Aim: Why and how does Hercules’s characterization make him
one of the most memorable figures in Greek mythology?
Write Now: Write about a time when you did something wrong, whether
purposely or inadvertently, but for which you were extremely sorry.
Here’s what we had to say…
Jeffrey started off by telling a story of when he was walking home in the dark, on his
home. He unfortunately didn’t see a cat on the sidewalk, accidentally kicking it. The next
day, he bought it a can of tuna!
Cornelia recalls when she was in a volleyball game, and she forgot that she and her teammates
were in a single file. As the ball came hurling over the net, she dodged the ball, forgetting there
was someone behind her. The ball ended up hitting that person… (Typical Cornelia…)
Shannon retells her experience swimming backstroke, and accidentally hitting her hand into
the eye of a boy swimming the opposite way. The boy ended up having to get stitches.
Oh no… (I can relate; this has happened so many times to me as well!)
So Steven has a lot of birds. One of his birds had started learning to fly, and as Steven was
one day adjusting his food bowl, the bird flew out of the cage… And into the kitchen. Steven
draped a towel over the bird to prevent him from flying into mirrors, but its talons got stuck
on the towel, which traumatized the bird.
Mrs. Fusaro asked after: What does it mean to be truly sorry?
She then showed us a video and asked us to write down our raw emotions from watching it
-- quick one-word phrases.
Here’s what the video was about: It was about a dog who came into the home of his owner
as a puppy. The two made valuable memories together and became each other’s best friends.
One day, the owner had to leave. The dog waited… and waited… and waited… It seemed
like the owner would never come back… And he did. It was a Budweiser ad, so some of
us had thoughts about this:
Andrew started the conversation by saying that he knew there was a twist from the very
beginning, and wasn’t shocked to see the outcome of the owner coming back home.
Katherine felt a sense of dread because like Andrew, she also thought something bad was coming. She wrote: NOO! and then "Yay!" when she say that the owner got back home.
Steven mentions the juxtaposition between the Budweiser logo at the corner and the car. He mentions he was constantly scared.
Mrs. Fusaro brought up the point that the emotional rollercoaster we experienced
watching the clip is very similar to the feelings we experience during Herculean labors.
“We go through these horrible emotions, and that is the baseline of what character is.”
She then asked us to reflect on the following:
PSYCHOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY OF EXCELLENT CHARACTERS
Humans admire what their cultures say are enviable characteristics.
We yearn to find vulnerability in the seeming perfection. (Why Americans love guys-
and-puppy videos.) We expect people to do wrong. We respect people who make it right.
We get by with a little help from our friends. Hey, even Atlas needed a hand.
Steven started off by saying that modern art may seem pretentious, but it is meant to appeal to the story of the struggling hero, a person who is trying to come to terms with their individuality.
Shannon states that the people who look to modern art and forms of expression and see
that the heroes of these narratives also struggle like them will be able to relate to these characters.
Ms Fusaro brought up this profound point: “In literary terms, flat characters who are
traditionally villainized become more rounded in modern literature, so that we can also
empathize with them, even if in very small ways.”
Dejon responds to this point by stating that certain characters exist so that we can also
connect with them and relate to them, regardless if they are the hero or villain.
After this discussion, we were asked to annotate an article by Stephen A. Diamond,
PhD, called “Why Myths Still Matter: Hercules and His Twelve Healing Labors.”
We were then asked to answer this question:
What is your opinion on the psychology of evil? Are we truly our own worst
enemies?
Taya starts by bringing up that the majority of people aren’t confident about everything.
Usually, people hold themselves back.
Billy makes a different point: “No matter how good you are, there is always that little thought that could make you ‘evil.’” But in reality, a lot of us just want to survive and do
better for ourselves instead of constantly helping others.
Steven adds:“Even though there are rules in place, ultimately our individual choices lead our actions.” So truly, we are our own worst enemy, because only we are able to dictate
what we do. In terms of understanding the rationale behind evil, we should look
behind the individual’s choices.
Mrs. Fusaro brings up that Hercules isn’t completely at fault for killing his family;
he doesn’t start the fire. However, we can’t let him off that easily, because he continues to
channel his anger, which turns into consequence followed by consequence. She says
humans have that inner fire, and “we can stifle it, but it will always exist.”
REFLECTION:
Today’s lesson placed an interesting emphasis on the role human psychology plays in the
way we analyze characters, particularly those that are “rounded,” in literary terms.
The class discussions were centered around how different characters’ experiences influence
our emotions, which contribute to our overall view of such characters. Often, we are taken
on a rollercoaster ride of emotions when we read about complex characters, and because
we experience many of these emotions in our normal lives, we are more able to connect with
our fictional/mythological counterparts. When Mrs. Fusaro brought up the point that modern
villains have evolved to encompass more relatable traits and more “desirable qualities,” I reflected
on many of the books and movies I have watched, and I completely agree. That such characters
have back stories and specific motivations for their actions gives their character more meaning.
We too succumb to evil at times and do things in desperation that we would otherwise
view as contradicting our morals. The class brought up that it is part of human nature to
falter at times, because we have, if ever so slightly, innate selfishness. After all, we are
responsible for our own actions.
We likened all of these points to Hercules’s story; we determined that while Hera
induced him into killing his family, he continued to channel his anger, which
led to several unfortunate events. Therefore, his experiences were mostly by his hand. I
agree that in life, certain circumstances can cause anger and pain to blind us. More often than
not, we fuel these dark emotions into the wrong things, forced to wait in regret as the fires we
set die down. This was something I had not completely realized before, especially as it pertains to literary characters. It made me come to the conclusion that while we may empathize villains more easily in modern stories, they ultimately must still be held accountable for their actions. And now I wonder: What if the reason we’d rather empathize with “misunderstood” villains than outrightly blame them for all their actions is because we would also not want to blame ourselves for the consequences of our own emotions?
What does this quote highlight about Macbeth's characterization? How is he in comparison to Banquo?
Interpreting Act 1 Scene 5:
