Scholarship

Annotated Bibliography

Leonard, Scott, and Michael McClure. Myth and Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology. McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Leonard and McClure define, explain, and offer examples of mythology to inform readers about the relevance of myths to the universal human experience. They approach the exposition of myths through the lens of mythological themes and archetypes such as creation myths, the female divine, the male divine, trickster myths, and sacred places. By anthologizing multiple myths from cultures around the world to illustrate these themes and archetypes, Leonard and McClure assert that the universality demonstrated by the myths reveals a common human experience. The intertwining of these commonalities are juxtaposed by the culturally unique characteristics of each myth. For example, while the trickster figure is depicted as a god in Norse mythology, it is usually depicted by a coyote or other animal in various cultures of Native-American mythology. For the purposes of my research, I specifically referred to the portions of the text which focuses on the definition and purpose of myths, the trickster archetype, and sacred places.

Maurone, Joseph. “The Trickster Icon and Objectivism.” The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, 2002, pp. 229–258. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41560188.

Maurone’s chapter titled “The Trickster Icon and Objectivism” explores the trickster mythological archetype, its characteristics, and multiple mythological figures which embody it. Maurone argues that the trickster figure is a mischievous character that lives on the boundaries of accepted cultural norms and therefore can be free to do as she or he pleases; this liberty granted to the trickster enables him or her to most adequately express a reflection of real people and general human desire. He compares the ancient trickster to those reflected in the work of Ayn Rand, while interjecting viewpoints of scholars such as Carl Jung and Percy Bysshe Shelley to explore the archetypal characteristics of tricksters. Maurone highlights characteristics and traits such as duality, ability to cross boundaries, and acts of selfishness and self-reliance. This chapter gave me insight into the trickster archetype by providing a different perspective to what characteristics a trickster can embody. The comparison between ancient Promethean tricksters and Rand’s tricksters provided insight to how the same kind of comparison can be made to other contemporary figures.

Parisinou, Eva. “Mythology.” The Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Edward Bispham et al., Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2010, pp. 396–401. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b03m.56.

Parisinou’s chapter titled “Mythology” discusses several aspects on the topic of myths; particularly the definition of myth, its use and function, ancient perceptions of myth, and modern approaches in the study of myth. Similarly to to Leonard and McCure, Parisinou also asserts the notion that myths of all cultures and geographical origins share common themes and characteristics which tie them together. She goes on to state that ancient myths were generally kept alive by passing on of oral tradition form generation to generation. This retelling and adapting of myths to fit each time period and sociological background is, arguably, what makes myths transferable across centuries. I relied upon these descriptions and explanations of myth to be able to define the complexities of myth. Additionally, Parisinou’s insight makes it clear how the passing on of myths across generations can make them so relevant even to contemporary life today.

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Additional Resources

Click the link below to see how mythology, and more specifically, the trickster archetype, can be incorporated into secondary-English class instruction. This presentation was created in collaboration with classmates for a Capstone English course project at California State University, Northridge.

Click the link below to access a paper that I wrote on the presence of topics such as trauma and rebirth in Sherman Alexie’s short story, “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.” Although the content of this paper largely differs from most content on this website, there is mention of the trickster figure which may interest some readers.