"Spoon River Anthology" Lesson Extension

Arizona State Standards

Viewing and Presenting P1:
Analyze and evaluate visual media for language, subject matter and visual techniques used to influence attitudes, decision making and cultural perceptions.

Quick View

Summarize a Movie
that has a Realistic Hero (as described below).

Explain
how the character in the movie fits the Realistic Hero archetype.

Summary + Explanation = 300 words minimum.

Objectives

When you are done, you should be better able to...

Recognize archetypes in literature and visual media (like movies), and

Analyze a character's role as an archetype.

Rubric

I will grade your summary and evaluation on whether they...

accurately identify a Realistic Hero in a movie, and

thoughtfully explain how the character fits the Realistic Hero archetype.

Summary + Explanation = 300 words minimum.

Copyrights

Lesson, Background, Layout, and Source Code
were created by me, Mark Greenberg. Use them; don't sell them.

Movie Poster for "Hero"
This 1992 image is copyrighted by Columbia Pictures. The movie stars Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis, and Andy Garcia. I use this low resoution version of the poster to teach under the "fair use" provision.

The Realistic Hero

Yes, Realism shows unpleasant parts of life. Characters in literature from the Realism Movement had trouble paying the rent, hated themselves, did mean things to each other, and died pointless deaths. They didn't always know why they did what they did. As you saw in the poems, kids beat up kids without reason. Husbands cheat on their wives. Diseased whores suck the glory out of war. Hey, that's the way things really happen.

Realism was not without its heroes though. The Romantic hero of the previous movement was buff, pure of heart, and, frankly, better than any real person. The hero in Realism is a regular Joe, unsure and ugly, divorced and hates his job. He may have a habit of cheating. But he becomes a hero when forced into an extrodinary circumstance that requires a hero.

Here's an example: In the 1992 movie Hero, Dustin Hoffman plays this sleazy thief named Bernie. One day a plane crashed and Bernie happened to be close by. He heard people inside the wreckage screaming for help, so he went in through the flames and pulled several people to safety. For that short period of time, Bernie was a hero. He didn't know why, and he returned to his ugly, mean life right afterward. In Realism, you are supposed to see the Bernie inside yourself and feel that, if the circumstances arose, you too could be a hero.

For this Lesson Extension, all you have to do is write a summary of a movie or book in which the main character is a Realistic hero, and explain how the character fits the archetype of the Realistic Hero. Focus your attention on the Realism as you write. Your summary should be in your own words. The summary and explanation should be 300 words or longer. Of course, you can't use the movie Hero; it's already taken. : ) Turn this in to me with this file name: E5YourNameSpoonRiverExt