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Hero Archetype Essay

Course Objectives: 1.a; 2. a,b,c; 3. a,b,c,d,e 4.

Critical Thinking

Character motivation - Archetypes

For this essay you will:

1. Choose one of the characters below. Question I hear:

Can I use a different character? No. Why? Because I want you to step outside the box

and read something new and explore a film or novel you do not know. Question:

Can I watch the film? Yes, you should watch the film. Netflix and amazon are just a

few of the possibilities for finding and watching the film. Then you will read the novel,

screenplay or stage play or poem. The written text is what you will quote for the

essay. Questions:

So does that mean that, even if I have a film in mind that I really love, I still have to

use one of the characters on this list? Yes, that is correct

2. Now, think about that character and review the Hero Archetype document. Find the

kind of hero this is. Question: What if my hero is a combination of archetypes? Only

use one for this essay.

3. Select three aspects of that archetype that relate to your character. Question: What

if there are three or four aspects that relate to my character? You can reference three

or four only for this essay.

4. Go to google.com and type in that hero archetype so you can research some

additional information about that kind of hero and why that kind of hero does what

he does.

5. Set up an easybib project and begin researching and citing : the free script,

research about the archetype you have chosen, psychological information

about the character you have created that might explain motives, critical

analysis of your character. DO NOT use easybib or cliffs notes or yahoo

answers or Wikipedia or any other sites that are not legitimate, vetted

scholarly sources.

6. Study these hero archetypes and see which one best describes the character

you have chosen

REMEMBER THAT ONLY ONE TOPIC CAN BE USED PER STUDENT. Open the pdf in the Module and make your selection.

LOCK YOUR CHOICE IN THE DISCUSSION BOARD TOPIC

The Hero Archetype The Classical Hero

Here are the main characteristics of the epic classical hero of Greek and Roman literature:

• He is of royal birth or even, like the Titan Prometheus, half mortal and half god.

• He must perform extraordinary feats.

• His is a noble character: close to perfectly ideal but for one fatal flaw.

• The suffering of the character is physical.

• Death must occur in an unusual way.

• The hero fights for his own honor; his deeds belong to the community after his death.

Tragic Hero

• A tragic hero is a person of noble birth with heroic or potentially heroic qualities.

• This person is fated by the Gods or by some supernatural force to doom and destruction or at least to great suffering.

• But the hero struggles against this fate and this cosmic conflict wins our admiration.

• Because the tragic hero simply cannot accept a diminished view of the self and because of some personality flaw, the hero fails in this epic struggle against fate.

• This tragic drama involves choices (free will) and results in a paradox --- Is it Fate or Free Will which is primarily responsible for the suffering in the hero's life (and in our lives in

light of our own personal tragedies)? Though fated the hero makes choices which bring about

his destruction.In addition, tragic drama usually reveals the hero's true identity. Oedipus ---

instead of being the proud savior of Thebes --- discovers that he is the cause of the city's

plague, the killer of his father and the husband of his mother.

• The hero's suffering, however, is not gratuitous because through great suffering the hero is enlightened. Such heroes learn about themselves and their place in the universe. Pride is chastened. Though destroyed the hero is at peace intellectually.

• Tragic doom is both public (the State) and private (a family tragedy as well) and usually sexual transgressions are involved in some way.

• We are energized by witnessing this eternal drama for it encompasses the fate and "stuff" of all humans from kings and queens to paupers. As for paupers, in his famous editorial for the

NY Times, Tragedy and the Common Man, Arthur Miller argues that the common person is also

capable of tragic stature in so far as each one of us seeks a true identity and a personal dignity.

The Medieval Hero

Here are the main characteristics of the medieval hero:

• A hero can be of common birth.

• Battle is an ongoing test of manhood and loyalty to the liege lord.

• A man has to be seen as having a good moral character, including chastity and obedience (doesn't actually need to be of such a character, perception more important than actuality).

• Must demonstrate obedience to hierarchy

• Must follow elaborate rules of chivalry, dress, courtesy, and codes of conduct.

• Wages war on behalf of liege lord's principles, to grab land or to avenge honor.

