Wednesday/Thursday, 5/11 & 5/12/11 Warm up: The Heroes Journey Harry Potter Note the phases of the Hero's Journey in the following video clip. We'll discuss the details or the phases after the clip. http://www1.teachertube.com/viewvideo.php?video_id=105816 &title=harry_potter_s_hero_s_journey The Heroes Journey 1
The 12 Stages of the Heroes Journey IWBAT: identify the stages of the heroic quest. Classwork: The stages of a hero's journey handout for notes Evaluating movies we know for the stages. Tracing the stages through A Knight's Tale. May 9 9:19 PM 2
Twelve Stages of the Journey 1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where 2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE. 3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but 4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to 5. CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where 6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES, AND ENEMIES. 7. They APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold 8. where they endure the ORDEAL. 9. They take possession of their REWARD and 10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World. 11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience. 12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World. 12 Stages 3
The hero is introduced in his Ordinary World The journey begins in the Ordinary World, travels to the Special World, and returns to the Ordinary World. Example: Harry Potter lives in London, travels to Hogwarts, and then back to London. Ordinary World 4
Call to Adventure The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not. Destiny has summoned the hero. He may go forward to accomplish the adventure of his own free will. He may be carried or sent by someone else. It might begin accidentally, or he could be walking down a familiar path and follow a distraction. An accident, a blunder, something planned or something hoped for... The Call to Adventure sets the story rolling by disrupting the comfort of the Hero's Ordinary World, presenting a challenge, a problem, or an adventure that must be undertaken. Call to Adventure 5
Reluctant or Refuse the Call Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances. A Hero often refuses [or is reluctant] to take on the Journey because of fears and insecurities that have surfaced from the Call to Adventure. The Hero may not be willing to make changes, preferring the safe haven of the Ordinary World. This becomes an essential stage that communicates the risks involved in the Journey that lies ahead. Without risks and danger or the likelihood of failure, the audience will not be compelled to be a part of the Hero's Journey. Refuse the Call 6
Meet the Mentor The Hero meets a Mentor to gain confidence, insight, advice, training, or magical gifts to overcome the initial fears and face the Threshold of the adventure. The Mentor may be a physical person, or an object such as a map, a logbook, or other writing. The mentor can only go so far with the hero. Eventually the hero must face the unknown by himself. Sometimes the wise old man is required to give the hero a swift kick in the pants to get the adventure going. This is Obi Wan Kenobi giving Luke Skywalker his father's light sabre. Meet the Mentor 7
Cross the Threshold Crossing the threshold signifies that the Hero has finally committed to the Journey. He is prepared to cross the gateway that separates the Ordinary World from the Special World. This is the moment at which the story takes off and the adventure gets going. The balloon goes up, the romance begins, the plane or spaceship blasts off, the wagon train gets rolling. Dorothy sets out on the Yellow Brick Road. The hero is now committed to his journey... and there's no turning back. Cross the Threshold 8
Tests, Allies, and Enemies Having crossed the threshold, the Hero faces Tests, encounters Allies, and confronts Enemies. Allies are earned, a Sidekick may join up, or an entire Hero Team may be forged. The Hero finds out who can be trusted and prepares himself for the greater Ordeals yet to come. He needs this stage to test his skills and powers, or perhaps seek further training from the Mentor. If there are tests, they often come in three's, and he may fail one or more of them. The hero may meet a goddess or a temptress. As in The Natural, when he is shot by the woman in black with a silver bullet. He then enters the belly of the whale, a term given to a point when it seems the hero has lost hope and maybe will not succeed on this journey. Or it may not be a temptress at all, it could be something else representing temptation. Test, Allies, Enemies 9
Approach the Inmost Cave The Hero must make the preparations needed to approach the Inmost Cave that leads to the Journey's heart, or central Ordeal. Maps may be reviewed, attacks planned, and possibly the enemies forces whittled down before the Hero can face his greatest fear, or the supreme danger. The Approach may be a time for some romance or a few jokes before the battle, or it may signal a ticking clock or a heightening of the stakes. The hero has arrived at a dangerous place, often deep underground, where the object of his quest is hidden. In many myths the hero has to descend into hell to retrieve a loved one, or into a cave to fight a dragon and gain a treasure. Sometimes it's the hero entering the headquarters of his nemesis; and sometimes it's just the hero going into his or her own dream world to confront his or her worst fears... and overcome them. Inmost Cave 10
