Who is ultimately responsible for your mind?
This weeks assignment is two-fold, it tackles both persuasive writing, and it starts you thinking about the larger assignment for The Educated Imagination.
Write an open letter to the Ministry of Education arguing persuasively that mythology should become part of the Secondary School English Curriculum.
Use both Frye's The Educated Imagination and the mythology package that I gave you as starting points. Secondary sources are most welcome, but must be cited.
Use at least three rhetorical devices to persuade your reader. There are three pages of rhetorical devices on the website.
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23 comments:
Dear Ministry of Education,
I am a student of Mount Carmel writing to you concerning the Secondary School English Curriculum. I am aware that important subjects should be a part of the Curriculum to teach students the essential things they need to know. Why am I writing to you? I am suggesting the subject of mythology to be included in today’s school lessons.
Mythology is a collective study of supernatural characters or events. It’s viewed as a subject of childish stories that are not relevant for today. In truth and in fact these stories all include things people can relate to. For instance, take the Disney film The Lion King as an example. The young cub Simba follows the footsteps of his father to become King. This is the same way a young and inexperienced person would follow the footsteps of his/her role model. Everyone has a role model in their life whether it is a parent, celebrity or best friend.
Could mythology really have nothing relevant to today’s society? Well, someone could look at mythology and simply see symbols and metaphors. In the biblical story The Tower of Babel, Babylonians build a tower to reach heaven. What lessons can we learn from the story? God doesn’t want us devising our own way to get to heaven but to do it his way; neither does he want us putting our trust in a tower but instead to put our trust in him. This is a lesson people are aware of.
So let’s answer the question asked in the first place. Why should mythology be included in the Secondary School English Curriculum? In the Educated Imagination by Northern Frye he refers to his readers as consumers and states that “it’s as consumers that you may want to know more about what literature can do and what it’s uses are, apart from the pleasure it gives.” Like literature, people don’t find mythology enjoyable. It can be thought of as a bunch of road signs people can read and understand. Consider including mythology in the Secondary School English Curriculum.
Sincerely,
Candace
To the Ministry of Education,
As a student in grade 12, I would like to express my concern about the lack of interest and need for more information on mythology in the English curriculum. The lessons of mythology prove to be just as important as the fundamental skills of reading and writing. While mythology has its place in history class, there seem to be not enough room in the English course.
Influenced by the legends and traditions of myth, it is important for students to learn about the history of modern day stories. Unfortunately, many students are unaware that the fairytales they were told when they were young, the television shows and movies they watch, and the music that they listen to are all archetypes, “universal themes and patterns,” which find their roots in ancient mythology. While it teaches students important lessons and morals of life, mythology also introduces the central and vital beginnings of literature.
I believe that mythology should be taught very early in a child’s life, however, to be realistic, this particular element should be introduced in grade 9 and taught throughout high school. Northrop Frye, the legendary author of The Educated Imagination, explained, “Mythology begins to merge into literature, and myth then becomes a structural principle of story-telling.” By educating students on the topic of mythology in grade 9, they will realize early on that literature springs from myth. They will be able to understand that the stories they encounter are new, retold versions of the old classical myths. Students must also understand where they come from- their cultural history- before they can understand the most renowned novels of the world today. Learning mythology will allow students to achieve a high understanding of literary work and enable them to create their own fantastic piece of literary wonder. As an American author, Thomas Bulfinch, once proclaimed, “Without a knowledge of mythology, much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated.”
Regardless of whether the parent or teacher exposed the student to myth, it is a critical requirement and he must understand and educate himself for the upcoming years of his education. Without the knowledge of such information, students will become parasites, unimportant to the world, and useless to society. So, what is a better time than today to teach the students of tomorrow about their past? The understanding of mythology leaves a lasting mark on anyone who studies this area of literature. It informs, inspires, and illuminates the student’s world. To ensure the students are getting the education they deserve, mythology must be incorporated into the English curriculum as soon as possible. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Laura
To the Ministry of Education,
In the twelve years we spend in grade school, much of our time is spent learning the basic concepts of subjects such as math, science, and english. We engage in classes like “language arts”, where we learn about proper grammar and spelling, and “Novel Study”, where we read books, discuss characters, themes, and plot, and end with a book report. Because we are subjected to these classes, we blindly assume that we are learning about literature, and when we reach our last years of high school we even begin to believe we have an understanding of what literature is all about. The problem is that we can’t possibly understand anything about literature because we have very little, or no comprehension of where it begins.
Literature beings with mythology. Every culture has a set of myths, and regardless of different belief systems, all cultures’ myths follow the same patterns. These patterns become archetypes – universal themes – that can be recognized either consciously or unconsciously in every literary work; so you can see where students run into trouble. Northrop Frye says that, “every form in literature has a pedigree, and we can trace its descent back to the earliest times”(19), meaning that every story line has a literary lineage and is ultimately derived from other pieces of literature. If a student is unable to recognize these archetypes and has no knowledge of what came before a particular piece of literature, there is no way they can fully understand the work. For example, a teacher would never expect a student to know how to subtract without first knowing how to add, because it is impossible to understand one without the other. So why is it that students are taught the fundamentals of mathematics starting as early as kindergarten, but the fundamentals of literature do not even have a place in the curriculum?
It is not only the fact that having an understanding of mythology affects literary comprehension and relation that troubles me; it is the other areas of our education it is affecting. Frye says, “what I like or don’t like disappears, because there’s nothing left of me as a separate person: as a reader of literature I exist only as a representative of humanity as a whole”(61). In saying this, Frye is making the point that what a person likes and dislikes is not important until they have the background knowledge to form a real opinion. Without knowledge of where a piece of literature begins, we cannot even begin to form an opinion on it. Another problem that students run into is the fact that what we read ultimately affects the way we write and express ourselves orally. Our writing style cannot improve until we are able to move on to more complicated texts. This cannot be done until we are capable of understanding the level we are at now, and the same goes for verbal expression.
As a student in my last year of high school, I realize the amount of literary knowledge I have been deprived of. If I had been taught mythology every year since grade nine, my general understanding of literature would be infinitely changed. I would have a greater comprehension of where the novels I read come from, and it would be much simpler to recognize themes and archetypes. It would have been incredibly beneficial to myself, and every student in my position, to be capable of identifying the ways in which literature embodies the essence of being human. On top of all this, my writing style has suffered along with verbal expression. If mythology is not put into the curriculum, these are the academic dangers that every student who comes after me will face. If the number one goal of this school board is to educate students, they must actually concentrate on educating. Without an understanding of mythology, students will never actually receive an education in the area of literature and will most likely find themselves lost if they choose to pursue literature in post-secondary education.
I hope that this will be taken into consideration. After all, the development of young minds is what is truly important, right?
- Deanne M.
To the Ministry of Education,
I am currently attending Mount Carmel Secondary School as a grade 12. I would like to express my opinion about the reasons why mythology should be taught. Mythology does many things for a learning student, including teachings of ancient tradition of cultures and training the imagination to help society.
Don’t students deserve to know what their cultures are based on? Mythology may be a story, but it teaches the appropriate attitudes, behavior, and values of a particular culture. Without studying mythology, you will not understand where your culture comes from, and you will be unaware of what distinguishes cultures from one another. If students like myself study mythology, we will not only understand our own culture, but we will understand the cultures of those around us too. Not only do myths teach you about your culture and its values, they teach you about yourself, and help to answer fundamental questions such as “who am I?” and “how do I relate to the universe?”. Myths provide situations that people can relate themselves to, and they can help students make better decisions.
Training your imagination is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. In the Educated Imagination, Northrop Frye explains that literature gives us a window into society. By reading mythology, we as students will be able to form our own opinions on society and we will be able to shape society the way we feel it should be. If students like me have an idea of what we want to shape society into, the future can only improve. Ignorance has hurt society, but educated imaginations will help improve it. It will benefit the future now if kids begin to not only understand themselves, but everything around them.
Studying mythology will help students in both intellect and imagination. As we learn more about ourselves, we learn more about how we want our society to be. Please consider including mythology in the secondary school curriculum. It has many positives that will help the imagination grow as much as it possibly can.
Sincerely,
Shawn
Dear Ministry of Education;
I, Patricia K, am a Grade 12 student in Ontario. Unfortunately, in my previous years of schooling, I was not taught the basis of our Western society, the classical Greek and Roman myths. I am asking you to greatly consider putting mythology into the Ontario Secondary School curriculum. Renowned author and former English professor at the University of Toronto, Northrop Frey, stated that our modern language of literature is so full of classical myths that were are hardly even aware of it. One of the reasons for this is that we are not even aware of myths to begin with. Myths provide very valuable morals and lessons that are crucial to human existence that it is embarrassing that we are not even teaching children this. All of the lessons in cartoons children watch must come from somewhere, and no, the writer of the cartoon did not think of them. They all came from classical myths. Everything is new, but it is all recognized to an idea already presented elsewhere. The character’s name and title of the story may change but the plot and theme are still the same.
Literature is so heavily based on mythology that without knowing myth, how can anyone fully understand literature? This is not to say that you cannot read a book without knowing classical myths, but your understanding of that novel cannot grow. I believe that mythology should be taught at a young age such as Grade 9. Mythology should be taught at an early age so that when students start to read classic literature, such as Shakespeare, it can grow the foundation of their previous knowledge of mythology. By Grade 12, they would be able to make an opinion about the work of literature they are studying, because they would know what came before it and how the piece of literature came to be. Without knowledge of myths, students cannot form any sort of valuable opinion on literature. To form an opinion, you need to have background knowledge of what you are basing your opinion on.
Children of today are the future. We need to keep the future educated with the history of classical myths. When children don’t know classical myths, they do not know what the Western civilization that they were born into is based on and children need to know where they came from.
Sincerely,
Patricia K
Dear the Ministry of Education,
My name is Aly and I am a grade twelve student. English is one of my favourite subjects because it is the foundation to all learning. In English we have learned to read, write and interpret other’s writings which are formally known as literature. Without music, poetry, novels, movies and plays, students like me would not have learned how to read, write or interpret. It is safe to say that from literature comes intelligence which affects all other aspects of life.
Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination goes deep into the human being’s imagination and how with it, anything is possible. Therefore, without literature, which forms our imagination, the amount of our ideas and the content of our ideas would not be as advanced. I have pointed out the obvious so far in this letter that literature is vital, it is a huge part in life, but where did literature come from and how did it get here?
Frye says, “...literature can only derive its forms from itself...” stating that the stories we hear, the characters we know of and the moral of these things all draw from literature that has come before it. Staying on the note that literature is archetypical, the order that literature grew up from stated in The Educated Imagination is as follows, literature starts as a conventional story becomes a legend and that legend becomes literature! Examples of our literature growing up would be beginning with the Biblical story of the Pharaoh’s daughter then Peruses the Greek legend, Euripides’s then became Plautus and Terence which finally becomes Tom Jone’s Oliver Twist. It is quite easy to see where literature has come from, and I believe that without knowing our history, our future is doomed – therefore literature’s history should be taught in school because literature is the foundation of learning, and knowing where it came from will help us know where we, the students, are going.
Mythology is full of terms, phrases, theories and archetypes of all kinds that students, like myself, could benefit from. Not just our writing would improve, but the source of our writing, our imagination, would most definitely profit! If our education is your number one priority, which it should be, you will make mythology, the history of one of the most important skills to be acquired in a human’s life time, a part of our curriculum.
Thank you,
Aly.
