The Hero's Journey
A WebQuest About Following Your Dreams...
"My general formula for my students is 'Follow your bliss.' Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it." Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
"When you want something bad enough, the entire universe conspires to help you get it." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
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A WebQuest About Following Your Dreams...
"My general formula for my students is 'Follow your bliss.' Find where it is, and don't be afraid to follow it." Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
"When you want something bad enough, the entire universe conspires to help you get it." Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
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Introduction:
Joseph Campbell was a teacher and writer who dedicated his life to studying world mythology and its connection to the human spirit. Not simply the stories of long dead civilizations, but the living myths of the world all around us. Campbell taught us that the hero's journey, as described in the great narratives of the world, is really the blueprint for the path each of us must walk in search of that which offers our life purpose. Campbell taught us the most important thing in life is to Follow Your Bliss. Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian writer of many books, including The Alchemist, which has been published in 150 different countries in 56 different languages! The book is loved the world over. Why? Because Coelho writes about the hero's journey: about following your bliss; the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and above all, following our dreams. Reading Schedule for The Alchemist: Part One to be completed by 21 April Part Two & Epilogue to be completed by 2 May Task One: Read selections from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass ("Song of Myself," "To Think of Time," "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," "Time to Come," "I Sing the Body Electric," and an excerpt from "Passage to India") and respond thoughtfully and comprehensively using textual evidence at least 3 separate times (and on 3 separate poems) on the Leaves of Grass Blog, commenting specifically to how Whitman’s verse is connected to Coelho’s idea of “Soul of the World” in The Alchemist. Make sure you identify the poem you are using to convey your ideas. Additionally, you must respond thoughtfully to two other people's posts as well using textual evidence. Each post and response must be at least 50 words long and must contain textual evidence (for this assignment you do not need line numbers, just quotation marks around text evidence). In all, you will have 5 separate posts. Due by 5 May for all classes. Task Two: Choose ONE of the following activities: Make sure your product(s)show a considerable effort on your part. -· Keep a dream journal for 10 days. Use the internet to research how Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung (and here is a 2nd Jung link) might interpret these dreams, or how an ancient culture might derive meaning from the dreams. Make sure each journal entry discusses what happened in your dream, your interpretation of the dream, and how Jung or Freud may have interpreted your dream. Describe how writing about these dreams may or may not have given you ideas about fears or desires you may have and did not realize. If you do not dream often or you have trouble remembering your dreams, then this is not the assignment for you. -· Create an online self-help guide (possibly by Santiago) such as “How to Find your Personal Treasure,” “Following Your Bliss: a Step-by-Step Guide” or “Personal Legends for Dummies,” using Google Sites or any other web-hosting site. -· Craft a painting, a sculpture, write a song, collage or photo essay which captures a particular theme, idea, relationship or pivotal moment in the story. If you are not artistically inclined in some way, then this is not the assignment for you. -· Map out Santiago’s journey visually and include obstacles he encounters and lessons he learns in geographically correct locations. Provide a key or legend that suggests ideas, symbolism etc. depicted along the way. -· Write out a series (minimum of 4) of letters between Fatima and Santiago. Each letter should be at least 250 words. Due 6 May 2013 Task Three Consider the role of the hero in the context of the stories we have read and through the lens of what you have read about the ideas of Joseph Campbell. Your task is to create a new mythology. You must create your own hero or heroes and set them on a journey. In the end, someone who experiences your myth should be able to tell us something about what values you hold to be important in your world. This will be a group assignment. First, visit this website which details this hero's journey document. You should use this file extensively in designing your project. You will not use all of the steps in the Hero's journey, because your stories will not be as long as a movie, but this should give you some ideas for structure. Also, research the World Wide Web to get ideas! You are going to use all of these tools to create your own hero myth. This is the final obstacle in your Quest. Here's how it generally goes: You usually learn the problem early in the story. Then comes the obstacle, then another; each obstacle is harder than the last one. Finally, the hero's character traits and background come to his aid and he solves the problem by overcoming the biggest obstacle yet. Here is a formula you can follow: Hero + Problem + Obstacles; Hero puts Traits and Background to work on Problem + Obstacle = Solution. See? There's a formula at work, but that doesn't take away from the power of all these great stories! Because it is YOU who provides the meaning. In the end, these stories are always about ourselves. That is the reason for their universal appeal. Star Wars is an excellent example of this. Closely research and examine the various traits and stages of the hero and his or her journey. Once you have an idea of how your narrative is to unfold, you are to develop a story and tell it through an interactive webstory (using a website to tell your tale and develop your characters, with links, sounds and pictures of the figures in your mythological world interwoven throughout the story). Your webstory should be no less than 1500 words. The core of your work for the project must be the heroic journey. You may set this journey in any time period. Google Sites and Wix, are excellent resources for making a webstory...they are free and easy to use. Each group must also turn in a 500 -750 word explanation as to the creative process (why did you make the choices you made and how do they tie to the heroes journey) and research used for the assignment. Extensive notetaking and record keeping all along the way will be the key to writing this paper effectively! YOU MUST HAVE A WORKS CITED PAGE! The works cited page will not be included in the word count. DUE 16 May. Final Task: Choose one of the prompts below and write a 1000-1500 word analytical essay. Use textual evidence from The Alchemist to support your assertions. 1. 1. The Gaia hypothesis is an ecological hypothesis that is very simply described as the Earth as a single organism. Discuss this theory within the context of The Alchemist and the principle that everything on earth is related. 2. "People need to believe that order can be glimpsed in the chaos of events” (adapted from John Gray, Heresies, 2004). In what ways and to what extent would you say this claim is relevant in “The Alchemist”. 3. When should we trust our senses to give us truth? Discuss this question as it relates to Santiago’s experiences and realizations in The Alchemist. Due 19 May. |