OCC GATE Workshop: HERO's JOURNEY ARCHETYPE

THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE

DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: [email protected] BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 1

DAVID N CHUNG

PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT OCC GATE CONFERENCE 2010:

“MIND THE EXCELLENCE GAP” SECONDARY STRAND

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE

What do Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Homer’s The Odyssey all have in common? All have heroes that partake in a journey of significant change, that is, the “hero’s journey”. All stories have heroes that are truly profound for our students today — profound when enabling students to explore the archetype of the hero in literature and in their own lives.

Discover how to facilitate this literary, personal, and collaborative exploration on the hero’s journey archetype enhanced with the elements of depth (patterns, big ideas, ethics) and the parallels content imperative that culminates with a photo essay using iPhoto.

PREMISE: THE HERO IN ALL OF US The Hero The Journey

TERMS SOURCES ARCHETYPES:

SYMBOLS SITUATIONS CHARACTERS

THE CONVERGENCE

THE HERO’S JOURNEY VARIATIONS OF THE JOURNEY KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JOURNEY

THE ORGANIZER IPHOTO / IMOVIE / POWERPOINT / BIG HUGE LABS



ARCHETYPES

DEFINITION

An original model or pattern from which other later copies are made, especially a character, an action, or situation that seems to represent common patterns of human life.

Possess particular emotional resonance and power. Recur in different times and places in myth,

literature, folklore, fairy tales, dreams, artwork, and religious rituals. [K. Wheeler]

Dr. Carl Jung, first identified universal patterns

within works and mythology regardless of culture or historical period.

Jung hypothesized that the human mind contained a

“collective unconscious” shared by all members of the human species. This theory can be applied to the concept of the hero and the hero’s journey.

Recognizing archetypal patterns in literature brings

patterns we all unconsciously respond to in similar ways to a conscious level. [MC Barmann]

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS/ATTRIBUTES or

Often include a symbol, a theme, a setting, or a character that some critics think have a common meaning in an entire culture, or even the entire human race.

Universal “prototype” or template In and throughout literature and film THE TERM ARCHETYPE CAN BE APPLIED TO: An image A theme A symbol An idea A plot pattern A setting THEREFORE, TO SUMMARIZE, THERE ARE ARCHETYPAL:

Symbols Situations Characters

EXAMPLES

ARCHETYPES CAN BE EXPRESSED IN… Myths Dreams Literature Religions Fantasies Folklore

VARIATIONS

THE HERO’S JOURNEY [BARMANN]: Stage1: Departure:Theheroiscalledtoadventure,althoughheis

reluctanttoaccept.

Stage2: Initiation:Theherocrossesathresholdintoanew,moredangerousworld,gainingamorematureperspective.

Stage3: TheRoadofTrials:Theheroisgivensupernaturalaid,endurestestsofstrength,resourcefulness,andendurance.

Stage4: TheInnermostCave:Theherodescendsintotheinnermostcave,anunderworld,orsomeotherplaceofgreattrial.Sometimesthisplacecanbewithinthehero’sownmind.Becauseofthistrial,theheroisreborninsomeway—physically,emotionally,orspiritually.Throughthisexperience,theherochangesinternally.

Stage5: ReturnandReintegrationwithSociety:Theherouseshisnewwisdomtorestorefertilityandordertotheland

APPLICATION:

PHOTO ESSAY: IPHOTO, IMOVIE, POWERPOINT, MOVIEMAKER [Apple & Microsoft both have fabulous, practical tutorials on how to use their media program]

FLICKR, PICASA, GOOGLE IMAGES FREEPLAYMUSIC.COM



MAIN POINTS DETAILS

MY EXAMPLES NOTE CHARACTER’S NAMES AND THE NAME OF LITERATURE/FILM

HEROIC

ARCHETYPES:

1. Hero as WARRIOR (Odysseus): A near god-like hero faces physical challenges and external enemies

2. Hero as LOVER (Prince Charming): A pure love motivate hero to complete his quest

3. Hero as SCAPEGOAT (Jesus): Hero suffers for the sake of others

4. TRANSCENDENT Hero: The hero of tragedy whose fatal flaw brings about his downfall, but not without achieving some kind of transforming realization or wisdom (Greek and Shakespearean tragedies—Oedipus, Hamlet, Macbeth, etc.)