The Romantic Hero

Here are the characteristics of the romantic hero:

• Birth and class are unimportant: the individual transcends society

• The battle is internal: it is a psychological war won by the “courage to be me.”

• Moral codes are eccentric/heroes make their own rules

• Passions are outside of individual control

• Self knowledge is valued more than physical strength or endurance (physical courage is de-valued).

• The hero is moody, isolated, and introspective.

• Loyalty is to a particular project and to a community of like-minded others.

The Modern Hero/Antihero

Here are the characteristics of the modern hero:

• He seeks merely to survive, to create a pool of light in a world of dark shadows.

• The war is against meaninglessness: the battle is to create meaning and value.

• The heroes have a code of behavior rather than a code of ethics; they portray men who are impassive, hard-boiled, never surprised by events.

• The world is seen as having no internal order: anything goes – The hero is likely to be as debauched and depraved as the enemy.

• The internal struggle is with addiction to drugs, liquor, sex, money.

• The external struggle is with corruption in government, the military, schools, formal organizations.There is no sense of community. The hero lives for a small, select circle, which

can be merely one woman or a few trusted friends.

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The Byronic hero

• Arrogant

• Cunning and able to adapt

• Cynical

• Disrespectful of rank and privilege

• Emotionally conflicted, bipolar, or moody

• Having a distaste for social institutions and norms

• Having a troubled past or suffering from an unnamed crime

• Intelligent and perceptive

• Jaded, world-weary

• Mysterious, magnetic, and charismatic

• Rebellious

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• Seductive and sexually attractive

• Self-critical and introspective

• Self-destructive

• Socially and sexually dominant

• Sophisticated and educated

• Struggling with integrity

• Treated as an exile, outcast, or outlaw

The Homeric Hero

• A vital complex person who is on a quest

• Changing emotions

• Faces complex and important decisions

• Strives for excellence

• Strives to be best among peers

• Goal is to achieve the greatest glory, to gain the greatest honor from his peers,

commander, and his warrior society

• Has supernatural help

• Public approval is crucial to self-esteem

• Has super-human strength

• Associated with beautiful women

• Birth/death dates unclear or unknown

• Respects all forms of life

• A model for behavior

The Dystopian Hero

• Often feels trapped and is struggling to escape.Questions the existing social and political systems.

• Believes or feels that something is terribly wrong with the society in which he or she lives. • Helps the audience recognizes the negative aspects of the dystopian world through his or her perspective

Seeks to improve a world where

*Propaganda is used to control the citizens of society.

• Information, independent thought, and freedom are restricted. • A figurehead or concept is worshipped by the citizens of the society. • Citizens are perceived to be under constant surveillance. • Citizens have a fear of the outside world. • Citizens live in a dehumanized state. • The natural world is banished and distrusted. • Citizens conform to uniform expectations. Individuality and dissent are bad. • The society is an illusion of a perfect utopian world.

Satiric Hero

• A protagonist who holds up human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, or irony, often with an intent

to bring about improvement.

• The character is oftena sophisticated man of the world concerned about folly, which he sees everywhere, and he is moved to laughter, frustration, or rage.

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• Incongruities, hyperbole, litotes, parody, oxymoron, and irony are key literary elements employed.

• The protagonist continually but subconsciously fights against reality, tradition, phenomenon, and himself—all under the mask of naivety.

The Epicurean Hedonist Hero

• Strongly motivated by a desire to be happy and experience various kinds of pleasure.

• Unlike an Ethical Hedonist, however, the character isn't mature enough to sufficiently consider even his own long-term needs, much less the (short-term or long-term) needs of

others.

• Personal instant gratification is the goal here. Sometimes the hero takes pleasure to the limit so that the pursuit of pleasure becomes the character’s only defining trait, doing

whatever feels good without any thought of the consequences.

• Such a childish mentality is often justified by the character actually being a child. If the character is adult, he might be a sex maniac… lovable or otherwise.

• While usually Played for Laughs, this kind of character is sometimes played as a Strawman Political against Ethical Hedonists or people with a Hedonistic Lifestyle.

• Unlike these real hedonists, a childishly hedonistic character is not prone to consider other people’s happiness, or even his own long-term happiness.

