The Character Of Jyn Erso In Star Wars Rogue One

Jyn Erso is the protagonist and hero of Star Wars Rogue One. Jyn Erso was a human female soldier and former criminal who became a pivotal member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic when she led Rogue One in stealing the Death Star plans during the Battle of Scarif. While to many it may seem the Jyn life does not resemble the life of a hero and more of that to an anti-hero, her story from the film fits the “mold” of Joseph Campbell's stages of the Monomyth and the Raglan's Hero Pattern quite well.
Starting with her birth, she was the daughter of Lyra Erso, a devout member of the Church of the Force, and scientist Galen Erso, who was forced into helping the Galactic Empire build the Death Star. Erso's mother was killed when Director Orson Krennic, the commander of the Death Star project, kidnapped her father to help in the development of the Death Star laser. Jyn Erso escaped from Director Krennic and was rescued by a friend of the Erso family, Saw Gerrera, who raised Jyn as his own daughter. Jyn’s birth and upbringing can be seen as a Hero’s birth, as she is the daughter of one of the most important scientists in the Empire (can be seen as the daughter of a king), it is

also seen as supernatural as her mother was a member of the Church of the Force and was said to be force sensitive(this can be interpreted as a holy virgin).
Jyn’s call to adventure begins when she is rescued while being transported to her work station one day. The vehicle Jyn was aboard was attacked by Extraction Team Bravo of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Bravo team and K-2SO (a sarcastic KX-series security droid) attempt to free her from her bonds, but she is unsure as to their intentions and tries to escape(which can be interpreted as refusing the call to adventure). When K-2SO persuades her by force to allow them to help her, she is taken to the Rebel Alliance's secret base on the moon of Yavin 4. In Yavin 4, Jyn is introduced to Mon Mothma, a female leader of the Rebel Alliance (a royal looking woman dressed in all white that can be interpreted as meeting with the Goddess), and to captain Cassian Andor. Together they question her about her father Galen and the man who raised her Saw Gerrera.
Together with captain Cassian and K-2SO, Jyn makes a journey to the Holy city of Jedah, an ancient walled city located on the desert moon of Jedha (this is interpreted as the crossing the first threshold, as she is starting to get involved in the fight against the Empire). While in the city a fight ensues between the Saw Gerrera’s rebels and the Empire’s Stormtroopers, who were after the Kyber crystals the Stormtroopers were extracting from the planet. During this fight Jyn and Cassian receive aid from a blind force-sensitive monk Chirrut Îmwe who saves the pair from being captured by the Stormtroopers (this is interpreted as receiving supernatural aid), but in the end they end up being captured by Saw’s Rebels, and thus the group enters the belly of the whale.
The belly of the whale begins when Jyn and Cassian are brought and held captive by Saw’s Rebels. Jyn converses with Saw saying she doesn't wish to be a part of the fight against the empire because she is tired of fighting when nothing good ever comes of it, she lost her mother her father and her childhood because of this conflict. While talking with Saw about her father, the Empire decides to test their new weapon the Death Star by using it on the city of Jedah to wipe out the last remnants of Saw’s Rebels. Jyn and Cassian along with K-2SO, Chirrut Îmwe and his partner Baze Malbus, and an ex imperial pilot Bodhi, narrowly escape Jedah with information from Saw that will lead them to Jyn’s father Galen who has a solution to disable the Death Star.
Jyn and the crew arrive at planet Eadu where her father is stationed.

Moments before an attempt to rescue Galen, Director Krennic arrives to reprimand Galen for his deception and for compromising the Death Star project. An aerial dogfight ensues as x-wing pilots from the Alliance arrive to attack the research base of Eadu. Galen is injured in the ensuing fight but is reunited with his daughter one last time as he asks her for forgiveness for having to have dragged her into the fight against the Empire. Galen dies but is able to tell Jyn that the information the Alliance seeks to counter the Death Star can be found in the Imperial outpost in the tropical planet Scarif (this together with Saw’s death on the planet of Jedha can be seen as the death of a mentor and the atonement with the

father).
Jyn and crew return to Yavin 4 one last time to relay the message of what the Alliance seeks to fight the power of the Death Star can only be found in Scarif. The Alliance Cabinet was split as to what action to take against the Empire so Jyn gathered a group of soldiers, including Cassian, K-2SO, Chirrut and Baze, and Bodhi, together they hijacked an ex imperial transporter (Rogue One) to fly them to the planet of Scarif (this is interpreted as the magical flight and refusing of the return, because Jyn was decided to finally do something against the Empire who had stolen her life, she couldn't return to a normal life after all she had experienced).
After infiltrating the planet of Scarif, the crew of Rogue One set out to buy time for Jyn, Cassian, and K-2SO as they try to find the plans for the Death Star within the Imperial complex of Scarif. Jyn and Cassian have one final confrontation with the main antagonist of the film Director Krennic and after a long drawn out fight Jyn reaches the top of the Imperial complex and is able to beam out the information of the Death Star plans to the Alliance fleet that arrived into orbit of the planet to provide them back-up in their fight (this can interpreted as receiving the Ultimate Boon).
Ultimately Jyn and the crew of Rogue One met their demise on the shores of planet Scarif, when the Death Star arrived under the command of Admiral Tarkin and fired upon the planet to prevent any information from reaching the Alliance. Jyn can be considered a tragic hero because of her choice to go on the suicidal mission to retrieve the plans with just the help of one crew, hoping that her sacrifice would stir and unite the Alliance cabinet and to rally with them in their fight against the empire.
Even though for the majority of Jyn’s life she was considered a criminal and a vagabond, she is a hero in my book. Jyn's determination and bravery led to her becoming one of the most important figures of the war against the Empire. Her actions allowed the Rebel Alliance to exploit the Death Star's weakness with the help of Luke Skywalker and pave the way for the Empire's defeat at the Battle of Jakku five years later.