To the Ministry of Education:
My name is Julia and I am writing to you today because I am a high school student enrolled in an ENG 4U course. Recently, in this class, we have been learning how literature from previous decades, centuries, and eras have impacted the literature of today, and also how mythology is the base from which all literature develops. Why is it then, that mythology is not being incorporated into the Secondary School English curriculum? If all our books, artwork, and music have evolved from myth, why aren’t we, as students, learning about mythology?
It is a belief of mine, as well as many others, that mythology is the starting point in understanding literature and forming an educated opinion about a certain piece of literature. Take, for example, any movie or novel and compare it with the monomyth. Now, you or I can understand how the said piece of literature will fit the monomyth, but how is a student entering grade eight or nine supposed to develop a further understanding of the novel (s)he is reading when (s)he doesn’t even know the monomyth cycle? Northrop Frye poses some serious and important questions in The Educated Imagination. Frye tells us that if we do not have the background knowledge needed to create a valuable opinion, then the opinions we come up with are not going to be strong enough to be analyzed or critiqued. The same thing can be said about students in the present schooling system. They cannot possibly have all the background information needed in order to form an opinion, let alone an essay, without the understanding of mythology. Is this a possible reason why some students have not taken a liking to English?
Our students should be learning the ins and outs of mythology starting in grade nine, up until grade twelve. This way they will acquire the greatest possible amount of understanding of every piece of literature they come into contact with. Students will definitely then take this knowledge of myth and literature with them for the rest of their lives and their opinions will be worth that much more because their imaginations are educated.
Sincerely,
Julia
To the minister of Education
As current grade 12 student of our lady of Mount Carmel, I will like to set forth my personal perception about the important of mythology in our curriculum. Mythology is a valuable thing that would help students to know their past, and the first step of literature, which Northrop Frey said “is the ordinary experience and self-experience (96)” .it will help them to know how to write and speak in their society. This will be the beginning for them to understand the value of literature.
Mythology should be added to the teaching of the student from the beginning of the high school. This will help them to understand and know in what literature is derive from. Me reading the education Imagination by Northrop Frye from the past two weeks does not only teach me how to write but also it wholly teach me the tradition of life, what all human has in common, how one can turn his imagination into reality, and it help me to see something in deferent ways base on my imagination. One should know the values of mythology which are survival, security, personal relationship, prestige and self development. If one can understand these at the younger age, the collapsing of our civilization will be far away from us.
Frye says we become what we behold. Meaning you can do anything you think of doing or you are what you think you are. You build your personality with your imagination. He also state that “ No matter how much experience we may gather in life, we can never in life get the dimension of experience that the imagination gives us(61). He is telling us how imagination has such a huge influence on our live; what we did, what we are doing now, and what we will do in future all base on our imaginations. We build our future base on our imagination; our society will be what always wants it to be base on how we mode it in our mind.
therefore teaching myth is teaching of the truth, which are sacred story, traditional story, and the story involve God which are not untrue. The teaching of myth can not offend anyone’s religion. So students should start learning Myth from the beginning of high school, in this way they will understand the society in which they live. They will become mature and learn how to make a better choice because their mind is wealth of the knowledge of myth and literature; through them will have a better future.
Sincerely,
Harry
To whom it may concern,
I am a current student in my last year at Our Lady or Mount Carmel secondary high school. This letter is pertaining to the English curriculum concerning that mythology should be taught. I am taking the time to write to you because I believe we should be taught mythology, because it relates to many things a person goes through, although not in every aspect, and it expands the mind.
By learning mythology, it teaches who you are, and where you come from, and where you stand.Literature chains off from myths.It comes a long way, and should continue to go far, teaching students about it, the impact it can make on your mind. I believe every student should be taught mythology, because it will teach you a lot in a different point of view. Mythology is nothing compared to what we regularly learn. Mythology are the storied of what cultured in the past believed. It seems to be fake to us, but one way or another, it can be related to in different ways, depending on the different minds. To know that poetry should and is taught at early ages makes sense because its simple for young children to advance into more complex readings as they grow. Mythology should be in the “chain” as a child grows and learns to understand more ideas and thoughts coming from different authors. Frye says that “anything a man does that is worth doing is some kind of construction; imagination is the constructive power of mind set free to work”, well I agree, and a person should be constructing there mind into a larger and more understanding of things, and that’s why mythology should be introduced into the English curriculum. A person has the power to know more, and understand things they don’t understand, to say that a book can make you understand does sound like it’s not the only way people can know and learn more, but its true, and mythology I believe is one of the strongest readings to learn. It was believed back when these myths were created but now we believe other things, although we can very much relate to them. For example many humans tried being more then they were, but that was not tolerated by their gods, and to say that we try being more then what we are is true. Myths also have the same story lines in different cultures, and they didn’t have no relations with one another, that says one thing, people are the same, think the same, no matter where from, what religion, culture etc.
All in all, take it into consideration, because mythology has a lot to say and would teach students a lot. The myths teach lessons to students to know that they are not alone, never were and even a hundred years ago people thought the same. People are people, they will try being more then what they are but I guess its one thing people will try achieving, like Frye mentions perfection doesn’t mean being God-like, but in myths that is one thought being told. Mythology has a lot to offer the minds of young adults, and will help us during our lifetime. I have nothing else to say, I can go on forever trying to convince you to accept this request and bring mythology into the English curriculum, but I said all I want to say, and think wisely, because if you don’t, I don’t think we are without the teachings of mythology.
Thank you for your time.
Nahrain
To whomever this may apply to at Ministry of Education:
Have you ever thought that your generation has been beyond compare, while the tender, inexperienced youth is on the path of self-destruction through its corruptive music, graceless nature and vulgar language? Well, have you really taken a good look you are not alone, as intoxicated legions of humans like yourself, have fallen into a cultural myth where the past seems golden and the future is determined to be rotten.
