Butcher » Course Materials

The title of the film is italicized. It can be underlined instead, but it should never be both italicized and underlined. The title of Covey's book should be italicized or underlined as well, but the title of the chapter from his book would be placed inside quotation marks: "Inside Out."

Abstract principles are often difficult for high school students to grasp. Nevertheless, such principles can be illustrated through concrete examples. The animated version of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame offers the opportunity to demonstrate Covey’s contrast of the personality and the character ethics. Covey’s thesis that the character ethic has greater value, even though expression of the personality ethic may result in more immediate self-interested gains and social expectance, is difficult to convey to people of this age because their world is often focused on short-termed gratification. This report will demonstrate why the film should be adopted as a supplement in teaching the meaning and implications of Covey’s thesis.

The Disney version of this novel is true to the original in its essential content. The outcast Quasimodo is used by Frollo, the Minister of Justice, to further his own personal ends. Quasimodo’s experiences with Esmeralda and Phoebus create a change in his view of himself and others. In the end the shallowness of Frollo leads to his own destruction and the destruction of innocent others. However, the animation and musical interludes would help hold the attention of an adolescent audience. In the process of entertaining, the film clearly expresses the ultimate value of character and morality over personality and appearance. The main characters offer the viewer the contrasting qualities of the personality and character paradigms, as well as the profound influence that a paradigm shift can have on the life quality of a person. What follows in this report is a more detailed examination of how the characters of Phoebus, Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Frollo provide clear illustration of Covey’s points of view.

Heather made use of a heading here (and in the rest of the body) to help the reader know what she's going to discuss. While it's not necessary, it's a great idea.

Note that ellipses ( . . . ) are used to indicate where words have been left out of a quotation. This is a convenient way to keep quotations focused on only the pertinent information.

Also note that quotations from Covey are followed by the page number in parentheses.

Heather does not use quotations as stand-alone sentences. She leads into each quotation with her own words. This makes the paper flow more smoothly, because the quotations and Heather's words are integrated. In the last highlighted sentence, Heather uses a quote and then explains what it's significance is. She never assumes that her reader knows why a quotation was included.

Finally, this discussion of Personality Ethic is wrapped up by a summary paragraph. Again, Heather doesn't leave it to the reader to draw the conclusions; she spells it out.

Frollo: Exemplar of the Personality Ethic

Frollo represents the Personality Ethic and its negative implications in its purest and simplest form. Covey states that the Personality Ethic encourages a presentation of self that is "clearly manipulative, even deceptive, encouraging people to use techniques to get people to like them . . . or to intimidate their way through life" (19). In the opening scenes of the movie the puppeteer says of Frollo that he "longed to rid the city of sin and saw corruption everywhere but within." From the beginning, Frollo expresses a public image of goodness and morality. However, the viewer is aware that Frollo’s motives are self-serving, regardless of the words he uses in presenting himself to others. For example, he often tells Quasimodo that it was he, Frollo, that saved him from the cruel mother who wanted to kill him. However, Frollo is heard saying that "even this foul creature may one day be of service to me." Frollo, throughout the film, blames his own shortcomings on others. He remarks to Quasimodo that "all of Paris is burning because of you," suggesting that Quasimodo was responsible for Frollo’s cruel and immoral acts.

The film presents the viewer with a clear lesson in Frollo. Concern with one’s self and ones own self-interest, at the expense of others, ultimately leads to failure. In a real sense the Personality Ethic is a self-defeating ethic. Frollo’s secret desire for Esmeralda, which turns to revenge, and spiteful persecution of the gypsies results in his death.

Heather makes effective use of repetition to keep the reader on track with her ideas.

Esmeralda and Phoebus: The Character Ethic

Covey describes the Character Ethic as composed of "basic principles of effective living, in that people can only experience true success and enduring happiness as they learn and integrate these principles into their basic character" (18). Examples of these principles are such traits as integrity, courage, justice and treating others as you would have them treat you. Esmeralda represents these principles with a clear simplicity that high school students should be able to perceive easily. In the scene during the Festival of Fools, Quasimodo is persecuted and ridiculed because of his physical deformity. When Esmeralda frees him, she has the courage to endanger herself to stop the injustice that Frollo was allowing to occur. She tells Frollo that he treats Quasimodo like he treats her people, that is, with a self-serving cruelty. An important aspect of the Character Ethic is the ability to see important qualities in other people that are deeper than their mere appearance. Esmeralda sees in Quasimodo a kind and thoughtful person, and does not react to him as a deformed monster. For example, when she reads his palm in the Tower of Notre Dame, where she has sought sanctuary, she says she sees no "monster lines" in his hands.

