Transcript Slide 1
Who are your heroes?
What characterizes them as heroes?
List three heroes from history, film, or literature, and complete
the chart below.
Hero
Why is the heroic myth important to so many
cultures ?
Character Traits/Accomplishments
What do they teach us about the culture in
which they were created?
What characterizes someone as a hero?
After studying stories from
around the world, Joseph
Campbell noticed the
reoccurrence of ancient heromyths. In, The Hero with a
Thousand Faces, Campbell calls
the hero-quest archetype, the
monomyth.
“ A hero ventures forth from the
world of common day into a region
of supernatural wonder; fabulous
forces are there encountered and a
decisive victory is won; the hero
comes back from this mysterious
adventure with the power to
bestow boons on his fellow man.”
-Joseph Campbell
Hero myths contain the goals and virtues of an entire nation or
culture; they are conveyed through the quest and adventures of a
legendary figure who is stronger, smarter, and more courageous than
most other people.
The hero undertakes a journey, during which he must perform
impossible tasks.
With few exceptions, mythological heroes are usually male.
Heroes often have an obscure, mysterious, or partially divine origin.
The hero’s way is not always direct or clear to him.
The hero often receives help from loyal allies and supernatural
forces.
What the hero seeks is usually no more than a symbol of what he
really finds.
All heroes go through a journey in one form or another (archetypal). Campbell
outlined 17 stages of the monomyth. Here is a simplified version that is often
used.
Basic structure:
The ordinary world
Call to adventure
Refusal of call/reluctant hero
Meeting wise mentor
Crossing the first threshold
Tests, allies, and enemies
Approach
Supreme ordeal
Reward
The road back
Resurrection
Return with elixir
Ordinary World
Elixir
Call to Adventure
Refusal of Call
Meeting Wise
Mentor
Resurrection
Crossing the
Threshold
The Road
Back
Tests, Allies,
Enemies
Approach
Reward
Supreme Ordeal
Fabulous circumstances
surrounding conception, birth,
and childhood establish the
hero's background and often
constitute their own myth.
In the ordinary world, the
protagonist is introduced to the
audience. He (or she) doesn't
know his personal potential or
calling.
The hero is called to adventure by
some external event or messenger.
The hero may accept the call willingly
or reluctantly.
The Hero refuses to answer or even
recognize the call because of fear,
obligation, or a sense of inadequacy.
Herald – Carrier of the power of
destiny, appears and marks a new
period for the hero.
Hero must leave the known and
enter the unknown. The hero is
summoned to a fateful, unknown
region full of danger and treasure.
Once the hero has committed to the
quest, consciously or unconsciously,
his or her guide and magical helper
appears, or becomes known.
Hero comes to boundary between
known world and the unknown and
steps into the unknown.
This is the true beginning of the
adventure.
The hero is commonly given a
protective amulet or special weapon
for the journey.
The hero must undergo a series of tests. These trials are often violent encounters
with monsters, sorcerers, warriors, or forces of nature.
This is the series of trials and tribulations in which the hero must go through to be
come the hero.
Each successful test further proves the hero's ability and advances the journey
toward its climax, and they end up forever changing the hero.
He may also meet loyal allies who will aid in his quest.
The hero may hit setbacks and may need to try a new idea.
This is the critical, life or death,
moment in the hero's journey in
which there is often a final battle
with a monster, wizard, or warrior.
The separation has been made
between the old world and old self
and the potential for a new
world/self. By entering this stage,
the person shows his willingness to
make a change, to die and become
a new person.
Here the hero has survived
death, overcomes his fears, and
now earns the reward.
The hero must return to the ordinary world.
A flight may be necessary.
The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a
simple emergence from a cave or forest.
The old self dies physically or spiritually
and moves beyond the normal human
state. This is a god-like state (apotheosis).
The return with elixir is the
achievement of the goal of the quest. It
may be a physical object or newfound
knowledge or spirituality.
The object, knowledge, or blessing that
the hero acquired during the adventure is
now put to use in the everyday world.
Often it has a restorative or healing
function, but it also serves to define the
hero's role in the society.
Harry Potter
Star Wars
The Lord of the Rings
The Lion King
The Matrix
Siddhartha
Shrek
Ender’s Game
The Wizard of Oz
Deltora Quest
Ramayana
Epic of Gilgamesh
The Little Prince
The Alchemist