So now you see why we spent some time on Greek Mythology!!
What do you think? Does having some knowledge of Greek mythology enrich your reading experience? Does using mythology make the writing/story better? What about namoing characters after mythological characters? Can you think of any?
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I'm glad we spent time on Greek mythology otherwise I would be completely clueless in some things. If an author were to make reference to a Greek god or anything before I probably wouldn't think twice about it because I didn't know what it was about, but now I actually have some understanding of most of the gods or goddesses.
I don't think though that using mythology makes the writing/story better, necessarily. Yes, the reference adds a little bit more to the reading but it doesn't entirely make it better.
I think that naming characters after mythological characters adds a meaning to the character, like there is something behind them that relates to the mythological character.
I definitly think that knowing at least a little information about Greek gods and godesses helps when you are reading becuase it helps to clarify and adds details. Often times, I think it does make a story better becuase it helps to create the character in your mind. Naming characters after gods can be considered an allusion becuase the character may have characteristics similar to those of that particular god. One example I can think of would be in the movie "Zues and Roxanne". Zues is a dog, but he is part of every part of the movie. He is kind of over everything similar to how zues is the god over everything.
I was clueless on greek mythology until this year. I'm glad that we studied it though because there have been many times thay I've encountered a reference in something that I was reading to mythology and I didn't benefit from the allusion because I wasn't educated on the subject. Since I have some knowledege now, I hope that I can now pick up on the small mythology referneces in books or movies.
I agree with Faithe on how she stated that she didn't really think that using mythology references in writings made them better. You can have an amazing story and never mention greek stuff in it. I think that it is all up to the writer on whether they want to use refeneces in thei pieces.
By naming characters after mythological names, adds something extra to the charachter. When an author does this there is probably a reason for it. Whether it mean something important about the character in general or something relevent in the plot.
Just like the others, I really didn't know much about any of the Gods or Goddesses in Greek mythology either until we studied it. Now that we have studied some of them, when an author mentions something about one of them I actually know what he or she is talking about. It doesn't make the story better, but it does give a little more information or helps you create a mental picture when an author does allude to them. And, just like Faithe said, naming characters after Greek gods or goddesses gives a lot more meaning to a character than just a regular name, and I believe that is why so many authors today do reference to them.
i technically don't like the whole mythology thing. but learning about it in class actualyl kind of helped me know a little bit more about stories that have mythology in them. i don't really think it makes the writing any better.
to be honest i really thought this mythology thing was pretty crazy. i didn’t want to know much of anything that wasn’t true, but I have learned that these people really believed that gods and goddesses were their creators for everything. It just blows my mind that a flying horse can spring from medusas neck? I do believe that just like that example it brings humor and life to the story i mean even in modern stories people relate to some type of mythology because it is so unreal people want to have a feeling that any thing can happen. Since we have studied all the gods and goddesses i really like their stories.
I was familiar with the basics of Greek mythology, but I'm glad we spent a little time on it this year. You definitely need some knowledge of Greek mythology to get everything you can out of a reading experience. Lots of authors use allusions to it to communicate a point you would otherwise miss. I personally am not a fan of Greek mythology, so I do not really think it makes the story better to add references to it. It can, however, add an aspect to a story that is not stated outright. For example, if you named a character Odyssius, it would imply that they are on a journey. The only one I can think of is in Disney's "The Rescuers" the evil woman who kidnaps Penny is named Madame Medusa, probably to exploit just how evil she was.
Personally i like the whole greek mythology thing. I think its cool that people use to believe that there was a god for everything. I don't think it helps writing. It helps show the author can reference what their talking about but not necessarily make it better.
Mythology obviously is the base of a lot of different written works, most of which just use the storyline and not the names. Naming the characters adds a level of obviousness that can definitely take away from the subtlety of the story. Like any other allusion, it helps us better relate to the story. For instance, the protagonist of Slaughterhouse 5 was born in Illium, NY. This is a reference to Homer's Illiad, which adds to the overall theme of war.
As a writer, being familiar with mythology is absolutely crucial. It helps you to further plan out your storyline and develop a theme. I once wrote a short story about Antaeus.
