Fantasy Novels:
The Hero's Journey and Companion Characters
"Characters Wanted!"
Why I Chose This Genre:
Middle-school children's bodies and lives are rapidly changing. They often experience the dualism of an unbelievable "What is happening to me?" occurring alongside "life is boring", in the space of an hour, a day or a week. The tales of many heroes on their journey to self-discovery and adventure also begin when life seems tiresome and there is a longing for something better. Suddenly a hero-to-be finds him in the center of a crisis beginning a quest, beginning the hero's journey and facing challenges beyond his or her imagination.
The hero's journey is a favorite choice of movies and novels alike. Consider the famous Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie. He is bored working on his uncle's farm when a droid leads him into unknown territories to rescue a princess in the middle of a galactic war. Ursula K.LeGuin's fantasy novel A Wizard of Earthsea is about a hero's journey whose story begins in a lonely village in a remote area. Ged is a simple lad of few talents but eventually becomes a great wizard. His life changes when his aunt introduces him to magic. In magic he finds a natural talent that allows him to save his village from a warring tribe just as Luke Skywalker discovers that his natural talent with "the force" can help him save the princess. Ged and Luke both begin their apprenticeships and finds danger in the power they can raise up but can hardly handle. Discovering one's own power and learning to handle that power is the hero's journey just as it is the young adult's journey.
This
unit offers three fantasy novels for the young adult reader including a classic
fantasy work: A Wizard of Earthsea. The contrasting
two shorter novels Wizards of the Game by David Lubar and The Fledging by Jane Langton are books for ages eleven and up. These are excellent
choices for middle school readers who are reading at or below grade level. Both
novels are set in this current time period in American towns. The near-normalcy
of the school-age characters makes these stories easy for a middle school
reader to identify with. Both stories are short enough that either can be read
in class or out of class without consuming a great deal of time. Lastly, both novels
bring into the open the issues of whether association with what is perceived as
magic is good or bad. The joy of contrasting the classic fantasy novel from
another time and reality with two novels in local settings is in making the
connection that real-life can suddenly take a magical turn.
Fantasy is a genre rich in adventure, philosophical challenges and full of excitement. The simplicity of these selections allows young readers and those with learning disabilities accessible the occasion to bring the fantasy adventure story into their lives. Comparing the characters and action in a classical fantasy novel with those of a novel in contemporary settings connects the elevated, other-worldly concepts of these archetypal characters to the student's own world. Students have the opportunity to become familiar with the archetypes and recognize these character types in other literature. This opportunity of generalization of knowledge is valuable in helping students develop critical thinking skills for all areas of study.
Launching the Fantasy Unit of
Study
Characters
Wanted, Fantasy Characters: (Background music: "The Tropical Rain
Forest".)
Books,
poems, music have a way of opening the imagination to new possibilities that
can keep the mind from being boxed in too tightly.
(Lead a question and answer session that calls on students' previous
knowledge.)
Fantasy novel are rich with wild and wonderful characters like Captain Hook. Fantasies come with: warrior heroes, unlikely heroes for humor, a wizard or two, a romantic interest, a villain that blocks the hero's way and surely a maiden in distress. Think about what kind of character Captain Hook is while you read this poem by Shel Silverstein.
Captain
Hook
Captain Hook must remember
Not to scratch his toes.
Captain Hook must watch out
And never pick his nose.
Captain Hook must be gentle
When he shakes your hand.
Captain Hook must be careful
Openin' sardine cans
And playing tag and pouring
tea
And turnin' pages of his
book.
Lots of folks I'm glad I
ain't—
But mostly Captain Hook!
Discussion:
Does
Captain Hook seem like a hero? He has a mission. He wants to be happy. He has
problems to conquer like heroes do. He certainly has an enemy in the character
of Peter Pan. Why does Peter Pan seem more like a hero? What makes a hero seem like a real hero?
Consider what a hero is after reading this poem by Robert Frost.
