Justin Hunter

Professor Warner

English 112 B

Unit of Study

The Cunning Hero: Unit of Fantasy Literature

 

You ought not to practice childish ways, since you are no longer that age.

Homer, The Odyssey

 

           

            What does your hero look like? Is he a large burly man with gargantuan muscles and a heart of gold? Is it a beautiful woman with steel hard thighs and toned biceps? Is your hero a Superman or an Achilles? Or perhaps muscles and a perfect body are not necessary traits for your hero to possess. Instead maybe your hero is something more familiar and attainable. True, the typical fantasy hero possesses some of these extraordinary traits like super strength or super speed. But ordinary people do not have large impenetrable pectorals or laser vision. In fact, this is partly the reason certain readers have difficulty connecting with fantasy works and prefer non-fiction. Lately, the modern hero has been depicted as someone with attainable traits, rather than extraordinary ones. This way the average person can relate to them. Yet there is a bridge between modern persons and fantasy characters. There are majorly heroic traits that even ordinary people can relate to: cunning and wisdom.

There is still a place in our society for the perfect superhero, otherwise movies like Thor wouldn�t be successful. But lately the types of characters that bring about the most discussion and praise in classes are characters like Odysseus from The Odyssey. I decided to revolve this unity of study around the cunning and wise fantasy hero because these are the easiest heroes to relate to in modern day. Typically these heroes are set up as underdogs in fights, but are able to outsmart the opponent and overcome their obstacles. Similarly, in the modern world, every person is small in comparison to the large obstacles and blockades society creates. In order to overcome these obstacles, people must be wise and cunning. So in this unity of study it is not Achilles the swift that will be discussed, but rather Odysseus the wise and resourceful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Launching the Unit:

 

The Odyssey is an exceptionally long poem. To get students interested and thinking about the theme of the cunning and wise hero, two shorter pieces may be used to connect students better to the text.

 

     Play the song: The Underdog by Spoon

Picture yourself in the living room
your pipe and slippers set out for you
I know you think that it ain't too far

But I hear the call of a lifetime ring
felt the need to get up for it
oh you cut out the middleman
get free from the middleman

You got no time for the messenger,
got no regard for the thing that you don't understand,
you got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive!

I want to forget how conviction fits
but can I get out from under it?
Can I gut it out of me?
It can't all be wedding cake
It can't all be boiled away
I try but I can't let go of it
Can't let go of it,

Cause you don't talk to the water boy
and there's so much you could learn but you don't want to know,
You will not back up an inch ever,
that's why you will not survive,

The thing that I tell you now
It may not go over well
And it may not be photo-op
in the way that I spell it out

But you won't hear from the messenger,
don't wanna know bout something that you don't understand,
You got no fear of the underdog,
that's why you will not survive! (Hey!)

 

Questions:

 

     Poem: The Odyssey by Andrew Lang

 

As one that for a weary space has lain 
   Lull'd by the song of Circe and her wine 
   In gardens near the pale of Proserpine, 
Where that Aeaean isle forgets the main, 
And only the low lutes of love complain, 
   And only shadows of wan lovers pine-- 
   As such an one were glad to know the brine 
Salt on his lips, and the large air again-- 
So gladly from the songs of modern speech 
   Men turn, and see the stars, and feel the free 
   Shrill wind beyond the close of heavy flowers, 
   And through the music of the languid hours 
They hear like Ocean on a western beach 
   The surge and thunder of the Odyssey.

 

Questions:

      From reading this poem, what do you think The Odyssey is about?

      Can this short poem stand alone, or must one read the epic poem as well?

      What do you think of this poem? What emotions does it convey? How does it make you feel?

       Do you think you could re-work canonical works into poetry as well? 

 

 

Activity:

 

Have the students write or discuss stories in which they were the underdog and had to use cunning and wisdom to overcome an obstacle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Centerpiece Work: The Odyssey

 

            The Odyssey by Homer is a major part of the Western literary canon. Many works, such as Virgil�s and Dante�s masterpieces are influenced by Homer. It follows the events of one man, Odysseus, after the end of the Trojan War. It is, in part, a sequel to The Iliad, though both can stand alone. According to notes taken in my classical mythology course, it was probably published around the 8th century BC near the Greek shore of Ionia. Odysseus� journey from Troy to his home country Ithaca takes ten years. During those ten years he confronts a variety of obstacles: witches, cannibals, giant Cyclops, and more. All of these obstacles require not just brawn, but cunning and wisdom to overcome.

 

Assignments: Have the students choose one for their reading

      Create a timeline of the events during Odysseus� journey

o   For the obstacles: label the obstacle and how he overcomes it

      Create a picture book of the events and obstacles of Odysseus� journey

 

Questions: Have students answer the following questions

      How does Odysseus� pride cause his downfall?

