The Challenge of the Hero's Journey

1. The Challenge of the Hero’s Journey 8th Grade SB 1.9

2. Activating Prior Knowledge • In your groups, share your current definitions of heroes. Emphasize challenges, attitudes, and responses to challenge.

3. Terms to Know • Stereotype – a fixed, oversimplified image of a person, group, or idea; something conforming to that image. • Is there a stereotypical hero?

4. Terms to Know • Archetype – a character, symbol, story pattern, or other element that is common to human experience across cultures. • Archetypes occur frequently in literature, and especially in myth and folklore. • Common examples – the underdog, the hero, helping animals • Examples of story settings using archetypes – gardens, forests, rivers

5. Stereotype Archetype Compare and Contrast Ideas

6. The Hero’s Journey • A journey is one way of discovering oneself. The journey may be literally moving from place to place, or it may be an internal journey of self-discovery. • What novels or films do you know in which the hero goes on adventures and either purposely or accidentally discovers his or her true self by undergoing challenges?

7. Think Aloud • In a circle map, list the types of challenges that might occur in a hero’s journey

8. The Hero’s JourneyAccording to Joseph Campbell • Make sure you use the organizational labels of the hero’s journey correctly. • There are three stages – departure, initiation, return • There are three or four steps within each stage. • When working through the Hero’s Journey archetype, not all steps must be present in a text. In fact, there can be multiple hero’s journeys within one body of work.

9. Paraphrasing • In groups, paraphrase the explanation of each stage in the middle column.

10. Notes/ExamplesStage 1: Departure • The Call to Adventure – Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered when he is a young boy. Soon after, he falls into a well with thousands of bats and is filled with fear. • Refusal of the Call – Instead of following in his parent’s footsteps and seeking positive solutions to the problems of Gotham City, he disappears and ends up in a foreign prison. • The Beginning of the Adventure – After leaving prison, Bruce Wayne is invited to the top of the mountain to find what he is looking for.

11. Notes/ExamplesStage 2: Initiation • The Road of Trials – After being trained as a ninja, Bruce Wayne must face his fear of bats as well as of death. • The Experience with Unconditional Love – Bruce Wayne remembers and is inspired by the love of his parents as well as the values they stood for. • The Ultimate Boon – Batman defeats the Leagues of Shadows and saves Gotham City.

12. Notes/ExamplesStage 3: Return • Refusal of the Return – Bruce Wayne must decide if he should rebuild his burned home and his life in Gotham City, living as Bruce Wayne and Batman. • The Magic Flight – After defeating the League of Shadows, Batman decides he must dedicate his life to Gotham City, fighting crime and returning order • Rescue from Without – Alfred serves as Bruce Wayne’s mentor and guide as he struggles to do what is right. • The Crossing, or Return Threshold – Bruce Wayne learns that he must always face his fears. Even though the situation in the city is bleak, it is not without hope. He must make personal sacrifices to give hope to the people.

13. Expanding Your Response • Look back at your response to the essential question: What defines a hero? • Expand your response by considering the strategies of definition (function, example, negation) as you consider the steps of the hero’s journey archetype.