Black Panther Movie Companion Lesson
 
Introduction
The idea of the hero is something that even very small children understand at some level. Many perennially favorite picture books feature heroic characters (such as Max in Where the Wild Things Are – a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey). As children grow, their exposure to different manifestations of the hero broadens. They encounter heroes in television, movies, books, magazines, and music, and on the pages of their local newspapers.
 
The heroic archetype features prominently in literary analysis at the high school level. A clear understanding of, and the ability to manipulate and apply, this idea is critical to any approach to world literature for the high school scholar.
 
Learning Objectives
After completing the lessons in this unit, students will be able to:
Explain what makes a hero and the elements of the heroic journey.
Recognize heroic figures in multiple media.
Analyze a literary work for the heroic archetype.
Analyze a piece of literature for elements of the hero and the heroic journey.
Write an essay comparing and contrasting heroes in two works.
 
Guiding Questions
What makes a hero?
Where do we find heroes?
How are heroes in books different from heroes in real life?
What is the journey of the hero and how does the archetype manifest itself?