Class Notes 9/10/09

The Heroic Archeytype: Quest for Enlightenment

The Mythic Hero #1
Examples: CONTINUED

D. The Lone Ranger

After the Texas Rangers got ambushed the Lone Ranger is the only one who survives. He jeeps his identity hidden with a black mask over his eyes, making himself even more mysterious. After saving people and fighting crime he gallops off into the sunset.

E. Tormented Vampires

1. Blade- Apregnet women bittin by a vampire thus making her baby nether human nor vampire. Blade is an outcast in society with no real home

2. Angel- He ate a bunch of gypsies and one of them cursed him with a soul. Now that he feels he understands what he has done wrong. Angel doen't belong with vampires because he has a soul, unlike them, and humans shun him. This makes himobscure and without a home.

3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Buffy is a teenage girl who was born to be a slayer. Her fate gets in the way of her social life.

F. Luke Skywalker

*George Lucas desingned Luke to be a mythical archetype creature, and based all of Stars Wars on this theroy.

Orphan boy who grows up with his aunt and uncle at moisture farms in backwater world. Isolated and alone from others in society, he doesn't yet know his fate.

G. Huckleberry Finn
A mytserious mythical archetype creature bt choice. Even though he was abandond by his father he's proud to be on the lowest level of society.

The Mythic Hero 1/2 ( in between one and two)

The "Threshold Gaurdian"

*Crossing the threshold- groom carries bride, passing into a new life together. It's symbolic- seprate now together. All heros have the 'call' they need to pass through

1. Hero from outside, has no ties, providing him to act.
2. Hero withinn community must break those ties-or have them broken, sometimes in brutal fashion- before acting.
3. Something has to happen to prompt the hero into action

The Mythic Hero #2

1. A hero always has a weakness, if they didn't the story would not be very interesting
2. Hero is not invincible, but is not a fool
3. But usually possesses great common sense, street smarts, or wisdom
4. Hero may be average in intellect (thus may make mistakes)

EXAMPLES- Pinocchio/lying, Indianna Jones/snakes, Achilles' heel, Superman/kryptonite, Batman/scared psyche, Luke/ypung inexperienced

Odysseus- he has great common sense, described as quick witted, he can respond to pressure. His weakness is his foolishness, and rash sense of pride. When his plan worked blinding Cyclopes to escape out of the cave he shoted his name as they sailed away. Cyclopes reported this to his father and Poseidon prevented Odysseus from returning home.

The Mythic Hero #3

1. The path is not always clear or direct-but there is a goal
2. Hero seeking something that cannot be found, except in 'ailien territory'
3. Herp may know the goal/destination, but doesn't know how to get there or whats involved in the journey

EXAMPLES- Sam andFrodo/destroy ring, Dorothy/follow yellow brick road, Kiro/down river, Rebellio/Death Star

The Mythic Hero 34

1. Journey filled with danger, loneleness, and temptation
2. Hero is facing things they've never dealt with before
3. Burden of quest wearing down on them, and it's one the hero's sholders
4. The hero doesn't want to suffer and take the pain all the time. They are tempted to abandon the quest in order to relieve the suffering that enevitably results

The Mythic Hero #5

1. Ususally the hero is accompanied by friends/servents/disiples
2. These comprades or companions are along to offset loneliness
3. But they don't share or understand the burden that the hero carries
4. All comradesfall away by the end it's the hero's quest and his alone

Sophia Meyers
P.S I'm sorry really sorry this is a day late everybody, I had trouble getting on yesterday