1. The Hero’s Journey
LA 10

2. TED ED- Hero’s Journey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A 0oCA
Watch!

3. Hero’s Journey Notes
As we go through the slides, take notes on each of the archetypes as well as the stages of the Hero’s Journey.
These notes will come in handy later!

4. Character Archetypes
Archetypes are common character types, symbols and relationships that appear often in stories.
*Hero- Greek “to protect and serve.” Willing to sacrifice
*Mentor- loyal friend & wise advisor to the Hero
*Threshold Guardian- Gatekeepers who present challenges to the hero on their quest. Not always physical characters. Can be represented by bad weather, prejudice, oppression, etc.
*Herald- When the Hero meets them, the adventure begins!
*Shapeshifter- You never know whose side they’re on.
*Shadow- The dark force of evil in opposition to the hero.
*Trickster- Gets in the hero’s way for comedic effect, not evil
Hero- someone who is willing to sacrifice their own needs for the sake of others. “Hero” is a Greek root that means “to protect and serve.” The key to a hero is the word sacrifice. The hero is the character the audience identifies with most.
Mentor- the loyal friend and wise advisor to the Hero. A teacher and guardian for the Hero. Their two jobs are: 1. Teaching and 2. Gift-giving.
Threshold Guardian- These are the gatekeepers to the next world, and they present challenges for the Hero to face in order to move on to the next world. They are agents of transformation who wear many types of masks. Threshold guardians are not always characters. They can be represented by bad weather, bad luck, prejudice, oppression, normal everyday things that can bother us. They may also be psychological problems, or problems that are in the character’s head. Threshold guardians are not the main bad guys, they are just the henchmen.
Herald- When the Hero meets the Herald, their meeting brings on the adventure. This character is usually represented by an animal. They compel the Hero to follow the Call and begin their journey toward change. Heralds can be a character’s inner knowledge that they are restless or a change is needed. In short, the Herald is anything that serves as the Hero’s motivation for change.
Shapeshifter- the Shapeshifter and the Trickster are very similar, as they both intend to lure the Hero off his or her path through deception. Shapeshifters are dangerous and often sexual. They are aware of their agendas and intend to stop the Hero from pursuing his course. The Shapeshifter’s loyalty is often called into question and in the end they may end up being an ally of the Hero or an enemy.
The Shadow- the Shadow is the dark force of evil that is in direct opposition against the Hero.
The Trickster- The main difference between the Trickster and the Shapeshifter is the comic effect of the Trickster. The Trickster wants to mess up the course of the Hero, but in a comical way and prefers luring the Hero off course for the sake of mischief rather than evil.

5. The Known World The Hero’s starting point.
World where the hero is familiar & comfortable.

6. The Unknown World The Hero crosses over into the unknown.
Challenges and tests teach the Hero the new rules of the world unknown.

7. World of Common Day
Here the person is introduced to the audience. The hero doesn‘t know his/her personal potential or calling.

8. The Call to Adventure!
The Call invites the hero into the adventure, offering the opportunity to face the unknown and gain something of value.
The Call can take many forms: the hero may have something taken away, find that something is lacking in his/her life, want to restore honor to his/her family, country, etc.

9. Refusal of the Call
Sometimes, a reluctant hero will try to REFUSE the call, but their impending journey is inevitable!

10. Meeting the Mentor
The Hero meets their Mentor, who will prepare them to face the unknown and guide the Hero.

11. Crossing the First Threshold
The first threshold is the beginning of the hero’s adventure.
“Jumping off point”
This is where the hero will first encounter a threshold guardian, who will attempt to block the hero from continuing his journey.

12. Tests, Allies, Enemies
The Hero is tested by obstacles and challenges, and learns the rules of the new world they have entered.

13. Approach the Inmost Cave
The hero comes to a dangerous place where the object of their quest may be hidden.
Here, the hero may need to reorganize his helpers or get his mentor to boost his morale.
The stakes are high!

14. The Supreme Ordeal
Face the shadow!
The shadow might not die

15. The Reward: Seizing the Prize!
The hero has survived death, overcome his greatest fear, and at last finds what he has been searching for.

16. The Road Back
The hero must recommit to completing the journey before he/she can travel back to the Ordinary World.

17. Threshold Crossing- Resurrection
The Hero tests his/her new knowledge & wisdom.
Often faces the most dangerous meeting with death – this shows the hero can apply all the wisdom he’s brought back with him/her.

18. The Return
The Hero returns with the “Elixir,” which can be treasure, love, freedom, wisdom, knowledge of the Special World, etc.
The Elixir can heal physical or emotional wounds.

19. The Hunger Games
We are going to watch The Hunger Games in class over the next few days and analyze it.
Your job is to track the Hero’s Journey archetype over the course of the movie and identify where each step of the journey occurs for our heroine, Katniss Everdeen.
Make a chart in your journal with all the stages of the Hero’s Journey so you can track it.
We will also be using all of this information to have our first graded class discussion, so pay attention and take notes because you can use them in the discussion!