February 17- Begin Epic Journey

Today we discussed what the stages of the hero's journey are. We also watched the following video:

·                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBr97zaWj8M

Students then began working on their own epic journey. Here's the outline:

Your Own Odyssey: A Hero’s Journey

Assignment:

You will write a short odyssey about your own life. Odysseus had an epic journey where he could not get where he was going, had many adventures, and had constant interactions with the gods, some of who helped and some who hindered him. Your odyssey will be a parody of his. It can be based on everyday life, but you will raise it to epic proportions. Some ideas:

·         A trip to the mall

·         Prom night

·         A sports season

·         Trying to get from the A-wing to the fieldhouse

·         Navigating your neighborhood

·         Getting ready for school

·         Trying to avoid a bully at school

·         Any adventure is fine

What I’ll be looking for while grading this writing:

·         Include at least five or six of the stages from the Hero’s journey (see back of sheet).

·         Include at least four or five of the archetypes from the Hero’s journey as part of your odyssey (see back of sheet).

·         You must show strength and/or cunning.

·         While most epics are pages and pages long, please limit your adventure to 3-4 typed pages double-spaced.

·         Check your writing for spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Options to include:

·         While you may not wander the world, try to make it seem that this is a large-scale journey. You may have a band of followers (lesser beings) go with you.

·         Supernatural beings will play a large part. You may resurrect Greek or Roman gods or invent your own e.g. Visacardis, goddess of shoppers; Puffis Dadda, god of rap; VinLombar, god of sports teams (you get the idea).

·         Your must write about your journey as if it is the most important adventure ever. Epic!

List of Character Archetypes

Hero

The essence of the hero is not bravery or nobility, but self-sacrifice. The mythic hero is one who will endure separation and hardship for the sake of his clan. The hero must pay a price to obtain his goal.

Mentor or Ancient Mystic
The mentor is a character who aids or trains the hero.

Threshold Guardian
The threshold guardian is the first obstacle to the hero in his journey.


Shapeshifter
The shapeshifter changes role or personality, often in significant ways, and is hard to understand.

Shadow or The Enemy
The shadow often takes the form of the antagonist in a story.

Trickster
The Trickster is a clown, a mischief maker.

The Twelve Stages of the Journey

1. Ordinary World:
2. Call to Adventure:
3. Refusal of the Call:
4. Meeting with the Mentor:
5. Crossing the Threshold:
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies:
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave:
8. Ordeal:
9. Reward (Seizing the Sword):
10. The Road Back:
11. Resurrection:
12. Return with the Elixir: