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“When we read stories of heroes, we identify with them. We take the journey with them. We see how the obstacles almost overcome them. We see how they grow as human beings or gain qualities or show great qualities of strength and courage and with them, we grow in some small way” (Sam Raimi). In movies, TV shows, novels, plays, epics, and other famous works we often see a common thread. A hero, a journey, a villain, obstacles, and finally a happy ending, ringing any bells? A heroic journey is a format and common style of writing that many authors use to tell a story. Heroic journeys have been around for centuries and will probably exist until the end of time. Although there are many various types of heroic journeys, one can probably come up with …show more content…
The Hobbit and The Odyssey are the most closely related. Both Bilbo and Odysseus journey’s last a long time, and mythical creatures stand in their ways. Odysseus takes almost ten years before he returned home to his family and has to face many monsters and goddesses. On the other hand, Bilbo’s quest is spaced into three two-hour long movies and he faces a dragon. He doesn’t really get back home, but finds a new home with the dwarfs. O’ Brother also has a journey where Everett tries to stop Penny from getting married, but to do this he has to lie to his two companions, Delmar and Pete, and become a famous singing group to provide money for his family. All these three works have another thing in common, having allies with them through their travels. Odysseus has his large crew of men, Bilbo has the dwarves, and Everett has Delmar and Pete. And, The Hobbit and The Odyssey have mentors that guide them through their voyage. Athena in The Odyssey and Gandalf in The …show more content…
Heroic journeys are found in ancient texts and will be found in future novels. The Odyssey, The Penelopiad, The Siren song, The Hobbit, and O’ Brother Where Art Thou are similar in certain ways and are similar in other ways. Although a quest or journey doesn’t have to be a physical trek, like the The Hobbit or The Odyssey, but the roots that make up a heroic journey very similar. Heros, mentors, allies, shadows, and a threshold guardian a certain criteria that are needed to make up a heroic journey. Just like what J. H. Wyman once said, “What's a hero if not for its
The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reinterpretation of the epic poem The Odyssey. The Coen brothers, writers and directors of the film, did not over analyze their representation. “It just sort of occurred to us after we’d gotten into it somewhat that it was a story about someone going home, and sort of episodic in nature, and it kind of evolved into that,” says Joel Coen in Blood Siblings, “It’s very loosely and very sort of unseriously based on The Odyssey” (Woods 32). O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains ideas from The Odyssey for the sake of modernization and entertainment of an audience that comprehends the allusions to the epic. The Coen brothers utilize elements of Homer’s The Odyssey to improve and to give direction to O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a reinterpretation which was made simply to show that an epic-adventure such as The Odyssey could be modernized to apply to modern times.
Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the hero will fulfill the prophecy and find his/herself, realizing his/her full potential. This rubric may be easy to spot in epic action films, but if upon close inspection is found in a wide array of genres, some of which are fully surprising.
In the Hero’s journey, The Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, changes in a way which helps him gain self-knowledge. Odysseus ' experiences transformed his personality from how he was in the beginning to the end, by leading him through a heroic journey, also known as a quest. The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason, and this is no different with Odysseus. As the story developed, many of Odysseus’ sides were exposed through the challenges he faced. Out of the countless dangers and obstacles every step back home, him and his crew have only acquired minimal character changes. Even though they are minimal, they are those which take many decades to achieve.
... not a hero journey, lacking of foes and partners is an incomplete adventure. They provide the obstacles and support for the protagonist to complete the journey they are on. By having the hero journey cycle composed by Joseph Campbell, it demonstrates the complexity of how a hero's defined. It's about the growth of the character by separation from his comfort zone and venturing into the unknown. By successfully passing the stages, then one is called a hero.
These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
Joseph Campbell is well known for writing The Hero with a Thousand Faces outlining the stages of a hero’s journey. Ever since then, the hero’s journey became famous as it is used in many works of literature (Bancks). A literature work that represents the hero’s journey is Lord of the Flies. In Lord of the Flies, the protagonist Ralph presents himself a brave hero that undergoes the hero’s journey to return home. Ralph is on a plane which landed on an isolated island after a plane accident where the pilot is unconscious and most likely dead. Along with the other children who boarded the plane, they must survive and find a way to get home. According to Campbell, the three main phases of a hero’s journey is departure, initiation and return, separated into many stages (Siegelman). The departure stage is where the hero exits his comfort zone and enters into the world of the unknown. The initiation phase is where the hero is tested to prove his character and the return is when the hero returns home with a boon for the benefit of his people (Ubelhor). Lord of the Flies qualifies to be an example of the hero’s journey because the protagonist Ralph goes through the “departure, initiation and return” process of the hero expedition in order to show that he is a hero through his courage, intelligence and leadership.
The hero’s journey can be seen as a set of laws or challenges that every hero faces through their own journey(Christopher Vogler). The hero’s journey is used as a general term such as all
book takes place in, is called to action and set in motion on his Hero
When you look at various genres of literature, the one binding theme that they all have is the sense of a journey or quest. The protagonist goes through a mental and emotional journey where they rediscover themselves, or an epic quest filled with adventure and high-paced action. Often times, we see both attributes used by the author. The quest is highly significant throughout the story as it creates change in the main character. Through reading both “The Hobbit” by JRR Tolkien and “The Last Unicorn” by Peter S Beagle, I discovered that while both had very different plotlines, the journey that the Unicorn and Bilbo shared were vastly similar in many ways. The Unicorn’s journey was one that was fuelled because she wanted to feel a sense of friendship and longing. Bilbo’s journey was quite different, as it involved much more action and was fuelled by the Dwarves’ revenge and hunger to get their gold back. Despite this, they both go through an emotional journey in which they see themselves change immensely, they both have to go through a lot of physical hardships in order to complete their quest and they both changed after their respective quests and had a hard time adapting to life. As David Mitchell once stated “there ain't no journey what don't change you some.”
The hero’s journey is a common template used in many stories, from ancient Greek mythology to the movies of today. The hero usually has some sort of call to adventure and with some supernatural aid, he is able to return home transformed. This can be seen in the movie Moana, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and Pride and Prejudice.
So, what exactly is the ‘Hero’s Journey’? Well, the answer lies in Joseph Campbell’s book “The Hero with A Thousand Faces.” Back in the early 20th century, Campbell studied myths from all over the world and he started noticing something similar in all the stories. He noticed that heroines and heroes from every time period were taking more or less the same journey.
One well-known example of “The Hero’s Journey” from popular culture is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. In the novel, Harry Potter, the main character, is the chosen one and “The Hero’s Journey” applies to his life from the moment he is attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby. Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in... ...
The common thing seen in heroic cycle narratives since the dawn of the literary revolution is that a bar was set when they first emerged and everything after that followed the same path. They all begun with heroes or anti-heroes that were exposed to some life changing event that placed on a journey either literally or metaphorically to achieve one universal goal. The odyssey and Dante’s Inferno are not excluded. The odyssey was the original literary narrative that set the standard that later inspire all other writing that preceded it. But one thing the odyssey and Dante’s inferno share a similarity, their journey was the focus of the story. They each spoke of one protagonist on a spiritual and physical journey each bent on achieving a personal goal.
Not only is the journey motif a consistency among famous epics, it is also fundamental. The journey itself is important and fundamental because it tests the character’s capacity as an epic hero (Grandfield). The journey the character undertakes stands as an essential rite of passage, though that rite of passages comes in various forms, which establishes why the character is a hero in the first place. Furthermore, the journey, the hero, and the hero’s triumph or defeat, are all necessary components of the epic itself (Grandfield). The journey has an over-all purpose to fulfill the w...