Introduction
We have learned about classic epic heroes in this unit including Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Achilles, Aeneas, & Oddeseus. However, other there are other epic heros in modern literature & film including Frodo (The Lord of the Rings), Harry Potter, Conan (Conan the Barbarian, Weird Tales), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Luke Sywalker (Star Wars), & Indiana Jones, to name a few. These characters exhibit a hanful of qualities that stand out among other literary characters in conjunction with the specific characteristics of a heroic tale. This activity will help you meet the South Carolina state standards for:
1) Reading
a) literary reponse
b) literary analysis
c) choice evaluation
2) Vocabulary Development
3) Language Development
4) Research
5) Writing Production
6) Technology Skills
Let's get started!!
Task
We have discussed the characteristics of an Epic tale & an Epic hero is class. Using your books & notes as a guide as well as the the questions on the next page as a basis, you will create an epic hero of your own. What kind of hero would our world need today? After you evaluate your own hero, create a picture of what your hero would look like & bring your answered questions & portrait to class.
Process
1) Name and Describe the Hero: The hero symbolizes important ideals and values of his or her home culture.
2) Unusual birth: The hero’s birth is surrounded by unusual circumstances, for instance Achilles being part god or Harry Potter having wizarding parents and surviving a killing curse at a young age.
3) The Call to Adventure: The hero is called to leave home, and he or she willingly or unwillingly does. Such as when Captain America has to save the world from Red Skull.
4) Supernatural Helper: The hero is aided by someone, often old and wise, with magical and mystical power. Without help from Merlin the wizard, King Arthur would not have been able to save the kingdom.
5) Talisman or Special Weapon: The hero has a weapon or protective device given to him or her that will useful on the journey. Wolverine’s talisman or special weapon would be his ability to heal himself.
6) Crossing the Threshold: The hero leaves the familiar, safe world of home and enters fully into the new world of the journey, for instance Odysseus traveling to the Underworld.
7) Trials: The hero has to succeed at a series of trails that challenge and build his or her moral strength and character. Such
as every super hero has to do.
8) Achievement of Goal: Upon successful completion of the trials, the hero achieves the goal of the journey. This can be literal or symbolic. For Harry Potter, this was when he finally defeated Voldemort, but for other epic heroes like Buddha, it was reaching a particular state of being.
9) Reconciliation with a Father-Figure: If a division or conflict with the hero’s father or father-figure is part of the hero’s journey, reconciliation or healing with the father occurs. For instance, Luke Skywalker facing his father Darth Vader.
10) Return Home: The hero, sometimes willingly and sometimes unwillingly, again crosses the threshold and returns home.
Teacher Page
These South Carolina Common Core Standards are addressed in this activity:
| RL.9-10.1 | Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. |
| RL.9-10.2 | Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. |
| RL.9-10.3 | Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. |
| RL.9-10.10. | By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 9-10 text complexity band independently and proficiently. |
| W.9-10.6 | Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. |
| W.9-10.7 | Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. |
| L.9-10.4 | Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9-10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. |
| L.9-10.4(a) | Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word's position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. |
| L.9-10.4(d) | Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). |
| L.9-10.6 | Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. |