The objective of this lesson is to sharpen the analytic skills of students through writing an editorial on "Killers as Heroes."

Write to ascertain prior knowledge of students. This should be a short definition essay:

What is a hero anyway?
What character traits define a hero? List ten.
Do students want to have heroes? To be heroes?

Read

A. Read a short biography of Billy the Kid. Discuss the time period and the murder rate. Would they rate Billy a hero?
B. Read a short biography of Audie Murphy. Discuss the situation and time period.
C. Compare the lives of both men. Which of the two men would they consider a hero? Evaluate which of the men they think is more of a hero. If neither is a hero, evaluate why.

View

See the Charlie Manson film produced by E television network, stopping at the section that names Manson as the most popular criminal in the United States and indicates that four to five letters arrive in praise of Manson every day.

Contrast Traits of a Hero

A. Write down the character traits of Charlie Manson. Then, compare those traits to the original list of hero traits developed by students.
B. Compare these lists to the classic concept of a hero.
C. Compare the lists of characteristics to the concept of the cowboy hero.
D. Do our heroes ever fall from the pedestal? One might consider athletes who lost their adoration. What must they do to lose favor?

Brainstorm

Do some brainstorming on the topic of "Killers as Heroes." What are possible causes? Has this phenomenon always existed? Do some library or Internet research and put together an editorial on killers as heroes.

A. Possible aspects of topic: Does the number of killer heroes reflect the amount of violence in the society?
B. What is the profile of someone who would write a fan letter to Manson?
Are the number of these persons proliferating?
C. What does the number of true crime books, having whole walls devoted to serial killers, Web sites, and trading cards mean in terms of society as a whole?
D. Is this phenomenon caused by the popularity of such films as Silence of the Lambs, or does this popularity reflect the obsession of the society at large?
E. In what manner does this affect the school situation?
F. Should the media be censored because of the amount of violence present in programming? Will this decrease the amount of adulation of killers and criminals?

Revise, critique and submit