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| Joseph Campbell (Britannica) |
Note: The "call," the journey, and the return: these are the basic elements of the "Monomyth" of hero's journey. Get more details below.
Get Ready: Think about your favorite book or movie, or one you've read or seen recently. What was the hero's main challenge? How did she or he accomplish it (or did he/she fail)? Look for a pattern you could compare to other stories.
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| A more elaborate version of the Hero's Journey (Wikipedia) |
Note: In 1949, Joseph Campbell introduced the "Monomyth": the idea that all hero stories share a similar pattern. Find out what it is in this lesson and the next.
Get Ready: What makes a story interesting to you? Can you find a pattern that you think is particularly pleasing?
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| The Blind Men and the Elephant (Wikipedia) |
Note: The famous Indian tale about six blind men "examining" an elephant and coming to very different conclusions was amusingly put into verse by a 19th-century American poet. Here's the story.
Get Ready: Do you believe that the way you see things is the way everyone does (or ought to)?
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| A Thai illustration of the Four Sights (with only three in view, unless one man is sick and old) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Buddhists mark four key events in the life of their founder: his birth, departure from home, enlightenment, and death. In this story, let's see how he renounced a life of luxury.
Get Ready: In order to follow his path, the Buddha left behind his wife, his newborn son, and his responsibilities to his parents. (He later did much more for them than he could have if he had stayed.) Do you think it's all right for a person to do this?
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| Thoreau's cabin, from the book's first edition (Wikipedia) |
Note: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately," Thoreau wrote. Meet this foundational American philosopher and hear his thoughts.
Get Ready: If you could, would you like to live alone in the woods for a year (or two) and try to be self-sufficient? Why or why not?
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| The Death of Socrates (1787), by Jacques-Louis David (Wikipedia) |
Note: Socrates was executed for "corrupting the morals of the youth." Learn the story behind this "crime" and "see" how he died.
Get Ready: Do you think we should always listen to our parents, teachers, government leaders, and others in authority? Or should we question what they say to be sure it's the right thing?
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| Daniel Webster argues while the devil influences the judge. (Wikipedia) |
Note: The devil's contracts were always thought to be unbreakable--that is, until he met the formidable American lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster!
Get Ready: What, to you, is the greatest thing about being alive, and human? I mean, what brings you joy? What do you appreciate more than anything?
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| An illustration of Plato's Allegory (Wikipedia) |
Note: Plato taught that the world we see is an imperfect reflection of the "world of Forms"; this allegory will make it all clear.
Get Ready: Do you believe that this world--the totality of the things that we can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste--is the only thing that is "real"? Or is there a world beyond this one?
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| The Lady Bertilak tempts Sir Gawain (Wikipedia) |
Note: In this part of the story, Gawain trades kisses in a strange castle with a mysterious couple, and nearly pays for it with his life.
Get Ready: Would you fulfill an honorable promise, even if doing so might lead to your death?
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| The Green Knight disturbs King Arthur's feast (Wikipedia) |
Note: When King Arthur's feast is disrupted by a not-so-jolly green giant, his nephew Gawain must step up and defend his honor--with dire consequences.
Get Ready: Would swinging an axe at someone's neck seem like a "game" to you?
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| The Robinsons kneel to thank God for saving them. (Wikipedia) |
Note: A story of castaways and the moral lessons they learn while living on a "desert isle," just like Robinson Crusoe.
Get Ready: If you were stuck on a deserted island for ten years and learned to survive there, would you leave if rescuers came? Or would you prefer to stay there?
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| Odin the Wanderer (Wikipedia) |
Note: Read more about the days of the week and where their names come from--including "Wednesday"--in Lesson #01-059. Here we take a closer look at one of them.
Get Ready: Do you know much about the "real" stories of the Norse gods (not just what you can learn from the Marvel movies)?
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| Mullah Nasruddin (Wikipedia) |
Note: From Turkey to Western China, he is called by many names: Nasreddin (with many spellings, including Nasr Eddin), Hodja, Khwaje, Djoha, Abunawas, and Afanti. But by whatever name, he is an example of what is found in many religions: the "wise fool," the embodiment of "crazy wisdom."
Get Ready: Is it possible to teach something "wise" by telling a funny story? Why or why not? Can you think of an example?
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| A 1687 illustration of the fable (Wikipedia) |
Note: The Greek author Aesop is famous for his fables, stories with a moral attached at the end. Though they often feature talking animals, they sometimes instead highlight the foolish behavior of real human characters.
Get Ready: Does a liar ever tell the truth? How can you be sure?
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| Scheherazade tells Shahryār one of her tales in The 1001 Nights (Wikipedia) |
Note: My favorite story from the 1001 Nights (also called The Book of One Thousand and One Nights) is not "Aladdin" or "Ali Baba," but this one, entitled "The Man Who Never Laughed Again."
Get Ready: If someone forbids you to do something ("Don't open that door!"), do you ever feel compelled to do it? Why or why not?
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| Illustration from a Russian manuscript of The Romance of Alexander (Wikipedia) |
Note: Did you know that Alexander the Great once met with the King of China? Well, not really. Read on to learn how history becomes legend.
Get Ready: Is success the result of luck?
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| Scene from a live performance of La Vida es Sueño (Wikipedia) |
Note: The Spanish playwright Pedro Calderon de la Barca, commonly called simply "Calderon," was a near-contemporary of Shakespeare, and holds a position in Spanish literature similar to that of the Bard in English (along with countryman Lope de Vega). Few of his works have captured the imagination of the English-speaking world like Life is a Dream, which has one of the cleverest philosophical plot twists imaginable.
Get Ready: Is it possible to think one is awake while dreaming--or dreaming while awake? Has this ever happened to you?
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| "Aunt Rachel" (actually Mary Ann Cord) (Chemung County Historical Society) |
Note: Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, is widely known for such impressive books as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. But many of his shorter stories and essays packed a powerful punch as well. Let's read about one.
Get Ready: Is it possible to maintain a positive attitude even though one has experienced great suffering?
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| Kleobis and Biton sleep as Cydippe prays to Hera (Wikipedia) |
Note: One of the earliest major works of history is the book that gave us the word: The Histories, by Herodotus (who is called, naturally enough, the "Father of History"). It's filled with, not just solid history, but local legends, folk tales, and plenty of wisdom. Here's a taste.
Get Ready: How would you describe a "happy life"?
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| Dante with scenes from The Divine Comedy (Wikipedia) |
Note: England has Shakespeare. Spain has Cervantes. Italy has Dante Alighieri, best known by just his first name, Dante, but in Italy known as "the Supreme Poet." His works raised the status of vernacular Italian, and his home dialect became the base of the modern national language.
Get Ready: Do you believe in Heaven and Hell? How about Purgatory? What are those places like (real or imagined)?
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