Cover Letter

I didn’t understand “myth.”  I knew it, of course, but, then again, my grasp faltered and all that myth is dissolved away.  Like a specter, I could sense it’s presence but not its intentions.  Therefore my Myth Journal began a little fuzzy, a little abstract.  My first couple entries reflect on introversion, marinating on my story, my “mythic figure,” and myself.

The Jeweled.  She followed me through my dreams and I gave her a story to live in.  As subtle as a river in the Sahara, she wandered through replays of other tales.  She broke Harry's glasses, rode Sapphira (much to Eragon's displeasure), backhanded several irritating characters in the face, and slaughtered any idiot who dared to hurt the good ones. With each story she visited, she acquired a new ability until, finally, she was complete.  (See MJ#1).

After the first few weeks of class, I gained a better understanding of myth and how to analyze it.  In this blog alone, I have analyzed Legend of the Seeker, Oedipus, Mwindo, and The Little Mermaid through the eyes of influential people such as Carl Jung, Otto Rank, Vladimir Propp, and Joseph Campbell.  I think the most enlightening of these musings was that of The Little Mermaid.  My favourite movie as a child, The Little Mermaid explores many aspects of what it means to be human.  Jung’s analysis reveals the complex interaction of the characters, most especially with Scuttles acting as the dreamer.  I never realized what an important role he plays in the film. (See MJ#7).   Two months later I looked at the same tale through a Proppian lens.  The Little Mermaid, shares many traits with Propp’s categorization of a classic folk or fairytale.  The story fits almost flawlessly into the Proppian structure. (See MJ#16).

After I mastered forms of analyzing myths, I delved into the actual mythmaking process itself.  I tried my hand at a Halloween myth: one of ghosts and hope and the unknown.

The wind brushed its soft fingers through her dress, teasing her ankles to move. With an inward smile she obliged, turning her toes toward the next house. The pale fire in her eyes glanced upward, flirting with the moon. The countdown had begun. (See MJ#11).

In the “myth” I played with frequent concepts surrounding Halloween.  The moon, calling at a strangers door, ghosts, and a quiet mystery.  From here I journeyed farther into the dark with an apocalypse myth.

Adrian stared up at the sky in amazement.  It was as if the eyes of heaven were turning away in shame, closing forever on the sin of humanity.  His wife, close and familiar, huddled under the jacket they shared.

“Is that…?”

“The stars.  The stars are going out.”

As the spirits of the great universe abandoned their children in the pursuit of darkness, the Sun wondered at its path.  The Earth cried out and decreed Importance and tossed little trinkets of invention as offering into its depths, but the Sun couldn’t resist heavy eyelids.  When the Sun closed its eyes, so did the Earth.  And tears fell like rain.  (See MJ#12).

I surprised myself with this very existentialist view, but I was rather pleased with the result.  Now that I had my fun and played with the construction of my own myths, I could properly examine myths in the world around me.  I see implications of myth everywhere that I go.  Captain Jack Sparrow is a liminal figure (as is Captain Jack Harkness), something I would never have considered had I not taken Mythology.  Liminality, actually, has become quite a point of interest to me, the Doctor not being the least of which.  Explored in this blog is the liminality of Lelouch vi Britania of the fantastic anime series Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

Lelouch vi Britania is neither good nor bad and it took our discussion in class today to comprehend that he plays the trickster.  He hides behind a mask of Zero and orders his followers to do his bidding.  Although he calls them his pawns and only leads them to gain the throne, his instruction guides the oppressed 'elevens' (the lost Japan) out of the hands of the oppressors (the Britanians).  Classic trickster: he helps others by achieving only his personal agenda.

Starting with Loki, the liminal trickster figure in Norse mythology, many other liminal figures came to my attention.  Not as many as the amount of other Norse “myth sightings” I encountered while reading the Prose Edda.  For a full list of Norse myth sightings see the entry entitled “Norse Myth Sightings.”

Finally, after a full semester of studying mythology, the cycle is complete.  I began by relating myth to myself except now I have the background to truly understand the impact mythology has on the world.  The Liminal vs. the Liminoidal (See MJ#13), the Apollonian vs. the Dionysian (See MJ#14), and Racism as an old myth with a new chapter (See MJ#15) all explore the ways myth and its concepts have affected my life.

As a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed this class and keeping up on this blog.  I’d definitely consider my interest in this blog to be of “A” efforts.  (According to my roommate, my enthusiasm was paramount).  I have a feeling that this won’t be my last entry.  Even if the class ends, myth will live on!