To make your way out of this inadequate standpoint, you have to educate your eager imagination with reading literature which can take shape in any form of writing such as poetry, novels, short stories and plays. Where did literature begin or take form might you ask. Well, inevitably it has derived from mythological compositions where man took a belief and put it into writing. Through that process, the man was able to stand back and separate his world of imagination from the world of belief and action, as stated by Northrop Frye. This means that the man looked at where he stood as a human being, dissected his morals and civilized beliefs, and then applied his final thought into an intense writing where any human can see a model of proper actions and a prosperous life. In essence, mythology is composed of universal patterns that subconsciously show us how to deal with life. Myths explore human experiences and human situations we are faced to deal with, such as loss of innocence, initiation and even death of a close one. All of these are universal patterns that a human cannot escape show us how to cope with our problems and most importantly, for the human to learn from the struggles portrayed in forms of myths.
Duly you would ask, why bother teaching our children mythology throughout high school when they can just pick up a story of Achilles and read it on their own? First of all, your child will not do that unless he/she is passionately immersed in mythology, but whatever the case, by debating the archetypes (universal patterns) of the myth in class, your child will be able to see how his peers perceive the myth, thus expanding his formulated ideas based on the writing studied. For example, if studying Achilles, your child will see how he is so much larger than life and the child will desire to be just like that, which shows that humans are filled with desire, frustration and discontent. Accordingly, he/she can learn how to cope with personal desires, downfalls, and disappointment in self. Also, if Hercules and his struggles would be analyzed in high school, the student would see that even though he/she does not contain the same physical power as Hercules, but if they applied their very best to completing necessary tasks such as simple chores and daily homework, they would come out with same results of accomplishment and satisfaction as did Hercules because they managed to do everything on their own. Since the myth of Hercules would expand the imagination of your child to aspects where he/she can do anything, imagine if your children contributed that creative potential to the society. Also, imagination does craft out society, because when a human sees a flaw in a structure, he will create a concept to fix that imperfection which requires imagination to complete. Now take a second to think how our society would be shaped if our architects and engineers had nothing better to imagine than simple cubes and circles. Evidently we use our imagination to model our society and recalling from before; mythology not only improves our imagination but can also set morals for societies. Therefore, do you not wish for your child to have a broad imagination and proudly stand for reason and morality, instead of pathetically following what corporations dictate?
Of course financial issues will arise when incorporating a mythology unit into each secondary level, but can money value truly compare to the intellectual potential your child might gain? Resultantly, I ask you, as a devoted graduating student from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School, to make the proper decision and allow mythology to be incorporated in the English curriculum for Ontario secondary schools as it will fiercely expand imaginations to boundless measures of the generations to come.
Sincerely yours,
Stanislav G.
To the Ministry of Education,
I am currently a grade 12 student in Ontario, writing to you concerning the current English curriculum for high school students. In the past four years, I have cruised through English class, with a fair amount of ease. Always regurgitating the plot back to the teacher, receiving good marks, and going home without really knowing what the author of that book I just read was trying to communicate. I believe that now is the time to start teaching what that author was in fact trying to get across.
Recently, in class we have read The Educated Imagination, by Northup Frye. He stresses that in order to truly understand anything in life, you need a basis. I quickly found myself asking the question, do I have that basis for literature? As I read on, I realized that the basis for literature is mythology. And that the most basic form of mythology is the Bible. Then, again I asked myself do I have any real knowledge of the Bible? Quite honestly, the answer to both of these questions was no. I do not think that this is the fault of the Ministry of Education, because it is my responsibility to read. However it is the schools responsibility to teach and guide students to become better at reading, writing, and understanding what the author was trying to commute.
Until now, I have never really looked into the meanings of novels that are read in class. Is this the case with the majority of other students? This is why it is important to teach students when they enter high school, about what they have been missing. Educating them with mythology, and actually challenging them to really think, accomplishes this goal. Now that I have come to the realization that I know nothing about literature, I can truly begin to learn, and develop the skills to read, write and argue. We cannot truthfully contribute to society until we have learned these skills that are stressed in The Educated Imagination.
The only way today’s youth will be able to better society, (which is the goal of the Ministry of Education, is it not?), is for them to learn how to educate their imagination via mythology. In The Educated Imagination, Northrop Frye states that until we know that we do not understand anything, or cannot achieve perfection, we cannot be anything but a burden on society. However when we do realize this, we can justly focus on changing society for the better, “He’s beginning to realize that if he recognizes no other society except the one around him, he can never be anything more than a parasite on society.” (94) We need to learn where everything is derived from (mythology), in order to be able to see the big picture, and help society change for the better. As Marcel Proust states in his novel, A la recherché du temps perdu, “In ordinary experience we’re all in the position of a dog in a library, surrounded by a world of meaning in plain sight that we don’t even know is there.” Should we not try to change this, so that we can begin to experience the ‘world of meaning’?
If mythology was slowly integrated into the grade 9, 10 and 11 curriculums, instead of just grade 12, then by the time students reached grade 12, their work would be at a much higher level. Is it not obvious that our society would benefit from such changes? All I am asking is for The Ministry of Education to put the tool in our hands, and watch us build. I thank-you in advance for consideration in this matter. I trust you will take my suggestions seriously, and begin to implement some of the changes I have mentioned, in order to help students learn and grow earlier on their learning career.
Yours truly,
Ryan M.
To the Ministry of Education,
I am writing this letter to you in regards to the English curriculum being taught to students in high school and the lack of literature such as poetry and mythology being taught to us students.
