Take-home Option for
Exam
2
Due
at the end of class,
(in
both paper and electronic form)
Directions:
Option 1: write 3 600-900 word
essays
on the topics given below
Option 2: write 2 900-1200 word
essay
on two of the topics given below.
NB: As always, make sure you give specific concrete
examples from the stories (with author, line or page numbers as
appropriate) to back up your conclusions and that you cite
as the post in the discussion folder directs.
1. It seems clear that Disney altered the myth of Heracles (as given in
Powell) in the making of the movie Hercules
in order to make the movie
"kid friendly". Discuss how it did this and to what extent it succeeded.
2. Using the blueprint for the traits of a hero that Powell gives in
his chapter on Gilgamesh, determine how well 2 or 3 of the Greek heroes
(Perseus, Theseus, Jason) fit that blueprint. Address at some point the
implications of your results. [Note: if you don't write on question 1,
you may substitute Heracles and/or Hercules for the other Greek
hero(es)]
3. For 2 stories of female deities given in Leonard's chapter "The
Female Divine", compare and contrast the roles of women in the stories
along with giving the implications of your results.
4. Compare/contrast the source/roots
of heroism in ancient Greek society--as evidenced by Perseus, Heracles,
Theseus, and Jason--and modern society.
5. Just as the word myth can mean various things even within one
culture, so too the word hero. Give a personal definition of a hero as
evidenced by a specific person and compare that definition and person
with the Greek definition and one (or two) of the following heroes
(Perseus, Heracles, Theseus, Jason--but different from the hero(es) you
discuss if you write on topic #1 and/or 2).