Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Abstract
Heroes existed in the past, but heroes today are obsolescent, if not obsolete. The problem for us today, then, is to find or create heroes. I contend that we can still identify heroes in our lives. They can be found in our families, in our friends, and in ourselves, if we only look for them. This thesis examines and defines heroes. It shows why heroes disappeared. It shows the need for and illustrates three views of the hero through three plays for young people, and it suggests how modern-day heroes are possible. Heroes are defined by actions. Heroes are also defined through their representation; their philosophical stance being symbolic of that which we believe or profess to accept as correct. Heroes were lost through social, psychological and media movements. Democracy, where everyone is equal, necessarily makes it hard for heroes to exist. Psychologists propose that it is immature to desire and follow heroes. And thirdly, the media destroys heroes by making them seem distant, and also too human. However, heroes are still needed. As well as being needed, they are being recreated (especially by young people). The common hero of today is found on television. Through the presentation of the three plays the audience comes to understand the definition of the hero by example. The first play is Willie and the Bandits.
Willie presents himself to a society which is in dire need of leadership. Willie knows he is a hero, a person with solutions, a person to be followed to success. But Willie is not the perfect hero, for he doesn't teach heroism. He merely solves problems. This hero we recognize but cannot get to know. The second play is Chi Natone, a fantasy which states that each person, no matter how high or low, has the potential to become a hero. So Low, the hero in Chi Natone, is merely the concerned citizen of a society which is being plagued by a horrible monster. So Low uses his own instincts and, driven by his sense of responsibility, becomes the hero. This hero is more realistic because this person acts out of need for an immediate solution. The third play, The Woods, in which a mother and son battle a wild bear, says that parents are the unstated but natural heroes for children. Mother is the hero in The Woods. She uses her energies in endeavors so that her son can achieve success. This hero is the parent, the natural hero for children. Mother is the best hero, for this hero combines the first two illustrations plus adds potential for the future. This hero realizes his/her position as a hero, has a concern for the society and accepts responsibility, and tends to give the glory to others, the child, in hopes that the child will, too, in time accept the same responsibility and become heroic. The plays lead to the conclusion that parents should be regarded as heroes.
Year of Submission
1985
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communication and Theatre Arts
First Advisor
George Glenn
Second Advisor
Thomas Carlisle
Third Advisor
Phyllis Scott-Carlin
Date Original
1985
Object Description
1 PDF file (35 leaves)
Copyright
©1985 George D. Cowan
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Cowan, George D., "The Modern Hero: Three Plays for Young People" (1985). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2398.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2398
Comments
The creative works referenced in this graduate thesis, consisting of pages 22-106, currently are not being made available in electronic format through UNI ScholarWorks.
If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.