Some people have expressed difficulties with this paper assignment, and it is tricky at first. The best way to approach it is to look around you: look at your FB feed, look at news stories, look at people's shirts, or the covers of magazines...what "heroes" keep popping up? What heroes have we created in our own culture that have transcended their moment in time, or the book/movie they came from? What heroes do we know outside of their original work?
A few examples off the top of my head:
* Superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Joker, etc.
* Characters from famous books such as Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins (or the Hobbits in general), Sherlock Holmes and Dracula (a little old, but still in the general range of 'modern'), Conan, Tarzan, Edward and Bella, etc.
* Musicians such as John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Tupac, Bob Marley, etc. etc.
* Characters from film/tv such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Captain Kirk, Spock, anyone from GOT, Stranger Things, etc. etc.
* Characters from manga and anime
* Or anyone you feel has cultural significance and has outgrown their original work--think of heroes that inspire fan fiction, shirts, posters, biopics, etc.
ALSO, when comparing them to The Ramayana and Hong Gildong, you don't have to find a hero who resembles Rama or Hong Gildong exactly. Instead, look at these heroes and ask yourself, why did they become so big? What did they do or accomplish that made them assume mythic status, or simply acquire so many fans or devotees? Then consider how your hero did the same thing in a different way. Obviously your hero probably didn't string a gigantic bow or fly on the clouds, but how did they accomplish a great feat (thought impossible at one time, perhaps), or do some extraordinary performance that made everyone in awe of them?
Above all, have fun with this assignment! Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
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