Nicholas Sirota, Period 1, 11/12/21

 Nicholas Sirota, Period 1, 11/12/21

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

Over the summer, when we were assigned to read Maria Tatar’s collection of Cinderella stories, I noticed that, despite each story having its own unique twist, they all shared common themes, such as cruelty and marriage, that can be found within all renditions of Cinderella. Our reading of the collection of Tatar’s Cinderella stories served a vital preview for our study of creation stories. Throughout the past couple of units on Egypt and Norse mythology, one of the key lessons I was able to take away was how similar each culture is to each other. As I was going through each of our readings, I was able to notice some recurring themes that carried over from our study of Greek mythology to our study of Egyptian and Norse mythology. For example, the key theme of fate in Greek mythology carried over to our reading of the three norns in Norse mythology, since they shared similarities to the three fates in Greek mythology, as well as our reading of the children of Loki and the significance of Odin’s dream predicating the events of Ragnarok. In addition, the theme of death as an act of honor was prevalent among all three of the cultures our class has studied thus far, and I was even in disbelief of how much emphasis the Norse place on death in their culture as even the gods will have to eventually die.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

Our study on different cultures and their creation stories has influenced a personal shift on how I perceived the gods. Before this class, I viewed the gods as only higher beings that possess characteristics that humans do not possess, such as the ability to create storms and change the seasons. However, following our study of various creation stories, I have grown to realize that gods are not always perfect beings, and are also subject to flaws that humans possess. For instance, the Greek god Zeus was known to partake in affairs with other women, while his son Hercules was accused of killing his own family. Similarly, in Norse mythology, Loki is portrayed as a Satan like deity for his deceitfulness and trickery through actions such as using mistletoe to ultimately kill Baldr. In addition to the gods and goddesses previously mentioned, other deities possess different flaws as well, and I believe that is done in order to reflect humanity. Every person possesses both good and evil internally, and there will always be kind people as much as there will always be evil people in this world, however our study of mythology has taught me that people are defined based on the choices they make. For example, Hercules was respected by Greeks because of his choice to redeem himself through the twelve labors following his evil deeds, however Loki, who is not as respected, chose to continue performing mischievous act following his evil mistletoe prank on Baldr, which ultimately led to his punishment and fate in Ragnarok.  

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Our study of different mythologies has taught me a lot about different cultures and what they value. For example, the characteristics of the Greek gods, such as Athena, Persephone, and Poseidon, portray that the Greeks value nature and beauty, while the Norse value a warrior culture due to the characteristics of gods such as Odin and Thor. These lessons could ultimately aid me in studying subjects outside of English such as human history and geography, as their creation stories will have a strong correlation with their culture, which will help me achieve a greater understanding of a region’s political and social history. In addition, our study of mythology has also made me realize that there are multiple ways people perceive the concept of death. For example, Egypt’s Book of the Dead recognizes death as a passageway for a person’s soul to transport into a better afterlife, which is why Egyptians prepared for death by performing good deeds so that they could achieve the afterlife they desired. Meanwhile, in Norse mythology, death was a significant aspect of their culture that even the gods eventually died, and that was because a person was praised with honor because of the way they died. This helps reflect the warrior culture of the Norse since dying in battle was seen as a heroic and the most honorable way of dying. Before studying mythology, I figured death would always be seen as a topic of remorse and something to avoid by all cultures, however, our reading of different creation stories has made me gradually recognize how people across different cultures can view death as a positive, which could ultimately end up changing my own perception of death.