Oprah Gail Winfrey
By:Luke Phillips
Q1: How do we define the personality
traits of a hero?
 We define it in many ways. Hero’s in any fictional writing or in
real life need various characteristics. Some of these are likeability
(they need to be liked by many), a flaw (they must have some sort
of drawback or shortcoming), and motivation (reason for doing
what they do) (Nipps).
 Hero’s in all forms often posses many traits such as bravery,
courage, determination, dedication, endurance, valor,
perseverance, selflessness, sacrifice, and humility. These traits are
shown in all different people, no matter what their social class
(Jadhav).
Q2: How does Oprah reflect her
particular culture and society?
• Oprah has reflected on her culture by establishing her school for
girls located in the poverty stricken parts of Africa. The reason
this reflects about her culture and society is because she is a native
of Africa (Samuels).
• Another way Oprah reflects her African American culture is she
recently gave a gift of one million dollars to Morehouse College in
order to educate black men. Her goal is to educate one hundred
African American men ("EBSCOhost: Oprah”).
Q3: How did Oprah childhood affect her
charitable work as an adult?
 Oprah supports many charities that help underprivileged African
American girls because she knows how difficult it can be growing
up from her own experience. She went through things like being
in deep poverty, being molested by her cousin when she was nine
years old, and teenage pregnancy. (Flanagan)
 Oprah also supports these various charities through compensation
and through her acts because she gave in to the temptation of
smoking cocaine as a young girl. She understands that adolescents
these days still have the same temptations, but are less susceptible
to giving in if they have support. (Johnson).
Q4: How did Oprah get her start working
with charities and giving back to the public?
 Oprah began her giving to charities as soon as she began her
start into the entertainment industry. Over the last 30 years
Oprah has donated over fifty million dollars to various
charities (Johnson).
 Oprah has supported many charities over the years such as
the Clinton Foundation, Free the Children, 4664, and V-day
among many others ("Oprah's Charity”).
Q5: What were/are Oprah negative
points of her life?
 Oprah had various negative points during her life. As a child she
grew up in poverty. She was often picked on in school until she
reached high school. She was molested as a young girl and also
became pregnant with a child at the age of 16 although it did not
survive (Flanagan).
 Oprah has gone through some criticism for various things. Over
the years she has been criticized for things like not offering enough
opportunities for African American as she should (Johnson).
Q6: How close does Oprah's life follow
the hero's journey?
 Oprah’s life does follow the hero's journey pretty closely. She has
many of the key elements such as a flaw, which is all the hardships
she went through during the beginning of her life. Her entire
background gives her the motivation for what she does (Johnson).
 Oprah’s life also has other elements like dedication to what she
does which can be show by the 30 years if work she has put in.
Also she has courage that to do the unfamiliar like hero’s do need
(Fry)
Works Cited

"EBSCOhost: Oprah Winfrey gives gift of $1 million to Morehouse to help educate black m...." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection
Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=18&sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=8906190564>.

Flanagan, Caitlin. "
EBSCOhost: The Glory of Oprah." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=13&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=67245345>.

Fry, Elizabeth. "Oprah Winfrey Biography - A Look Into the Personal Life of Oprah Winfrey." About Oprah - Television - Magazines Book Club - Radio - Charity. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. <http://oprah.about.com/od/oprahbiography/p/personallife.htm>.

JOHNSON, MARILYN. "EBSCOhost: Oprah Winfrey ." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=13&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=9708172143>.

Jadhav, Aparna. "Characteristics of a Hero." BuzzleWeb Portal: Intelligent Life on theWeb. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-a-hero.html>.

Nipps, Jen. "Five Traits Your Heroes Must Have | The Craft of Writing Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot." The
Craft ofWriting Fiction | Character Development and the Power of Plot. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.craftingfiction.com/2010/02/five-traits-your-heroes-must-have.html>.

"Oprah's Charity Work, Events and Causes." Celebrity Charity News, Events, Organizations & Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/103-oprah>.

Samuels, Allison. "EBSCOhost: OPRAH GOES TO SCHOOL." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=bc736325-a504-467a-a24e4631e35838bc%40sessionmgr12&vid=8&hid=18&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=23575222>.
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