The English curriculum is a decent and has a wide variety of different literature and readings. But the ones that are important and are greatly lacking are poetry and the different tales of mythology. Although some may think that poetry and mythology may be a waste of time and are just old stories and non sense rhymes, they are both important in the way we understand our society and all rest of literature we are exposed to everyday
Mythology, though sometimes thousands and thousands of years old holds so many lessons of life that are still true to this very day and are used in a variety of ways. Many movies have gotten their inspiration from ancient myths in some form. The problem is since we do not teach mythology in school most people can’t recognize the myth behind the story or movie. If people knew where this story originated and how it relates to modern times it would help understand how it relates to real life events and the history of these stories. Another problem with the lack of knowledge about mythology is that they are stories that were based on events man faced thousands of years ago and made into stories to be better understood by generations to come.
Poetry falls into the same category as mythology, with a few differences. Poetry should be taught at much younger ages and should become more advanced as students get older. Poetry is one of the simplest and most complex forms of literature both at the same time. Children can find poetry a simple but effective way to understand literature and can hear the rhymes and use of the words in the poems. Even at older ages poems are more meaningful and can still be effective.
Both of these forms of literature can greatly benefit us as students and will help us better understand literature.
Yours truly, Victor
To the Ministry of Education,
As a student who is involved and under the curriculum in high school I would like to justify the reason of applying mythology in the English Curriculum. For the past three years and now continuing on with another year I can understand the importance and usage of studying English. When studying and looking at the different forms of literature I find that they are closely related to mythology. The study of myths is needed since it is the basis of literature in story telling which we analyze and comprehend continuously. When looking at any forms of literature we analyze and comprehend what is given to us throughout high school as well as after graduation.
Like any literary texts, myths contain different meanings and implications that we can interpret. Myths represent many different examples of human experiences. These stories communicate the understandings of what is to be human. According to Canadian Author and Professor at UFT Northrop Frye explains that myths; “give meaning and understanding to correspond to or represent or resemble human life”. The focus on myths is not about the story but what the story tries to portray. It is not about historical events or if the story real happened, it is regarding what does the myths teach us. Furthermore what makes myths relatable to us is the characters that are placed in conveying universal characters. To clarify I mean the characteristics and aspects of the characters in myths that pertain to us. Professor Frye refers to the mythic character of Achilles who was known to be a strong hero. Even though we are not exactly heroes like Achilles we can still connect him to as a human being. Frye analyzes that Achilles represents the; “smouldering force of human desire and frustration and discontent, something we all have in us too, part of mankind as a whole”. Indeed it is the envy towards someone else who is better than us. I find that all literature including myths reveal different aspects of ourselves and even the situations we can relate to based on the stories and characters.
The more students like myself are exposed to myths the more we will be able to apply it to other forms of literature. Again we can find the idea of the experiences and characters in myths reoccurring through other written work. As well Northrop Frye states that “literature has a pedigree” which means literature originated from other sources of texts including myths. With this in mind it proves that literature derives off myths, with the characters, the story, and the themes. From my own experience I am able to apply and interpret a connection of characters coming from mythology, finding a pattern throughout literature and even further. For this reason I will use the example of Achilles again whose weak spot can relate to Dorian Grey’s weakness to his own portrait and even to Superman’s weakness towards kryptonite. All in all we can find myths linking to novels and comic books as well. By understanding myths we can start to distinguish and analyze more clearly other forms of written work and even comparing it to others. Myths allow us to see where those ideas and creativeness comes from which we can even apply to our own writings.
Myths can also help articulate ideas and creativeness towards the imagination. By reading myths it can help to go further in our own writings, styles, and the uses of rhetoric. Frye addresses that; “we can’t speak or comprehend even our own experience except within the limits of our own power over words, and those limits have been established for us by our great writers”. Indeed the importance of reading including myths is needed to expand our own abilities to write and criticize. If we are just reading novels and nothing else that can limit ourselves from developing and understanding literature as a whole. It can also affect our use of words to construct sentences and arguments. The more we inform ourselves with myths the more we will be able to grow and progress to analyzing any other forms of communications besides literature. Frye emphasizes, “ as we can handle words all enough to read and write and talk, is to fight to protect us from falling into the illusions that society threatens us with”. This involves being able to come up with our own opinions and even making choices in society. Do we not go to school to progress and learn as much as we can to apply it to the world? Myths are an aspect that we can study to build our own knowledge and understanding. This can enable students like myself to expand our own imagination. In today’s society we seem to be feed with so many ideas that we do not even have to think for ourselves. Myths allow young adults the opportunity to develop their own imagination to come with their own ideas to and to see the many possibilities.
The study of mythology is important as it gives another reason to read. Already in high school we are given reading programs, novels, and plays to look at and follow. Adding mythology to that list allows opportunity for students to obtain knowledge and progress even further over the four years in high school. The reason of my concern to study myths is based on my experiences as a high school student. I have become aware of the values of studying myths as it gives more understanding to my own surroundings and myself, which I can relate to. I want to be able to share this experience and allow other students to explore and find understanding and reason towards mythology. Implying the study of myths into the English Curriculum will provide more knowledge and experience for all high school students.
Thank you for your time and patience,
Ryan H.
To the Ministry of Education,
As a grade twelve student, it has come to my attention that there has yet to be a mandatory mythology unit placed in the curriculum. Mythology is filled with archetypes, universal themes and patterns, which all students can understand. An example already in the curriculum would be in Macbeth. Northorp Frye states that when students read Macbeth, they are not reading about the history of Scotland, but rather what happens when a man gains a kingdom, but loses his soul. Similarly, when students will read the story of Icarus, they will not be reading the story of a man who wanted to fly, but rather a story of a man whose anthropomorphic qualities began to show when he wanted to do God-like things. Mythology will teach students valuable life lessons in ways that will interest them, but also help them understand literature as a whole.
I believe that a mythology unit should be present in each grade of post-secondary education, starting immediately in grade nine. The archetypes are easy enough that even younger students may understand. Little do the grade nines know is that all literature was derived from myths! Literature started off as a belief system, which will eventually be forgotten. Those stories and teachings from the belief systems turn into myths, and eventually, they will turn into literature. When you stop believing in a religion, it’s God’s and stores become literature as well. Shouldn’t the students learn from where the literature they are reading now came from?
