“The Hero’s Journey: An Analysis of Odysseus and His Relevance in Literature and Today’s Society”

Write an analysis of one of the significant heroes or anti-heroes from
one or more of the texts in the class so far. You can also compare and contrast two heroes/ anti-he-
roes. Some ways to approach the topic: What is the significance of this hero to the text, audience,
and culture of the time and today? What kind of example does this hero give the reader and what
kind of values does this hero represent? Does the hero change through the course of the story? Are
the hero’s actions still laudable? Why or why not? How is the hero presented differently in different
stories? What is the significance of the structure of the hero’s quest? What do the challenges (and
the way the hero responds to those challenges) say about the hero? Relate to a present time Hero/
Anti-hero and find some similarities. AVAILABLE TEXTS TO CHOOSE FROM:
Odyssey Iliad Citations must conform to MLA 9 th Edition Style for in-text citations and works cited.
• Two scholarly sources are required for this paper, but not more than 3 (just be careful they do not over-
whelm your own writing/observations).
• You must use at least one literary term covered in the class to enhance your analysis of a specific mo-
ment in the text (allegory, metaphors, symbolism, …)
Rubric:
Content – 30 p ( 10 p each)
The paper… Addresses the topic or question Accurately presents assigned authors’ viewpoints Provides sufficient textual evidence to support the argument Structure – 30 p ( 3 p each)
The introduction… Is present in the paper Includes a clearly stated thesis Indicates how the paper is organized The body… Contains a complete discussion and support Each paragraph… Includes a topic sentence Develops one main idea Has a transition sentence linking it to the next paragraph The conclusion… Recaps the thesis statement and the essay’s main points Presents a closing statement of the writer’s position
Organization and Development – 20 p (5 p each)
The entire composition Is logically organized Has a solid argument with supporting evidence Main points Are relevant to the thesis statement Are discussed without too much repetition Style -20 p ( 2 p each)
Is concise and precise Is free of misspellings Is free of grammatical mistakes Lacks incomplete sentences Uses correct punctuation Includes subject/verb agreement Uses pronouns correctly Is free of jargon and cliches Cites references correctly