10/28/19 Fanny Li Pd 2

Aim: How can we evaluate the evolution of the hero from The Quest of the Golden Fleece through contemporary times? 

Do now: List all of the ways Jason was a hero, without the aid of any others 

Throughout the story, there were little to no occurrences where Jason showed heroic acts without having help from others. Even though he is depicted as a hero, I wouldn’t see him that way as he did not show acts of bravery using his own strength and knowledge. Yayin said that one way she could think of was that he took up the quest to get the golden fleece back because it was the only way he could’ve taken the throne. 

Ms. Fusaro switched the slide to show the attributes of the greek hero:

• He is of royal birth or a demi-god
• Must perform extraordinary feats
• He is a noble character which is close to perfectly ideal but for a fatal flaw
• Suffering of the character is physical
• Death must occur in an unusual way
• Fights for his own honor; his deeds belong to the community only after his death
• Assistance from the divine

Then we were asked to answer the question: 

Does Jason fit the attributes of a greek hero? 

Jason fits some of these attributes but he didn’t exactly suffer until the end when his wife dies. Senan said that a hero is supposed to fight for others too not just for his own honor. He thinks that Jason doesn’t exactly fit that because his goal was to retrieve the golden fleece so that HE could take the throne. Unsa said that Medea was the one who fought and helped him, but she can’t necessarily be called a hero because of her gender. Ben said that Greeks viewed that in order to be a hero, they need to be above everyone else, so ordinary humans can’t be called heros. Winnie said that Jason shouldn’t be called a hero just because he was from royal birth. Ms. Fusaro then asked us, how many of us could be a hero based on these standards? 

Well, no one could be considered a hero because we aren’t born into it, no one of us are gods, goddesses, or of divinity. 

Group work:

The contemporary hero? List the attributes of Captain America

• He fights for America not for himself
• He was a skinny average man and became a muscular strong man
• This shows that anyone can become a hero without the help of the divine 
• He took steroids to become strong so Josh said that he didn’t really work for it, like the Greeks also didn’t 
• Ben said that his purpose was originally created for propaganda; to inspire American soldiers to continue fighting against Germany. It was to appeal towards people to sign up for the army.

Ms Fusaro brought the discussion to an end by summing up that heroes were created in stories to manipulate the public and make it more appealing in their eyes. It was to inspire the common people and make them believe that through their hard work, they will help the greater good, which in this case will only benefit the government. 

We were given the definitions to what it means to be: 

The Medieval Hero

He can be of any birth, and fights for the honor of the kingdom. 

This is where we first see the manipulation of the government. This is how you build an army. 

Ms Fusaro got the class thinking with the question: What makes someone in the military more honorable than any job? 

Being in the military is just a job, they get paid and are given many benefits. However, what makes them different is that honor is the one thing that can not be bought. Someone in the military believes that they fighting for their country solely because they have honor. 

The Romantic Hero

When people stop having faith in their government

• At odds with society
• Not interested in authority of conformity
• Indulges in his/her own feelings, uniqueness, and intuition
• Self-centered 

The evolution of the contemporary hero

• The Anti-Hero
• A protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities
• Has to be some level of moral code
• The vigilante 
• Undertake law enforcement in this community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate

Reflection:

In today’s class, I learned the true meaning of being a hero. In Greek times, a hero meant that you had to be part of the divine and have royalty in your blood. They need to suffer some kind of physical pain. Jason was made to be a hero in Greek Mythology because he was born from royalty and fights for his own honor. However, a hero should be anyone who is willing to fight for what they believe in. I also learned that the stories created were to capture the eye of the common people; they are made to what we want to believe a hero is. We see that the story of Captain America and the Medieval Hero were created to manipulate people to conform to the needs of the government. The purpose of Captain America was to serve as propaganda. The government wanted everyone to be involved in the war effort in any way possible; they needed to continue believing that they would win the war in order to continue fighting against Germany. The purpose of the lesson today was to show that everyone today can be a hero; as you can see from Captain America, he was portrayed as a hero and fought evil, but he also started off as an average man. If you work towards your goals and fight for your beliefs, you can also be a hero.