Shrek: The Hero's Journey

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Recommended: Elements of a hero's journey

Jacob Siegel, Jarod Hickman, and Nate Scalia
Mrs. O´Brien
Hero's Journey Essay

In the movie ‘Shrek,’ the story begins in what is called the Ordinary World. To Shrek, the hero of this story, this Ordinary Word is a quiet swamp where he spends his time by himself. Shrek is a very grumpy and reclusive character and his only desires are to enjoy his life alone and to get rid of anyone that may enter his swamp. Throughout Shrek's life he has been treated like a monster so over time he has picked up the mentality that he is really a horrifying creature and that this is how the world expects him to act. The Swamp suits Shrek rather well because it gives him a place where he can relax and be himself without people screaming in terror just from looking …show more content…

As Shrek runs in and screams “I object!” the whole town stops and stares. Lord Farquaad himself stares down Shrek. This is the part in the Resurrection where the hero must face the villain, Lord Farquaad, before returning to the ordinary world. This is Shrek’s final battle, the one last obstacle he has to face before returning home. As Lord Farquaad calls his men in, the sun goes down, and Fiona turns into her ogre form. Farquaad is disgusted at her new appearance, so he has both of them captured. At first, it appears shrek and Fiona cannot escape, but Shrek whistles and calls in donkey- riding a dragon. The sight of the dragon causes chaos and everyone leaves, including the guards. That leaves Shrek and Fiona alone in the building, so they kissed and Fiona’s curse was lifted. Her curse could only be lifted by her true love’s kiss, which was Shrek. After kissing, though, they realized Fiona’s true is not human- its ogre. Shrek returned home with ogre Fiona, married and finally happy. This is the next stage in the Hero’s Journey, Return with the Elixir. In Shrek, the elixir is Fiona. The elixir is the reward the hero returns with, a reward that changes him for the better. And Princess Fiona does change Shrek for the better. After living with her and marrying her, shrek learns to love not just others, but himself. Before, Shrek felt people judged him before they even knew him, so he thought it was better not to know them. But Fiona helped him see the good, that it doesn’t take someone to be beautiful to have a happy

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