals that are not normally found in Europe, we have the medieval persons idea of their world being changed dramatically. If such incredible creatures can exist, then why not the people with one gigantic foot that they use to shade themselves from the sun, as represented in the most important Travel literature of the period, the writings of Sir John Mandeville."
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Characteristics of Oral and Mythic Literature, 2004.
This paper analyzes four North American Indian myths to determine how much they illustrate characteristics of myths and legends.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 55.95
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Abstract
In this paper, four North American Indian myths are analyzed to define the extent to which they illustrate characteristics of myths and legends. The paper brings the theory of the use of language as myth.
From the Paper
"Characteristics of Oral and Mythic Literature. Before the invention of writing, the only means of recording human events apart from visual representations, was in stories, myths or legends that were memorized and recited orally to listeners. The universal classics of literature known as the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" created several thousand years ago by the blind Greek poet Homer, were almost certainly recited or chanted and only written down at a much later date."
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"One Hundred Years of Solitude", 2006.
Examines violence, history and suppression of memory as metaphors in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
1,580 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
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Abstract
Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez's fantastical masterpiece of magic realism, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (1967), chronicles the long, colorful, violent, repetitive and ultimately tragic history of the Buendia family of the mythical town of Macondo, an imaginary locale apparently based on Garcia Marquez's own small home town of Aracataca, Colombia. This paper suggests ways in which violence and suppression of memory within the story serve to create future cycles of violence (and future loss of memory), thereby symbolically illustrating the maxim that those (like the Buendias) who forget history shall be doomed to repeat it. The paper also suggests that the novel in many ways parallels the history of the Latin American nation of Colombia itself, and, in a broader sense, of all Latin American nations, especially in the sense of the modern domination of them by outside forces.
From the Paper
"One Hundred Years of Solitude is a tale of groups, communities, and nations: that is, a collective, rather than an individual, story and metaphor. Toward that end and in that respect, this novel is not written, as are most North American and European novels, from a perspective of just one narrator, or "hero", but rather, from the perspectives of multiple individuals having the same experience, a sort of amalgamated, chorus of generations, in which significances are determined not individually and personally, but collectively and through comparison and consensus."
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Myths and American Culture, 2007.
An examination of the cultural connections between the "myth of the cowboy" and the "myth of origins" in American cultural history.
1,159 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the "myth of the cowboy" and the "myth of origins" in American cultural history. It specifically focuses on the cultural connection between the two myths. The paper argues that these two mythic narratives may be seen to be fundamentally identical in that their narrative elements and ultimate purpose are to justify the expansion and assertion of Euro-American power in the New World.
From the Paper
"In conclusion, it is clear that the "cowboy myth" is a potent cultural construction that - while distinct from the "myths of origin" in terms of time frame - nonetheless may be seen to be intimately related to these myths in how it justifies the extension of European settlement and authority over North America. The myths together effectively displace the Aboriginal First Nations of the continent from their historical role as the first settlers of these lands, and thus achieves on the level of cultural history what European power achieved on the landscape of the continent itself: the displacement and marginalization of Aboriginal culture. In this way, we can see how cultural narratives, while not even historically valid, can possess enormous power to create meanings and determine how we understand our histories and ourselves."
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"The Cherry Orchard", 2002.
An examination of mythical concepts in Anton Chekhov?s masterpiece "The Cherry Orchard".
1,157 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 0 sources, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how "The Cherry Orchard" is not a mythical play in the standard gothic sense. Instead, the mythic within this play is something that can be understood and observed though the viewing of said work. The Cherry Orchard is haunted. The writer discusses how the play is haunted by ghosts of the past. These ghosts which live within the mansion and indeed within the orchard itself manifest themselves in the characters who are both fighting to hold onto the past and those who are battling to move forward into the future.
From the Paper
"All of the characters within the work are motivated by the ghosts of the past, but there are two characters which stand out as being moved by them. The first is Ranevsky and the second is Lopahin. Ranevsky is haunted by the need to hold onto the orchard. She lost her son in a drowning at the orchard and this is one of the ghosts which haunts the place. She believes that she must hold onto it because of the value to her family. The place has history for her. But it also haunts her. In her heart she wishes that she were not so bound by the place."
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The Myth of Western Outlaw Johnny Ringo, 2006.
An analysis of the life of mythic hero, Johnny Ringo.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the mythic hero, Johnny Ringo, defined as such because Western frontier society admired perceived gunfighter traits such as courage, self-reliance, ambition and individualism. According to the paper, the real man possessed these traits to a certain extent, but he was not the heroic figure many of his contemporaries and twentieth-century movies and TV Westerns made him out to be. Like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and other gunfighters of the Old West, he became a symbolic hero of a Western frontier culture that never really existed. It further reports that the true story of Johnny Ringo can be ascertained by examining Internet websites such as Johnny Ringo.com, where the factual history of his life is available.
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