Oprah Gail Winfrey

1. Oprah Gail Winfrey By:Luke Phillips

2. Q1: How do we define the personality traits of a hero? • We define it in many ways. Hero’s in any fictional writing or in real life need various characteristics. Some of these are likeability (they need to be liked by many), a flaw (they must have some sort of drawback or shortcoming), and motivation (reason for doing what they do) (Nipps). • Hero’s in all forms often posses many traits such as bravery, courage, determination, dedication, endurance, valor, perseverance, selflessness, sacrifice, and humility. These traits are shown in all different people, no matter what their social class (Jadhav).

3. Q2: How does Oprah reflect her particular culture and society? • Oprah has reflected on her culture by establishing her school for girls located in the poverty stricken parts of Africa. The reason this reflects about her culture and society is because she is a native of Africa (Samuels). • Another way Oprah reflects her African American culture is she recently gave a gift of one million dollars to Morehouse College in order to educate black men. Her goal is to educate one hundred African American men ("EBSCOhost: Oprah”).

4. Q3: How did Oprah childhood affect her charitable work as an adult? • Oprah supports many charities that help underprivileged African American girls because she knows how difficult it can be growing up from her own experience. She went through things like being in deep poverty, being molested by her cousin when she was nine years old, and teenage pregnancy. (Flanagan) • Oprah also supports these various charities through compensation and through her acts because she gave in to the temptation of smoking cocaine as a young girl. She understands that adolescents these days still have the same temptations, but are less susceptible to giving in if they have support. (Johnson).

5. Q4: How did Oprah get her start working with charities and giving back to the public? • Oprah began her giving to charities as soon as she began her start into the entertainment industry. Over the last 30 years Oprah has donated over fifty million dollars to various charities (Johnson). • Oprah has supported many charities over the years such as the Clinton Foundation, Free the Children, 4664, and V-day among many others ("Oprah's Charity”).

6. Q5: What were/are Oprah negative points of her life? • Oprah had various negative points during her life. As a child she grew up in poverty. She was often picked on in school until she reached high school. She was molested as a young girl and also became pregnant with a child at the age of 16 although it did not survive (Flanagan). • Oprah has gone through some criticism for various things. Over the years she has been criticized for things like not offering enough opportunities for African American as she should (Johnson).

7. Q6: How close does Oprah's life follow the hero's journey? • Oprah’s life does follow the hero's journey pretty closely. She has many of the key elements such as a flaw, which is all the hardships she went through during the beginning of her life. Her entire background gives her the motivation for what she does (Johnson). • Oprah’s life also has other elements like dedication to what she does which can be show by the 30 years if work she has put in. Also she has courage that to do the unfamiliar like hero’s do need (Fry)

8. Works Cited • "EBSCOhost: Oprah Winfrey gives gift of $1 million to Morehouse to help educate black m...." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=18&sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e-4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=8906190564>. • Flanagan, Caitlin. " EBSCOhost: The Glory of Oprah." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e-4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=13&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=67245345>. • Fry, Elizabeth. "Oprah Winfrey Biography - A Look Into the Personal Life of Oprah Winfrey." About Oprah - Television - Magazines - Book Club - Radio - Charity. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://oprah.about.com/od/oprahbiography/p/personallife.htm>. • JOHNSON, MARILYN. "EBSCOhost: Oprah Winfrey ." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e-4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=13&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=9708172143>. • Jadhav, Aparna. "Characteristics of a Hero." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-a-hero.html>. • Nipps, Jen. "Five Traits Your Heroes Must Have | The Craft of Writing Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot." The Craft of Writing Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.craftingfiction.com/2010/02/five-traits-your-heroes-must-have.html>. • "Oprah's Charity Work, Events and Causes." Celebrity Charity News, Events, Organizations & Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/103-oprah>. • Samuels, Allison. "EBSCOhost: OPRAH GOES TO SCHOOL." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e-4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=8&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=23575222>. • MLA formatting by BibMe.org.