Can religions and cultures be anything more than their history? Why do we have a concept of history in the first place? Obviously history exists, but like the human ability to conceive of the future, history seems to be a rare phenomenon tied with our ability for language and the telling of stories. What’s even more fascinating is the human ability to make up a history or to tell a story, such as a creation myth, that seeks to explain something that has not been witnessed by anyone and does not have any role in finding food or creating shelter. We do not have a physical need to know how the earth came to be or to know how it is that we came to be here. Still, creation stories exist in almost all human cultures and, amazingly, many share many of the same elements. The question is, why? Is it a coincidence that so many of them share the same elements? By looking at a comparison of two creation stories, we should be able to understand the meaning of these similarities better. Just look at two creation stories side-by-side and you should easily see their similarities. Perhaps the easiest way to do this would be to take one unknown creation story and compare it to one from one’s own culture. Below is an example of a Mongolian creation myth: Long long ago God descended to earth and made a man and a woman out of clay. Before returning to heaven to get some holy water with the power to animate anything, he ordered his dog and cat to protect the clay people from the devil. After God ascended to heaven, the devil came to harm the people. The dog and the cat protected them, though, thwarting the devil's plan. Finally, the devil deceived them by giving a piece of meat to the dog and a bowl of milk to the cat. While the dog ate the flesh and the cat lapped the milk, the devil urinated on the people and fled. When God returned with the holy water and discovered what had happened, he was enraged. Scolding the dog and cat for neglecting their duty, he forced the cat to lick the hair off the bodies of the people whom the devil had defiled (God created humans with hair all over their bodies). The cat licked off the hair everywhere except their heads, armpits, and crotches, since the former
The most common mythological theme across different cultures is the creation of humankind because everyone has always questioned how the earth was created and so forth. Creation myths are “usually applied to a mytho-religious story which explains the beginning of humanity, life, the earth and the universe as being the result of a deliberate act of supreme beings or being” ("Creation myths," 2007). Individuals from different cultures believe in a higher power known as God and they believe that the higher power is the creator of earth, animals and humankind, however each culture believe in different Gods but they all believe that God is the creator and that is the universal theme across different cultures.
Henry suffers from retrograde amnesia due to internal bleeding in the part of the brain that controls memory. This causes him to forget completely everything he ever learned. His entire life is forgotten and he has to basically relearn who he was, only to find he didn’t like who he was and that he didn’t want to be that person. He starts to pay more attention to his daughter and his wife and starts to spend more time with them.
Both civilizations relied heavily on farmers being the life of the civilization and providers of food and other useful materials. Though farmers were essential for each of the civilizations, in both, they were at the bottom of the social ladder. However, in Egyptian society farmers can have their children learn a different skill, such as to become merchants and craftsman, and eventually, with a slight slim chance, get into the ruling class. This was not the case in the Aryan civilization as each person was born into a caste and could not move up or change their level in the caste system – the order being Brahmins (the priests and king), Kshatriyas (the warriors and aristocrats, the ruling class), Vaishyas (the cultivators, artisans, and merchants, and the Shudras (the peasants and surfs). Another major differentiation is that women did not have many rights in the Indian civilization, only men could own land and receive an education. Women were solely responsible for bearing children and maintaining the household. On the other hand, Egyptian women enjoyed a much higher status and greater independence then women elsewhere in the ancient world. As Ramses II declared “The foot of an Egyptian woman may walk where it pleases her and no one may deny her.” In comparison to the women of the Indus River Valley, Egyptian women lived the high life, as Egyptian law allowed for women to inherit property, enter
Fitzgerald makes a bold statement to a dreaming crowd. He argues through Gatsby’s example that as dreams become as “colossal” as imaginably possible, they will become increasingly more disconnected from their realities. Gatsby lives a life “lost to the old warm world, pa[ying] a high price for living too long with a single dream” (Fitzgerald 169). Fitzgerald argues that while dreams can serve as guidance towards an ultimate goal, they can also lead to a pitiful downfall. Gatsby lives with a dream that guides him towards recapturing his love for Daisy. However, the money that Gatsby needs to recapture Daisy blinds his love for her. He loses sight of the ultimate goal of his dreams, just as Fitzgerald must have seen in the hopeful eyes of ambitious young Americans. Poor, underprivileged people were developing dreams for better lives for themselves. But, in order to have better lives, they became too fixated on the means of getting there. Their dreams became blinded by money and became misguided from the ultimate goal of bettering oneself. Thus, through Gatsby’s tragic nature, Fitzgerald argues that the American Dream becomes ultimately unobtainable by the material means required in pursuit of the ultimate goal of a successful and prosperous
From his lavish parties to expensives cars, Gatsby embodies the American dream because he aims to constantly aims to construct a satisfactory life that includes Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby grew up on a desolate Minnesota farm along with his unwealthy parents with the desire to thrive. Even as a child, he held the mentality of “improving his mind”(173), which evolved into an undying obsession with Daisy. The naïve dream that Gatsby has a child ultimately becomes his fatal flaw, as it causes him to ignore the evil realities of society. In his later life, meeting Daisy, who lived superior to his penniless self, causes him to focus towards gaining money for her
As depicted by Scott F. Fitzgerald, the 1920s is an era of a great downfall both socially and morally. As the rich get richer, the poor remain to fend for themselves, with no help of any kind coming their way. Throughout Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, the two “breeds” of wealthier folk consistently butt heads in an ongoing battle of varying lifestyles. The West Eggers, best represented by Jay Gatsby, are the newly rich, with little to no sense of class or taste. Their polar opposites, the East Eggers, are signified by Tom and Daisy Buchanan; these people have inherited their riches from the country’s wealthiest old families and treat their money with dignity and social grace. Money, a mere object in the hands of the newly wealthy, is unconscientiously squandered by Gatsby in an effort to bring his only source of happiness, Daisy, into his life once again. Over the course of his countless wild parties, he dissipates thousands upon thousands of dollars in unsuccessful attempts to attract Daisy’s attention. For Gatsby, the only way he could capture this happiness is to achieve his personal “American Dream” and end up with Daisy in his arms. Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy is somewhat detrimental to himself and the ones around him; his actions destroy relationships and ultimately get two people killed.
