Mythological Entry #2


DAY 1 — Aug. 30, 2018

[11:10AM–12:30PM]

Today’s class we went over the five biggest questions that humans tend to ask about the world. There was a big list of questions that everyone came up with and the mass result was “What is my purpose in life?/ Why were humans created?”. The discussion then resulted in everyone’s thoughts on who created us and the reasons as to why that divine power did so. These are both hard questions to talk about as a whole because not everyone believes in the same religion and some are not religious at all. So because of this, there will NEVER be a concrete answer and will continue to remain in the air although those who go hard for their religion will try their best to prove to anyone why they believe so. I feel like this is another big reason why schools (excluding religious schools — Christian,Catholic, etc.) do not like to intertwine religion with any theories or subjects. It would just be too hard trying to explain your belief in God to someone who has believed in Buddha their whole life, and although you do share that one higher power in common, it’s still not entirely the same. Therefore, the question pertaining to if God is real or not and who created us and why, is a question that has indefinite answers and in the end, you have to choose the one that you best believe whether or not that’s what you were brought up believing.


DAY 2— Sept. 4, 2018

(Day 3 — Sept. 5, 2018)

*For this section, I will combine Day 2 with Day 3 because we discussed certain stuff in class and then the following day, I added on my opinion to each topic. To make this flow, I wanted to have my thought directly following the topic, so they are all stated underneath the bullet points (if I deemed it necessary to add more input into the topic), but I will add parentheses with the time prior to each statement related to Day 3.

[11:10AM–12:30PM]

We weren’t expected to do any readings before class, so today we talked about “How do we experience/participate in stories & myths (beyond just hearing/reading/seeing them)?”. The four topics used for today’s discussion was Easter/ Thanksgiving, Star Wars, and the Trojan Cycle, however, there are more stories that can be used for this specific question. Starting with Easter, to answer the given question, the class as a whole brainstormed to come up with the fact that most people:

  • Go to church and wear Sunday best (pastel colors & purple) where prayer occurs~ thought/affirmation.

(5:40PM-8:00 PM) My grandparents were very religious which meant going to church every Sunday and dressing up even more than the usual for Palm Sunday and Christmas. Dr. Sandridge noted that on Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), people tend to lean towards light, pastel colors when choosing what to wear, and he is completely accurate! This is something I actually never thought about nor do I understand the significance of, because what’s the correlation between my outfit and whatever holiday it is (besides Halloween). How does my outfit make any type of difference to what the preacher will say during his sermon? Also, usually the pastor will wear purple, but him doing so actually has meaning related to the Crucifixion/ Ressurection story. Anyways, to this day I still have no definite answer as to why we do the things we do, but I believe that it is has just become tradition — something that people have just been doing for so long now without question that it comes as a societal norm.

  • Egg hunt for kids~ bunnies/eggs represent life, Easter is in spring which is known as the season for new beginnings/life

(5:40PM- 8:00PM) Another topic that commonly takes places around Easter time, but I am completely unaware of its relation to the storyline. As a child, I never sought to ask myself why do we egg hunt, because I was merely infatuated with the goodies that were inside of the eggs. However, Dr. Sandridge revealed that bunnies and eggs represent life — which in the story, Jesus is brought back to life (resurrected) after he is crucified on the cross. His resurrection signifies the start of a new life for all sinners. So this idea of an egg hunt is actually a cuter idea now that I know it has a special meaning, and I feel like all people/places who host this event should explain to everybody participating why they are doing what they are doing. My professor also shed light on the fact that Easter is in spring, which is primarily known as the season for new beginnings or life. I knew spring was the season where everything starts blooming and the world looks like life is finally being drained back into it after so much death, but I never directly correlated this story with the season so that was a great observation.

  • Brunch or Dinner~ certain foods~ preparation, Social bonding
  • Plays~ reenactment of stories

(5:40PM-8:00PM) I do not have much to say regarding this topic but many children participate in reenactment of stories, whether it be the Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas story. However, I do wonder if at that age any of them are actually thinking about the meaning of the story, because I think for the kids as well as most parents, it’s merely an act of entertainment.

All of these in a sense are leaned towards tradition because from what I can remember, egg hunting and going to church following a Sunday brunch or early dinner with family has always been something that my family does each year. But I do know that this was not the case for my mother. She was born and raised in the West Indies and egg hunting was not something that she was familiar with until she came to the United States. Once I was born, along with my little brother, she then immersed in this cultural tradition of looking for colorful eggs filled with candies inside of them. The next topic discussed in class was Thanksgiving, and we came up with these ways in how people experience it:

  • Corresponds to certain season~ Fall/Autumn

(5:40PM- 8:00PM) Like many myths, I have heard many conspiracies and modifications to the story of Thanksgiving, yet they all share this one fact in common. Similar to Easter’s relation with spring, Thanksgiving corresponds to the Fall season. Why? That is just around the time when the story was said to have taken place.

