ANCIENTS AND ARCHETYPES Joseph Campbell’s hero cycle

It was the same old story. Writing workout: It was the same old story. Write ¾ of a page minimum. Write in any mode or genre. Try to convey VOICE through detail, imagery, diction, syntax, and point of view. SYNTAX Challenge: Incorporate sentence types 3, 4, and 5 (see syntax packet for samples sentences).

ANCIENTS AND ARCHETYPES Joseph Campbell’s hero cycle

Joseph Campbell’s Journey of a Hero Based on The Hero with a Thousand Faces: a Theory for All the Ages.

= = = = Gilgamesh Odysseus Aeneus Buddha Moses Joseph Campbell, a historian/writer/linguist/mythologist, studied ancient texts and traveled the world to understand myths from both eastern and western cultures. He noticed uncanny connections among the heroes of the ancient world.

(Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.) The MonoMYTH “It will always be the one, shape-shifting yet marvelously constant story that we find, together with a challengingly persistent suggestion of more remaining to be experienced than will ever be known or told.” (Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.) Campbell found connections and patterns among characters, which are called ARCHETYPES. Writers should not be frozen by the fear of repeating the same old story, because every hero brings new details or circumstances that will interest the reader. The Hero Cycle is not a formula…it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon that humans have been repeating as long as stories have been told!

arch = first, orginal and type = model ARCHETYPES arch = first, orginal and type = model Around the same time that Joseph Campbell was writing about the hero’s journey, Carl Jung theorized that different character types are a part of our psyche – we’re all telling the same story based on our “collective unconscious.” Archetypes: The hero The explorer The trickster The innocent The shadow The child The caregiver The anima/animus The maiden

Modern-day writers and filmmakers often study Campbell’s work to create characters who represent archetypes like: the hero, the mentor, the villain, the trickster, etc.d

You’ve already experienced the hero cycle if you’ve seen or read: The Matrix Star Wars Excalibur Superhero movies like Superman, Batman, etc. Pinocchio The Odyssey The Legend of King Arthur Indiana Jones movies Several biblical parables Aladdin (and most other Disney movies)

Star Wars is often used as an example of the hero cycle because George Lucas stumbled across a copy of Hero with a Thousand Faces and then consulted with Joseph Campbell as he developed his master blueprint for the films.

OVERVIEW of the hero cycle Each chapter within the book Hero with a Thousand Faces can be interpreted as a substep of the hero cycle (there are 17 substeps). Some writers/mythologists have condensed the steps or they may call them by different names. The gist the hero’s tale is always the same! The steps of the hero cycle do not have to unfold in a specific order, but they do typically follow these three major steps: separation, initiation, and return.

Here’s a condensed version of the hero cycle that displays the most important steps!

Here’s a really, really, really condensed graphic image of the hero cycle!

How are you like harry potter, Frodo baggins, and Katniss everdeen? Link to TED Ed Lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-a-hero-matthew-winkler#watch

CALL to adventure There are 4 major types of calls: 1) Something has been taken: the quest is to find it 2) Something is “missing” in life: the quest is to find what is lacking 3) Honor has been sullied: someone’s good name or reputation must be restored 4) Something is not permitted: the quest is to right the wrongs of the world

CALL to adventure Some heroes are willing to go on the adventure (like Harry Potter or Ender); others are reluctant or unwilling, at least at first (like Bilbo Baggins). “transformative crisis” v. gradual call heralds (often a stranger or an animal) may deliver the call Transformative crisis: Prim’s name is called at the Reaping. Harry’s call to adventure is announced via an animal (owls), then a stranger (Hagrid).

MONDAY, 10/5 AND TUESDAY, 10/6 Grab your RAW books and handouts from the front black cabinet. DO NOW: Imagine that you want to go somewhere that your parents do NOT want you to go. What strategies do you use to get your way? Don’t write them down in the RAW Book yet, but be ready to discuss. 

