Asher Kramerberry

Mythology and Folklore

6/7/2022
8.07 Text Questions
Review Questions

1. The purpose shared between modern urban legends and folktales which have been
passed down for generations is that they are cautionary tales which help to teach us
lessons in a more lighthearted manner. Urban legends and historical folktales are also
similar in their spreading. Both span across many different places and cultures, each
with their own slight spin on the telling of the story.
2. Superstitions help humans deal with the fact that so many things in life are outside of
their control by allowing them a scapegoat of sorts in that they can blame an outside
force as reasoning behind a certain occurrence or mishap.
3. I think that someone could consider cryptids to be a more modern version of
mythological creatures because, while there are plenty of people who do believe in
them, both are fictional creations which haven’t been proven real and are used
throughout different media forms and stories.
4. Lost cities of ancient myth still capture our interest because they might contain some
truth or hints to what ancient civilizations in those areas may have looked like. After all,
the stories did have to originate somehow.
5. The areas of the world which tend to have legends associated with them are in the
ocean, the sky, or located at one of the twelve Vile Vortex locations. These locations are
places which often are rumored to contain secrets, great riches, and have stories told
about them.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Even though we have satellite imagery and programs like Google Earth, there are still
creatures out there that we have not discovered. This is possible because a great
percentage of the planet remains unexplored, either because it is too dangerous to
access or because we do not yet have the technology required to reach these locations.
 For example, most of the ocean remains unexplored as well as the insides of active
volcanic sites and the core of the earth.
2. Myths and Legends often contain clues that can help Cryptozoologists on their search
for unexplained, extinct, or mythical animals. These stories can often prove valuable in
helping to uncover historical artifacts or other information pertaining to ancient or lost
civilizations.
3. There are many facts that suggest a logical explanation for the disappearances in the
Bermuda Triangle. Even in the light of these facts, it has remained a place of myth and
legend. I think this is primarily two-fold. One, conspiracy theorists love a juicy story and
if these tales of supernatural involvement were to be true, many theorists suggest that
governments might be playing a role in the coverup and just claiming that there’s a
reasonable explanation. The other is that, frankly, conspiracy theories surrounding
(primarily) harmless issues are fun and it seems much more exciting to imagine an
otherworldly explanation rather than just accepting the mundane.
4. The mythical Shambhala is still searched for to this day. If I were to discover this utopian
(ideal) society, I would keep it a secret or only tell community members native to the
area. The last thing we need is more Western exploitation and raping of land.
5. Even though urban legends have many positive uses, they also have the potential to be
negative. This is because someone might take it too seriously, like in the case of the
slenderman stabbing, or exploit the power of the story to their advantage, like robbing
people of land, resources, or money and having them assume it’s a creature or
otherwise non-human event.