  • Secular holiday- Family comes together for traditional dinner (potluck)

(5:40PM-8:00PM) Many holidays celebrated are either nonsecular or secular, and Thanksgiving falls under the secular category. There is no religious affiliation tied into Thanksgiving, it is just something that once again, we have been celebrating for so long now that we won’t just stop especially since it pertains to food. Plus who doesn’t like food?! Families spend most of their time cooking what is generalized as “Thanksgiving food” and at the end of the day, come together with the rest of family and sometimes even friends, to share all that has been made — similar to the commonly known story of Thanksgiving where Pilgrims and Native Americans come together with all types of food to share with one another. One thing I must add to this and also something we briefly discussed in class is that as time moves on, the traditional Thanksgiving is evolving and certain cultures will celebrate it in their own special way. For example, a normal American Thanksgiving dinner would consist of turkey, ham, macaroni & cheese, stuffing, etc. meanwhile my Caribbean family will have all of those and more (oxtail, curry goat, etc.). Also, some people have now resorted to just going out to eat on Thanksgiving which you mainly see on problematic T.V. shows where something bad has happened or the parents simply cannot cook, so they end up at a Chinese restaurant/pizzeria every Thanksgiving and it becomes repetitive. Don’t take me wrong though, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this, it just all depends on what your/your family tradition is.

Another topic that pertained to the original question was Star Wars. I have actually never fully watched any Star Wars movie because Sci-Fi is not and never will be my cup of tea, therefore, I do not have any valid opinions to give regarding this topic, but I can list and try to explain how those who do enjoy the movies have experienced/participated in it using the following:

  • Cosplay~ Fans will dress up as specific characters and go interact with other people who share the same interests at conventions
  • Dates~ May 4th is considered International Star Wars Day (“May the force [fourth] be with you”) and Memorial Day is another significant date as it has been the premier date for most movies. This period of time also kicks off the start of summer for most people who have just gotten out of school and their fantasy life can begin
  • Movie Marathon/ Themed Food
  • Toys or Imaginative Play~ Many stores sell movie-related toys that allows one to reenact scenes however many times they deem necessary
  • Educational Products~ Along with toys, there are educational items that help children learn their colors, how to read, and even count using Star Wars references & pictures
  • Disney World~ The excitement that little girls get when they meet their favorite Disney princessed is probably the same energy that Star Wars fans may experience when riding any of the rides that were made for the Star Wars movies — kind of similar to Universal’s Harry Potter World (which I am a fan of). Being surrounded in a place that was made to replicate this story/movie that you enjoy so much can make one feel like they’re almost in the story themselves, and the fact that you can win prizes/pins that mark your “achievement”, some gain some type of satisfaction and feel glorious for having participated in such a thing
  • Conspiracy Theories~ Like any story that has a complex plot, many people have different interprations of it which lead to multiple theories of what could have or why something happened the way it did

A subquestion then arised asking how Star Wars can be comparable to Easter and honestly, I believe that it solely depends on which holds more value to the person being asked. However, if you asked a Star Wars fan, he/she would know that this is fiction whereas those who believe in the Easter story genuinely believe that it actually happened and whoever recorded the story has a higher divinity if they were able to report this. Also the realization to Star Wars fans that Disney World is not a sacred space and is not the same ground as church basically shows a sacred vs secular type of case.

Finally, the last topic briefly discussed as class was coming to an end was the Trojan Cycle. I am not familiar with the details of this story but Dr. Sandridge gave a concise breakdown of what happened at each stage and suggested we read the story on our own time so that we can see how it’s relatable to the initial question. The storyline consisted of five parts:

  1. Wedding of Peleus, Thetis — The Apple of Discord (Eris)
  2. The Judgement of Paris
  3. The Trojan War (Iliad)
  4. The Fall of Troy
  5. The Homecoming — Nosfois “nostalgia” (Odyssey)

From this we talked about Muses and Heroes who are often demi-gods/ characters who do not appear in stories but are worshipped in their own cults; role models worshiped after death/ dead mortals who were believed to have a huge impact during their mortal life and worshiped because they can protect one and place blessings in one’s life.

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