Literary Analysis and the Heroic Archetype

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Literary Analysis and the Heroic Archetype
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The three major steps / phases of the archetypal
heroic journey are

• the Call to Adventure/Crossing the Threshold
• the Tests or Trials, including the Final or
  Climactic Battle
• The Return with the Elixir (new knowledge,
  wisdom, or understanding)

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Loss of the ego the sign of a true hero

• The transcendence of the ego (acceptance of
  selflessness) remains the most significant
  experience of a true hero
• The journey becomes a search for and a claiming
  of an idea larger than the self

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The hero returns to benefit others

• the emotional, psychological, and spiritual
  wisdom gained from the heros trials and battles
  is freely offered to others

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The heros wisdom

• This wisdom can be illumination, a revelation, or
  an elevation to a new level of consciousness.
• The hero is forever changed by his experience and
  offers a new way of looking at the everyday
  world.

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The heros journey as a monomyth

• Monomyth mono means one and often refers to
  the cyclic journey of the hero found in myths or
  mythic tales.
• Joseph Campbell refers to the hero cycle as the
  one singular human metaphor. He believes it to be
  literally the only story to be told about man and
  mans place and purpose in the world and his
  relation to the world beyond.

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This monomythic pattern or archetype is evident
in many classic and contemporary works and texts.
For example

• Star Wars
• Superman
• Spiderman
• The Lion King
• The Matrix
• X-Men III
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone
• Forrest Gump
• Braveheart
• Hamlet
• Lord of the Rings

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Types of hero journeys

• Question Can you think of a monomythic novel or
  movie to fit the description of the following
  types of hero?
• The quest for identity coming of age story
  (Bildungsroman)

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Harry Potter
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The journey for knowledge (the quest of the king)

• King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

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The epic journey to find the promised land or
found the good city

• Moses

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The tragic quest journey to the crossroads

• Saving Private Ryan

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The quest for vengeance and righteousness.

• Braveheart

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The quest to rid the land of danger

• Superman

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The warriors journey to save his people

• Martin Luther King

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The fools errand

• Forrest Gump

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The search for love (protection of the feminine)

• Beauty and the Beast

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The grail quest (the quest for human perfection)

• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

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Summary of Heroic Journeys The Quest

• for Self-identity coming of age story
  (Bildungsroman)
• for love, knowledge, and wisdom
• to right injustices for righteousness sake
• to rid the land of danger and/or save his/her
  people
• for human perfection (the figurative Grail quest)

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Literary Analysis and the hero

• The heros journey is the archetypal human
  monomyth. Literary criticism has classified the
  four major types of heroes
• The mythological hero
• The romantic hero
• The reluctant hero
• The tragic hero

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The Mythological Hero is someone

• of great physical strength
• or great courage
• favored by the gods, and in part occasionally
  descended from them
• worshipped after death, becoming someone to be
  admired for his/her qualities or achievements
• regarded as an ideal or model.

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Odysseus of the Odyssey
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The Romantic Hero

• In the Middle Ages in Europe, wandering
  storytellers would retell adventurous tales of
  knights and other noble heroes. Such tales were
  known as romances. They often recount the heroic
  deeds of noble knights and celebrate the
  chivalric code of honor which included these
  virtues honor, loyalty, courage, truthfulness,
  courtly manners, chastity, and the honoring and
  protecting of women.

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The Romantic Hero

• Sir Galahad

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The Reluctant Hero

• The reluctant hero stumbles, resists, or is
  pushed somewhat unwillingly beyond the threshold
  of adventure. He/she feels unable to take on the
  role of hero and often lacks confidence in the
  completion of the task or trial. This type of
  hero is the basis for what we now term the
  underdog, someone who wins against all reason
  and succeeds when all bet against them.

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Reluctant Hero
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The Tragic Hero

• Aristotle characterized protagonists who are
  highly renowned and prosperous and whose reversal
  of fortune and fall from greatness are brought
  about not by vice or depravity, but by some error
  or frailty of character (this is referred to as
  the tragic flaw).

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The Tragic Hero Protagonist

• The protagonist is destroyed physically or
  emotionally, or is spiritually devastated.
• Tragic heroes evoke both pity and fear in readers
  because we realize that the problems, suffering,
  and struggles faced by the characters are perhaps
  a necessary part of human life. Because they
  fail, we may also fail when tested.

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• The protagonist's inner weakness or inherent
  error is called the hamartia, taken from the
  Greek word meaning to err or to miss the
  mark.
• The hamartia often concerns excessive pride or
  hubris. The Greeks often viewed suffering as a
  prerequisite for wisdom.

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• The tragic hero recognizes his or her own flaw
  and its consequences, but only after it is too
  late to change the course of events.

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Elements of Classical Tragedy The Tragic Hero

• is of noble birth and displays a nobility of
  spirit that the audience admires
• is pitted against forces beyond his/her control
• makes decisions that lead to a no-win situation
• struggles courageously until his/her fall
  (spiritually and/or physically)

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Elements of Classical Tragedy continued The
Tragic Hero

• though defeated, usually gains a measure of
  increased wisdom, self-awareness, or nobility
• has a tragic flaw or weakness which leads to an
  error in judgment which effects the fall
• suffers greatly because of the flaw
• loses love, life, reputation, or peace of mind

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Aristotle and Humpty Dumpty

• Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
• Hes a noble protagonist set perilously in a high
  place of power

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An incomplete Hero Cycle the Tragic Hero

• The Tragic Hero is perhaps most tragic and
  pitiful because although they have the qualities
  and opportunities to complete their hero cycle
  they do not! Why?
• They lose the battles, lack helpers, cannot
  locate amulets to support them, fate intervenes
  at inopportune times, they lack faith in
  themselves and their mission

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Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

• He experiences a reversal of situation he falls
  from greatness. His tragic weakness is his
  fragility a thin shell. His error was that he
  probably wiggled around, showing off on the wall
  or trying to stand up on it to get even higher.
  His sin is his pride (hubris) like Yertle the
  Turtle in the Dr. Seuss story, he tried to rise
  too high, beyond his natural boundaries.

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All the kings horses and all the kings
menCouldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again.

• The readers feel pity and terror! The egg is
  cracked! Poor Humpty!
• Hell never sit on the wall again and experience
  the exhilaration of balancing precariously on a
  tempting wall. He is dead and gone, irreparably
  damaged and deprived of his once-high position
  and enjoyable life.

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And the same thing could happen to the reader.

• One of these fine days if youre not careful or
  go a bit too fast, you too will wind up smashed
  and crushed! Reach for that high-yielding stock
  and you might end up broke. Overstep the bounds
  of law and morality in reaching for a high
  political office and you could be ruined and
  disgraced, resigning ignominiously from your
  post, lucky to have avoided prison.

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But

• It has NOT happened to us! We have vicariously
  experienced the story and leaned wisdom from the
  suffering of the protagonist. We leave the story
  with a feeling of catharsis - emotional release -
  and a purification of mind, heart, and soul.

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First this
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Then this!
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Or this