Workshop Packet on Intro to Archetypes & the Hero's Journey

1. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
DAVID N CHUNG
PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
OCC GATE CONFERENCE 2010:
“MIND THE EXCELLENCE GAP”
SECONDARY STRAND
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE
What do Star Wars, Harry
Potter, Lois Lowry’s The Giver,
C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe and Homer’s
The Odyssey all have in
common? All have heroes that
partake in a journey of
significant change, that is, the
“hero’s journey”. All stories
have heroes that are truly
profound for our students
today — profound when
enabling students to explore
the archetype of the hero in
literature and in their own
lives.
Discover how to facilitate this literary, personal, and collaborative exploration on the hero’s journey archetype
enhanced with the elements of depth (patterns, big ideas, ethics) and the parallels content imperative that
culminates with a photo essay using iPhoto.
PREMISE: THE HERO IN ALL OF US
 The Hero
 The Journey
TERMS
SOURCES
ARCHETYPES:
 SYMBOLS
 SITUATIONS
 CHARACTERS
THE CONVERGENCE
 THE HERO’S JOURNEY
 VARIATIONS OF THE JOURNEY
 KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JOURNEY
THE ORGANIZER
IPHOTO / IMOVIE / POWERPOINT / BIG HUGE LABS
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 1

2. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
ARCHETYPES
DEFINITION ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS/ATTRIBUTES
or
 An original model or pattern from which other later  Often include a symbol, a theme, a setting, or a
copies are made, especially a character, an action, or character that some critics think have a common
situation that seems to represent common patterns of meaning in an entire culture, or even the entire
human life. human race.
 Possess particular emotional resonance and power.  Universal “prototype” or template
 Recur in different times and places in myth,  In and throughout literature and film
literature, folklore, fairy tales, dreams, artwork, and
religious rituals. [K. Wheeler]
THE TERM ARCHETYPE CAN BE APPLIED TO:
 Dr. Carl Jung, first identified universal patterns  An image
within works and mythology regardless of culture or  A theme
historical period.  A symbol
 An idea
 Jung hypothesized that the human mind contained a  A plot pattern
“collective unconscious” shared by all members of  A setting
the human species. This theory can be applied to the
concept of the hero and the hero’s journey.
THEREFORE, TO SUMMARIZE, THERE ARE ARCHETYPAL:
 Symbols
 Recognizing archetypal patterns in literature brings
 Situations
patterns we all unconsciously respond to in similar
 Characters
ways to a conscious level. [MC Barmann]
EXAMPLES VARIATIONS
ARCHETYPES CAN BE EXPRESSED IN… THE HERO’S JOURNEY [BARMANN]:
Stage 1: Departure: The hero is called to adventure, although he is
 Myths reluctant to accept.
 Dreams
Stage 2: Initiation: The hero crosses a threshold into a new, more
 Literature dangerous world, gaining a more mature perspective.
 Religions
 Fantasies Stage 3: The Road of Trials: The hero is given supernatural aid, endures
tests of strength, resourcefulness, and endurance.
 Folklore
Stage 4: The Innermost Cave: The hero descends into the innermost
cave, an underworld, or some other place of great trial.
Sometimes this place can be within the hero’s own mind.
Because of this trial, the hero is reborn in some way—
physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Through this experience,
the hero changes internally.
Stage 5: Return and Reintegration with Society: The hero uses his new
wisdom to restore fertility and order to the land
APPLICATION:
 PHOTO ESSAY: IPHOTO, IMOVIE, POWERPOINT, MOVIEMAKER
[Apple & Microsoft both have fabulous, practical tutorials on how to use their media program]
 FLICKR, PICASA, GOOGLE IMAGES
 FREEPLAYMUSIC.COM
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 2

3. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
MAIN POINTS DETAILS MY EXAMPLES
NOTE CHARACTER’S NAMES AND THE NAME OF LITERATURE/FILM
1. Hero as WARRIOR (Odysseus): A near god-
like hero faces physical challenges and
external enemies
2. Hero as LOVER (Prince Charming): A pure
love motivate hero to complete his quest
3. Hero as SCAPEGOAT (Jesus): Hero suffers
for the sake of others
4. TRANSCENDENT Hero: The hero of tragedy
whose fatal flaw brings about his
downfall, but not without achieving
some kind of transforming realization or
wisdom (Greek and Shakespearean
tragedies—Oedipus, Hamlet, Macbeth,
etc.)
5. ROMANTIC/GOTHIC Hero: Hero/lover with a
decidedly dark side (Mr. Rochester in
HEROIC Jane Eyre)
ARCHETYPES:
6. PROTO-FEMINIST Hero: Female heroes (The
Awakening by Kate Chopin)
7. APOCALYPTIC Hero: Hero who faces the
possible destruction of society
8. ANTI-Hero: A non-hero, given the
vocation of failure, frequently humorous
(Homer Simpson)
9. DEFIANT ANTI-hero: Opposer of society’s
definition of heroism/goodness. (Heart
of Darkness)
10. UNBALANCED Hero: The Protagonist who
has (or must pretend to have) mental or
emotional deficiencies (Hamlet, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
11. The OTHER—the DENIED Hero: The
protagonist whose status or essential
otherness makes heroism possible
(Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Joy
Luck Club by Amy Tan)
12. The SUPERHEROIC: Exaggerates the normal
proportions of humanity; frequently has
divine or supernatural origins. In some
sense, the superhero is one apart,
someone who does not quite belong, but
who is nonetheless needed by society.
(Mythological heroes, Superman)
http://teacherweb.com/OK/OklahoaCityPublicSchools/Barmann/Archetypes.doc.
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 3

4. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY
MAIN POINTS DETAILS EXAMPLES IN __________________________
 The quest for identity
 The epic journey to find the promised land/to found the
good city
 The quest for vengeance
TYPES OF
ARCHETYPAL  The warrior’s journey to save his people
JOURNEYS  The search for love (to rescue the princess/damsel in
distress)
 The journey in search of knowledge
 The tragic quest: penance or self-denial
 The fool’s errand
 The quest to rid the land of danger
 The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)
 The hero is naïve and inexperienced
 The hero meets monsters or monstrous men
 The hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor
 The hero years for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his
guide or inspiration
 The hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in
some way, and return home
 The hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a
bridge.
 The hero is born and raised in a rural setting away from
cities
CHARACTERISTICS
 The origin of the hero is mysterious or the hero losses
OF THE HERO’S
his/her parents at a young age, being raised by animals or a
JOURNEY wise guardian
 The hero returns to the land of his/her birth in disguise or
as an unknown
 The hero is special, one of a kind. He/she might represent a
whole nation or culture
 The hero struggles for something valuable and important
 The hero has help from divine or supernatural forces
 The hero has a guide or guides
 The hero goes through a rite of passage or initiation, an
event that marks a change from an immature to a more
mature understanding of the world
 The hero undergoes some type of ritual or ceremony after
his/her initiation
 The hero has a loyal band of companions
 The hero makes a stirring speech to his/her companions
 The hero engages in tests or contests of strength (physical
and/or mental) and shows pride in his/her excellence
 The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an
emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never
completely recovers.
http://teacherweb.com/OK/OklahomaCityPublicSchools/Barmann/Archetypes.doc.
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 4

5. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
Name:
HERO’S JOURNEY IN _____________________________________
Class: Date:
AUTHOR / DIRECTOR: GENRE:
STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY:
 SEPARATION FROM THE KNOWN WORLD:
o THE CALL, THE THRESHOLD
 INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION:
o THE CHALLENGES, THE ABYSS, TRANSFORMATION, REVELATION, ATONEMENT
 THE RETURN TO THE KNOWN WORLD:
o THE RETURN
SEPARATION FROM THE KNOWN WORLD
STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION
THE CALL
 Invites us into adventure
 Offers the opportunity to gain something of value
(physical or spiritual) by facing the unknown
 May choose willingly to undertake quest or may be dragged into it
 Reasons for quest:
1. Something was taken and we need to reclaim it
2. Something is lacking in our life and we must find what is
missing
3. We want to save or restore honor
4. We realize something is not permitted and must gain these
rights
THE THRESHOLD
 The jumping off point for the adventure
 Interface between the known (familiar world) and
the unknown (a world filled with challenges and dangers)
 At the threshold, people and situations block our passage until we
are truly ready to meet the challenge
 Threshold guardians: for children (parents), for adults (fears and
doubts)
 Encounter helpers who provide assistance (often bringing a divine
gift or talisman)
 Most important helper is a mentor or guide (keeps us focused on
goal)
 Mentors/helpers cannot take the journey for us, we must do it
ourselves if we are to benefit from it and grow
INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION
STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION
THE CHALLENGES
 Begin journey into unknown (outward into a physical unknown or
inward into a psychological unknown)
 Puts hero more and more at risk (emotionally, mentally,
psychologically, and/or physically)
 Face a series of challenges or temptations that increase in
difficulty
 Challenges always strike at greatest weakness
 Greatest test is to differentiate real helpers from “tempters”
 Tempters try to pull us away from our path
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 5

6. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION [CONTINUED]
STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:_____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION
THE ABYSS
 Greatest challenge of the journey, we must surrender
ourselves completely to it
 We must face our greatest fear, and face it alone (known as
“slaying the dragon”)
 A possibility the challenge will beat us, or we can’t surrender
to it and thus retreat
THE TRANSFORMATION
 As we conquer and overcome our fears, the transformation is
complete
 Final step is the moment of death and rebirth (part of us dies
so a new part can be born)
THE REVELATION
 Part of the Transformation is a Revelation (a sudden, dramatic
change in the way we think or view life)
 The change in thinking is what makes us a different person
ATONEMENT
 We achieve atonement [compensation, restoration or the
payment for a mistake] when we are “at one” with our new
self.
 We are in harmony with life and the world (an imbalance has
been corrected)
THE RETURN TO THE KNOWN WORLD
STAGE & CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTER:_____________________ CONNECTION OR ILLUSTRATION
THE RETURN
 Our return to everyday life
 We discover our gift and may become a great leader or are
spiritually enlightened
 We begin contributing to our society (possibly renewing or
even saving it)
 Sometimes things don’t go smoothly:
1. Our message is rejected
2. We are ostracized or killed for our ideal
3. We lose our new understanding or are corrupted
4. We leave society because our understanding is greater
than others around us
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 6

7. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
NAME: DATE: SCORE:
FRAMES
TITLE OF LITERATURE: AUTHOR: ASSIGNMENT:
TASK BREAK DOWN A STAGE OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY. START FROM THE CENTER, NOTE THE STAGE, AND COMPLETE THE FRAME.
PATHWAY
SYNOPSIS
SUMMARIZE THE PART OF THE STORY THAT REVEALS THE ABYSS.
[NOTE 5-8 IMPORTANT EVENTS]
REVEALING PASSAGES OR CHALLENGES, ISSUES,
QUOTES VALUES
CITE A PASSAGE OR QUOTE THAT SHOWS THE STAGE OF THE JOURNEY: EXPLAIN WHAT CRITICAL ISSUES AND/OR
CONFLICT THE HERO IS DEALING WITH IN THIS
KEY PARTS OF THIS STAGE…
STAGE…
___________________________
LIST THE [KEY COMPONENTS] OF
THIS STAGE:
 …
 …
 …
 …
Taken from Frames, Kaplan & Gould. Educator to Educator
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE
EVOLUTION OF THIS CHARACTER
IDENTIFY, LIST, AND EXPLAIN WHAT OTHER CHARACTERS AND/OR EVENTS ARE CAUSING
THIS HERO TO CHANGE…
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 7

8. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
NAME: DATE: SCORE:
FRAMES
TITLE OF LITERATURE: AUTHOR: ASSIGNMENT:
CONSIDER ALL THE PARTS OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY AND EXPLAIN THE CONVERGENCE OF THE HERO.
TASK  WHAT EVENTS, PEOPLE, OR OTHER FACTORS CAME TOGETHER TO CAUSE THIS CHARACTER TO
CHANGE INTO A HERO?
PATHWAY
SEPARATION FROM THE KNOWN WORLD:
THE CALL, THE THRESHOLD
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
ANSWER THE KEY QUESTION/S
THE RETURN TO THE KNOWN WORLD
TRANSFORMATION, ATONEMENT
TRANSFORMATION, REVELATION,:
INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION:
THE RETURN
T THE CHALLENGES
H
E
Taken from Frames, Kaplan & Gould. Educator to Educator R
E
T
U
R
N
INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION:
THE ABYSS
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 8

9. THE HERO’S JOURNEY ARCHETYPE
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WEBSITES
Apple Computers: iPhoto Support, Tips. Troubleshooting, & Tutorials: < http://www.apple.com/support/iphoto/ >
Apple Computers: iMovie Support, Tips. Troubleshooting, & Tutorials: < http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/ >
Yahoo! Flickr. < http://www.flickr.com/ >
The Hero’s Journey. Read, Write, Think. International Reading Association, NCTE. Web. 17 Oct. 2009.
<http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/herosjourney/ > < http://readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1152 >
Web English Teacher: < http://www.webenglishteacher.com/index.html >
DAVID N. CHUNG. LANGUAGE ARTS, PLACENTIA YORBA LINDA USD. 2010. EMAIL: dnchung@pylusd.org BLOG http://thinkthriveabound.blogspot.com 9