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• Instant gratification is gold. If it feels good right now, do it! Why waste time on thinking? Thinking isn’t fun! Unless you are thinking about how to get what you want as quickly

and effortlessly as possible, that is.

• It's original to compare this general viewpoint to the original hedonists, who believed you should basically do the opposite; true happiness is the opposite of desires, which cause

pain.

• This hero will eventually come face to face with his humanity when the discovery is made that not all people, places and animals support the hero’s self-indulgence.

Existential Hero

• Traditionally, an existential hero is one who doesn't define himself in terms of what the "herd" or the "public crowd" defines the ideal hero as.

• The existential hero stands alone against the crowd and generates a self-interpretation from his own will and experiential history.

• This constitutes"authentic" experience.

• Moreover, the Hero usuallyaccepts his own mortality and generates meaning out of the meaninglessness of finite experience.

• Existential protagonists are most often misunderstood as misanthropes who are curt, reticent, morose, disillusioned, and sometimes even mad besides being termed as cynics.

• The existential hero looks for the alternatives to joining the status quo.

• the Existential Hero is one who, like Sisyphus, grasped the absurd pointlessness of his task (existing) and chooses to embrace it anyway.

• The Hero thinks that this God created a world of meaningless, terrible suffering; only the terror of the plague and witnessing children dying can teach the Hero the true nature of charity and love and, thus, God.

• The Existential Hero learns that hell is despair itself (or perhaps clinical depression). Hell is the failure to create meaning, to create moral or ethical values and

then live in accord with them, or to confront the fact that others have created worlds that

collide with ours and obliterate our attempts to live meaningfully. Thus, the Hero learns

that hell is other people.

Martyr or Christ-Figure Hero

• A martyr is an altruistic, self-sacrificing character who pleases God through suffering, deprivation, and hardship.

• He (usually) sees life as difficult and unpleasant butnecessary to work for others’ sakes.

• He believes it is more blessed to give than receive, more virtuous to be poor than rich.

• Common traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving kindness and forgiveness, fight for justice, being guided by the

spirit of the character's father, death and resurrection.

• While Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves, not all martyrs are Christ figures

• This crosses over to become a Christ-figure when a character displays more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible: walking on water,

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making much out of little (typically fish, bread, or wine), virgin birth in a stable, twelve

followers, carpentry, exchange of silver, betrayal by a close friend, denied three times,

crown of thorns, spear wound to the side, crucifixion, resurrection.

Dickensian Hero

• This hero is born alienated and seeks self discovery

• The hero is a conventional if unusual young man

• In some cases, the Dickensian hero is a morally flawed and passive protagonist

• The hero is often an abandoned child

• Natural hero

• A dynamic and imperfect hero who overcomes social station and personal flaws to find self

• The hero lives within a social context and psychic estrangement

• The hero faces social alienation and the price of selfhood hears the hero to death

The Aristophanic Comic Hero

• Aristophanic comedy, the hero is an independent-minded and self-reliant individual.

• He has something of the ingenious and shrewd

• He is subjected to corrupt leaders and unreliable neighbors.

• Typically he devises a complicated and highly fanciful escape from an intolerable

situation

• The comic hero supports peace and constructs a plan to bring about a peaceful outcome.

• The Aristophanic hero applies unlikely negotiation strategies

Heroic Comedic Sociopath

• The Heroic Comedic Sociopath is a very special sort of comic relief who works toward a positive, morally affirming goal whilst being as evil as possible along the way.

• He differs from most Anti-Hero archetypes in that he's never ineffectual or angry - he loves what he does for a living.

• His punishment, at worst, is that he may be on the receiving end of some Comedic Sociopathy.

• Far more often he's dealing out Comedic Sociopathy and Crossing the Line Twice at such a rate that he quickly becomes a fan favorite. (Note that it is not always a "he", but female Heroic Sociopaths are rare.)

• A Heroic Comedic Sociopath can and will eat the souls of jaywalkers, swindle old ladies, detonate buildings, punt puppies into traffic, and steal candy from babies all in broad

daylight with a hundred witnesses present, in the funniest way possible.