"The Road Not Taken"
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
http://www.netpoets.com/classic/poems/076001.htm
Discussion:
The
thought of the woods can bring to mind ideas about mystery, challenges, danger and
decisions that must be made. What kind of challenge is Robert Frost talking
about? What is the big deal about
the road a person chooses? Could Robert Frost be talking about a hero and if so,
why?
The choices a hero makes in a fantasy story changes him or her. These choices are often forced on the hero by those he is with at that time. Who we hang around affects our lives. Think about the other characters in a fantasy story that surround the hero, befriend the hero, try to trick the hero, wisely or magically help the hero, try to stop the hero, try to kill the hero or prevent him from completing his journey-quest. Character like wizards, sages, crones, friends, rulers, lovers, villains, magicians, tricksters makes the hero's journey full of challenges from within and outside. The characters found in stories are called archetypes in literature because they have ancient roots in mythology and in the minds of human societies. Many ancient civilizations share similar stories about these archetypical characters.
The
Fledging is a fantasy novel about a young
female hero, the Wizards of the Game
is a fantasy novel about a middle-school boy who is a hero and A
Wizard of Earthsea is the story of a young
man who becomes a wizard and takes many journeys where his courage, honor,
wisdom and magic powers are tested. Each hero has a journey that changes the
hero's life forever in a big way or in a small way. He or she is never the same
again. Each person in this class will get the chance to read one of these
novels and discover what that hero's journey really is.
Fantasy Characters Wanted: Writing Activities
For your book of choice answer one
of these five questions.
Does this hero want to become a
hero? Are
heroes always brave? Do
heroes always know what to do or know the right thing to do? Do heroes sometimes
fail in their goals?
Provide students with a wall chart
listing all the archetypes used in these novels. Provide space for them to
paste picture representing these character types. Additional activities to help
students to understand and complete reading assignments may include reading circles
or readers' theater.
Concluding Activity
Divide up into groups according to the books they
chose. Each student will pick a character to report on and make a dream board
for so that most of the major characters are covered. Prepare the dream board
as art or a collage with a page on the back that describes the character, their
dreams or desires, their disappointments, their obstacles, their relationship
to the hero, and their fate.
The
group prepares a presentation for the whole class that includes one person also
presenting a summary of the book and each preparing a character dream board
report.
Media Presentation Options:
Recommended
Heroes' Journeys in Classic Contemporary Films:
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, color, G; Director: Steven Spielberg with Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore and Peter Coyote). Three million miles from home and knowing he must return to his ship to survive E.T. meets the unlikely hero, ten year old Elliot, who is able to save him (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083866/).
Star Wars (1977, color, PG;
Director: George Lucas with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamel and Carrie Fisher). A
young man, Luke Skywalker longs to leave his uncle's remote farm to attend The
Academy where he can learn to be a warrior and a pilot. A mysterious droid
leads him away from home and his hero's journey, the adventure that will
reshape his life, begins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star
Wars
Extended
Studies
To further explore the characters and comparison of classic fairytale fantasies and contemporary children in fantasy literature extend your fantasy unit with these two novels:
The High King by Lloyd Alexander is the story of an Assistant Pig-Keeper who actually longs to become a hero. He does not realize that his capabilities will be tried to his limits as our capabilities often are. Like people in real life he is not prepared for what lies ahead. He must fight the forces of evil if he is to complete his mission to save Prydain.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban, J.K. Rowling's third novel in the Harry Potter
series tell of Harry's tumultuous return to school from his dreaded summer at
his uncle's house where he is continuously treated as the worst of poor
relations. Threats on his life loom, the mysterious Remus John Lupin reappears and
his old enemies and fears offer him opportunities to gain courage and
understanding about himself.
Other paired book recommended:
Lewis,
C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Alexander, Lloyd. The High King
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star
Wars. "Star Wars From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia". Last modified on 8 December 2008, at 21:25.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe. New Work: Harper Collins
Publishers, 1950.
Lubar, David. Wizards of the
Game. New York: Pilomel Books, 2003.
"The Tropical Rain Forest". Nashville, TN: Silver Bells, 1993.