As you read in the preceding Module, the Christ Motif in Literature, also known as Resurrection motif, initiation motif, transformation motif etc. notice they follow this pattern:
- May also be called Resurrection, transformation, initiation motif etc. But the pattern is the same
- Hero must leave status quo
- Must face obstacles
- Descends to an underworld
- Must die (either real or metaphorical death)
- Returns as a reborn or resurrected hero with new knowledge of the Self and the world around them.
Find this motif in short stories: D.H. Lawrence’s The Horse Dealer’s Daughter and Richard Wright’s Big Boy Leaves Home by answering the following questions for both stories. Explore the text fully and thoroughly. Pay attention to what Big Boy is like before he enters the kiln and after, and the subtle changes in the main character of Lawrence’s story at the beginning versus the end. The short stories are provided here as a PDF for your convenience, but it can also be found in the module.
The Horse Dealer’s Daughter.pdf
- Describe the main characters at the beginning of the story.
- At what point do these characters “leave the status quo” of their lives?
- What obstacles do they face before descending into an underground?
- Locate the point where the main characters enter an underground unfamiliar world.
- hint for Big Boy: It is not when Big Boy and his friends get in the water; keep reading
- What difficulties are encountered there?
- Are there any associations with death present? What are they?
- What does the hero learn about their true Self? About their world?
- Explain the point at which they re-emerge, in other words are resurrected.
- Have they changed? How?
- I could give you ten more stories with the exact same pattern (motif) and it’s no coincidence. Why do you think we read and write this pattern over and over again?
Use specific lines from the texts to back up your answers.