Analyzing Joseph Campbell's Monomyth

A myth is a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society. Joseph Campbell defined a classic sequence of actions that are found in many stories. It is also known as the Monomyth. In this essay we will analyze Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. We will answer the following questions and come to a solid definite conclusion. Do heroes develop in stages and that individuals prepare themselves for heroism through a series of challenges that they overcome? Does he succeed at making this argument?

Joseph Campbell says the call to adventure is the first stage. “This first stage of the mythological journey … signifies that destiny has summoned the hero...” Based on this Campbell suggests that destiny calls the hero to adventure. He supports this with the quote, “A blunder—apparently the merest chance—reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with

forces not rightly understood.” Campbell gives many examples of the call to adventure in the text.

Joseph Campbell says there is usually a supernatural aid.

This aid acts as a guide or mentor for the hero. Based on this Campbell suggests the supernatural aid is crucial to the story’s plot. He supports this with the quote, “The hero encounters helpers along the way and may receive items and information necessary to completing the adventure successfully.” Campbell provides many examples of the supernatural aid as well.

Joseph Campbell says the belly of the whale is a time of transformation. Campbell says, “The hero enters the adventure proper, depicted as a region of powerfully transformative powers embodied in many (sometimes terrifying) forms.” Based on this Campbell suggests every hero goes through a similar transformation. He supports this with the quote, “This popular motif gives emphasis to the lesson that the passage of the threshold is a form of self-annihilation…. Instead of passing outward, beyond the confines of the visible world, the hero goes inward, to be born

again.”

Based on the evidence from the above three paragraphs Campbell did sufficiently prove that there is a classic sequence of actions that are found in many stories. He efficiently answers the question “Did the hero develop in stages and prepare themselves for heroism through a series of challenges that they overcome?” He efficiently answers the question “Does he succeed in making the argument of the developmental stages of the heroes and the challenges he must face?” In conclusion Joseph Campbell does answer both questions and is right about his theory.