In Northorp Frye’s “The Educated Imigination”, Frye explains the value of mythology because it is an important aspect of literature. Mythology is cyclical, and follows the monomyth, which is the central story of literature. Also, mythologoy is necessary in understanding many allusions in writing. You cannot understand what an allusion is trying to say if you do not know the source. This is why high school students should study mythology, because it will give them a better grasp on literary devices, and the various messages writers depict in their works. If we do not know mythology, as well as the Bible, and classic literature, our knowledge of literature, and ultimately, the world around us, cannot grow. Northorp Frye uses the analagoy of a dog in a library. There are thousands of literary works that have useful information in them, but the dog cannot understand any of it. If we do not show students where their literature came from, they will become unaware of where the world around them comes from. For those who find mythology offensive, it is only offensive to those who have morals that relate to it. Literature is neither good, nor bad, and it is often an extention of the human imagination.
Finally, the main benefit of having mythology in the school ciriclium is to help students learn to form their own opinions. At this stage our student’s life; students have not been exposed to enough literature to help them from an opinion. At the moment, it does not matter what they like, or what they do not like. It may appeal to students, but it is difficult to look at literature and analyze it if students do not have prior knowledge of archetypes in literature. Only after we have read the Bible, Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, the classics, and any other early forms of literature, we may be able to form a basic opinion. Eventaully, students shall be able to get better at forming an opinion, because they will have the background knowledge to do so. These several reasons should reveal the importance of having mythology as part of the secondary school curriculum. Thank you,
Sincerely,
Matthew A.
Dear Ministry of Education,
I am a grade twelve student writing to you about my concern that mythology is not part of the Secondary School English Curriculum. How you can teach students the fundamentals of English and yet not teach them mythology? Mythology plays a crucial role in helping us understand ourselves and our connection to other people. Since we lack in teaching students about mythology, can we really expect our future generations to appreciate the history of writing?
“Myths were originally created as entertaining stories with a serious purpose.” Their broad appeal enabled them to survive for many years and become integrated into our modern day entertainment. Without any insight into mythology, students may not understand that the books they read, the music they listen to and the television shows they watch are all archetypes. Students may believe that these stories are simply entertainment, and fail to recognize the myth, its spiritual significance and its connection to the student’s lives. In missing the importance of myths, students will be deprived of the spiritual guidance and direction myths offer.
In the novel, The Educated Imagination, by Northrop Frye, Frye explains to us that “Mythology begins to merge into literature, and myth then becomes a structural principle of story-telling.” By not informing students during their time at Secondary School about mythology and its importance in literature, we are not doing a great job of preparing them for the next step, University or College. If that student goes on to study further about literature they will soon find out that they were lacking critical information about mythology during their stage of maturation of writing. Teaching the skills of pinpointing myths inside a story at a younger age, allows students to do so more fluently and precisely, rather than learning these skills in University or College. To ensure the formation of good writers and more informed students, I believe it is unacceptable that Mythology is not apart of the English curriculum.
Myths not only teach us about archetypes, the history of literature and morals of life; they teach us about culture and assimilation. I believe it is important to incorporate mythology into Secondary School immediately, starting in grade nine, so that students are able to enhance their knowledge each year and learn more in depth about mythology. Taking mythology out of literature is like taking the imagination out of a story. The students of today are the future of tomorrow and we need to ensure we teach them about mythology so these ancient stories and their history do not fade away.
Sincerely yours,
Elizabeth Sheridan
Dear Ministry of Education,
My name is Corey, and I am currently enrolled in grade 12 at a Catholic secondary school in Ontario. I am deeply troubled as of late with the direction my English class is headed, and I see a need for there to be a curriculum change. The importance of our roots can not be stressed enough, and just as we can not truly know ourselves without knowing our past, we can not fully understand our modern literature without knowing where it came from. Thus, the earliest literature we are able to study today should be our reference point to compare current works with, this being early Greek mythology.
Recently a brilliant literary critic’s work has been brought to our attention in my Grade 12 English class, this being The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye. Frye attempts to jog our imagination through bringing to our attention where literary importance lies, which is not in the plot, but in the meaning backing it up. But Frye only uses his book to get us started on thinking about the significance of where modern literature comes from, and leaves it up to his readers to take the initiative to follow his advice. He tells of the importance of myth and how it is important to study it to understand our literature, to which we can put upon ourselves to follow through on researching it. But unfortunately, not everyone gets to read Northrop Frye, and have no motivation to go out and study these mythologies. This is why I believe that Mythological studies should be a core component in our English stream education. It will bring the necessary information to those students who have not been subjected to it or been fed the “big idea”, being that all literature follows a structure, and nothing is truly new. According to Frye, “"Literature is still doing the same job that mythology did earlier." (32, The Educated Imagination). Just as the great hero Achilles’ death was surmised by his tragic flaw (his heel), modern literature has Owen Meany die because of a medical condition, even after all the good he has done which shows the mortality of all men.
The purpose of literature is for us to better know the human world in which we live, which in turn helps us know ourselves. Although all literature conveys similar meanings and ultimately the same purpose, the way in which these realities are portrayed are what makes them worth reading. There is a reason that the writings of Shakespeare and Homer last throughout the centuries, this being that they articulated the archetypes of life and literature with the most beauty and clarity. Modern literature is useful in order to bring new plots and settings to keep literature relevant and fresh, but many of the author’s names of our time will not live on past this decade. The fact that the Iliad is still studied today means something, that it has helped so many people across the centuries and affected so many lives that it has earned its right to have the story carried on. Why are we not making use of these ancient learning tools? We would surely have a less brain dead society because of it. This is why I believe that these ancient myths should be brought back into our youth’s education, as it would help us know our place in the world just that much more.
