Gaiman, Neil. “Norse Mythology”

“He travels from place to place in disguise, to see the world as people see it. When he walks among us, he does so as a man, wearing a cloak and hat” (Gaiman 22).

I like this quote because it tells you that despite being a god, he still learns from looking at the world through the eyes of common people. I think that even though he has the knowledge and wisdom that nobody has, he still has things to learn by observing how the world develops as he travels through it. It also shows the personality that Odin has, it says that a leader should always strive for more knowledge for when a problem arises, he would be capable to offer the precise advice for resolving the problem. In the world around us, the pursuit of knowledge can lead a person to discover things that no one knew about the world and to broaden the ideas that people had about the different subjects of study that exist. 

 “Ve carved the logs. He gave them the shape of people. He carved their ears, that they might hear, and their eyes, that they might see, and lips, that they might speak” (Gaiman 34).

I like this quote because it is always fascinating to read how people were made in all these myths. I always look forward to how people are created, be it from just thinking about how people look, or making them from things around the land. This was one of the reasons that I enrolled in this class, as we would learn about the different myths across multiple cultures. Despite all the differences that the myths have, the similarities of how people are created has a distinct pattern throughout all the myths. 

Hadland F. Davis. “Myths and Legends of Japan”

“The Impetuous Male, when in a towering rage, and without a moment’s warning would wither the once fair greenery of mountains, and in addition bring many people to an untimely end” (Hadland 25).

I like this quote because it reminds me of the Native American myth, The Good and Evil Twin. The similarity in personalities between Susa-no-o and Bakutahl, are almost identical. As they cause destruction when they do not get what they want. This behavior can be seen constantly in our society. It is very common to find someone that fits this description, thought they vary with different degree of this uncontrollable characteristic. Rage is one of a person's personality that can bring a lot of problems for a person. It can lead them to do things that they would not normally do and will lead to having a lot of regret looking back at their past actions that they cannot fix anymore. 

“Thou art a wicked deity. I must not see thee face to face. They were therefore separated by a day and night and dwelt apart” (Hadland 23).

I like this quote because you would not expect that the day and night cycle, would be formed from siblings having a fight.  Many of the myths have the same similarity, that when gods or deities come in pairs, the distinct personality of one another will always make new emotions that they did not have come out and end up causing different outcomes. This myth had an interesting way of depicting something that is very common in our time. Just how in real life, sibling get separated to different places in a house when they fight. 

Raffel, Burton. “Beowulf”

“If glory is what he seeks: not killing his comrades in drunken rages, his heart not savage, using but guarding God’s gracious gift, his strength, using it only for war, and then using it bravely” (Raffel 91)

I like this quote because it tells you that all his success did not go to his head, and he had the best of intentions when it came to using his gift. He would never abuse his gift and only used it for the sake of defending his people and people that needed his strength. This type of personality is not seen often as greed will always emerge from within us and lead us to do things for our benefit. But having this kind of personality can lead to people try to take advantage of your kindness and influence to do things for their own interest.