Heather also keeps the reader on track through connecting words in these paragraphs. Each of the highlighted words and phrases serves to move the reader easily from one idea to the next. Some connecting words link ideas through similarity (like), while others link ideas by contrast (but, however). And others connect by showing a series (First, next).

Like Esmeralda, Phoebus expresses the assets of the Character Ethic. He is a man of duty, honor and integrity, but at the same time, he is aware that integrity and fidelity to higher moral principles are of a higher importance than blind loyalty to superiors. First, he refuses Frollo’s order to take Esmeralda into custody because of his innate sense of the injustice that Frollo intends her. In an even clearer demonstration of his commitment to higher moral principles, he directly disobeys Frollo’s command to burn the home of a family that Frollo has accused of aiding, or hiding, the gypsies. Indeed, Phoebus risks his own life to save the family from the fire after Frollo sets the home ablaze himself. From that point on in the film, Phoebus is an example of the immediate costs that the Character Ethic can entail. In other words, doing the right thing leads him to suffer the fate of an outcast.

Nevertheless, the positive rewards of the Character Ethic are exemplified in both Esmeralda’s and Phoebus’s final outcomes. Both find that their courage and endurance is rewarded with a permanent and lasting happiness. The film clearly expresses, in a way that student can grasp, that virtue is rewarding.

Heather treats each section as a mini-essay, first giving clues to the reader about where she's headed.

Quasimodo: The Power of Paradigms and Paradigm Shifts

Quasimodo presents us with the most complex character and exemplifies Covey’s most important concepts. First, Quasimodo shows us the power of paradigms of self to shape our thoughts about ourselves and our orientation to solving our problems. Second, Quasimodo demonstrates both the capacity to change our paradigms of self, and the important implications that such a shift may have for solving problems in life.

Throughout most of the film, Quasimodo presents us with representation of the Personality Ethic and its capacity to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, Quasimodo’s comments to the gargoyles, when he is considering going to the festival, that "I’d never fit in out there. I’m not normal," indicating that he has accepted Frollo’s views of his inadequacies. This is reaffirmed in the musical exchange between Frollo and Quasimodo. Frollo says to Quasimodo, "You are deformed" and "You are ugly." Quasimodo answers in refrain, "I am deformed" and "I am ugly." Later, he says to the gargoyles again, "I’m a monster you know." Indicating that he has accepted Frollo and society’s perception of his inner character as a mere reflection of his outward appearance. In referring to what he thinks Esmeralda’s view of him is, he remarks, "Let’s not fool ourselves, ugliest face in all of Paris, remember? I don’t think I’m her type." He further sings, "No face as hideous as my face was ever meant for heaven’s light."

As long as Quasimodo views himself in the negative image of the Personality Ethic, he cannot muster the courage to reject Frollo’s evil actions and intentions and aid Esmeralda and Phoebus in their just cause. However, when he comes to realize that his limitations are produced by this false image of his true character, he is able to overcome Frollo’s domination of him and act on the basis of true moral principles. This paradigm shift is captured in the following renunciation of Frollo: "All my life you have told me the world is a dark and cruel place. Now I see the only dark and cruel thing in this world is you." Here we see the truth in Covey’s statement about the basic flaws of the Personality Ethic. Covey says, "To try to change outward attitudes and behaviors does very little good in the long run if we fail to examine the basic paradigms from which those attitudes and behaviors flow" (28). Quasimodo’s weakness and problems were a product of his inaccurate perception of what his problems really were. Once his paradigm shift takes place, his actions are based on the absolute principles of his inner character. Consequently, his actions cause justice to prevail through his courage to rescue Esmeralda. In the end he finds true happiness and acceptance because of this change in his image of himself.

In this conclusion, she nicely sums up the evidence she has offered and reinforces the idea that the film will be effective in illustrating Covey's concepts (the thesis).

As we all agree, the idea’s expressed by Covey are very valuable and well worth incorporating into a high school curiculum. Nevertheless, as was mentioned above, the abstractness of his concepts may be difficult for students to understand in their original statement. The Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame offers us the advantage of presenting the implications of the Personality Ethic, the Character Ethic and the importance of the capacity of persons to shift their self image from the former to the latter. The film clearly demonstrates, in a way students of this age can understand, the self-defeating qualities of seeking popularity through sacrificing the deeper and more absolute values implied in Covey’s concept of the Character Ethic. Moreover, this annimated version will capture and maintain the attention of the students, thus allowing the teacher to elaborate and expand the students’ basic understanding of these ideas.