Northrop Frye

Imagination allows an individual to differentiate between truth and lies.

• He states that in what we say, people don’t tell the real truth
• Libel, Frye suggests, is used to prevent people from telling the real truth.
• Emotions cannot be used to distinguish  between fact or falsehood
• Intellect cannot take into consideration the facts that are presented to make the decision in choosing which is the truth or lie
• This leaves us with the imagination to choose which statement we should believe in.

Advertising In Society

“I spoke in my last talk of the element of illusion in the imagination, and advertising is one clear example, though a very obvious one, of the deliberate creation of an illusion in the middle of real life” (Frye 85).

• Advertising uses the conventions of language to create a finite, prefabricated reality.
• Literature uses the convention of language to create a world of possibility.
• Frye explains that advertising limits humanity to an empty illusion, which consumes the badly trained imagination.

“Psychologists...make the most direct appeal to the imagination” (Frye 85)

• Archetypes exist in advertising in the form of stereotypes and pre fabricated social images
• Advertising places an emphasis on materialism and feeds on the lack of self-worth and self esteem.
• The Little Prince reveals that people have become dehumanized through emphasis on material things.

“To protect ourselves in a society like ours, we have to look at such advertising…ironically” (Frye 85)

• He redefines the meaning of the educated imagination as one that can choose to accept the ideas we hold as true and pertain to an individual’s vision of society and let the rest of the ideas go.
• Advertisers manipulate people’s feelings of fear and isolation and consequently prevent an independent state of mind
• Personal thought and connection allows individuals to understand that the most important things in life come in spiritual form.

Social Mythology        

When Frye refers to social mythology he says “The purpose of this mythology is to persuade us to accept our society‘s standards and values “to adjust to it” (Frye 60)

• Society is an illusion, and its values and standards seem to last forever.
• The imagination works to decipher what is an illusion and what is the real society
• Real society is based from the organized words that make up the human studies in philosophy, history, and science
• It is the only true part of human society as it is the result of our imagination, and is something that stays constant and known to all humans.
• The forms of the words that we use are social myths; language is corrupted by the imaginary and is ever changing.
• The structure of the words is not what is important but the content is what is paid attention to.
• The constructive power of the imagination is often overlooked and should be used to develop a structure of words not influenced by social mythology
• Without imagination words become meaningless and nothing more than the pointless rabble of mob mentality.

“There’s the use of what we call jargon…the gabble of abstractions and vague words which avoids any simple or direct statement” (Frye 61)

• Jargons are used to create illusions and misleading words, thus they are part of the social mythology that hides real society.
• The users of jargons attempt to separate themselves from society and appear better than the rest; this is an illusionary eloquence.
• Literature is used to present information without distinction, where as jargons are used to present information while trying to exclude people.