Cinderella Hero's Journey Essay

There are many different heroes; from fictional characters to famous people to your average everyday person. Joseph Campbell has an extraordinary outlook on what a hero is and the hero’s Journey. A hero is someone who has made a journey beyond the normal achievement and have given their life to a bigger cause than their personal needs (Joseph Campbell). A hero also typically has a special quality, such as, intelligence or physical strength. They take on a journey that starts at birth and continues through their whole life. They often have to overcome some challenge in their life and go through a transformation. The hero goes through birth and rebirth throughout their life time. Not a physical rebirth, but a rebirth spiritually; they start as

a child and have to grow into a teenager and soon an adult and overcome the challenges of each stage of life. As they go through each stage of life they say goodbye to their old selves and transform into more mature men/women.
A hero does not have to be some famous person or fictional character, they can be your average everyday person. I had a sewing teacher my first year of high school that changed my life. She did not experience an unusual birth, but she dedicated her life to helping others. She was very intelligent in sewing and in culinary arts. From my 9th grade year till my 12th grade year I saw her transform into a phenomenal teacher. When I first met her she was a mess and much unorganized. As the years passed she was become more and more organized. She no longer has fabric all over the floor and papers covering her desk. Her desk was now organized and she graded things right away instead of 3 months from the day you turned it in. I know that is not a huge transformation and it does not seem like a hero quality, but this teacher was always running all over the place and rushing to get things done and trying to clean things up, but really she just made a bigger mess. I think the transformation a hero goes through does not have to be a gigantic transformation, but instead something that betters them as a person. In the years she overcame many challenges like children who disrespected her and her mother passing away with Alzheimer’s. Even with each challenge she never gave up and always came to school with a smile on her face.
My teacher would have done anything to help others. She started this club called FCCLA, which was dedicated to doing community service work. In this club she started a program called Conker Cancer that was dedicated to making pillow cases for teens with cancer. I spent hours in the room with her just sewing pillow cases for these teens. Each pillow case she did you could see the love and detail she put into it. There was not one lose string or one crocked line, they were all made with perfection. The pillow cases were an idea she came up with to bring a smile these kid’s faces when they were going through the toughest thing they would ever face. The other program she started was for Alzheimer’s. Each year she ran the 5k to support those with Alzheimer’s. She also did many fundraisers to raise money for people with this disease. In my freshman year she raised over $5,000. She would come to school at 7 in the morning and stay till 9 or 10 ‘o’ clock at night so she could make pillow cases or create bracelets to sell for Alzheimer’s. She sacrificed her life for those that were in a greater need. She was voted best teacher of the year multiple times and was a hero to many students and adults.
Cinderella is a magical character who goes on a wondrous journey throughout her life.

As a child she was very loved and pampered by her wealthy father. They were like peanut butter and jelly, nothing could get in between their relationship. Then, her father falls in love with a wicked lady who has conniving daughters. Cinderella was happy to welcome new people into her home, but her father’s death brought her great misfortune. Her evil step-mother and stepsisters ruined her life. She was treated as princess when her father was alive, but now she has stepped into the underbelly and became a servant. She no longer got to wear beautiful, pink and purple, sparkly ball gowns and wear her hair in bouncy curls; she now wore a brown, dirt spotted, holey, dress as her everyday attire (Cinderella). Cinderella had to learn to overcome what her wicked step-mother had done to her. Every day was a struggle for food and she no longer got to sleep in a comfy bed, but instead in the barn with the animals. Even though she lived in this torturous conditions, she never got discouraged and just kept hope that one day she would get the life she deserves. This shows how strong Cinderella is. She does not have physical strength but instead strength within her as a person. She was able to keep her held high when she was treated like a

dog.
The mentor of the story would be Cinderella’s fairy god mother. She picked Cinderella up out of the dirt and turned her torn up dress into a sparkling beauty and fixed her knotty hair to be worthy of a princess and turned pumpkins into a carriage to take her to the ball. Her fairy god mother gave her hope and excitement when she needed it most. When she stepped into the palace it was as if she was steeping out of the underbelly. She was becoming herself again and leaving her messy life her step-mother gave her. She is challenged when she meets the prince who falls in love with her at first sight, but she is not allowed to tell him who she really is. At the stroke of midnight, she has to leave her fairy tale and go back to her bed in the barn. She waits for her prince to find her and sits back and watches as her sister gawk over him. When he finally finds her and the shoe fits, she is able to leave the underbelly completely and go off and marry her prince charming. She gets everything she ever wanted plus more. It is almost as if she has resurrected and her old self is back again. She is now the princess and is loved by the people of the kingdom.
A hero does not have to be a person with magical powers, but a person who goes out of their way to do challenges that others would not face. The hero goes through a journey to find themselves and overcome many challenges. The hero is usually very intelligent or has great strengths. My teacher taught me everything I know in sewing and cooking and brings smile everyone’s faces each day. She sacrifices her life for everyone else. Cinderella was a very intelligent young child and had a very strong soul. She went through a journey to find herself and get back the life she deserves. A hero transforms into a magnificent person.