FATAL FLAWS

THE DESCENT OF A HERO

WHAT IS IN A HERO?

WHAT ARE THEIR CHARACTERISTICS?

TROPES AND “STOCK” CHARACTERS

• TROPE: A FIGURE OF SPEECH OR LITERARY DEVICE WHERE THE DICTION USED IS INTENDED TO HAVE MORE THAN THE LITERAL MEANING

• “STOCK” CHARACTER: TYPES OF CHARACTERS THAT OCCUR REPEATEDLY IN A LITERARY GENRE, AND SO ARE RECOGNIZABLE AS CONVENTIONS OF THE FORM.

IN BRAINSTORMING IDEAS FOR WHAT MAKES A HERO,

WHAT WE HAVE ESSENTIALLY COME UP WITH ARE PARTS

OF THE HERO ARCHETYPE

AN ARCHETYPE …

• in literature and art is a character,

tradition, event, story, or image that recurs in different works, in different

cultures and in different periods of time.

• The word archetype is from the Greek

arkhetupon, first mold or model, in the

meaning of being the initial version of something later multiplied.

• An archetype can be thought of as a

pattern from which other, similar things

can be developed. It is a kind of

“original model”- the skeleton from

which all other ideas like it our fleshed

out, the muffin tins that begot all other

muffin tins!

• For example, the “Flood” is an

archetypal image/event that

exists in myths and stories across

many cultures. The basic model is

a huge flood covering the entire

planet, initiating a kind of “clean

slate.”

• It is important to note that

archetypes do not exist in, or

come from, one particular text;

rather, they are the molds that a

text and its’ characters fit into

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ARCHETYPES, WE REFER TO

GENERAL TITLES THAT INDICATE CHARACTERS,

PLACES, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, AS LONG AS…

…those titles indicate a

repeating form that can be

traced through art and time…

…like the damsel in distress, maybe?

Or the innocent monster who intends

no, but always causes, harm?

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER

CHARACTER ARCHETYPES?

POSSIBLY…

• Hero/Heroine

• Sidekick/Helper

• Villain

• Outcast

• Oracle

• Caring Mother/Earth Mother

• Damsel in Distress

• Mad Scientist

• Femme Fatale

• “Don Juan”

• Star-Crossed Lovers

• Witch/Shrew

• Underdog

• Stern Father

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE…

THE

TEACHER…

THE

EDUCATOR…

THE WISE SAGE…

SO LET US FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON THE

HERO/HEROINE…

• As we discussed earlier, we all have a general sense for what makes a hero. Outside of their physical, emotional, and mental characteristics, however, the archetypal hero can also follow a typical trajectory or story line.

• This archetypal story is referred to as the hero’s cycle, or hero’s journey.

• The cycle consists of many particular elements, but can be broken into three major parts: the departure, the initiation, and the return.

THE DEPARTURE.

• The hero is presented with a challenge

• Initially refuses that challenge

• Meets someone who pushes them along, challenges them

• Becomes immersed in that dangerous world

The Initiation.

• This is the trial stage of the

cycle, when anything

bad can and will occur.

Adversaries are faced,

skills are gained.

• Also, many other

character archetypes

make and appearance.

• In the end a

transformation occurs

within our hero: he attains

a higher status of person

and a new level of

knowledge and

enlightenment, which

benefits not just him but

society as well.

THE RETURN.

• Fight, flight and rescue!

• Hero returns to mundane world after defeating antagonizing forces

• Rejoins society and offers his boon to the masses

• Returns to life as normal, now as a mentor / leader, and the journey may begin once again.

SO WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR?

WE KNOW:

• An archetype is the original pattern or form in literature that acts

as the definitive mold for things that are like it

• It can come in the shape of a character, event, image, story, or

tradition

• The hero/heroine character, and their journey (the hero’s cycle)

are two distinct kinds of archetypes

• We can break the hero’s journey archetype into three key parts:

the departure, the initiation, and the return; and in those three parts, we could generally say, based on the archetype, that:

• The hero will answer a call to a challenge, face many trials,

friends, and enemies; learn from those experiences; and in the

end return from his journey to benefit those he left behind

IF THAT IS WHAT WE KNOW, THEN

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW?

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THREADS IN LITERATURE, HEROES, AND WE

HAVE READ THE FIRST CHAPTERS OF THINGS FALL APART. WHAT ARE

OUR QUESTIONS…

FIRST OF ALL: NOT ALL HEROES FIT THIS

ARCHETYPE

• THERE ARE ANTI-HEROES,

WHO WE WILL NOT DISCUSS

TODAY AND LOOK SORT OF

LIKE THIS…

AND THEN THERE ARE TRAGIC

HEROES.

