MYTHEMES
What is a “mytheme”?
The smallest part of a story with meaning
The small narrative building blocks like “a child does not fully belong"
Mytheme
What is the smallest unit of The Lion King called?
A Mytheme
What was a real-life example presented?
Leaving home
What is a binary opposition?
Two opposite ideas.
The deeper thematical meaning of the jungle book is revealed if one is to analyze mythemes rather than just a beginning middle end plot
Bundle of relations
Comparing "Hakuna Matata" (no rules) to "The Circle of Life" (duty) is an example of what?
Binary Oppositions
Which of the following is an example of a mytheme in the experience of leaving home?
A young person leaves the family home
True or False: Mythemes only exist in old myths.
False
The theme of Mowgli's struggle between staying in the jungle or returning to the human village
Belonging and identity
If you remove the animals and the setting, what is the main human problem Simba is trying to solve?
The struggle between following his own path vs. his duty to his family.
Grouping dependence with independence shows what concept?
Bundles of relations
Fill in the blank: Myths help solve human __________.
Problems
This pair of opposing ideas structures Mowgli’s conflict between the jungle and the human village.
Binary opposites
Why did Levi-Strauss care more about the logic of the story than the actual plot?
Because the logic helps humans solve their inner conflicts.
“Dependence vs Independence” and “Security vs Freedom” are examples of what key structuralist idea?
Binary Opposition