MONDAY, 10/5 AND TUESDAY, 10/6 Today’s Agenda: 1) Dissection Day: “Justice Will Be Done” (non-fiction) 2) Mini-lesson: Titles for Academic Papers 3) Hero Cycle Notes, continued Homework: Proofread and polish all Idea Book entries (due next time!) Read the 4th chapter of your hero cycle book. Root Words Quiz #3 is coming up: Friday/Tuesday

Analyzing LITERATURE (Use Los Superseven!) Diction Imagery Details Syntax Point of view Tone Theme

Analyzing LANGUAGE The tools of rhetoric: Logical appeal: statistics/data, common sense, reasoning Credibility: Experiences of the speaker, associations with credible sources Emotional appeal: Ex. Sympathy, nostalgia, humor, guilt, passion, etc.

“D” on the GRID: Dissection Day “Justice Will Be Done”

Quick Review www.kahoot.it

“D” on the GRID: Dissection Day “Justice Will Be Done”

Writing Titles for Academic Papers An effective title includes: A hook or catchy phrase to grab attention A hint towards the thesis Key words/details/“location” from the prompt

Sample titles Good Bye Lenin!: Free Market Nostalgia for Socialist Consumerism • The Artful Thunder as Dramatic Technique in Shakespeare’s The Tempest • The Machine-Language of Muscles: Reading, Sport and the Self in Infinite Jest Steel, Land, and Famine: The Failure of the Great Leap Forward The Day the Earth Bled: The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Back to the hero cycle!

The hero may not be 100% on board right away! Refusal of the call The hero may not be 100% on board right away! Look for an obvious negative reaction OR just a last moment of hesitancy before the hero leaves the ordinary world based on fears of the unknown or societal/familial/cultural constraints may be manifested through a regret or desire for normalcy the call may be refused on behalf of the hero by someone else can only result in stagnation, disintegration, and death, so this always leads up to an ACCEPTANCE OF THE CALL

"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures "We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures.  Nasty uncomfortable things!  Make you late for dinner! I can't see what anybody sees in them...we don't want any adventures here, thank you!  You might try over The Hill or across The Water.“ ~ Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit

wednesday, 10/7 & Thursday, 10/8 Today’s Agenda: Calendar Distribution 2) Grammar Lesson: Clauses and Phrases 3) Hero Cycle Notes, continued Homework: Prepare for Root Words Quiz #3 on Friday/Tuesday Bring flash cards from all three lists for bonus points!

Grammar Time: The Clause v. the phrase A CLAUSE: A PHRASE: …is a group of words that contains a subject (noun or pronoun performing an action) and a predicate (verb) …is a group of words that might contain a noun OR a verb, but it does not contain both Independent Clause (a sentence!) Dependent Clause Adverbial Clause Noun Clause Prepositional phrase Participial phrase Gerund phrase Infinitive phrase

CLAUSes A group of words that includes a subject and a verb Kermit rode his bike to Hollywood. Subj + verb  complete thought = independent clause Even though his legs were scrawny, Kermit rode his bike to Hollywood. [Even though his legs were scrawny] = dependent clause S V

CLAUSes A group of words that includes a subject and a verb I like books. Noun clause: I like what I see. I like what I see. I smacked my alarm clock hourly. Adverbial clause: I smacked my alarm clock until I broke it. I smacked my alarm clock until I broke it.

Phrases! A phrase is a group of related words that does not include a subject or verb. (If it did contain a subject and verb, it would be called a CLAUSE!) Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and typically answer the questions “when” or “where.” Ernest Hemingway was fond of prepositional phrases: The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went on to Madrid.

Prepositional phrases add detail to a sentence Prepositional phrases add detail to a sentence. Even though prep phrases contain nouns, a prepositional phrase will NEVER contain the subject of the sentence. Neither of these cookbooks contains the recipe for Manhattan-style squid eyeball stew. Tommy, along with the other students, breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs. Higginbottom postposted the exam.

Where’s the preposition at?!? You may have heard that ending a sentence with a preposition is a no- no. That’s true. You should change “Who are you going with?” to “With whom are you going? However…when changing it results in something really awkward, don’t do it! Like this famous quotation from Winston Churchill: “That is nonsense up with which I will not put.”

Back to the hero cycle!

