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Hero's journey in the odyssey analysis
Hero's journey in the odyssey analysis
Hero's journey in the odyssey analysis
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The monomyth or more commonly known as the hero's journey, is the found in many stories/myths/movies from around the world no matter what culture or time the myth is a part of. There are twelve steps in which the hero participates in and usually the hero goes on an adventure or quest, is in a decisive crisis, wins a reward and comes out of it a changed or transformed person.
Hercules, is a Greek myth and is an American animated film loosely based on Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, Heracles. The story is modernised in the 1997 to a Disney film and follows the hero's journey structure. The Hunger Games is a Dystopian fiction set in American, is written by Suzanne Collins and also follows the same structure of the hero's journey.
Ordinary World
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The ordinary world is the where the Hero life exists before their journey begins, it's their safe place, oblivious of the adventures to come. Their life style sets the story and where we learn crucial details about our Hero, their capabilities, true nature and outlook on life. The journey begins in ends in the ordinary world. Hercules lives a normal childhood with his mother and father in a small town, were he is known as the town freak and is use to being shunned for superhuman strength, that causes the town a lot of chaos. Hercules always knew that he never belonged where he was, and was destined to find out. Katniss Everdeen is the main character from the novel and is from District twelve, one of the poorest districts in Panem. Katniss lives with just her mother and sister after her father died in a fire and she is left to take care of her family by herself, as they are constantly on the edge of starvation. In both of the stories, the Hero’s live in an ordinary world where they don't belong and want nothing more to live in a different world or have a different life. Call to Adventure The Hero's journey begins when they receive a call to adventure, this can include a direct threat to their safety or their family's, the peace of the community in which they live in or their way of life. It basically disrupts the comfort of their ordinary world and introduces a challenge or quest that the hero must face. Hercules call to adventure was when his mortal parents told him that he was adopted, Hercules finds out that Zeus is his father and the only way he can rejoin the gods in Olympus is by becoming a true hero. Katniss who possesses the ability to hunt with great ease and knowledge, is called to save her sister Prim's life, when she is announced as a tribute to participate in the Hunger Games. Katniss does something completely unheard of for her district and volunteers herself to go to the games in place of her sister. Both Heroes in the stories are called to adventure when Hercules has a chance to find out where he belonged and when Katniss saved her sister from becoming a tribute sacrificing herself. Refuse the Call The hero is often reluctant or will refuse the call even though they may be eager to accept the quest because of fears that need to be overcome, personal doubts about whether or not they were up to the challenge or even insecurities. Some heroes prefer the safety of their ordinary world or not be willing to make changes. Hercules does not refuse the opportunity when it calls as he is eager to find out where he belongs and not be criticised for his strength. When Katniss has her call to adventure she did have thoughts about running away, yet releases that she would cause more danger to her family. So she willingly accepts the dangers of the journey she is to embark on and not refuse the call to adventure as she does everything in her willpower to keep her sister from harm, even if that includes sacrificing herself. Both heroes did not refuse the call to adventure, even though it was for very different reasons because Hercules want to go on the journey and Katniss just wants to keep her family safe. Mentors When the hero has committed to the journey, it is crucial that the Hero desperately needs guidance, a mentor. The mentor gives them self-confidence, insight into the dilemma they will face, an object of great importance, advice or practical training. The mentor provides them with these tools they need to move forward to overcome the risk involved in the journey yet to come. Hercules meets his mentor Phil, who is not interested in helping Hercules and is very reluctant, but Hercules begs Phil and he finally agrees. They start training hard until Hercules is ready to fight some monsters. From each district the each team gets a mentor to give advice for survival, the mentors were former winners of the hunger games, called victors. Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta mentor, comes across of being an alcoholic and seems like he is not really all that interested in being their mentor. Throughout the novel you can see him change his ways and become more interested in helping them win and starts giving them practical advice on how to survive as well as teaching them how to gain sponsors. Both of the stories had mentors that weren't really interested in helping them in the start, but came around to in the end, giving them good advice and as well as training them how to survive. Cross the First Threshold Once the hero crosses the first threshold in signifies that the hero committed to the journey and begins their quest, whether it was physical or emotional. The hero crosses the threshold that separates the special world from the original. Hercules first hero encounter was when he hears the desperate cry of a damsel in distress, and swoops in to her rescue.
She is in the captivity of the river monster, Hercules fights and defeats the monster and saves Meg, the damsel in distress. Although Pegasus and Phil do not like Meg very much, Hercules had already fallen in love with her.
When Katniss enters the Capitol of Panem train for the Hunger Games she is taken into a whole different world. Katniss spends most of her time there training and attending public events in preparation for the hunger games.
Both Heroes cross the first threshold into the special world that is different from the ordinary world.
