The Archetypal Hero What Do Luke Skywalker, Simba, King Arthur, Moses, and William Wallace all have in common?

Jung and Campbell n Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell developed the idea of the archetype –Archetype: A recurring pattern of images, situations, or symbols found in the mythology, religion, art, and dreams of cultures around the world Joseph Campbell Carl Jung

Archetypal Hero Traits n Unusual Circumstances of Birth n Leaves Family and Lives With Others n Traumatic Event Leads to Quest n Special Weapon n Supernatural Help n Proves Himself on Quest n Journey and Unhealable Wound n Atonement With Father n Spiritual Apotheosis

Unusual Birth n Often in danger or born into royalty –Luke w/ aunt and uncle –Simba born a prince –Moses put in basket –King Arthur in danger from Uther Pendragon’s rivals

Leaves Family n Raised away from his people –Luke w/ aunt and uncle –Simba w/ Timon and Poobah –King Arthur w/ Merlin –William Wallace with uncle –Moses w/ Pharaoh’s daughter

Traumatic Event n A hero’s life is changed forever –Luke’s aunt and uncle’s death –Wallace’s wife is killed –Arthur pulls sword from stone –Simba fights Nala –Yahweh appears to Moses

Special Weapon n Only the hero can wield his weapon –Luke’s light saber –Arthur’s Excalibur –Moses’ staff –Wallace’s sword –Simba’s... claws?

Supernatural Help n Hero often has spiritual guidance –Luke hears Obi- Wan Kenobi –Arthur has Merlin –Yahweh guides Moses –Wallace dreams of his dead father –Simba sees Mufasa in the sky and has Rafiki help him

Proves Himself n Hero performs feats while on Quest –Luke blows up Death Star, leads rebellion –Arthur leads battles –Moses perform miracles –Simba contemplates his life –Wallace leads his men against British

Journey & Unhealable Wound n Hero descends into a hell-like area and suffers wounding from encounter w/ evil –Symbolically goes where normal humans can’t and finds truth about self

Atonement With Father n Hero either redeems father’s evil deeds or reconciles with father over wrongs done by the hero

Apotheosis n Hero is rewarded spiritually at the end of his life

What are heroes for? What is their role? n Idealized or super-human as role model n Contribute to the society’s necessary business of reproducing itself and it’s values n Pattern behaviour, beliefs and values

What are the problems with this? n Mostly European n Warriors who fight and kill to solve problems n Conquering other groups n Justify crimes of dominant groups over marginalized groups n Never see them mature, become wise, take on responsibilities beyond conquering. OR DO WE?… Let’s look at some modern responses…

Superman’s Song n The theme of this song could be the “harsh reality of being a hero”. n Highlight 3 lines that prove that this statement is correct.

Superman n Choose one question from the “Discussion” Section and highlight / annotate lines that help answer the question.

Hero of War n What is this song saying about so-called war heroes? Write it in the margin and highlight the lines that support your statement.