5. ROMANTIC/GOTHIC Hero: Hero/lover with a decidedly dark side (Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre)

6. PROTO-FEMINIST Hero: Female heroes (The Awakening by Kate Chopin)

7. APOCALYPTIC Hero: Hero who faces the possible destruction of society

8. ANTI-Hero: A non-hero, given the vocation of failure, frequently humorous (Homer Simpson)

9. DEFIANT ANTI-hero: Opposer of society’s definition of heroism/goodness. (Heart of Darkness)

10. UNBALANCED Hero: The Protagonist who has (or must pretend to have) mental or emotional deficiencies (Hamlet, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

11. The OTHER—the DENIED Hero: The protagonist whose status or essential otherness makes heroism possible (Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan)

12. The SUPERHEROIC: Exaggerates the normal proportions of humanity; frequently has divine or supernatural origins. In some sense, the superhero is one apart, someone who does not quite belong, but who is nonetheless needed by society. (Mythological heroes, Superman)

http://teacherweb.com/OK/OklahoaCityPublicSchools/Barmann/Archetypes.doc.



ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEYMAIN POINTS DETAILS EXAMPLES IN __________________________

TYPES OF ARCHETYPAL JOURNEYS

The quest for identity

The epic journey to find the promised land/to found the good city

The quest for vengeance

The warrior’s journey to save his people

The search for love (to rescue the princess/damsel in distress)

The journey in search of knowledge

The tragic quest: penance or self-denial

The fool’s errand

The quest to rid the land of danger

The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HERO’S

JOURNEY

The hero is naïve and inexperienced

The hero meets monsters or monstrous men

The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor

The hero years for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide or inspiration

The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home

The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge.

The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from cities

The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses his/her parents at a young age, being raised by animals or a wise guardian

The hero returns to the land of his/her birth in disguise or as an unknown

The hero is special, one of a kind. He/she might represent a whole nation or culture

The hero struggles for something valuable and important

The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces

The hero has a guide or guides

The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an event that marks a change from an immature to a more mature understanding of the world

The hero undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after his/her initiation

The hero has a loyal band of companions

The hero makes a stirring speech to his/her companions

The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical and/or mental) and shows pride in his/her excellence

The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers.

http://teacherweb.com/OK/OklahomaCityPublicSchools/Barmann/Archetypes.doc.



HERO’S JOURNEY IN _____________________________________

AUTHOR / DIRECTOR: GENRE:

STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY: SEPARATION FROM THE KNOWN WORLD:

o THE CALL, THE THRESHOLD INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION:

o THE CHALLENGES, THE ABYSS, TRANSFORMATION, REVELATION, ATONEMENT THE RETURN TO THE KNOWN WORLD:

o THE RETURN SEPARATIONFROMTHEKNOWNWORLD

STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION

THE CALL Invites us into adventure Offers the opportunity to gain something of value

(physical or spiritual) by facing the unknown May choose willingly to undertake quest or may be dragged into it Reasons for quest:

1. Something was taken and we need to reclaim it 2. Something is lacking in our life and we must find what is

missing 3. We want to save or restore honor 4. We realize something is not permitted and must gain these

rights

THE THRESHOLD The jumping off point for the adventure Interface between the known (familiar world) and

the unknown (a world filled with challenges and dangers) At the threshold, people and situations block our passage until we

are truly ready to meet the challenge Threshold guardians: for children (parents), for adults (fears and

doubts) Encounter helpers who provide assistance (often bringing a divine

gift or talisman) Most important helper is a mentor or guide (keeps us focused on

goal) Mentors/helpers cannot take the journey for us, we must do it

ourselves if we are to benefit from it and grow

INITIATION&TRANSFORMATION

STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION

THE CHALLENGES Begin journey into unknown (outward into a physical unknown or

inward into a psychological unknown) Puts hero more and more at risk (emotionally, mentally,

psychologically, and/or physically) Face a series of challenges or temptations that increase in

difficulty Challenges always strike at greatest weakness Greatest test is to differentiate real helpers from “tempters” Tempters try to pull us away from our path

Name:

Class: Date:



INITIATION&TRANSFORMATION[CONTINUED]

STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:_____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION

THE ABYSS Greatest challenge of the journey, we must surrender

ourselves completely to it We must face our greatest fear, and face it alone (known as

“slaying the dragon”) A possibility the challenge will beat us, or we can’t surrender

to it and thus retreat

THE TRANSFORMATION As we conquer and overcome our fears, the transformation is

complete Final step is the moment of death and rebirth (part of us dies

so a new part can be born)

THE REVELATION Part of the Transformation is a Revelation (a sudden, dramatic

change in the way we think or view life) The change in thinking is what makes us a different person

ATONEMENT We achieve atonement [compensation, restoration or the

payment for a mistake] when we are “at one” with our new self.

We are in harmony with life and the world (an imbalance has been corrected)

THERETURNTOTHEKNOWNWORLD

STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:_____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION

THE RETURN Our return to everyday life We discover our gift and may become a great leader or are

spiritually enlightened We begin contributing to our society (possibly renewing or

even saving it) Sometimes things don’t go smoothly:

1. Our message is rejected 2. We are ostracized or killed for our ideal 3. We lose our new understanding or are corrupted 4. We leave society because our understanding is greater

than others around us



FRAMES

NAME: DATE: SCORE: TITLE OF LITERATURE: AUTHOR: ASSIGNMENT:

TASK BREAK DOWN A STAGE OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY. START FROM THE CENTER, NOTE THE STAGE, AND COMPLETE THE FRAME.

PATHWAY

Taken from Frames, Kaplan & Gould. Educator to Educator

STAGE OF THE JOURNEY:

___________________________

LIST THE [KEY COMPONENTS] OF

THIS STAGE:

…

…

…

…

SYNOPSIS SUMMARIZE THE PART OF THE STORY THAT REVEALS THE ABYSS.

[NOTE 5-8 IMPORTANT EVENTS]

REVEALING PASSAGES OR QUOTES CITE A PASSAGE OR QUOTE THAT SHOWS THE KEY PARTS OF THIS STAGE…

CHALLENGES, ISSUES, VALUES EXPLAIN WHAT CRITICAL ISSUES AND/OR CONFLICT THE HERO IS DEALING WITH IN THIS STAGE…

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE EVOLUTION OF THIS CHARACTER

IDENTIFY, LIST, AND EXPLAIN WHAT OTHER CHARACTERS AND/OR EVENTS ARE CAUSING THIS HERO TO CHANGE…



FRAMES

NAME: DATE: SCORE: TITLE OF LITERATURE: AUTHOR: ASSIGNMENT:

TASK CONSIDER ALL THE PARTS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND EXPLAIN THE CONVERGENCE OF THE HERO.

WHATEVENTS,PEOPLE,OROTHERFACTORSCAMETOGETHERTOCAUSETHISCHARACTERTOCHANGEINTOAHERO?