Supernatural aid (mentors and helpers) Heroes get help along the way! 1) Mentors are protective figures who counsel or teach the hero. 2) Helpers or sidekicks are sometimes called the loyal companions. 3) Aid can arrive in the form of a magical object called a talisman (sword, map, helmet, ring, light saber, etc.)

MENTORS: Mentors don’t always wear pointy hats and long, white beards. Can you identify these mentors?

Can you name the sidekicks for these heroes?

Crossing the threshold Leaving the ordinary world… passage must be earned by overcoming some kind of obstacle threshold is often blocked by an adversary or guardian who requires the hero to rethink the plan threshold = the territory between the known and the unknown

The Star Wars cantina scene is a famous “crossing the threshold” moment, because Luke encounters strange beings and must overcome obstacles to leave his ordinary life behind. Click on the image above or on this link to see a Lego rendition of the cantina scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ieXVs3AfCQ

Belly of the whale/into the abyss Pause…a hero is born! The final stage of leaving the ordinary and moving into the known world is called the BELLY OF THE WHALE (if the hero is in an enclosed womb-like space) or INTO THE ABYSS (if the hero is alone and wandering). It’s a time of contemplation, and often includes imagery of death (of the old self) and birth (of the hero, ready to face trials and challenges). 2) The “Belly of the Whale” step = a symbol of the womb a form of self-annihilation a near-death (or death of the old ways/the old self) and a resurrection

A series of obstacles/challenges/quests THE ROAD OF TRIALS A series of obstacles/challenges/quests Common types of TRIALS include: brother battle, dragon battle, abduction/sea/night journeys, symbolic dismemberment or death. Campbell noted that: tests may be physical or spiritual the trials become progressively more difficult the hero “discovers and assimilates his opposite either by swallowing it or by being swallowed” (Cambell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces). 3) Another test for our hero is facing TEMPTATION (often represented by a temptress character distracting the hero from the intended quest.)

THE ROAD OF TRIALS The ultimate trial or challenge is called the Supreme Ordeal

“You mean you'll put down your rock, and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?” -- Wesley, The Princess Bride

MEETING WITH THE GODDESS Girl power! Campbell said the woman represents “the totality of what can be known.” 1) Be on the lookout for a female character who offers aid/nurturing/healing to the hero in a time of need. 2) Sometimes this character is a love interest, and the story incorporates a mystical marriage. 3) Sometimes the goddess is more of a fairy godmother/nurturer. 4) A hero may find intuition; a heroin may rely more on logic.

Seducing the hero away from his path THE TEMPTRESS Seducing the hero away from his path 1) the meeting with a woman may be another obstacle to overcome woman = a symbol of life, so recognizing the woman as temptress = a revulsion of the flesh or earthly self

The hero finds the power within transformation The hero finds the power within 1) Ultimately, the hero must come to grips with the thing that held the most power over him in life. For many, that’s the father figure. In the ATONEMENT stage, the hero becomes “at one” with himself and his new identity as a hero. He realizes (often after encouragement or recognition) that he has replaced his father – he is in control of his destiny. 2) APOTHEOSIS happens to some hero figures, when they reach a moment of such triumph that they temporarily feel god-like, like they can accomplish something that ordinary humans could not. 3) The ULTIMATE BOON is the realization of the quest, but it’s not always what the hero was looking for (love, truth, justice, etc.).

Watch the following video and search for steps of the hero cycle: transformation Watch the following video and search for steps of the hero cycle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_OMPrqhA_4

The hero returns to the known world, but he’ll never be the same… THE RETURN The hero returns to the known world, but he’ll never be the same… 1) REFUSAL OF THE RETURN: the hero may not feel ready to return to ordinary life (Nobody gets me!!) 2) RESCUE FROM WITHOUT: an outside source (sometimes supernatural) helps the hero return home safely 3) MAGIC FLIGHT: the journey home is often miraculously shorter than the journey away from home (a blessing from the gods) 4) MASTER OF TWO WORLDS: the hero reconciles their experiences on the journey and their existence in the everyday world

And the adventure never ends…