A Hero for Our Times: Creating a 21st Century Hero Story
Heroes are exemplars for their culture and time period and embody the traits that the people find admirable. For this assignment, your group will design a hero for our time and culture and tell his/her story.
Once your group creates a profile of your hero, outline and then write a story that:
- shows him/her in action;
- demonstrates his/her heroic qualities (refer to the Hero Pattern handout, consider your analyses of Beowulf’s character and other heroes with whom you are familiar);
-includes the elements of the hero’s journey (use The Hero’s Journey handout as a reference);
- illustrates why he/she is the right hero for our era (hero’s character and his/her story reflect key values, beliefs and traditions of our culture);
Use the hero’s journey template to outline your story. Once you have a profile of your character and the basic elements of his/her journey figured out, you can start writing.
Purpose- to create a hero for our time whose adventure follows the hero’s journey and reflects key traditions, values and beliefs of our culture;
Audience- stories will be shared orally with your classmates and teacher;
Setting- 21st century;
Conflict- a problem relevant to our 21st century lives;
Form- verse or prose;
Length- 1,000-1,250 words
Group member roles- each member of your group should have specific role(s) and tasks to accomplish;
Visuals- a life-size image of your hero (butcher paper will be provided) or a series of illustrations that will be shared via document camera or computer while your story is shared with the class.
Due dates: List of group member roles- Friday, 9/29
Character written profile and preliminary sketch- Monday, 10/2
Hero’s Journey story outline-Wednesday, 10/4
Completed rough draft of story- Friday, 10/6
Final draft (typed and edited) of story for presentation practice- Wednesday, 10/11
Presentation- Friday, 10/13
Hedges/Adv Eng 1-2 Seminar/2017