Analysis Of Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces'

In his book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”, American mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote “Perhaps some of us have to go through dark and devious ways before we can find the river of peace or the high road to the soul 's destination” (19). This notion thoroughly applies to the training of the warrior in the references that we have studied which include Matthew Winkler’s video referencing Joseph Campbell’s theory on What Makes a Hero, Jonathan Haidt’s idea of divinity in The Happiness Hypothesis, the Bible’s story of The Sermon on the Mount, and the writings in The Bhagavad Gita. All of these works tell us about the path of the warrior that resides in each individual and what it means to be a hero. Connections are made between the development

In the video What Makes a Hero it explains the cycle that the hero in books, movies, and even in real life, go through. It begins with the status quo or everything being seemingly normal. Next, a call to adventure occurs where a crucial event occurs that makes the hero go out on some sort of literal or metaphorical pilgrimage. Someone then comes to assist the hero and leads them to their journey. The hero departs and goes through various trials which only leads to the biggest battle of the warrior, the approach. At this point, there is a crisis in which the hero’s “darkest hour” occurs. However, he is reborn and goes on to find some sort of treasure that contributes to a result. The result could be either good or bad, but it always leads to the hero’s return to his ordinary world and the start of a “new life”. Everything is then resolved and the status quo is restored, but in an enhanced variant. This journey of the hero will at some point begin all over again and continues to reoccur throughout his lifetime. It is labeled as the “Monomyth” because it relates to every human being in that we all go through numerous trials and tribulations within our lifetime and that’s what makes us the “hero”. The Monomyth can be used to engage in an individual’s spiritual and psychological growth as it acts like tool to activate one’s understanding of

Arjuna is supposed to go to battle against the Kaurava Brothers but he feels that it is unjust and immoral. However, Krishna (the form of divinity) explains that it is the nature of the warrior and it is his righteous duty to fight and maintain his honor. Arjuna is not convinced until Krishna shows him his true, godly form, after which he is awestruck and states “I have seen what has never before been seen. I am filled with delight; my mind is shaken with fear” (135). When Arjuna is finally enlightened, he understands what inner battle he must overcome and affirms his