Sincerely,
Corey
To the Ministry of Education,
In today’s society, we are bombarded by images and videos of allusions that simply go over our young minds. As secondary school student, I have came to find that the reasoning behind this lack of understanding comes from the lack of the teaching of mythology in the classroom. Throughout a child’s’ education from Junior Kindergarten up to grade 12, the myth’s of ages past are just barely touched upon. We never get to hear the story of Prometheus, and his damnation, or Icarus and Daedalus and Icarus’ overzealous nature. Both of these stories, as well as many other myth’s from times past teach a lesson the children should learn early on, and will help teach them to be better people.
One person who seems to recognize the need for mythology to be taught in the classroom in the late Northrop Frye, in his collection of essays, “The Educated Imagination”. Mr. Frye makes an excellent point in his third talk, making a point of stressing that “If we don’t know the bible and the central stories of Greek and Roman (classical) literature, we can still read books and see plays, but our knowledge of literature will never grow”. Mr. Frye makes note of also learning from the bible as a source of myth. The bible is a form of literature, not only as a holy book. It shouldn’t be read literally, as if one did read it literally, the person would have been created twice. The bible is most important because it helps build the foundation of which is needed to more easily compared classical myth’s. Classical myth’s are important building stone as well, as it gives the child “…the same kind of imaginative framework [as the bible]…” as Mr. Frye puts it. Both of the above examples are reasons that the need for the teaching of myth is important.
In today’s world, we are faced with a kind of social mythology, one that bombards us with pictures, videos and slogans than it can make a person lose there sense of reality. The only thing that keeps our hands gripping on is the use of out imagination trying to make sense of it all. The problem is however, is that if we do not learn about the Classical myth’s then out power to grip onto the world slowly weakens until we become just another pigeon sitting on a telephone wire.
-Alex R
To the Ministry of Education,
As a facilitator of the growth and development of academic minds, I am sure you are familiar with the consequences of attempting to establish something without a solid foundation which is that it, inevitably, becomes a futile effort. For example, the student who has not learnt the multiplication table finds the progress through mathematics difficult because, like a building, their base is not strong enough to support any other development, but as that base grows wider and, subsequently, stronger then the room for growth grows exponentially. As a student in Ontario’s Grade 12 English university course, I have begun to notice the holes in my very own foundation of literature especially by the one brought on by the absence of mythology in my education, a subject that I regret to admit has only been addressed by the media, a medium whose ultimate purpose is not for my intellectual growth but for their own selfish needs. As a result, I find it my moral obligation to support the initiative for mythology to become a part of the Secondary School Education Curriculum through a series of points as to why mythology is a necessary component of literature.
Long ago, human societies would orate ancient traditions with elements of legend and folklore, which we know today as myths, but myths would eventually be replaced by the written works of literature. Since literature replaces myths in society, the purpose of a myth is the same as the purpose of literature which is not to satisfy the audience with a realm with which they could escape into, but to symbolize human experience from previous generations through universal themes, known as archetypes, that emphasize to the audience a lesson that should be learnt. As Canadian professor Northrop Frye states in The Educated Imagination, “resemblances between Biblical and Classical legend should not be treated as purely coincidental: on the contrary, it’s essential to show how the same literary patterns turn up within different cultures and religions”, Frye supports the argument that myths are essential in literature as they provide an alternative medium for students to recognize archetypes which allows them to relate with other societies due to similar values and traditions. As well, myths are an effective tool to understanding literature because their repetitive and recurring nature allows a student to quickly recognize archetypes and, as a result, are able to realize what the moral of the myth is and how it should be applied to their own lives. As a result, myths are a necessary component of literature because the very roots of literature are myth and by understanding myths a student is able to better understand themselves and the connection they have with other people through a thorough understanding of the knowledge and experiences that myths provide.
I appreciate the time you took to reading this and I hope that mythology does become a part of the Secondary School English Curriculum so that the next generation of students can be exposed to the lessons discovered by previous generations so that they may learn from their mistakes without having actually experienced them.
Sincerly,
Arleigh
Dear Ministry of Education,
Being a student, I am greatly influenced by the Secondary School Curriculum. It decides what I learn and when I learn it. That being said, when it comes to the subject of English, I feel there is an essential piece of education that I am missing out on; the study of mythology. Not only have myths formed the basis for every culture known to man, but they also explore the depths of man itself.
Shouldn’t the very essence of what man is be taught to the youth about to enter into society? Will it not help them contribute to society rather than becoming just another mindless lemming? The study of mythology allows someone to develop their own belief systems they derive from those found in the myths which teaches intellectual thinking. This intellectual thinking leads to positive human behaviour and overall, an improved society.
Although myths are centuries old, the messages they give can still be applied to modern life. Human flaw, a common theme in myths, is constantly repeated in the archetypical patterns found in both literature and real life. Without any realization of flaw, the thought of perfection may arise in some. As history shows, this assumption of god-like power can only lead to a downfall. The sooner these principles can become imprints on an adolescent’s mind, the sooner they become principles found all throughout society with a greater percentage of the population applying them than the world has ever seen.
Humans are an integral part of the world’s sustainment and if we as a community are able to better our understanding of not only the world but ourselves, we may see the day where we achieve the ultimate society. And to think, all this can be achieved by simply altering the curriculum for high school English class.
- Wes P
To the Ministry of Education.
Hi, my name is Arturo L. and I wanted to stress to you the importance of mythology and why I think it should be included in the curriculum of our schools. You see, in my English class this year I was “fortunate” enough to have been taught by this crazy teacher who would not stop stressing to us – his students- the importance that myths have in literature. After spending a few weeks in class reading this book called The Educated Imagination by this dude called Northrop Frye, I have finally realized how important myths really are in literature and how we so desperately need them in order to see the themes of the stories we read or the movies we watch.
