Hero

1
Heros Journey Project

• Homers The Odyssey and
• Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird

2
Refusal of the Call
Departure
Heros Journey Homers The Odyssey
Return
Initiation
3
Refusal of the Call

• When called to Troy to fight in the Trojan war,
  Odysseus feigns insanity, He had been warned by
  an oracle that if he went to Troy he would return
  homeafter twenty yearshe put on a cap,
  pretending madness, and yoked a horse and an ox
  to the plow to salt the earth. Palamedes felt
  he was pretending when he saw this, and taking
  his son Telemachus from the cradle, put him in
  front of the plow (Hyginus, Fabulae 95). This
  is a direct refusal of the call in the purest
  sense Odysseus seeks to shirk his epic
  responsibilities this hero strains to dodge his
  fate.

4
Refusal of the Call
Departure
Heros Journey Homers The Odyssey
Return
Initiation
Road of Trials
5
Road of Trials

• During his troubled journey in Homers The
  Odyssey, Odysseus has to survive a sequence of
  tests, Square in your ships path are Sirens,
  crying beauty to bewitch menthen the den of
  Scylla, where she yaps abominablyand Charybdis
  lurks below to swallow down the dark sea tide
  (Book 12, 4-5, 43-44, 62-63). After returning
  from the underworld, Odysseus has to circumvent
  and/or survive a series of epic obstacles before
  reaching Ithaca.

6
Refusal of the Call
Departure
Freedom to Live
Heros Journey Homers The Odyssey
Return
Initiation
Road of Trials
7
Freedom to Live

• Finally after returning home, exterminating the
  suitors, and convincing Penelope of his true
  identity, Odysseus journey comes to an end in
  The Odyssey. In the final scene of the epic
  poem, Odysseus and Penelope cling to one another
  as the sunwarmed earth is longed for by a
  swimmer spent in rough water where his ship went
  down (Book 23, 84-85). Having survived twenty
  years of war and wandering, Odysseus has finally
  earned the right to rest and remain.

8
Call to Adventure
Departure
Heros Journey Harper Lees To Kill a
Mockingbird
Return
Initiation
9
Call to Adventure

• When Judge Tate elects Atticus Finch to handle
  the Robinson case, Atticus knows this task will
  prove pivotal, Im simply defending a Negro
  his names Tom Robinsonif I didnt I couldnt
  hold up my head in townevery lawyer gets at
  least one case in his lifetime that affects him
  personally. This ones mine (Lee 86). After
  his appointment to Robinsons defense, Mr. Finch
  steps into his journey outlined in Harper Lees
  stunning novel despite the dangers to his family
  and to himself.

10
Call to Adventure
Departure
Heros Journey Harper Lees To Kill a
Mockingbird
Return
Initiation
Road of Trials
11
Road of Trials

• Atticus guns down the mad dog, Tim Johnson, as he
  stands heroically in the street but his troubles
  are far from over, Atticus pushed his glasses to
  his forehead they slipped downI heard them
  crackThe rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped,
  flopped over and crumpledDont go near that
  doghes just as dangerous dead as alive (Lee
  110). His tribulations are actually just truly
  beginning and Johnson acts as a herald of doom,
  foreshadowing the obstacles and events quickly
  approaching on Atticus heroic horizon.

12
Call to Adventure
Departure
Freedom to Live
Heros Journey Harper Lees To Kill a
Mockingbird
Return
Initiation
Road of Trials
13
Freedom to Live

• After surviving both Tom Robinsons trial and its
  repercussions, Atticus is free to step out of his
  heroic role and reassume his proper place as the
  guiding Father, He turned out the light and went
  into Jems room. He would be there all night,
  and he would be there when Jem waked up in the
  morning (Lee 323). Having survived his heros
  journey, Finch has earned the privilege of
  returning to his private family life to raise
  his two children to confront the world he has
  helped to improve.

14
Works Cited

• Allen, Janet. "The Odyssey." Holt McDougal
  Literature Texas Grade 9. Texas ed. Evanston,
  Ill. Holt McDougal, a division of Houghton
  Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. 1185-1288. Print.
• "Classical E-Text HYGINUS, FABULAE 50 - 99."
  THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology the
  Greek Gods in Classical Literature Art.
  http//www.theoi.com
• Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper
  Perennial Modern Classics, 2002. Print.