Deck 23: Theory: the Structural Study of Myth, Claude Lévi-Strauss

Question 1

For Levi-Strauss, the primary importance of myth is to _____________________________________.

A) provide a high level of entertainment
B) keep alive stories of gods and heroes
C) bring people of different cultures together
D) transmit important cultural and spiritual information

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Levi-Strauss considers _______________ the field closest to mythology.

A) religion
B) psychology
C) history
D) literature

Answer 2

A

Question 3

For Levi-Strauss, myth is different from history because myth is ____________________________.

A) untrue
B) timeless
C) multicultural
D) not always written down

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Levi-Strauss shows that myth belongs to the same category as ____________.

A) language
B) history
C) psychology
D) archeology

Question 5

____________ is an example of overrating blood relations in the Oedipus story.

A) Oedipus killing the sphinx
B) Oedipus marrying his mother, Jocasta
C) The Spartoi killing one another
D) Eteocles killing his brother, Polyneices

Question 6

____________ is an example of underrating blood relations in the Oedipus story.

A) Oedipus marrying his mother, Jocasta
B) Cadmus killing the dragon
C) Cadmus seeking his sister, Europa
D) Oedipus killing his father, Laius

Question 7

Levi-Strauss characterizes ______________ as autochthonous.

A) Oedipus
B) the Spartoi
C) the Sphinx
D) Laius

Question 8

Which of the following statements refers to the view of Levi-Strauss?

A) Myth teaches that disaster results from human-not divine-error.
B) Humans cause pain when they overreach themselves.
C) The purpose of myth is to pass on cultural information.
D) We can interpret myths through our dreams.

Question 9

In studying Levi-Strauss, Edmund Leach concludes that, because the story of Oedipus is so interrelated with other Greek myths, _________________________________________.

A) they originated about the same time
B) all Greek myth is a single system
C) the Greeks were not very imaginative
D) Oedipus is the personification of several gods

Question 10

For Levi-Strauss, the Oedipus myth actually begins with this event:

A) Europa is carried off by a bull.
B) The name of Oedipus' grandfather, Labdacus, means "lame."
C) Ariadne helps Theseus escape the Minotaur.
D) The Spartoi kill one another.

Question 11

Levi-Strauss' method of studying myth is called ________________ analysis.

Question 12

Levi-Strauss uses the term _______________ to describe the individual elements of a story.

Question 13

We can analyze a story ______________ if it is told in different time periods.

Question 14

For Levi-Strauss, events in a story that happen at the same time are called _____________.

Question 15

For the ancient Greeks, those not born of two like creatures are abnormal and usually _________________.

Question 16

For Levi-Strauss, a complete structural analysis of a myth should include _______________ versions.

Question 17

______________________ is the term Levi-Strauss uses to describe how particular events in a myth vary, but the conflict remains the same.

Question 18

____________________, which means marrying outside of your tribe or group, corresponds to "undervaluing your kin."

Question 19

In his study of Native American myth, Levi-Strauss finds that the _______________ is often a mediator.

Question 20

The opposition Eagles Monsters (dragons) is the animal counterpart to the _______________opposition concerning the gods.