PATHWAY

Taken from Frames, Kaplan & Gould. Educator to Educator

FINAL CONCLUSIONS

ANSWER THE KEY QUESTION/S

THE

RETU

RN

SEPARATION FROM THE KNOWN WORLD: THE CALL, THE THRESHOLD

INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION: THE ABYSS

INITIA

TION

& T

RA

NSFO

RM

ATIO

N: T

HE C

HALLEN

GES

TRA

NSF

OR

MA

TIO

N, A

TON

EMEN

T

THE

RET

UR

N T

O T

HE

KN

OW

N W

OR

LD

TRAN

SFO

RM

ATIO

N, R

EVEL

ATIO

N,:

TH

E R

ETU

RN



REFERENCES

American Masters-For Teachers. “George Lucas and the Power of Myth.” THIRTEEN, Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2009. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/education/lesson4_overview.html>

Barmann, MC. “Archetypes-Tragic Hero Notes.” TeacherWeb Inc, 2009. <http://teacherweb.com/OK/OklahomaCityPublicSchools/Barmann/photo2.aspx>

“Bear Exposed.” Man vs. Wild, Season 2. Bear Grylls. Discovery Channel. 2008. Apple iTunes TV Show. Discovery Communications, 2008.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1981.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Dir. Andrew Adamson. Perf. William Moseley, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton. DVD. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2006.

Finding Forrester. Dir. Gus Van Sant. Perf. Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham. DVD. Columbia Pictures Corporation, 2001.

Great Books Foundation. An Introduction to Shared Inquiry: A Handbook for Junior Great Books Leaders. Illinois: The Great Books Foundation, 1999. < http://www.greatbooks.org >

Harris, Reg. Educational Home of the Hero’s Journey. Napa, CA: Harris Communications, 2008. Web. < http://www.yourheroicjourney.com/ >

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2002.

The Hero’s Journey: An Environment to Explore the Classic Mythical Story Structure and to Create Your Own Stories. Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction, 15 Aug 02. Web. < http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ >

The Hero’s Journey. Read, Write, Think. International Reading Association, NCTE. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/herosjourney/ > < http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1152 >

Homer. “Book 9: New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son.” The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. The Language of Literature. IL: McDougal Littell, Inc., 1997. 486-507.

The Incredibles. Dir. Brad Bird. Perf. Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee. DVD. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2005.

Jimenez, Francisco. “The Circuit.” The Language of Literature. IL: McDougal Littell , Inc., 2002. 264-270.

Kung Fu Panda. Dir. Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Perf. Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane.. DVD. DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 2008.

Lessing, Doris. “Through the Tunnel.” The Language of Literature. IL: McDougal Littell, Inc., 1997. 91-105.

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.

Lowis Lowry. The Giver. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.

Minority Report. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Perf. Tom Cruise, Max von Sydow. DVD. Dreamworks Home Entertainment, 2002.

Ni Tuama, Shelley. Archetypes in Life, Literature, and Myth. OH: Center for Learning, 1997.

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1996.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Geoffrey Rush. DVD. Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Walt Disney Studios, 2007.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush. DVD. Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Walt Disney Studios, 2003.

Rosenblatt, Louise. Literature As Exploration. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1996.

Seven Valleys Software. “Archetypes, Myths, and Characters.” Storybuilder User's Manual. Glen Rock, PA.: Seven Valleys Software, 1998. < http://www.svsoft.com/Archetypes,%20Myths%20and%20Characters.htm >

Sky High. Dir. Mike Mitchell. Perf. Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston. DVD. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2005.

Star Wars Espisode IV: A New Hope. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher. Alec Guinness. DVD. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, 1997.

WEBSITES Apple Computers: iPhoto Support, Tips. Troubleshooting, & Tutorials: < http://www.apple.com/support/iphoto/ >

Apple Computers: iMovie Support, Tips. Troubleshooting, & Tutorials: < http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/ >

Yahoo! Flickr. < http://www.flickr.com/ >

The Hero’s Journey. Read, Write, Think. International Reading Association, NCTE. Web. 17 Oct. 2009. <http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/herosjourney/ > < http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1152 >

Web English Teacher: < http://www.webenglishteacher.com/index.html >

OCC GATE Workshop: HERO's JOURNEY ARCHETYPE

Education

Transcript of OCC GATE Workshop: HERO's JOURNEY ARCHETYPE