Overview
The Hero’s Adventure was created for the reflective professional struggling with engaging students in reading and writing. This guide focuses particularly on the works of Joseph Campbell. The story that will be examined in this guide includes: The Hero’s Adventure. Students are taught how to close read, identifying symbols, themes, identify hero’s in mythology, and character analysis in a short story. Students will compose a daily journal that will be shared and turned in as a final project at the end of the unit. An outline of the journal prompts and grading rubric is included in the appendix.
This guide is for students in grade 6-8th who have a general idea of a journey. Teaching short stories can be a taunting task and with The Hero’s Adventure, the process will flow a lot smoother. Throughout this guide, teachers and students will learn, grow, and gain a better appreciation for taking a journey and the works of Joseph Campbell. All of the necessary forms have been included for your use.
About the Author
Joseph Campbell was born in New York in 1904 on March 26th. He was raised Irish Catholic and quickly became involved in his church. Joseph is the son of Charles and Josephine Campbell. At the age of seven, Joseph’s dad took him to a Wild West show and he became infascinated with the naked American Indian. From this point forward, he became consumed with Native American culture. Campbell was immersed in his Catholic rituals while being obsessed with Native Americans. By the time Campbell turned ten, he had consumed himself in every Native American book at his local library in the children’s section that he was admitted to read the adult books. Not long after he had read all of those as well. At thirteen, Joseph s...
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...ubric that can be found in the appendix.
Cross Curricular Activities
Math- Students will evaluate his or her journey and predict how long it will take to travel from one destination to another. This can be done in many formats at the teacher’s subjection.
Art-In art class, students will draw a visual of their hero’s journey. This should include symbols, roadblocks, and important factors that contributed to the journey. All four of the major parts of the journey should be included.
Drama- Students will make their quest from paper or media format to real-life. This can be done with friends in the classroom. All of the important factors should be included.
Social studies- Students will research Campbell’s history and an overview of the hero that they chose. After researching the information, students will put together a 2-3 page narrative of one journey of choice
These feelings drive O’Brien to seek out a journey in order to find out what is truly valuable to his self being. His adventure of self-knowledge mirrors the narrative archetype of the Hero’s Quest. One might argue that as a result of O’Brien’s uncooperative nature towards his circumstances, he is able to pursue the main motive of the Hero’s Journey, in which he departs from his ordinary world and is able to obtain the life treasure of self-acknowledgement. Tim O’Brien begins his journey as a young “politically naive” man and has recently graduated out of Macalester College in the United States of America. O’Brien’s plan for the future is steady, but this quickly changes as a call to an adventure ruins his expected path in life.
Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in...
The human need to be relatable is unquenchable. We love to be able to see parts of ourselves in others, and to be able to feel like our idols are not untouchable. The Hero’s Journey format is one that can be found in almost any story, even in real life. Overall, it is the perfect recipe for keeping readers engrossed. Another place the journey has shown up is in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Odyssey by Homer. These two stories—one a biography, the other, an epic poem—are so effective in their storytelling, it is easy to see how authors today continue to use the same method to make stories that grab the readers’ attention. What makes them most alike, however, is the emotions and thoughts they have the power to provoke.
” Drama for Students. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 21.
“The Hero’s Journey.” Ariane Publications, 1997. Course handout. AS English I. Dept. of English, Woodside High School. 26 October 2013.
DeMyers, Sandra. "Intro to the Hero's Journey." Loyno.edu. Northshore High School, 21 June 2000. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
The key elements of Campbell’s model were all within the story: the departure, the initiation, and the return. Despite Pi's initial display of ignorance, his exposure to the several stages of the quest pattern forged him into a typical hero, full of bravery and determination. Henceforth, “Life of Pi” a great example of a hero’s journey.
Refer to specific examples. What sets your hero’s journey in motion? What elements of the hero’s journey does it conform to? Use distinctive examples of what you see on the screen. Include quotes from the movie.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
Holmes, Thomas. “The hero’s journey: an inquiry-research model. Jun 2007, vol 34 issue 5, p19-22.4p. 1 Diagram
These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.
During the course of this World Literature class, several stories have been covered that accurately describe Joseph Campbell's mono-myth, or basic pattern found in narratives from every corner of the world. The Hero's Journey in it's entirety has seventeen stages or steps, but if boiled down can be described in three; the departure, the initiation, and the return (Monomyth Cycle). Each stage has several steps, but the cycle describes the hero starting in his initial state, encountering something to change him, and this his return as a changed person. To further explain this concept, there are a few stories covered in this class that can be used.
Many of the stories that have been told for centuries, or have recently been created, incorporate the story of a young innocent character who embarks on a journey and becomes a hero, known as The Hero’s Journey; a series of steps that all heroes follow. This journey not only shows the main character becoming a hero but also shows the hero move along a path similar to that of adolescence, the path between childhood and maturity. The Hero’s Journey was created by a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with One Thousand Faces, a novel containing a variety of stories that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey. One famous creation that follows The Hero’s Journey is the science fiction film trilogy: Star Wars, created by George Lucas. Lucas depicts the struggles that take place along the path of adolescence through the story of a protagonist Luke Skywalker, who strives to become a Jedi Knight to show that Campbell’s Hero’s Journey reflects the struggles that youth go through whether they are depicted in a story or not.
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
Joseph Campbell was a well known mythology teacher who spent his whole life trying to understand the different types of stories that are told. To Campbell “all humans are involved in a struggle to accomplish the adventure of the hero in their own lives.” He made a list of stages that every hero goes through, and sums it up to three sections: separation (the departure), the initiation, and the return.