Yes, having knowledge of Greek mythology helps you understand the story more, because you know what the author is talking about. The mythology allusions make the story seem more intelligent, I think. naming is kind of in a way original, but I cannot think of any characters named after mythological creatures.
I like how he pointed out that sometimes the myths we think of aren't the same ones authors chose as their allusion. I can think of a ton of books that i can relate back to Icarus. A person given specific instructions on what to do, and then turning around and getting caught in the moment and doing the opposite.
There has always been some parts in books that i didn't understand because the names were all greek to me. Now that we have spent so much time on greek mythology i am now seeing more meaning behind some things in books. So many authors will use greek mythology because there are just so many stories behind all the gods and how they came to be. There were three or four allusions in "hamlet" alone. Alot of authors might use the allusion to the phoenix if they are talking about something being reborn.
I do believe that having some knowledge of Greek mythology has enriched my reading experience because if I didn't know anything about Greek mythology then I wouldn't be able to understand a lot of stories that use allusions to Greek mythology...I think that depending on the story/writing, using mythology can make it better...I think that naming characters after mythological characters is a smart way for the author to make you think of them as how the mythological character acted...Like naming someone Athena, you would think that they would be smart and strong...
I liked learning about mythology only because i knew what some books were saying when they referred to something powerful like zeus. If i didnt know anything about zeus i wouldnt understand what they were trying to say. That doesnt mean that i liked learning about it, but i would thank myelf for it in the long run.
I think that having some knowledge of Greek mythology enriches reading experiences to a point. Although the author mentions the name of a god or goddess you recognize, you may not know enough about that certain one to truly understand the allusion. I don't think that using mythology necessarily makes the story better.
I dont know why but i really do not like anything dealing with mythology. But i really donot read any books that have to deal with it so im of no help.
I know now for sure that the extra study of greek mythology helps a lot. until we strarted the unit on mythology i hadn't realized how much it was used in all types of literature. I think it does enhance the story because it holds a familiarity through generations makeing it easy to pick up on, and it conveys a deeper meaning to the reader. An example of nameing a character from greek mythology is the U.S. government's choice for their missions named after Apollo and Mercury.
I think learning about the Greek gods and goddesses has definately helped me understand books. I now know where the references come from. I completely believe a reference to greek mythology improves the story. I think it gives it more meaning, and adds depth to the character.
i think reviewing the Greek mythology helped give me a better understanding of them because before i just knew the basic ones like zues and Hercules. i think is helps because there are so many allusions toward them and references to them and now i have a better understanding of what is meant. it also helps in the writing and naming because it is clever and makes you think more into what is being written.
I agree with the others having some knowledge about Greek mythology can be helpful. I can think of a few movies, like Pirates of the Carribean, that they use Greek gods and goddesses. It definitely made the movie more interesting. And I'm glad we studied over it, because I didnt have a clue before AP eng.
Before we studied Greek Mythology, just like the others, I was pretty much clueless on all the meaning the Gods and Goddess had behind them. I think that now when I am reading if I hapeen to come upon an author alluding to one of the Greek myths I will know what they are talking about and it will help me understand the story a little more.
I definitely liked learning about Greek mythology this year because we hardly ever get to learn about it. I think it's important because authors so commonly make allusions to it to help prove their point. If we didn't know anything about it the entire point would be lost on us. I don't necessarily think alluding to mythology makes the story better, I'm sure the point could be made without it. But it's more interesting i think when the author doesn't just come right out and say something. You actually have to think about what's going on.
Ok, so I posted on this one a while ago, but I just realized that for some reason it didn't save.. So here it goes again..
I'm so glad we took the time to study Greek mythology. I didn't realize how much it's used in writing until we began studying it. Now that I have a better understanding of Greek mythology, it makes reading so much easier to understand when an author makes a reference to it. I do think that by using Greek mythology, the author creates more detail to the story or character.
ok so greek mythology does help the writing at all to me, but im glad we went over it in class otherwise i would be clueless when an author or anyone for that matter, mentions something about the greek gods.
i love mythology an yes useing the names of the greeks gods hero's an villens make storys better an more exciteing it gives you something to picture and visualize what that charecter is about i am a big bealiver in a name embodys a pearsons soul a name is so much more than what your called by.
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