• The Karma Houdini is a natural part of his being (The character has done a number of things that deserve a karmic comeuppance, most importantly things that caused harm to

the innocent. But when the time comes for the hammer to fall, that's not what happens. At

least, not on him. He doesn't get what he deserves. Instead, he gets away scot-free. ) — not

because he's too badass to be captured, but because it's hilarious.

• Being cranked up to the top and played for laughs as he is, the Heroic Comedic Sociopath is

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so fun, evil and invincible that the audience naturally cheers for him and his wacky antics.

• At the same time, he serves as Wish Fulfillment: a fantasy for the audience. Anyone who has wanted to give the boss what they deserve can wish they were like the Heroic Comedic

Sociopath, or had a Heroic Comedic Sociopath ally to sic on said boss.

• Actually good characters in the story put up with him, sometimes because while he may be a monster, he's their monster.

• Sometimes the other heroes have protection from the Heroic Comedic Sociopath's hijinks — it might be a Restraining Bolt, or the fact that the heroes combined can stand up to

him. Failing that, they may be in some way endearing to him.

• The Heroic Comedic Sociopath just finds the heroes amusing enough to see the advantage of not pestering them too much, or may just find it more fun to target the bad guys instead.

• Other times, they don't have that luxury and are stuck with an "ally" as disruptive to them as to their enemies. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroicComedicSociopath

7. Now, create your alphanumeric outline. Here is a template

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I. Introduction

A. Introduce the film, novel or play

B. Describe the hero in one or two sentences

C. Describe the hero archetype that applies

D. Indicate the three aspects of that archetype you consider

1. That kind of hero does this for this reason

2. That kind of hero does this for this reason

E. That kind of hero does this for this reasonTransition to II. Definition

F. Summarize the film in a few sentences

G. Discuss the hero of the story in a few sentences

H. Explain why the hero does what he does. (Note: This is where you move out of plot

summary and into analysis by delving into the character)

I. What does the hero learn in the end?

J. How does that lesson make that character an example of a hero?

K. Transition to II.

II. First Heroic quality

A. A hero possesses this particular quality (refer to the list you made)

B. This hero exhibits that same trait.

1. For example, in this scene, he/she faces this or that problem and responds in

this or that way.

2. The hero says “ ” (citation).

3. By using those words in this situation, the hero clearly demonstrates that he is

driven by the same forces that drive, by definition, the hero.

C. According to (whatever google source you found)

the hero is motivated by his/her need for…

1. For example, the hero says “ ” (citation).

2. These words indicate his/her need for

, , and .

D. Transition to the next archetypal characteristic.

And repeat the formula.

III. Next Point of the Essay following the same format

IV. Next Point of the Essay following the same format

V. Conclusion

Remember that once you

establish the formula for

your outline: statement,

example, explanation of

example, you repeat the

same formula in each

roman numerical section

A. In one sentence, summarize the actions of the character/hero

B. In one sentence, summarize the archetype this character represents.

C. Now, during your research phase of this archetype and study of the written text of

the play, novel, poem etc. you have found and set aside two cool little quotes. You

will select something profound that the hero says and save it for the conclusion. Find

a nifty quote about this type of hero and save it for this conclusion. At this point, add

that quote from the character and a sentence about why he says that.

D. Use the nifty quote about the type of hero you are studying. Add that here as

it relates to your hero.

E. Conclude the essay with some philosophical or summary quote.

NOTE: Do not use second person or third person possessive. Never use “you, we, our, us” in your essay.

This is to be third person objective written in scholarly style. If you do use you, we, our or us, there will

be automatic point deductions.REMEMBER: You must include the following items: Completed outline

(not just the template I have shown above, but your completion of that outline. If all you do is copy and

paste the outline I gave your, the grade for the outline will be a zero. Word Count – This includes only

the text of the essay, not the outline or the works cited page. Works Cited page in MLA format (see

easybib.com)

If your selected character is from a novel, you and find that text online as an ebook, or in the

library Scripts available at http://www.script-o-rama.com/oldindex.shtml

http://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Multimedia#Scripts

http://scripts-onscreen.com/

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