In this class, I learned that Western Society finds its roots in the Christian and Gecko-Roman culture, and in The Educated Imagination, Frye states that “literature can only derive its forms from itself”. Therefore every form of literature that we have in modern times, could only have come from the Greek and Roman myths and the stories in the Bible. That is why we should all be familiar with these stories.
I know many of the Greek myths. Ever since I was a kid, my grandfather would read me the stories of Icarus or Hercules and that encouraged me to read more. That is why it would be highly beneficial to start a mythology program as soon as little kids learn to read and have a wild imagination still, think about it, everyone likes stories, that is why the film industry does so well and focuses so much in little stupid kids high on sugar.
Think about the benefits of including mythology in your curriculum for a second. When you go to the movies or God forbid you read a book, you get the feeling that the story you are watching or reading about, is very similar to the one you saw last week on tv. That was also explained by Frye in his book. He talked about something called archetypes, which are basically universal patterns “hidden” -Liconti's gonna kill me for that one- metaphors or symbols that stand for something. One of the most important aspects of literature, is not only to be able to see these archetypes but also to understand the meaning behind them and because they are recurring patterns, it becomes easier for you to understand them if they have been presented to you in a story before, and are not Greek myths like, really old and stuff? They might be some of the earliest stories of a culture that influenced the Ancient World and that, like I said before, is the roots of our society these days. I am sure these stories are not relevant in modern times and that had no influence on the material modern writers read and were inspired by. I am also certain this is of the least importance to you, but remember that these writers I am talking about, are writing the movie scripts of films your children watch, and are also writing the books your children are gonna read in High School.
Peace out yo, I'm outtie.
Dear. The Ministry of Education
I am writing this letter to inform you of the importance of mythology in our curriculum. Mythology is one of the most important tools in teaching a student the history behind literature. How can the student body understand the true meaning of literature if they do not understand the history of mythology? In reality, they simply cannot. A student must be introduced to the building blocks of all literature before he or she can begin to form any kind of opinion about literature.
Mythology should be brought into the curriculum in grade 9. Now you may think this is to early for the young mind of students to be learning about the building blocks of literature, but it is not. The most important essays the student body will write are in their senior year. The students need their freshman, sophomore, and junior years to read, understand, and form a strong opinion, so when they get to their senior year they are ready to write a proper and a self opinionated essay. The student body cannot wait until grade 12 to learn mythology; they need to learn it from the beginning of high school.
Students are the people that will be taking care of the world in a decade; they need to be educated properly. The only way we can make the world a better place is to be educated and form our own opinion of society. If the students are properly educated on mythology and understand the basis of literature then they will start to build their own view of how society and the world should be. This will become much more important when the students become older and are finished University and on to work. Smart, educated, and opinionated minds are what the world needs to become the world we all want to live in.
The studying of mythology in our high schools is a small step that goes along way in ensuring the tranquility of out future. So please open up to the positive potential the study of mythology in our high schools has on our society and make it part of our curriculum.
To whom this may concern
As a graduating student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School I would like to address a subject I am unease about. As we all know, the English subject is a necessity when being accepted into any university or college and I feel as though post-secondary students are not prepared for school because they did not learn enough about literature beforehand.
What many of us may not realize is that all literature comes from another source of literature. It is what we refer to as a universal pattern; an archytype. All writing not only reflects our lives and helps us obtain a better understanding of ourselves, but it comes from mythology. Have you ever thought that it would be useful for students to see these patterns and have a better understanding of the English language? As Northrop Frye used to say, “It is the power of constructing possible models of human experience”, (8). If an individual is given a limited variety of literature and is not exposed to writing that is more complex and difficult, no one will ever possibly know themselves or be able to improve their writing techniques.
Literary expression distinguishes other aspects of our life and it helps people build a greater imagination. All writing is pedigree and if we do not have familiarity reading from sources that come from other sources we will never be able to give our own opinion, because we will have no past knowledge. Every type of writing is a different style of art, why should people be limited to what art they see and don’t see?
“Literature speaks the language of imagination and the study of literature is supposed to train and improve the imagination,” (The Educated Imagination, 82). It is vital that all people are given the chance to improve their vocabulary and have the capability to properly judge because of experience rather than have a limited vocabulary and not be able to distinguish the archytype unconsciously.
I feel as though if more in depth literature, such as Northrop Frye and mythology was introduced to high school students from grade 9 to 12, there would be a more sophisticated and over achieving environment filled with many smarter more inevitably experienced youth. Literature does not improve or evolve or progress, it copies itself and if people do not realize this they will never truly know themselves.
Please take this into consideration, it would be worth it to see people leave high school with a better understanding of their society and how our world works.
Thank you for your time
Sincerely
Kalena M
To Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Education,
I am a grade twelve student attending Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School. Our English class has finished reading The Educated Imagination, by: Northrop Frye, and it has come to my attention that all literature is based on previous forms of literature. And the oldest literature I can think of are the Roman and Greek myths. If we are hoping to understand the literature that you have deemed necessary to our education then it is imperative to add mythology to high school English course or even start in elementary school.
The more we know about mythology the more we can understand from the literature we read today. All literature originally starts off as cultural myths and then move into literature as the beliefs in the myths fade away. To understand literature, we must understand how literature came into existence through mythology. We must also learn about the original archetypes in those myths, so we can compare them to the archetypes of today.
As the Minister of Education for Ontario it is your duty to see that all the students in Ontario are properly educated. Not adding mythology to the educational system will show that you are neglecting your duty to ensure our education and to help our understanding of the world. Without an understanding of mythology we have no hope to properly understand today’s literature. Mythology should be added to the English curriculum in order to further our understandings of the books and plays we have to study.
Sincerely,
Remy
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