A long while ago, I read an essay online somewhere. It was an in depth analysis of heroes in literature and it specifically dealt with Ender.
If I remember right, there were 8 major aspects, including an unusual birth as well as some form of death and a descent to the underworld/hell followed by rebirth/ressurection.
I've been looking for this article, and I've got the feeling that there is another dissertation that the essay I read was based off of.
I think I probably linked to the essay off of Hatrack, but I read it years ago and I can't find it anywhere.
Does it even sound familiar to anybody?
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
What you are talking about is the Hero's Journey theory of Joseph Campbell. From a quick Google search, it looks like there's been a lot written about Ender's Game and the Hero's Journey, so finding the particular essay you remember may be a little difficult.
Posted by bingham111 (Member # 10171) on :
Thank you, that was exacktly what I was looking for.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
I live to serve.
Well, that's not actually true. I actually live to dance the red hot polka, but serving is something I do on the side.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Is that anything like the Pennsylvania Polka?
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
There are some similarities. It's more like the Polish version of the lambada. You know, the forbidden dance...with acordians.
[ February 09, 2007, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: MrSquicky ]
Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
[This essay was delivered to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" in 1988 as "Literary Heroism in the Works of Orson Scott Card" and subsequently published in "The Leading Edge: Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy"{ Vol. 16 (Winter 1988): 59-69. Much expanded and revised, it became a chapter of "In the Image of God: Theme, Characterization, and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card". Westport CT: Greenwood, 1990. The essay has been revised slightly for StarShine and Shadows.]
1. Miraculous conception and birth, ... 2. Initiation of the hero-child,... 3. Withdrawal from family or community for meditation and preparation... 4. Trial and Quest... 5. Death,... 6. Descent into the underworld,... 7. Resurrection and rebirth, ... 8. Ascension, apotheosis, and atonement, ...
I'm pretty sure this is the essay you are looking for.