Yeh-Shen Myths

Fairy Tales are not just stories that parents tell to their children, but stories with hidden valuable messages which are mostly left on a side. In the article “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” Maria Tatar clearly explains how people need fairy tales in their lives. Tatar also states how fairy tales have the ability to take the listener, especially children’s, into a journey in which they can play with their imagination so that they can discover their deepest fears and wishes. Personally I agree with the author, because of the fact that in an individual’s lives as they get older, they will try to define themselves, sometimes comparing their own life with a character from their favorite story or Fairy Tale.

I select the Beckles v. United States location U.S. court of Appeals for Eleventh Circuit, A case in which the Court will decide whether it’s holding in Johnson v. United States. The Facts of the case: “On April 11, 2007, Travis Beckles was arrested because a sawed-off shotgun was located in his residence, and he had previous felony convictions, mostly for drug possession and sales. Beckles was convicted, and during the sentencing phase of his trial, the district court determined that Beckles was an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) who had been in possession of a firearm and was therefore subject to sentencing enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines. Pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines, Beckles was eligible

Tales from the past still teach lessons and morals that everyone can implement in society today. The Grimm’s others Tales were first told aurally but only did they get documented when the brothers decided to write them down. and perseverance. These stories are still read today because, they help us transform ourselves and our conditions to live in a better world. These tales all have morals and warnings about the importance of family, seven deadly sins, and perseverance.

The Greek fables that were written in the past still inspire us today. Well lets just say that their are a lot of lessons inside of these fables and myths that can inspire people today and people can learn a lot of lessons from it. For example, in some fables the greeks teach a lesson about appreciating and cherishing what one has before it is won’t have them and when they are gone you will want to have them back again. Some fables that support this claim is “The Hen and The Golden Eggs”, “Heroes Every Child Should Know Perseus”and “The Miser”. These are some fables that can teach people to appreciate and cherish things before they are gone and some myths that show that how to use things appropriatly and to use things usefully.

The myth of how the war between the Greeks and the Trojans began, itself, shows women, in this case goddesses, in an unflattering light, fighting like vain beauty queens over which one is more beautiful. In fact, the very character of these three goddesses is at the least reprehensible and mirrors the conception of many ancient, male-driven societies of women being fickle, disloyal temptresses. Hera is the paranoid, jealous wife who viciously strikes out at her husband's lovers, Aphrodite is a kind of divine harlot, and Athena, although the most admirable of the group, nevertheless gives in to petty emotions and is an odd choice to be guardian of wisdom, since no women were allowed in the academies or thought of by men as being particularly wise. Thetis' intentions are the exception to the trivial designs of her immortal counterparts, for she is always the devoted mother of Achilles, trying to do what is best for her son. Athena may give aid to the Greek cause, but only because she was not picked by Paris as the most fair. The only mortal woman in the Iliad who seems to have any redeeming qualities, and to whom we are not introduced for any real amount of time, in contrast to Hecuba, is Andromache, who makes a brief, yet lasting appearance as Hector's wife. For the most part, however, women in the Iliad are placed decidedly in the background, at best shown as accessories to their male spouses.

King of Ithaca, Odysseus, began this epic journey by partaking in the Trojan War. When the goddess Eris placed a golden apple with “to the fairest” inscribed on it, things spun out of control. The goddesses asked a young boy from Troy to judge their beauty. Each goddess promised Paris something if he voted for them. Aphrodite promised him that he would have the most beautiful woman in the world to be his wife. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite and she gave him Helen of Sparta. Helen although was to be married to Menelaus. Menelaus rallied all of the Greek Kings to bring Helen back.

The difference between legends, myths, and folktales have become lost over the years. Legends originate from stories passed down person to person and contain small fractions of truth, myths come from beliefs shared in a culture rather than hard facts, and folktales originate from different tales or legends that have evolved into different variations. Although each of these have their own aspects, they all share in common the characteristic of lacking

¨Folktales are oral narratives that do not have a singular, identifiable author. Expanded and shaped by the tongues of tellers over time, and passed down from one generation to the next”(Forest). Folktales are comprised of many different forms of myths, such as trickster tales, clan, and creation myth, like in the two short stories The World on the Turtle’s Back by the Iroquois tribe and The Earth on Turtle’s Back by the Onondaga-Northeast Woodlands. Although both of these creation myths are similar, they have subtle differences depending on the tribe that they came from.

Myths and folktales are still very important today. These passed down stories were a part of many people's heritage, and family history. Even religions were formed through the use of myths, such as reincarnation and some elements of christianity. Today there is even college courses focused just on Native American mythology, and the Natives way of life. Many people still pass on myths and folktales to children and friends, because not only do they teach moral lessons, they are extremely entertaining too. In 200 years from now, myths and folktales will still be an important literature aspect.

Tutankhamun’s tomb is the only royal tomb in Egypt to have escaped the discovery of looters and was discovered by archeologist Howard Carter. The death of Tutankhamun was a sudden tragedy that til this day has yet to be solved. The cause of the famous teenage king’s death has been a long drawn out mystery with a range of theories as to how he met his end. There are no historical records explaining the cause or circumstances of his death, nor is there no positive evidence to suggest how he died. However, there are several theories and many of which have changed over the years.

The gods called upon Paris to award the prize of beauty. Hera promised him power and riches if he decided in her favor. Athena offered him wisdom and glory in war. Then Aphrodite said she would give him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris gave Aphrodite the apple, and Hera and Athena became bitter enemies of the Trojans.

Storytelling of myths and tales of cultures provide an intriguing view into history. By looking into oral and written traditions, we learn about how important these tales are. Because of story telling, Greek mythology has influenced the world around us in many ways. It has been able to influence literature, education, entertainment and modern day culture. Greek mythology is a medley of stories, some clashing with one another.

It is interesting to see how some folktales are similar to each other even though they can be from a different region of the world. An example of this happening is the stories of Odysseus and Sinbad. Both of these folktales have much in common but on is from the Middle East while the other from Greece. The way their travels are similar, how their adventures are being told, and how their personalities are alike prove this concept. These tales were told as entertainment and educate people about growth and perseverance.

It is human nature to question the meaning of life and for the individual to question their own purpose. The phrase “fate or free will” often comes up when questioning ones purpose in life. Is life predetermined and the individual has no control? Or rather can the individual take charge and choose their own path in life. Existentialists believe that humans are born first and that life is meaningless until the individual defines their own purpose. It is the belief that one's existence precedes one’s essence. In both the late 16th century play Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (a play within a play based on Hamlet) ideas of existentialism are explored. The later play builds upon the ideals developed in Hamlet and confirms that Hamlet is indeed an existential play. This is evident as the main characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are more object like than human and can therefore be considered existential objects, which then forces readers to look at Hamlet as an existential hero. This is because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern exist only in the present and lack free will, in contrast to Hamlet. Both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern question the absurdity of life and death and what it all means, much like how Hamlet explored the absurd. Tom Stoppard meticulously crafted the two minor characters in Shakespeare's Hamlet and put them center stage in his own play and gave them existential object qualities, which was contrast to Hamlet’s character and confirms the idea

Fairy tales are something that everyone has read or seen, they all seem to have important lessons at the end of each one to teach young children some of the lessons they need for life. These fairy tales when we were younger all seemed innocent and something we all hoped that would happen to us. Little did we know as we got older that the fairy tales we all knew and loved when we were younger, weren't as innocent as they seemed.