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Now finally out of the hero's comfort zone the hero is challenged with even more difficult series of tasks that test them in a variety of ways. Their skills are tested to their limits and obstacles are thrown across their path. They gain a deeper insight into their own character, and so do those around them. The hero must overcome each obstacle they are presented with on their adventure towards their ultimate goal. The hero also needs to find out who can be trusted and who cannot. They will earn allies and meet enemies who will, each in their own way, cause problems for them and help them prepare them for greater problems yet to
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come. Tests: Hercules has a multitude of trials he experiences and he defeats every monster he faces, all sent by Hades.
Allies: Pegasus and Phil are some of Hercules allies that helped him, Meg was both an ally and an enemy because she had no choice but to harm Hercules even though she loved him.
Enemies: Hades is Hercules main enemy that kidnapped him and turned him moral, Hades wants Hercules gone because of a prophecy told to him that a hero will one day defeat him.
Tests: During the games, the gamekeepers were constantly trying to throw the tributes off and these were the main tests Katniss had to face on her journey.
Allies: The allies that Katniss made in the hunger games besides Peeta, was Haymitch her mentor, Cinna who was her stylist who had great faith in her to win and Rue from district 11 who reminded Katniss of her little sister Prim.
Enemies: The main enemies that Katniss made in the games are from distinct one, Marvel and Glimmer and from district two, Cato and clove.
In the stories, both of the Heroes are faced with different test they have to complete to get further into their journey, they meet allies on the way that help them and give the advice as well as enemies that are out to kill them.
Approach the Inmost
Cave The inmost cave leads up to the journeys heart or ordeal, it can represent many different things in the Hero’s journey, such as inner conflict that the hero has not faced yet, the actual location in which lies a terrible danger, or till the final leap into the great unknown. Hades uses the Titans as his army and sends them to mount Olympus, while sending a Cyclops to Hercules to defeat him without his strength. Hercules prevails, however during the battle Meg gets fatally injured and because of the deal, Hercules strength returns, and he goes to Olympus to try and save the day. Willing to kill Katniss, members of the lower district attack her and she becomes injured. Katniss makes a temporary escape to a tree for safety, although Peeta and the lower districts find her and trap her, she is able to escape with the help from Rue, a member of district 11. In both of the stories the heroes are attacked or in terrible danger that causes them harm and a challenge leading up to the ordeal. Ordeal The Ordeal could be a deep inner crisis or a dangerous physical test that the Hero must face. Whether it be facing their most deadly nemesis or their greatest fear, the hero must use all of their experiences and skills they gathered upon the journey in order to overcome their most difficult challenge, this is their darkest hour. They must face their greatest fear, and draw upon all of their skills and experiences to overcome their most difficult challenge. When Hercules arrives at Olympus, the place is a disaster, the gods have been captured and the Titans were wrecking havoc. Hercules defeat Hades and the Titans with his regained strength and saves his father, while Meg was slowly dying as the battle raged on. The ordeal is the final scene when Katniss and Peeta kick Cato off the Cornucopia to be eaten by the wolf like creatures, leaving them on their own. However the gamekeepers were not satisfied because there was two tributes left, and declared that only one tribute can win. Katniss devises a plan that they both eat poison berries at the same time, so they die together, to show the Capitol that they are not just pawns in their game anymore.
Katniss volunteering for the hunger games to take her sister prim's place because prim is just a child in katniss’s eyes. The hunger game arena could Be identified with a maze. Peeta the other tribute for District 12 had fallen in love with Katniss before the reaping. Because of her uniqueness the crowd
As the story comes to its conclusion, the hero has endured his hardships; he went from the one that started fights to the one that thought of what could make everything work. An ordinary person in an ordinary world faced his share of trials and tribulations to come out as a new person. Defining the hero myth—he struggled and still was able to triumph to his prize at the end ; individuals relish these type of stories, they can
The human need to be relatable is unquenchable. We love to be able to see parts of ourselves in others, and to be able to feel like our idols are not untouchable. The Hero’s Journey format is one that can be found in almost any story, even in real life. Overall, it is the perfect recipe for keeping readers engrossed. Another place the journey has shown up is in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and Odyssey by Homer. These two stories—one a biography, the other, an epic poem—are so effective in their storytelling, it is easy to see how authors today continue to use the same method to make stories that grab the readers’ attention. What makes them most alike, however, is the emotions and thoughts they have the power to provoke.
(200)This mythic study will define the first ten stages of the hero’s journey as defined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell defines the various stages of the hero’s journey within the context of a universal mythic "cycle” found in world ligature. These similar events define the universal stages of the hero’s journey in (1) the call to adventure, (2) refusal of the call, (3) supernatural aid, (4) the first threshold, (5) challenges, (6)revelation (7) abyss (rebirth), (8) transformation, (9) atonement, and (10) the return in the gift of the goddess. These ten stages define the cycle of the heroic journey, which
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
The definition of a hero can vary from one person to another, depending on the qualities they believe a hero should possess, but to be a hero you must to go through a hero’s journey. A hero’s journey is described as a monomyth cycle of stages a hero completes to have a successful return. According to Joseph Campbell, the leading mythologist and author of the famous book, The Hero with A Thousand Faces, a hero’s journey is simply a cycle of a coming and a returning. Campbell’s theory has been used in a large variety of movies, portraying a hero’s journey, sometimes even with a twist. The movie Iron Man conveys a hero’s journey with a partial twist since he’s an unconventional modern hero. Although Iron Man displays a different perspective on the hero’s journey, it follows the steps called, “Status quo”, “Tests and Trials”, and “The Ordeal” of Campbell’s theory. In doing so, the movie expressed the message that great things can be achieved through risk-taking and hard work.
