Take-home Option for Exam I

Due at the beginning of class,
(in both paper and electronic form)

Directions:
Option 1: write two 600-900 word essays on two of the topics given below
Option 2: write one 1200-1500 word essay on one of the topics given below.


1. Most of the characters in the Norse myths we have studied are clearly defined individuals just as most of the characters in the Greek myths are clearly defined. Compare and contrast some of these key individuals and/or their customs, focusing on significant individuals and significant points of comparison/contrast. For the Norse myths, use the PDF for the Norse creation story, but the selections in Leonard from Ch. 4 and Ch 5 (note you must use all three Norse myths in your essay). For the Greek myths, use the selections in Powell, chapters 4 & 5 (you may also use the selections in Leonard's chapters 2 & 5, if you wish). Note: you must use all three Norse myths along with the corresponding Greek material (there is enough material about "the male divine" in the Greek material listed above)

2. Background: We have seen that the Greek myths clearly reveal information about how its culture view females--their tasks, their relationships with males, and their place in society.
Prompt: Using the Iroquois myth in Leonard, chapter 2, the Sumerian myth in chapter 4, and the Iroquois and Malaysian myths in chapter 5, examine what these myths reveal about how their respective cultures view females.

3. Background: The audience a story is directed to typically affects the shape and tenor of the story, e.g. in the 2004 presidential election, a strategist for one of the parties told the New York Times the following: "The big question is: What is the information that I have that indicates someone is a Democrat or Republican? And then it's all about talking to those people and giving them the information packaged in a way to get them to buy your brand" (NYTimes article [reg. reqd])
Prompt: Examine how the audience for the following three myths have shaped them. Myths: Sumerian in Leonard, Ch 2, "Creation Myths;" Hindu in Leonard, Ch 4, "The Male Divine;" and Oceanian in Leonard, Ch 5, "Trickster Myths."