TASK: Identify the hero's journey narrative structure in the allocated short story.
OR
TASK: Identify the character archetypes in the allocated short story.
1. Download the relevant worksheet (see below) to your device. You can then type directly into the worksheet.
2. As you read the short story, record the steps of the hero's journey OR the character archetypes on the respective worksheet.
3. Your teacher will provide instruction for submission of your work.
HINT: Each stage of the hero's journey does not always appear in works of fiction, and the order in which they occur can vary.
INDEX: Select a cover to JUMP to the short story.
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Story 1: "The Interlopers" by Saki [2150 words]
Summary: Ulrich is out patrolling his forest with a rifle. He’s not hunting the usual game; he wants to catch his neighbour, Georg, poaching on his land. Their families have a long standing feud over the territory, going back to their grandfathers. They hate each other intensely.
Story 2: "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
Summary: This thrilling short story by Ray Bradbury tells of a group of hunters who travel back in time to hunt the ultimate prey, the Tyrannosaurus Rex. As with most adventures in time travel, the hunters’ actions have far reaching effects, educating them in the harsh lesson that even the smallest actions have consequences.
Click this cover to listen and read the story simultaneously.
The PDF (below) is available to download and annotate.
Story 3: "Thank you, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes [1958]
Summary: After a purse theft gone wrong, a boy named Roger is at the mercy of the indomitable Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. Rather than call the police, Mrs. Jones drags Roger to her home to wash him, feed him, and then send him away with money along with an enduring lesson on choices and kindness.
Story 4: "Marigolds" by Eugenia Collier [1969]
Summary: On the brink between child and woman, the protagonist, called Lizabeth by her brother, tries to come to terms with the reality of her impoverished life as a black girl living in rural Maryland during the Great Depression. Unable to cope with her helplessness and degradation, she sets out on an endeavour to destroy the only thing she had known to be beautiful, destroying her innocence in the process and spurring her on into adulthood.
Background: The story draws from Collier's early life in rural Maryland during the Great Depression.
Themes: Poverty, maturity and the relationship between innocence and compassion.
AUDIO: Read Along Text
Story 5: "A Mystery of Heroism" by Stephen Crane
Summary: This is a thoughtful yet simply written story, set during a battle in the American Civil War. Crane, while capturing the terror and foolishness of war, dispels a heroic myth.
Warning: This text contains graphic descriptions of a violent battle.
Themes: War.
Suggested reading level: Grade 6-10.
AUDIO: Available from YouTube (see below)