Women in antiquity did not have an easy lot in life. They had few, if any, rights. Surviving early records of the civilizations of antiquity from ancient Greece, Egypt, China, and Rome suggest the diversity of women’s roles differed little from region to region. There were a few exceptions, mostly concerning women of nobility and the city-state of Sparta. Excluding the rare instances mentioned most antique women were generally limited on education, mobility, and almost all possibilities interfering with domestic or childbearing responsibilities. The limited social roles of women in antiquity suggest the perceived c...
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an unknown author who only received great acclaim for his book The Great Gatsby after his passing. He was always a keen believer that the pursuit of a dream was much more rewarding than the achievement. In this novel, Nick Carraway recounts the tale of James Gatz’s a poor farmer’s son’s transition to Jay Gatsby an affluent grandiose man. Gatz unlike the other central characters is new money. He overcame the conditions that he was born into. His parents were mere farmers but he has been able to reinvent himself both figuratively and literally. His achievements cannot be dismissed because of such factors as luck or wealth. The medal of honor Gatsby earns from serving in the war and the mansion he owns on West Egg are a consequence of his enduring persistence. Although Gatsby’s objectification of women is displeasing, this novel is considered a great American novel because it convinces its readers, at least briefly, of Niccolò Machiavelli’s ideal that "the ends justify the means." Gatsby transcendes the wealth gap through dealings with alcohol, gains fame, buys a mansion across from his Daisy’s house all in aggregate to be with Daisy Buchanan once again. His perseverance and his rise to fame and riches from nothing are the keystone of the American Dream.
Egyptians lived in a patriarchal society in which men were more powerful and more respected than women. In “The Story of Re,” Sekhmet, the goddess of war and destruction, was sent out by Re, the Pharaoh of Egypt, to kill any man who dared to disrespect Re. Sekhmet was considered cruel, and too powerful. She destructs and kills, and does not bring peace within a society. Through a deceitful act, Re stopped Sekhmet from killing the people of Egypt by depriving her of her powers. The reputation of women were sweet, innocent creatures, who have to right to be powerful. Women cannot hold their power in an Egyptian society, and instead have to be changed to a less powerful force. Another example from “The Story of Re” is when Re is dying and Isis
...se days a male child was more valued than a girl. Her guard had to always be up, while she had all the power in Egypt there were other people who had the same power as she.
Egyptians cherished family life the way we cherish food or money. Children were considered a blessing. They prayed for them and used magic to have children, but if a couple could not conceive they adopted. Men were the head of the household and the oldest son inherited everything of the father’s. Egyptian women were to obey their fathers and husbands, but were equal in many other ways. For example, women could have jobs, some rights in court cases, and they were able to own land. Women were also allowed to own businesses. Only noble women, however, could be priestesses. The women raised the children and took care of the house. Wealthy families would hire maids and nannies to do such things. Divorce was not common in Ancient Egypt, though it was an option. Problems were talked about between families, and if they could not be settled a divorce would take place. Some women became rulers but only in secret. The only woman who ruled as a pharaoh in the open was Queen Hatsheput. Ordinary men normally had one wife, while pharaohs and kings had several. Most marriages were arranged by parents. Most girls married at age twelve while boys were usually a little older.
Every ancient society and civilization has creation myths that were passed down and keep alive throughout the passing of time by word of mouth. These myths are the world’s oldest stories and are vital to these cultures because they explain their beginnings and give purpose to their existence. By analyzing and interpreting different creation myths it becomes easier to understand different cultures and their connections and relationships with heir beliefs and god(s).
In Pharonic Egypt, women were the legal equals of men. They were not denied any rights in accordance of the law because of their gender. Women, like men, could own property, coming into it either through inheritance, as a payment for goods or services, or through purchase. Women could buy houses and goods, and with them, they were allowed to do as they chose. Being landholders and people of property afforded ancient Egyptian women a reasonable amount of social freedom. They could travel about freely in towns without veiled faces. In their own homes, women could move about as they pleased, they were not forced to remain in one section of the house or forbidden from other common areas as they were in other societies of the time.
The creation myths that I have studied are similar in many ways. They also have differences that show an inherently different way of thinking about the world. All have creators-gods that make the world into what is now. There are conflicts within their world, and these conflicts change the face world. God to god or human to god maybe be involved in these conflicts. Their bloody struggles prove who is more powerful, causing change in the control of the world. Some gods are beneficial to man and others are self-serving, using man only as a tool.
Throughout the world there are various cultures with varying religions and creation stories to explain the creation of the Earth and it’s inhabitants. Of these creation stories two with similar and also different characteristics is the Creation story in the book of Genesis which is a part of the 1st Testament in the Hebrew Bible and explains the creation of Earth and humans, and the Theogony which is the greek creation story that describes the origins of the Earth and the Greek Gods. Both the Theogony and the Creation in Genesis show nature as a blessing for humans but it can also affect them negatively, However the myths differ in the ways that the Earth and humans were created and how humans interact with the deities of the creation stories.