• THE TRAGIC HERO IS A “STOCK” CHARACTER OF THE TRAGEDY

• THE ARCHETYPE OF THE TRAGIC HERO WAS DEVELOPED BY ARISTOTLE IN HIS POETICS

• AS THE NAME IMPLIES, THE HERO HERE IS DOOMED TO FAIL, BUT IN A VERY SPECIFIC TRAJECTORY (IN CONTRAST TO THE TYPICAL HERO’S JOURNEY)

THE TRAGEDY CONTINUES…

• ARISTOTLE FELT THAT THE HERO, IN A REAL TRAGEDY, SHOULD UNDEROG SOME SORT OF CHANGE IN FORTUNE

• THIS CHANGE IS USUALLY FOLLOWED BY A REVELATION OF SORTS, A REALIZATION OF SOME TRUTH

• THIS DOWNFALL AND REALIZATION WAS TO FOSTER BOTH PITY AND FEARIN THE AUDIENCE

• WHY ARE PITY AND FEAR IMPORTANT? WHAT DO THESE EMOTIONS SUGGEST?

• PITY = FROM MISFORTUNE, UNDESERVED

• FEAR = WHEN THE RECIEVER IS GOOD AND JUST, BUT NOT COMPLETELY

• THEY HAVE TO BE HUMAN; GREATER THAN MOST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT A GOD

• THIS ALLOWS THE AUDIENCE TO RELATE

• 4 STEPS IN ARITOTLES ARCHETYPE OF THE TRAGIC HERO

I. POSITION

II. TRAGIC FLAW ( RELATES TO HAMARTIA)

III. REVERSAL (CATASTROPHE)

IV. RECOGNITION (CATHARSIS)

• POSITION: ROYAL OR NOBLE WITH GREAT POWER; RESPECTED, GOOD INTENTIONS, HAS A LOT TO LOSE

• TRAGIC FLAW: A CHARACTER TRAIT, GOOD OR BAD, THAT THE HERO CANNOT RESIST, AND WHICH WILL UNDOUBTEDLY EFFECT HIS STORY (YOU GUESSED IT, NEGATIVELY!)

• GREEK WORD HAMARTIA, FOR ERROR OR MISTAKE;

• HAMARTIA IS THAT FATAL MISTAKE, USUALLY BECAUSE OF THE FLAW IN CHARACTER, THAT BRINGS THE HERO’S DOWNFALL

• HUBRIS, OR EXCESSIVE PRIDE, IS TYPICALLY A FLAW LEADING TO DOWNFALL; HOWEVER,

• COURAGE AND A NEED FOR TRUTH COULD JUST AS EASILY BRING ABOUT DEMISE

• REVERSAL: THIS IS THE CATASTROPHE, THE MOVEMENT FOLLOWING HAMARTIA, WHERE IT ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN

• TRAJECTORY = HAPPINESS TO SUFFERING, MISERY

• TRAJECTORY = ENVY TO PITY

• TRAJECTORY = MANY TIMES, ALIVE TO DEAD

• RECOGNITION: CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS A REVELATION

• IN GREEK, CATHARSIS REFERS TO A PURGING OF EMOTION, A RELEASE

• THE TRAGIC HERO, AT THIS POINT, BECOMES AWARE OF HIS FLAW AND MISTAKE

• BUT IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS TOO LATE…

• COMPARED TO THE HERO’S JOURNEY, THE LESSON IS TAUGHT FROM THE GRAVE, NOT AS MENTOR

SO WHO FITS THE BILL?

NOW LET’S REVISIT WHAT WE KNOW

• An archetype is the original pattern or form in literature that acts as the definitive mold for things that are like it

• It can come in the shape of a character, event, image, story, or tradition

• The hero/heroine character, and their journey (the hero’s cycle) are two distinct kinds of archetypes

• We can break the hero’s journey archetype into three key parts: the departure, the initiation, and the return; and in those three parts, we could generally say, based on the archetype, that:

• The hero will answer a call to a challenge, face many trials, friends, and enemies; learn from those experiences; and in the end return from his journey to benefit those he left behind

• POSITION: ROYAL OR NOBLE WITH GREAT POWER; RESPECTED, GOOD INTENTIONS, HAS A LOT TO LOSE

• TRAGIC FLAW: A CHARACTER TRAIT, GOOD OR BAD, THAT THE HERO CANNOT RESIST

• GREEK WORD HAMARTIA, FOR ERROR OR MISTAKE

• HUBRIS, OR EXCESSIVE PRIDE, IS TYPICALLY A FLAW LEADING TO DOWNFALL

• REVERSAL: THIS IS THE CATASTROPHE, THE MOVEMENT FOLLOWING HAMARTIA, WHERE IT ALL COMES CRASHING DOWN

• RECOGNITION: CAN ALSO BE THOUGHT OF AS A REVELATION

• CATHARSIS REFERS TO A PURGING OF EMOTION, A RELEASE