      Find and relate the differences and similarities between Telemachus and Odysseus

      Is Odysseus� treatment of the suitors and their maidens justified?

      In what ways are Penelope and Odysseus a good match?

o   Talk about the ways she is cunning and wise

 

Problems Students Might Encounter and Solutions:

      Difficult language

o   Have the students write down vocabulary words they do not know

o   Later use these vocabulary words to create a quiz

      Length

o   Don�t have the students read ever single book of The Odyssey, instead have them break into groups and each tackle a chapter. Then make the specific groups in charge of presenting their particular section.

 

 

 

 

Extending the Unit:

Assignment 1: Young Adult Literature

 In addition to the centerpiece story, students must choose at least one other work to read and study. In addition, each student must be prepared to present their novel to their peers. Presentations of these works might include book reports, dramatic presentations, home made films, creative re-writes, artistic presentations, board games, or literary comparisons. The following are a few novel suggestions. Though, students may also suggest works off the list, but must get those choices approved by the teacher.

 

      Invention of Hugo Cabret

o   "Time can play all sorts of tricks on you. In the blink of an eye, babies appear in carriages, coffins disappear into the ground, wars are won and lost, and children transform, like butterflies, into adults." 

      The Graveyard Book

o   "Face your life 
Its pain, its pleasure, 
Leave no path untaken"

      Chronicles of Narnia

o   "Oh, Adam�s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!" 

      Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

o   "Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure." 

      Coraline

o   "Because,' she said, 'when you're scared but you still do it anyway, that's brave."

      Black Cauldron

o   "Indeed, the more we find to love, the more we add to the measure of our hearts." 

      The Hobbit

o   "Living by faith includes the call to something greater than cowardly self-preservation." 

      The Princess Bride

o   "The beef-witted featherbrained rattleskulled clod-pated dim-domed noodle-noggined sapheaded lunk-knobbed boys.

      Eragon

o   �Show respect for those in power, but don't follow them blindly. Judge with logic and reason, but comment not.

      Life of Pi

o   "I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unnerving ease. It begins in your mind, always ... so you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you." 

 

Assignment 2: Superheroes

 

Recently there has been a surge of modern day superheroes coming to the film industry. There has also been an increase in graphic novel and comic sales. As a result of this surge, a lot of focus has been on these super heroes as literary characters. Choose some of the super heroes (as well as their stories or films) and explain whether they are similar to or different than Odysseus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concluding the Unit:

 

Students should watch one of the following movies with a similar theme as The Odyssey in conclusion of the unit.

 

      O� Brother Where Art Thou

      Big Fish

      Sinbad the Sailor

      Pandorum

      Sword in the Stone

      Eragon

      Coraline

      Harry Potter (1-6)

 

Movie Reflection Paper: Students should do a comparison/contrast of how the films portrayed the theme of cunning over wisdom. They should also include a short critique of the film and state whether or not the director provided good characters. Students should be prepared to present their findings to their class mates.

 

Final Project: Students will be asked to perform a scene from the poem that displays either Odysseus� cunning, or his excessive pride.

 

Debate: Have students debate the following topics:

      Is Odysseus too proud?

      Is Odysseus a good father?

      Did Odysseus go too far in murdering the suitors?

      Is Odysseus unfaithful? Is Penelope?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

Works Cited

Alexander, Lloyd. The Black Cauldron. New York: H. Holt, 2006. Print.

Gaiman, Neil, and Dave McKean. The Graveyard Book. New York: Harper, 2010. Print.

Goldman, William. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure. Orlando: Harcourt, 2007. Print.

Homer, E. V. Rieu, and D. C. H. Rieu. The Odyssey. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.

"The Internet Classics Archive | The Odyssey by Homer." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. 1994. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html>.

Lewis, C. S., and Pauline Baynes. The Chronicles of Narnia. New York: HarperFestival, 2010. Print.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: a Novel. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, 2003. Print.

Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. New York: Laurel-Leaf, 2006. Print.

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPr�. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic, 2004. Print.

Russell, P. Craig., Lovern Kindzierski, Todd Klein, and Neil Gaiman. Coraline. New York: Harper Trophy, 2008. Print.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008. Print.

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret: a Novel in Words and Pictures. New York: Scholastic, 2007. Print.

Tolkien, J. R. R., David Wenzel, Charles Dixon, and Sean Deming. The Hobbit or There and Back Again. London: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.

Trzaskoma, Stephen, R. Scott Smith, Stephen Brunet, and Thomas G. Palaima. Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2004. Print.