HUM1020 Chap 3 Questions

The Horatio Alger novels of the early twentieth century all have heroes or heroines who start off poor and become wealthy either by hard work or by accident; these stories are influenced by the popular myth expressed in the statement: "Isn't that just like a man?" "It's us versus them." "There's always room at the top." "Everybody does it."

"There's always room at the top."

We give ourselves permission to violate the rules of good health when we evoke the popular myth: "They'll think of something." "All you need is love." "It must be fate." "Everybody does it."

"They'll think of something."

Many of our common sayings derive from the fables of what ancient storyteller? . Agamemnon . Aeschylus . Aristotle . Aesop

Aesop

Tennyson's nineteenth-century poem "The Lotos-eaters" draws on a myth that appears in: . Homer's Odyssey . Keats's Endymion . Virgil's Aeneid . Shelley's Prometheus Unbound.

Homer's Odyssey

George Lucas consciously relied on the work of what mythologist in his creation of the Star Wars movies?: . Dante . Joseph Campbell . Carl Jung . Sigmund Freud

Joseph Campbell

In a myth recounted in the Upanishads, the sacred books of India, the first Self is lonely and lacks delight. This Self then splits into two parts and, thus there is man and woman. This myth is: . a monomyth . an archetype . a creation story . a parable.

a creation story

The American mythologist Joseph Campbell, among others, argues that all myths are variations of a single basic story, that of: . a troublemaker who is eventually redeemed . a hero on a quest . an ordinary person who inadvertently achieves success . a prophet seeking enlightenment.

a hero on a quest

Many mythotholgies seek to explain the existence of human suffering; suffering results from an early act of transgression against divine law. Often, these acts are performed by: . a figure representing Death . a woman . a dog . a fallen god.

a woman

Scholars cultures all over the world call characters, events, and symbols that recur in myths from: . world myths . monomyths . assumptions . archetypes.

archetypes

In the study of the humanities, the term mythology typically refers to collections of stories that: . have been proven false . seem too good to be true . form the customs, belief system, and religious rites of a specific people . document outdated beliefs.

form the customs, belief system, and religious rites of a specific people

The expression "What goes around comes around" and the concept of "just desserts" reflect our basic cultural belief that: . he who hesitates is lost . good works will be rewarded and misdeeds will be punished . it is possible for anyone to achieve unlimited success . to the victor belong the spoils, regardless of how the spoils are obtained.

good works will be rewarded and misdeeds will be punished

The character Oedipus is typical of Western heroes because: . his great deeds are solely feats of physical strength . he falls from greatness . he is happy and successful at the end of his life . he ultimately accepts that the gods are responsible for his fate.

he falls from greatness

Knowledge of myth is basic to cultural literacy because myths: . illustrate scientific rather than symbolic truths about the cultures in which they originate . help us understand how a given culture characterizes itself and other cultures with which it engages . confine themselves to the facts of a culture's history . enable us to make sharp distinctions between what is considered right and wrong in a given culture.

help us understand how a given culture characterizes itself and other cultures with which it engages

Myths are true in the sense that they: . help us understand how people think and what they need on a deep level . accurately recount the formative experiences of important historical persons . contain reliable accounts of key historical events . encapsulate the science that explains the earth's origins.

help us understand how people think and what they need on a deep level

The Elysian Fields, Avalon, and the Underworld are all: . places where mythological characters are punished for misdeeds . sites of mythological battles . mythological conceptions of the afterlife . sites of mythological creation stories.

mythological conceptions of the afterlife

Much of Asia's rich mythology is relayed in brief, simple stories called: . parables . paradoxes . parodies . paratexts.

parables

The central figures in stories for children often face dark challenges and frightening villains; nonetheless, these stories tend to end positively for their main characters, teaching young listeners or readers that: . problems can be solved and danger can be overcome . fictional stories generally do not mirror the realities of life . bad behavior is, unfortunately, almost always rewarded . people mostly have no control over what happens to them in life.

problems can be solved and danger can be overcome

Traditional fairy tales are sometimes criticized because they: . can be interpreted as too ardently feminist . imply that physically beautiful people are not good at heart . reward deceitfulness . reinforce gender stereotypes and class distinctions.

reinforce gender stereotypes and class distinctions.

The heroes of Asian and Middle Eastern mythologies are: . celebrated for their singular, mighty feats . remarkable in their skill with the sword . revered for their virtue, humility, and/or social achievements . honored for their unique, superhuman valor

revered for their virtue, humility, and/or social achievements

In Prometheus Unbound, the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley draws on the story of the mythical Titan who: . arouses the love of the moon goddess . repeatedly consumes the entrancing blossoms of the lotos plant (to the extent that he cannot perform his duties as an oarsman on a great ship) . slays Agamemnon in the Trojan War . steals fire from the gods and gives it to mortals.

steals fire from the gods and gives it to mortals.

Persephone, the daughter of the goddess of the earth, marries Hades, the lord of the underworld; Persephone lives with her mother all but four months of the year. This Greek myth was created to explain: . the rising and setting of the sun . the existence of evil in the world . the ebb and flow of the tides . the changing of the seasons.

the changing of the seasons.

Stonehenge is of interest to mythologists because it makes use of what archetypal symbol? . the circle . the Garden . the journey . the number 100

the circle

Carl Jung's phrase for the universality of many myths and archetypes among different cultures is: . the collective unconscious . the external theory . the Santería . the human condition.

the collective unconscious

Our earliest ancestors created myths in attempts to account for natural phenomena and for: the origins of their rituals and ceremonies . the pleasures of making music and dancing . the lack of order in the universe . the hardships and tragedies of life.

the hardships and tragedies of life.

Which of the following can rightly be labeled a myth? . the chronicle of the hobbit Frodo's efforts to save Middle Earth, as recounted in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings the . history of a Native American nation's migration from one part of North America to another . the story of Persephone, explaning why the seasons rotate throughout the year . the facts of King Henry V's long-ago reign in Britain

the story of Persephone, explaning why the seasons rotate throughout the year

In most Asian belief systems, . the power of Fate appears to be greater than that of the gods who govern the human realm . the world is brought into existence by an all-powerful and singular creator . animals with godlike powers are created first, then human beings come into existence . there is no clear-cut story of creation.

there is no clear-cut story of creation.

In Western mythology, the hero is typically born: . under mysterious or wondrous circumstances . in an unremarkable setting or situation . to parents who have no interest in him . to parents of the lowest social status.

under mysterious or wondrous circumstances

Children who hear about the Three Little Pigs learn that hard work and diligence pay off; Red Riding Hood's journey would have been safer if she had obeyed her mother and avoided the Big Bad Wolf. As these examples llustrate, childhood stories implicitly convey a culture's: . means of controlling their youth . relationship with nature . attitude toward animals . values and beliefs.

values and beliefs

Virtually every mythological hero performs a great deed; ususally, this deed occurs in the hero's: . early childhood . middle age . young adulthood . old age.

young adulthood

Eighteenth-century writers in Europe and America who lamented the shift from rural to uban living were reviving the myth of: . the Garden . the yin and yang . the circle . the quest.

the Garden