Overview: As is often the case, a hero is nothing without a villain. After all, by convention, the villain exists to serve as a direct antithesis to the hero. Thus, the villain's villainy helps to emphasize and highlight the hero's heroism. The villain as darkness can brighten and embolden the hero's light.

The purpose of this assignment is to construct a comparative analysis between two characters:
Priority One: Between Hero and Villain
Priority Two: Between Hero and Hero
Priority Three: Between Villain and Villain

You may choose any FICTIONAL or real life hero or villain, but it makes sense to pick logical pairings rather than random ones. For example, if you pick The Matrix and are going to do a character comparison, the most logical choices are Neo and Agent Smith, not Neo and Alice in Wonderland (although, actually, that might be a bit cool, too, given the Alice in Wonderland references throughout that film).

Your main task is to isolate and define (especially in your thesis statement) precisely what it is that makes the hero heroic or the villain villainous. Does it have to do with their familial upbringing? Did something happen to them to make them behave a certain way? Is it just a matter of their personality? Ultimately, your job is to define the inner and outer motivations of these characters.

Some helpful questions:

What is the hero/villains' outlook towards humanity?

How did the hero/villain come to be (origin story)?

What is their fundamental modus operandi (method/operation)

Option One Learning Outcomes:

--Analyze and interpret the mythological characters or pop cultural characters who serve in a hero and villain capacity. You can also compare these characters to characters in REAL LIFE or in POPULAR CULTURE (Pink's "Stupid Girls" is one example. )

--Compose a comparison between characters, focusing on a peculiar common element or focusing on a peculiar but central difference; craft a thesis statement that directly exposes your comparative element.

Contrast-based thesis statement: While ___________(character A) demonstrates _____________, (character B) ___________.

Consistent-based thesis statement: Because (character A) demonstrates ____________, (character B) _______________.

Sample: While Lisa Kanae's character in her poem "Island Girl" seems to express no dismay over being a print-ad model, Anna Nicole Smith's entire life seems to have been tragically weighed down by the pressures of celebrity.

Because Madonna's early career was characterized so much by what society might deem the debauched feminine, it fascinates that the Material Girl's current incarnation as mother and Kabbalist prove that we must respect her womanhood in both forms. Society in fact, cannot judge Madonna, since Madonna forces society to judge itself first.

--Find and compile the relevant background information about each character; create a clear thesis statement that expresses the core theme that can be discerned between both characters;

--Apply proper P.I.E. paragraph structures to the essay so as to outline and organize the major points consistent with the essay's thesis statement (e.g. setting, character, plot-conflicts, point of view, symbols);

--Apply proper M.L.A. or A.P.A.-based quoting conventions to the essay with regards to proper quote introduction, parenthetical citation, and other quote dynamics;

--Examine quotes or images from the formal and informal text or visual-based resources so as to significantly comment on the relevance and impact of those selected images/words.

--Employ at least 3 quotes from various source materials that you find, of a textual or visual nature.

--Create a final, polished draft of at least 4-6 pages, with a List of Works Cited.

Option 2: Inductive Analysis (tensions in text, Star Wars)

Overview: With Star Wars, George Lucas created a space opera that relies heavily upon old school and new school artistic conventions: in other words, he has traditional aspects of the hero myth mixed together with modern statements regarding technology, facism, and the nature of governance (republic versus empire). Your job in this option is to interpret the film in a novel way that appeals to you, based on the theoretical perspectives that you LIKE. Your book, Star Wars: The Magic of Myth, can help a lot in this regard, since it offers up both old and new school assessments as to the influences that Lucas was drawing upon.

This essay is more inductive than deductive. In other words, you focus on just ONE ASPECT of the film to make a larger, more general statement on the film.

Examples:

Feminist critics might look at Princess Leia and her strength as an empowered woman rather than a traditional damsel in distress.

Historical critics would look at the influence of Hitler's Germany upon the film, especially the visual aesthetic.

Critics interested in religion would look at the Force (and its possible Asian roots), and the later scientific explanation of midichlorians in Lucas' prequels.

Psychological critics might assess Luke's entrance into the dark cave as a metaphor for exploring Luke's inner psyche and fears.

Marxist critics might assess how the droids in the film can also be held, along with Anakin and Shmi, in the general context of slavery and dominance in an exploitative economy.

Option Two: Student Learning Outcomes

--Analyze and interpret the one aspect of the film that you find the most compelling—your analysis should fixate on how that one aspect of the film helps to holistically inform the ENTIRE impact of the film on the viewer. (or the cult following thereof)

--Cultivate and craft a thesis statement, one that exposes what it is about your aspect that makes its impact so compelling, that can really create intrigue for you personally.

---Find and compile the relevant background information about each aspect you bring up; create a clear thesis statement that expresses the core theme that can be discerned.

--Apply proper M.L.A. or A.P.A.-based quoting conventions to the essay with regards to proper quote introduction, parenthetical citation, and other quote dynamics;

--Examine quotes or images from the formal and informal text or visual-based resources so as to significantly comment on the relevance and impact of those selected images/words.

--Employ at least 3 quotes from various source materials that you find, of a textual or visual nature.

--Create a final, polished draft of at least 4-6 pages, with a List of Works Cited.

Option 3: Comparative Dialogue (Screenplay)

Some of you are budding screenplay writers or are doubly interested in crafting intricate dialogues between characters. In this essay, you are able to pick two characters and create a fully realized screenplay excerpt for both of them.

It's probably logical to choose natural hero-villain pairings for this assignment, but you don't have to follow the rules to that degree.

You should be guided by a spirit of originality and creativity, creating a dialogue between two characters and annotating their movements, as in a professional screenplay treatment.

Option Three Student Learning Outcomes:

--Capture a sense of character using inventive and flavorful dialogue, choosing originality over dialogue that you already are familiar with regards to those characters;

--Carefully annotate and log screenplay directions so as to indicate character movments, settings, etc., consistent with most common screenplay writing.

--Know screenplay writing conventions and adapt them successfully.

--Employ strong description in your annotations;

--Strive for creativity in character selection and in dialogue flavor.

Option Four: Some of you who love poems are tasked on writing poems from the voices of characters in our novel about Achilles. Your task is two CAPTURE an implied thesis statement in each poem, thereby showing how poem 1 shows the character's vibe, one that directly contrasts with the vibe of poem 2. An obvious choice might be writing one poem in Achilles' voice or about Achilles as a character, while the other poem represents Hector's motives and perspectives. However, given the richness of the text, you could potentially write about numerous characters.

After writing your poems, you would want to write a reflective piece that binds both of them, analyzing how and why you wrote the poems you did. The number one question your analytical piece should answer is as follows: how does each poem represent the worldview of your characters well?

Student Learning Outcomes for this Option:

--Read your source text, thoroughly. Get a good feel for your favorite characters, their motives and expectations.

--Experiment with writing poems in the voices of your characters;

--Revise and polish your poems, such that they CLEARLY articulate the worldview/perspective of each character.

e.g. Why is Achilles fighting?

What does Agammemnon want?

In the analytical phase, try to

--Analyze each character in your poem; create a clear thesis statement that expresses the core theme that can be discerned between both characters;

--Apply proper M.L.A. or A.P.A.-based quoting conventions to the essay with regards to proper quote introduction, parenthetical citation, and other quote dynamics;

--Examine quotes or images from the formal and informal text or visual-based resources so as to significantly comment on the relevance and impact of those selected images/words.

--Employ at least 3 quotes from various source materials that you find, of a textual or visual nature.

--Create a final, polished draft of at least 4-6 pages, with a List of Works Cited.