What is the meaning of mythology?

According to the New World Encyclopedia, the word

mythology itself refers to a body of stories that attempt to explain the origins and fundamental
values of a given culture and the nature of the universe and humanity. In modern times, the term
can also mean stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to
interpret natural events. The subject of analysis is the narrative “The Great Race: The Origin of the
Chinese Zodiac.”. The author was Ryan Landes-Gilman and the publication date is unknown. The
genre for this narrative can be classified as Chinese mythology. There are six elements of plot
namely: exposition, inciting incident, Rising Action or progressive complications, dilemma, climax,
and denouement. These elements are the major events in a story, and it is essential in all creative
writing, whether writing a novel, screenplay, memoir, short story, or other form. The target
audience for this narrative was intended for Everyman, especially for the youth to understand and
follow the laws and what they are told. The purpose of a myth was to inform the readers because it
provides the readers with a truth which the audience then interprets for themselves within the
value system of their culture. A culture's mythology can influence traditional belief systems and
communicate shared values through the elements and themes of myth which gives the readers
context into the reader's world, literature, and beliefs, and likewise through stylistic devices that
allow a writer to convey a deeper meaning that goes beyond what’s on the page.

There are seven mythology themes, namely:heroism, Generosity, Faith, Love, Fate, Strange
Love, and Sacrifice. But the theme for this myth is more to faith, because by reading the title
'The Origin of the Chinese Zodiac' it is more to belief, firm persuasion, and faithfulness to the
myth which is being analyzed. The effect to the readers in general, the zodiac provides guidance
on how people live their lives. The animal signs have been used in stories and folklore. These
developed the different personality traits that were represented with each animal.

In the myth, the theme was portrayed in terms of stylistic devices that are used to help the
readers to understand a text on a deeper level. Stylistic devices in myths are very distinct, give
more ambivalence, more suggestiveness, more expansion of meaning by saying so many things
with so little. This tool enables the author to condense the past, present and future, being
ubiquitous in time and place to decipher the latent and intricate psychic dispositions and
deepest layers of collective mind, often divergent, sometimes even contradictory views
simultaneously. It achieves its exciting, impressive and even surprising effectiveness. The
stylistic devices that appeared in the excerpt is imagery. The evidence can be seen from the text
when it mentions what the animals do or react when the animals are given challenges across the
path, because each animal has different personalities and different mindset. The effect of these
animal signs are that some signs are used on yearly postage stamps to celebrate Chinese culture,
and others have been used for tattoos or even decoration. The Chinese zodiac has changed the
way millions of people in many countries look at life in association with the beliefs of the zodiac.

In compendious, themes and stylistic devices are always connected to one another,
because stylistic devices help the theme to express ideas, convey meaning, and highlight
important meaning in a piece of text. But as a literary device, the theme refers to the central,
deeper meaning of a written work and is also often subject to the reader’s perception and
interpretation. This means that readers may find primary and secondary themes in a work of
literature that the author didn’t intend to convey. Therefore, the theme allows for literature to
remain meaningful, "living" work that can be revisited and analyzed in perpetuity by many
readers at once or by a single reader across time. This (themes and stylistic devices) can
influence traditional belief systems and communicate shared values. Today myths have become
known as fictional so not as many people identify their religion with them. The readers study
mythology because it teaches them about different cultures, beliefs, subjects and knowledge
about the world. Mythology also teaches the readers important life lessons that can change their
point of view on life in a positive way.

Erlangga
● “Greek Myths: A Continuing Influence on Modern Life.” KidsNews, 5 June 2019,
https://www.kidsnews.com.au/greek-myths-and-legends/how-greek-mythology-
continues-to-have-a-large-influence-on-our-modern-lives/news-story/
334bb7fd1e685e99ebe229f5a685bc5c.
● “Chinese Zodiac: Cultural Significance.” Chinese Zodiac | Cultural Significance,
https://depts.washington.edu/triolive/quest/2007/TTQ07030/culture.html.
● 5 Elements of Plot and How to Use Them to Build Your Novel.
https://www.authorlearningcenter.com/writing/fiction/w/plot-planning/7309/5-
elements-of-plot-and-how-to-use-them-to-build-your-novel.