Folklore in Theory
Your essay must follow the traditional essay form, with an intro, body, and conclusion, which is the standard for an academic essay. If you are at all confused about that, here is a helpful link (Links to an external site.) that might assist you. Make sure all source material is presented with summary, signal phrases, MLA citations, and thorough discussions; this is also known as a quote sandwich, but if that is a phrase you are not familiar with, here is a link (Links to an external site.) to help you there. Your paper must be properly MLA formatted as well for it to meet your 3-5 page requirement. For help with MLA formatting and citations, use the following link (best for formatting) (Links to an external site.), or this link (best for citing online sources) (Links to an external site.). You'll then need to select one of the following prompt options for the topic you'll be discussing.
Prompt Options:
#1 Folklore in Theory: While some folklorists call this "academic folklore," I will be referring to this particular method of analyzing folklore as theoretical because that tends to be the more commonly used term for analyzing literature in academia. In the article titled "How Do Folklorists Define Folklore? (Links to an external site.)," Mary Hufford suggests, "It is the shaping of everyday experiences in stories swapped around kitchen tables or parables told from pulpits." For this prompt, you'll be taking two of the folktale reading assignments from World of Tales (Links to an external site.) and/or Folklore and Mythology (Links to an external site.) to compare and contrast their ability to "shape ... everyday experiences." In other words, what might have been the function, purpose, and/or meaning of these tales? You are allowed to include research as a component of your analysis, but all sources must be reliable outside sources (use the following link (Links to an external site.) to verify a source's credibility if you are unsure about this) and should not speak for you; it should only be used to assist you with further your own points on the topic.
#2 Folklore in Practice: Some folklorists refer to this as "public folklore," but in my field, we usually discuss topics like this as either in theory or in practice. For that reason, your second prompt option is to work with folklore in the "public" sphere; in other words, you will be showing how folklore appears in real life, or as we would say in academia, in practice. If you already have a story, joke, song, or anything else you think could be considered folklore, you'll need to begin your essay by sharing exactly that because there are three parts to consider when presenting folklore, and that's number one: (1) the thing itself, (2) the context for its presentation (who, where, when), and (3) how it is presented. Those other components will then need to follow alongside your explanation of how this should be considered folklore according to the definition you are working with (you may want to use the article "Introduction to Folk Genres (Links to an external site.)" to assist you here). After that, I would like you to compare and contrast your own folklore with one of the folktales you have read from World of Tales (Links to an external site.) and/or Folklore and Mythology (Links to an external site.) or with any of the the folklore you learned about in the videos you've seen so far: Hero Tropes, Tricksters, and/or Monsters.
Your essay is due before midnight on Sunday and must be submitted through TurnItIn in the space provided below.
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One of the aspects of Norse mythology that continues to interest me today is how the natural world serves as a physical image of God and the goddesses. Additionally, my interest expanded as Marvel released their films, some of which were loosely based on Norse and Greek mythology due to the fact that Thor and Zeus were not originally from the same group. The legend around Thor, the God of lightning, might, storms, and safety. Thor is also linked to fertility and the blessing of humanity, which makes him very different from the Thor that we know from modern films. He is the descendant of Odin, a deity of knowledge, poetry, healing, and death (Theoi, Thor Greek God: All You Need to Know)
Zeus comes from Greek mythology rather than Norse mythology, which distinguishes them as different types of tales. Greeks often refer to Zeus as the God of Lightning. Unlike Thor, he can control thunder with his hands alone, without the aid of any weapons. Zeus is also known as the Ruler of Heaven because he put down countless uprisings during his reign and maintained control of his realm. Given how much he despised his father (Cronus, God of Titans), it's possible that his relationship with him is one of the classic relationships for which he is remembered (Theoi, Thor Greek God: All You Need to Know).
In Greek mythology, Thor, the God of lightning, and Zeus, the God of the underworld, are very similar in terms of the lightning it represents in nature. Both they and the people who live there command the lighting to their hands. The primary difference between the two is probably how close of a bond Thor has with his father, who he trusts and with whom he shares his views, compared to Zeus, who genuinely despises his father. Zeus and Thor both make lightning, but their methods of doing so are different. Zeus can hold lightning in his bare hands, whereas Thor is unable to do so but can still achieve the same effects with his hammer, the Mjolnir (Theoi, Thor Greek God: All You Need to Know).
Going back to the present, these myths and legends have a lasting impact on everyone who has read or heard them. When people see lightning or hear thunder, they begin to think of the Norse and...