Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2002. Vol. 8. Eger Journal of American Studies.(Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 28)

Studies - László Dányi: On the Bad Side of the Fence: Fiascos of Southern Ethos

from a sociological aspect and, finally, provides a lengthy definition of it. His definition regards culture as a "pattern of constructs of modes of meanings, values and ideas about acting, inferred from noninstinctive human behavior" (77). He surmises that cultures can be characterized by certain patterns of behavior that he refers to as "culture construct" (78) patterns, and he differenciates three patterns, namely, avowed, masked and metapatterns. Sykes confesses that there are no absolute distinctions between these patterns, however, his intention is to provide a clearer definition than Kroeber and Kluckhohn's, whose definition, at least according to Sykes, suffers from considerable ambiguity in a sense that it does not define the exact place of myths and symbols in the pattern of culture. Later on in the essay it is revealed that Sykes would like to clarify his terminology related to the definition of culture by belittling or even eliminating the significance of myth and symbol, which do not find their place in his distinction. Consequently, he surmises the following: A myth is simply a pattern of values which has real force in the life of a people and which has received metaphoric expression, as contrasted with values and ideas which have only intellectual appeal. The use of such words as "myth" and "symbol" tends to obscure rather than emphasize this distinction. To refer to a pattern as a myth only implies that it is no longer masked. (83) It is highly debatable that the significance of myths and symbols can be ignored or whisked away as if they were mere creations of the divine and the mysterious without having any intellectual appeal. On the one hand, it is very often the ambiguous nature of myths and symbols that clarifies seemingly not understandable aspects of behavior, on the other hand, it must be recognized, appreciated and noted that the world of clear-cut definitions, answers and categories coexists with the world of hopes, beliefs, ambiguities and questions, furthermore, values and ideas may stem from the latter world, and may allude to metaphoric images. The analysis of myths cannot be discarded because the myth system of the South contains such elements that prove the uniqueness of the region. What Sykes negligently mentions as obscuring the distinctions points to a major function of myths and symbols, and this function is 173