Posted: February 6th, 2015

Tender Morsels" and Joseph Campbell’s "The Hero with a Thousand Faces"

Please make sure that you have access to the book “Tender Morsels” and Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and his wikipedia page “monomyth” , if you

have any further questions, please let me know.

The Rhetorical Analysis Essay

The RA is a 6-page (minimum) analytical essay in which you will explore the Hero’s Journey genre and how it applies to ONE of the heroines in Tender Morsels. This

means that you will go beyond simply defining the conventions of the genre and presenting straightforward representations of those conventions from a text. In the RA,

you will be expected to apply the conventions more creatively, to use the Campbell more wisely, and to make a more complex argument about message.

You are required to cite both Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels extensively. Christopher Vogler’s conventions should

be discussed only as supporting material, and his conventions should not be made central to your argument. You are not required to do any other outside research for

this essay, though you may if you so desire. Note, once you’ve chosen your prompt, writing this essay may require you to read ahead in the book. Starting this week, we

will be backing off of Hero with a Thousand Faces and our study of the text as a class; however, you will be given access to the remainder of the book, and the

sections you choose to read more deeply into will depend on the prompt you choose.

To begin your essay, you will write a convincing introductory paragraph that builds to a thesis, and you will end your essay with a powerful conclusion. This essay is

more difficult and therefore worth much more of your grade.

Prompts for the Rhetorical Analysis Essay (CHOOSE ONE)

1. Liga: The Return

Conventions to Explore (suggested): Atonement with the Father, Rescue from Without, Refusal of the Return, Crossing the Return Threshold, Freedom to Live. In your

essay, explore Liga’s Return, tracing the various stages above through specific examples and analyzing them according to Joseph Campbell’s theories and your own

interpretations of those theories and how they apply specifically to Liga. You should make a strong argument for HOW Liga earns her “Freedom to Live,” what,

specifically, she has learned on her journey, and how she has come to this point.

Lead questions to help you get there (you may focus on one or more of these, or add/invent your own angle): What are the differences between Liga’s “Special” World and

the “Ordinary” World to which she must return? How does the Ordinary World she returns to reflect or differ from the world she initially escapes from with the help of

Annie and the moon baby? What are some of the major trials Liga must undergo as she Crosses the Return Threshold, and how does the stage Atonement with the Father

affect her ability to live freely?

2. Branza: The Trials of Growing Up

Conventions to Explore (suggested): Road of Trials, Woman as Temptress, Refusal of the Call, Belly of the Whale, Apotheosis. In your essay, explore Branza’s Trials and

Temptations in both the “Known” World and the “Special” World and use them to make an argument for HOW Branza ascends from girlhood to womanhood over the course of the

novel. What, primarily, is keeping Branza from accepting her Call to maturity, when does she enter the Belly of the Whale, and what does it take for her to finally

make her transformation?

Lead questions to help you get there (you may focus on one or more of these, or add/invent your own angle): How do men function in Branza’s life, in both worlds, and

how does that function change and/or remain the same over the course of the novel? How does Liga influence Branza when it comes to accepting (or not accepting) her

Call to Adventure?

3. Urdda: A Heroine’s Revenge

Conventions to Explore (suggestions): Road of Trials, Supernatural Aid, Atonement with the Father, Belly of the Whale, Apotheosis, Ultimate Boon. Even though Urdda’s

Hero’s Journey may seem to be the most straightforward of the three heroine’s, things begin to complicate for her once she learns the truth about her conception. In

your essay, make an argument for how Urdda reaches Apotheosis and what her transformation actually is: psychologically and physically. What, truly, is Urdda’s Ultimate

Boon? You will explore Urdda’s Hero’s Journey once she crosses her Threshold into Adventure.

Lead questions to help you get there (you may focus on one or more of these, or add/invent your own angle): Why is Urdda special? Who are Urdda’s guides, and with what

Supernatural Aid is she provided? How, exactly, does Urdda “Atone” with her Father, and how do her choices—good or bad—lead her into the Belly of the Whale, when she

is forced to acknowledge that she is making a transformation?

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