From the Greek hero Odysseus returning from the Trojan Wars to Hunaphu and Xbalanque, the Hero Twins of the ancient Mayas, from Willie Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of Salesman" to General Eisenhower before the Normandy Invasion, the Hero is one of only a handful of defining characters common to every human culture and, as the counterpart to the "Great Earth Mother" figure, is the archetypal image of the man. 

The Hero figure, however, manifests himself in literature in a number of different forms and patterns. This course introduces some of the most important, including among others, 1) the tragic hero, 2) the archetypal hero, 3) the Shakespearean Hero 4) the modern hero, 5) the "Pop Culture" hero, and 6) the anti/ironic hero. Additionally, many authors have crafted their own versions of the hero so distinctively as to render their own type, such as the "frontier hero" in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper and ex-patriot heroes of Ernest Hemingway's short stories and European-based novels. 

Week 15 studies expand our investigation of the hero to include both men and women in an attempt to move beyond the conventional academic classifications of the hero. 

As a distance-learning correspondence course, this section of English 2343 is primarily a readings course. Selections of literature cover the range of the academic hero patterns. Six short written exercises over optional texts will complement the readings. The average of grades awarded for these exercises will determine the final grade in the couse. Periodically, students will have the opportunity to meet informally with the instructor on selected dates to be worked out with the students during the first week of the course. 

This site, as well as the course CD-ROM, are produced in HTML in order to facilitate access literally to a world of information about the hero already available on the World Wide Web through the Internet and to developing commentary and additional resources including "Unit Notes," study guides for each week provided by your instructor.  To access this information, click on the hyperlinked items in the "Table of Contents" below. 

After you have finished most of the assignments for the course, please complete the Online Student Survey.  Your responses provide the college valuable information that will help us to improve our distance educational program. 

On behalf of the entire staff and faculty, we hope English 2343 will enhance your academic growth and enrich every arena of your life! 

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Table of Contents
Course Syllabus
Letter from Your Instructor
The Course Message Board
Online Student Survey
Copyright Compliance Statement
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Contact My Professor
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General Information
Standards for Writing and Evaluating Literary Essays
Mountain View College
Dallas County Community College District
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Units of Study
Week 1
The Study of Literature
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Week 2
The Hero: An Introduction
Exercise 1
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Week 3
The Tragic Hero
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Week 4
Oedipus, The King
Exercise 2
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Week 5
The Archetypal Hero
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Week 6
Hero With a Thousand Faces
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Week 7
The Archetypal Hero in Classic American Literature
Exercise 3
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Week 8
The Shakepearean Hero
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Week 9
Four Tragedies
Exercise 4
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Week 10
The Modern Hero
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Week 11
Three Short Novels
Exercise 5
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Week 12
The "Pop Culture" Hero
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Week 13
The "Anti Hero"/Ironic Hero
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Week 14
The Saga of Neddy Merrill
Exercise 6
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Week 15
Other Heroes: Mighty Men and Women of 
Ideas, Feats, Industry, Sports, and War
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Week 16
The Hero in Review
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This page was last modified on September 5, 2003,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey Grimes.
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