Writing task 

Compare a story of your choice with a modern or old love story. It could be a folktale or mythology from your country, or it could be contrasted with a more modern story from a novel or movie.

• The introduction should give some background information about the two stories, and the conclusion should be “SOAPY”: give a suggestion, opinion, call to action, prediction, and/or explain why the topic is important.
• Each body paragraph should focus on a comparison point–they should be all or mostly points of similarity. Of course, don’t try to compare two stories that are very different. If they are mostly similar with a few differences, they can be pointed out in the last body paragraph.
• Again, research is not required. However, if you are referencing a movie or book, you do need a citation in your works cited. If you use anyone else’s analysis, you will need an in-text citation for that as well as a reference in your works cited. If it’s a folktale or ancient mythology, a summary is general enough to not require an in-text citation.
• The essay should be at least 2 pages long.
• If you are out of ideas, you can always compare Pyramus and Thisbe with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, or Cupid and Psyche with the Beauty and the Beast Disney movie.

End of Chapter Journal

Answer the questions below using your own words in a short paragraph.

1. Which of the love stories that you read did you like the best? Explain why.
2. Which new vocabulary did you find the most interesting, and why?
3. Who was the most despicable character from any of the three stories? Explain why they are despicable.
4. A few of these stories are related to the idea of “metamorphosis”–people transforming into natural things. Which stories and who becomes what?
5. Choose one of the critical thinking questions that you found to be the most interesting to expand upon in your journal.
6. Write a diary entry in the perspective of one of the characters. What would their daily life be like? What is their personality?

Final writing assignment

Comparative Mythology Analysis Essay: For this essay, choose one topic and analyze it using the stories read this term. You should have 5 paragraphs, just like any essay- introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your 3 body paragraphs may be 3 stories and how they show your analysis or 3 characteristics or characters explained in your analysis. The essay should use MLA style—meaning, Times New Roman font size 12, double-spaced. It should be about 2 pages long for a decent analysis. If ANY of your analysis has been copied from the Internet or another student, you will receive a ZERO for your score. It will be graded for how well you organize and explain and give examples for your analysis. You should have specific examples of stories and give a short summary of the events you need to explain your ideas (not a summary of the WHOLE story). Your paper should focus on your analysis and ideas, not so much the events of the stories. Below are some possible topics for your analysis:

1. The role of hubris and nemesis
2. The role of fate
3. Characteristics of a “hero” according to Greek / other mythology
4. How Greeks / other explained natural phenomena using stories
5. How Greeks / other used mythology to teach moral lessons
6. Impact of Greek / other mythology on modern literature/movies
7. Impact of Greek mythology on the English language
8. Impact of Greek mythology on Western culture
9. Impact of Greek mythology on Western art
10. Analysis of Monsters from Greek Mythology
11. Impact of Greek mythology on scientific fields (focus on one field: biology–animals or plants, astronomy, computer science/technology)
12. Lessons to learn from Greek / other mythology for business and/or economics
13. Role of women in Greek / other mythology
14. Comparing aspects of Greek mythology with another culture’s mythology

Choose one of the topics above that you are interested in. With a partner, fill in the chart with notes that you might want to use in your analysis. Help your partner fill in their chart with a different topic.