The Hero Cycle Every Student’s Guide to Understanding Heroes

Background Epic Heroes appear in many places –Books –Poems –Movies –Myths –Stories

The Hero Cycle What do you think the title Hero Cycle means? Is it a bike that Heroes ride? Is it a circle that Heroes stand in? What else might it mean?

Super Qualities In order to be a Hero, the character has to have some quality that makes him or her stand out or appear different Qualities might be great strength, wisdom, power or ability in an area Who are some Heroes you can think of with amazing powers? –Superman –The Bionic Woman –The Fantastic Four –The characters on Heroes

You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Like a liger. It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic. Special Skills

Stage One: Innocence The first stage is at the beginning of the journey, when the character is just a person living a normal life. S/he is at that point “The center of the universe.”(COTU), and is in a familiar and comfortable setting

Stage Two: Initiation The character is dislocated (moved) from COTU, and at this point unsettling or even scary things start to creep in and destroy innocence- some examples are: death; evil; love

The Quest Every Hero has a quest they must complete Usually this quest sounds impossible or at least very challenging What are some examples of quests? –Save the world –Save a life –Solve a mystery –Find the ______ and save _____

The Test On the Journey or The Quest, the Hero is tested in some way Sometimes the test is of their power, strength, wisdom and commitment They have to prove they are “worthy” to be a hero Some examples might include: –Proving their power –Staying true to their commitment –Having to make a moral choice to do the right thing

MULAN

Add a little Help from a Friend Almost all Hero stories have some kind of mythical beings, magical and helpful animals, or human helpers and companions Examples might include: –Donkey in Shrek –The droids in Star Wars –Robin (of Batman and Robin)

Batman & Robin

Lost in Space The journey almost always takes the Hero into a place that humans rarely go This place is usually challenging, scary, dark or dangerous Sometimes is it is supernatural place – heaven, the underworld, outer space Examples might include: – The castle in Shrek – The castle in The Little Mermaid – The Island in The Incredibles

Bill & Ted

Stage Three: Chaos The character receives some sort of knowledge from the initiation- but doesn’t know what to do with it There is confrontation and conflict, usually between the good and evil forces It can be a time of darkness, trial, and self-doubt. Sometimes a character will go backward or into denial, or need saving by an ally. It can be a time of darkness, trial, and self-doubt. Sometimes a character will go backward or into denial, or need saving by an ally.

The Dark Hour All Heroes hit a LOW POINT in their journey This is the place where we are not sure they are going to make it During this low point the hero nearly gives up his quest or appears defeated Examples might include: –When Superman appears dead – When Harry Potter is in the maze

Luke & Darth

A Resurrection – The Hero SUCCEEDS! Just when we think that a Hero will fail – TA-DAH! They succeed, come back to life, rise again or get up off the mat! This is the part of the story in which we CHEER! Examples might include –When any “underdog” sports team gets the win –Your guess???

Miracle

Stage Four: Resolution At the end of the cycle, the Hero takes his or her proper place or gains the recognition that they deserve They have SUCCEEDED in their challenge In the end, you know that another challenge might come and the cycle starts again (this is in the sequel)

Lion King