All English Classes: Hero Cycle

Today in class we reviewed the Quest Archetype, sometimes called the Hero Cycle or Hero's Journey. Please watch the presentation below to bring yourself up to speed.



In English I, we discussed that in "The Most Dangerous Game," Rainsford was the quester, and he was on a quest for survival. General Zaroff, although he was the villain, was also Rainsford's mentor (slowly turning him to the kill-or-be-killed way of thinking). The challenges/obstacles like hiding and eluding Zaroff were obvious, and the key Underworld moment was when Rainsford dove into the sea, risking his life for survival. In the end, he does achieve his quest (surviving), but it's not clear quite how he may have changed.

In English II, we discussed that in "By the Waters of Babylon," John was the quester, searching for the Place of the Gods. His father was his mentor. Again, the obstacles were obvious: his fear, the river, the dogs. John faced the Underworld in the hotel room where he found the skeleton and was shown the vision of what happened to New York. In the end, John also achieves his goal, but also has matured to the point that he can lead his tribe in a way that, perhaps, his father couldn't.

Assignment: Pick a movie/book/video game that involves a quest and identify the 6 key elements of the quest from the presentation. Don't forget to provide the name of the movie/book/video game.