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The Aztecs built pyramids, the Egyptians built pyramids, the Mayas built pyramids, the Olmecs also built pyramids and all of these feats served a purpose; to tell a story of adoration and of power. The same goes for literature. All authors follow a simple yet infinitely complex scheme, to develop their characters and overarching story. Three different heroes, three different stories, but three identical paths; Chris McCandless from Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Winston from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the Burmese police officer also from George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant each follow Joseph Campbell’s 17-Stage Monomyth to become a hero in search of happiness, acceptance, and redemption.
Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.
Many people were puzzled on why the young man decided to go on such an expedition without being properly prepared. His death has led to a controversy between whether he should be idolized for having the courage to follow his dream or repulsed for his grand stupidity. Although Krakauer never met McCandless, he provides his readers with personal examples that explain why the young man went on this journey. Expecting his readers to comprehend McCandless, Krakauer’s primary purpose is to help his readers understand the importance of embracing one's personal dreams. In order to achieve his purpose, he uses a variation of literary and rhetorical techniques. Some of these techniques include epigrams and ethos. These devices are essential to Krakauer’s purpose because they illustrate and explain the reasons why McCandless went into the inhospitable landscape of Alaska.
Some people are born to be heroes. Some people may be forgotten heroes. Some people are born not to be heroes at all. In ways they are similar and in some ways they are different. John Campbell’s Hero’s Journey Monomyth shows the certain stages that a hero would traditionally go through to be qualified as a hero. Elie Wiesel is not a monomyth hero, because he does not follow the correct steps and does not hit enough steps to be considered a monomythic hero.
The author skillfully uses literary techniques to convey his purpose of giving life to a man on an extraordinary path that led to his eventual demise and truthfully telling the somber story of Christopher McCandless. Krakauer enhances the story by using irony to establish Chris’s unique personality. The author also uses Characterization the give details about Chris’s lifestyle and his choices that affect his journey. Another literary element Krakauer uses is theme. The many themes in the story attract a diverse audience. Krakauer’s telling is world famous for being the truest, and most heart-felt account of Christopher McCandless’s life. The use of literary techniques including irony, characterization and theme help convey the authors purpose and enhance Into The Wild.
Many would agree that although there are many stories about heroes, they all seem similar in some way. Joseph Campbell wrote many books about this theory of a "hero cycle" that every hero story follows. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, this pattern is clearly exemplified and it shows the numerous steps in Joseph Campbell's idea of the hero cycle.
Heracles favorite of the Greeks is a primary example of Joseph’s Campbell’s hero’s journey, proven by all the actions that Heracles has done during the span of his Life.
In every culture, there are stories that get past down from generation to generation (Campbell 1). Tales of knights who slay dragons and princesses who kissed frogs are a part of every culture. All over the world, stories share comment characteristic. Joseph Campbell introduces a theory based on this idea called the monomyth, the idea that stories all share the same narrative pattern, in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Overall, this theory shows the same narrative pattern in stories throughout the world, which symbolically reveals all humans must tackle difficulties and overcome them many times throughout life (5). Specifically, Campbell’s hero’s journey is comprised of six steps, which, collectively
“Drawing on appropriate theory, deconstruct a narrative to show how it operates on the psychological, cultural and/or ergodic level within the interactive text of your choice.”
Many of the stories that have been told for centuries, or have recently been created, incorporate the story of a young innocent character who embarks on a journey and becomes a hero, known as The Hero’s Journey; a series of steps that all heroes follow. This journey not only shows the main character becoming a hero but also shows the hero move along a path similar to that of adolescence, the path between childhood and maturity. The Hero’s Journey was created by a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with One Thousand Faces, a novel containing a variety of stories that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey. One famous creation that follows The Hero’s Journey is the science fiction film trilogy: Star Wars, created by George Lucas. Lucas depicts the struggles that take place along the path of adolescence through the story of a protagonist Luke Skywalker, who strives to become a Jedi Knight to show that Campbell’s Hero’s Journey reflects the struggles that youth go through whether they are depicted in a story or not.
A rite of passage is a memorable, emotionally charged journey that leads a person from one place in their life to another. Joseph Campbell, an american mythologist, recognized a structure which was often used in the story of a heroes journey. This structure he called a Monomyth, can be simplified and described as a 3 step process of departure, initiation and return. The "hero" (or anyone for that matter) departs their current situation and perspective, iniaties in a journey, and returns to the normal flow of their life, with a new perspective, having learned or experienced something of importance. This process can be simplified further into the phrase, "rite of passage". Similar to Campbells three part departure, iniatiation and return, i view a rite of passage as something that can be div...
In this essay I will examine how Gilgamesh would be an example of Campbell’s hero. I will first introduce Joseph Campbell and his “hero”. By summarizing and analyzing the story, I came to the conclusion that Gilgamesh is a good example of a hero. I will point out in the text what lead me to that realization and explain the journey of the hero.
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd Ed. Studio City: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.
What motivates authors? Do their inspirations stem from external factors, or do these masters of prose derive their storylines by projecting their innermost desires onto the pages? Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung present two theories that both explore these questions and relate to Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
Joseph Campbell gives a detailed description of the 12 stages in a hero’s journey. Starting with the ordinary world, he gives a vivid description of the hero in his initial years as a usual man. The hero faces the beginning of change in the call to adventure stage and subsequently feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure in the next stage- Refusal of the call. The meeting of the mentor is the stage where the hero discusses the
It was not simplistic for our supreme overlord, Merlin “The Author of Death” Phillips to seize the entire world and dominate it unopposed, and it was even more complicated to acquire the power he wields to do so. Centuries ago, when our lord was nothing more than a Junior in high school, he learned many important lessons in his creative writing class. While his writing ameliorated dramatically, so did his storytelling. He would spend all week working on assignments, making his stories multiple pages long, and turning them in severely late. Yet, he learned that this was tremendously unnecessary; because stories did not have to be long to be amusing.