Mulan Hero's Journey

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Joseph Campbell stated, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” The hero of the movie, Mulan, clearly gives up her life while going through the stages of completing the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey of Mulan is divided into three concrete stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return. Mulan is a classic mono-myth.
The first part of the hero’s journey of Mulan is the departure. The adventure of Mulan‘s journey begins with the call to the adventure. The call of adventure begins for Mulan when Shan-Yu leads the Huns to invade China. Mulan realizes that she needs to impersonate her father and take his place as a solider because he is too old and weak to fight the Huns. The call to adventure …show more content…

The initiation begins with the road of trials for Mulan. Mulan encounters the road of trials when Captain Li-Shang’s troops realize they are the only ones that can save their country; consequently, the troops follow the Huns to save their livelihood. Mulan is found vulnerable during this time, but she prevails and finds her inner warrior. The road of trials makes her become determined to fight to save her homeland. Moreover, Mulan goes through the stage of meeting her soul mate, Li-shang, when he discovers that his father is dead. Mulan’s feelings for Li-Shang encourage her to move forward in her journey. It makes Mulan fight even harder to get rid of her enemies. Additionally, Mulan enters a god-like state. This occurs in Mulan when the Emperor and the entire citizens of the country bow to Mulan. Finally, Mulan becomes self-assured that she truly is a hero after recognizing how special she is when she receives the sword of Shan-Yu and the crest of the Emperor after she saves his …show more content…

Mulan goes through being rescued when she fights Shan-Yu on top of the roof of the Emperor’s palace and Mushu helps Mulan pin Shan-Yu down and blow him up with fireworks. Mulan‘s ego decreases when Mushu successfully tries to help her get rid of Shan-Yu. She considers herself a hero now and does not want Mushu to think she cannot fight her own battles. Mulan in the end disregards her ego in order for her to not die on the roof. Mulan crosses the final threshold when she returns to her home with the gifts from the Emperor hoping her family will forgive her for leaving the family to go fight in the war. Her father accepts Mulan’s new power and wisdom and told her that, “The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.” Mulan’s return to the past is pleasant and safe knowing that nothing can change her family’s love and affection for her. In addition, Mulan enters into the final step in the hero’s journey: the freedom to live. Mulan shows her freedom to live when she invites her soul mate, Li-Shang for dinner. This event marks the end of Mulan dwelling on the past and makes her excited, but not concerned about what the future

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