The second concept of the Hero’s journey shows us that all stories are the same. They all follow the same pattern or algorithm of separation, initiation, and return. An example from the movie is the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is removed from her natural environment by a tornado, initiated with a lion, scarecrow, and tin man, and the group embarks on a journey to see the wizard. In the end, she is able to return home by clicking her heels. She realizes she has had the ability the whole time, but she needed to test herself. We are just like the characters we see in our favoritie movies, books, and shows – they are a metaphor for us as normal human beings. The last concept I learned is “Follow your bliss”. This concept of bliss is defined in many ways. One definition is serenity. Another definition is the thing you cannot not do. It is what makes a person feel alive. In order to answer the question of what is your bliss, you must ask yourself difficult questions like: What am I passionate about? What makes hours seem like minutes? What made me different as a child? After answering these tough questions, a person can find their
The Hunger Games is a fantastic science fiction novel by the great and renowned American writer Suzanne Collins. This book is written in the voice of sixteen year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in the nation of Panem in North America. The Capitol is considered as the highly advanced metropolis as because this capitol exercises political control on rest of the nation. The Hunger Games in the book is the annual event in which one boy and one girl aged twelve to eighteen from each of the 12 districts that surrounds the Capitol are selected by lottery so that they can compete in a televised battle to the death.
The monomyth or more commonly known as the hero 's journey, is found in many different types of stories/myths/movies from around the world, no matter what the culture or setting the myth is a part of. There are twelve steps in which the hero participates in, where the hero goes on an adventure or quest, is in a decisive crisis, wins a reward and comes out of it a changed or transformed person. Hercules, is a Greek myth and is an American animated film loosely based on Ancient Greco-Roman mythology, Heracles. The story is modernised in the 1997 to a Disney film and follows the hero 's journey structure. The Hunger Games is a Dystopian fiction set in American, is written by Suzanne Collins and also follows the same structure of the hero 's journey.
Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself ” (Moyers 1). The Hero’s Journey consists of three major parts: the separation, the initiation and the return. Throughout a character’s journey, they must complete a physical or spiritual deed. A physical deed involves performing a daunting and courageous act that preserves the well-being of another person. A spiritual deed calls for action that improves another individual’s state of mind. While fulfilling their journey, a hero must undergo a psychological change that involves experiencing a transformation from immaturity into independence and sophistication.Campbell states that these events are what ultimately guides a hero into completing
From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
The movie The Hunger Games, originally based on a book by Suzanne Collins, is about a place called Panem, which is ruled by the Capitol and has 12 districts within it. These 12 districts are separated founded on their economic statuses, meaning the higher the district, the more impoverished the residents are. There are 2 tributes that are chosen to participate, forcibly, in The Hunger Games each year. Each competitor is instructed to eliminate one another in order to survive and come out on top. There is only one tribute allowed to come out of the arena alive. Katniss lives in District 12, which is the most impoverished district of them all, and she volunteers as tribute in “the Reaping” when her sister is chosen to participate. She and the other tribute from her district, Peeta, make it into the arena with the hopes that one of them comes out the winner and above all else, alive (Ross, 2012). I will refrain from going any further just in case you have not read the book or have not seen the movie. In terms of soci...
Hercules’ twelfth labor was his final and most challenging task. From The Odyssey to the film Hercules to the Caeretan black-figure hydria, the god that sends Hercules on that most difficult labor, or even if he is sent on the labor varies. Additionally, in most cases, Cerberus is captured, but in some interpretations—likely for entertainment purposes—Cerberus is instead slain. In The Odyssey, Zeus (Jove) sent Hercules to the Underworld to capture and bring back Cerberus. Therefore, in The Odyssey, Zeus was the one who sent Hercules, and he sent Hercules not to kill, but to capture
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... ...
Fictional character, Katniss Everdeen is an anecdotal character and the hero of The Hunger Games trilogy created by author Suzanne Collins. Katniss and her family originate from a coal-mining district that is the poorest of all the districts, called District 12. Over the span of the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss volunteers to take the place of her sister, Prim after she is selected as a contestant to compete in the Hunger Games, a broadcast battle that only has one victor. Katniss signs up with kindred District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark, where the pair contend in the Games together. Katniss utilizes her insight with bows and arrows to survive, and the two turn into the victors subsequent to challenging the Capitol 's endeavor to compel one to murder the other (Collins, 2009). Katniss turns into a stirring image of defiance to the harsh Capitol and leads a rebellion that eventually takes down the capital and puts an end to the annual Hunger Games (Jacobson, 2014).