The Hero Endures the Supreme Ordeal The Hero engages in the Ordeal, the central life or death crisis, during which he faces his greatest fear, confronts his most difficult challenge, and even may experience "death". This is a critical moment in any story, an ordeal in which the hero appears to die and is born again; his Journey teeters on the brink of failure. This is what you have always known as the climax of the story. It's a major source of the magic of the hero myth. The audience has been led to identify with the hero. We are standing outside the cave waiting for the victor to emerge, it's a black moment. This is the magic of any well designed amusement park thrill ride. Supreme Ordeal 11
Reward (Seizing the Sword, The Ultimate Boon) The Hero has survived death, overcome his greatest fear, slain the dragon, or weathered the crisis of the heart, and now earns the Reward that he went on the Journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare the Hero for this step. The Hero's Reward comes in many forms: a magical sword, an elixir that can heal, the Holy Grail, greater knowledge or insight, reconciliation with a lover. The Hero may have earned the Reward outright, or the Hero may have seen no option but to steal it. Reward 12
The Road Back The Hero must finally recommit to completing the Journey and accept the Road Back to the Ordinary World. A Hero's success in the Special World may make it difficult to return. Like Crossing the Threshold, The Road Back needs an event that will push the Hero through the Threshold, back into the Ordinary World. The hero's not out of the woods yet. Some of the best chase scenes come at this point, as the hero may be pursued by vengeful forces. The Road Back may be a moment when the Hero must choose between the Journey of a Higher Cause versus the personal Journey of the Heart. The magic flight scenario Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it. Road Back 13
The Resurrection The hero is transformed from the lessons and insights gained from the characters along the road. The Resurrection may be a physical change, or final showdown between the Hero and the Shadow. This battle is for much more than the Hero's life. Other lives, or an entire world may be at stake and the Hero must now prove that he has achieved Heroic status. Other Allies may come to the last minute rescue to lend assistance, but in the end the Hero must rise to the sacrifice at hand. The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult. Resurrection 14
Return with the Elixir The hero comes back to his ordinary world, but his adventure would be meaningless unless he brought back the elixir, treasure, or some lesson. Sometimes the boon is treasure won on the quest, or love, or just the knowledge that the special world exists and can be survived. Sometimes it's just coming home with a good story to tell. Sometimes it's just knowledge or experience, but unless he comes back with the exlixir or some boon, he's doomed to repeat the adventure until he does. Many comedies use this ending, as a foolish character refuses to learn his lesson and embarks on the same folly that got him in trouble in the first place. Even if the ending is tragic it can still provide the best lessons of all, specifically creating a greater awareness of the world for the audience. Elixir 15
A Little Recap For You The hero is introduced in his ordinary world, where he receives the call to adventure. He is reluctant at first but is encouraged by the wise old man or woman to cross the first threshold, where he encounters tests and helpers. He reaches the innermost cave, where he endures the supreme ordeal. He seizes the sword or the treasure and is pursued on the road back to his world. He is resurrected and transformed by his experience. He returns to his ordinary world with a treasure, boon, or elixir to benefit his world. http://www1.teachertube.com/viewvideo.php?video_id=130351 &title=hero_s_journey_the_matrix Review 16
Think about the movies you have seen and complete the handout on the 12 stages of the Hero's Journey. Student Handout 17
Comments about the Hero's Journey Following the guidelines of the monomyth too rigidly can lead to a stiff, unnatural structure in the story, and there is danger of being too obvious. The monomyth, or Hero's Journey, is a skeleton that should be masked with the details of the individual story, and the structure should not call attention to itself. The order of the hero's stages as given here is only one of many possibilities. The stages can be deleted, added to, and drastically reshuffled without losing their power. It grows and matures as new experiments are tried within its basic framework. The values of the myth are what's important. The images of the basic version young heroes seeking magic swords from old wizards, fighting evil dragons in deep caves, etc., are just symbols, and can be changed infinitely to suit the story at hand. The myth is infinitely flexible, capable of endless variation without sacrificing any of its magic. Comments 18
Trace the hero's journey through the movie A Knight's Tale A Knight's Tale 19
Wrap up: Picture Books due on Friday Reader's Response due on Friday. May 10 8:12 AM 20
Attachments Student Note Organizer Table.doc Movie Clips & Heroes.doc A Knight's Tale Student Note Organizer Table.doc