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The hero's journey story concept outline
The hero's journey story concept outline
The hero's journey story concept outline
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“Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human.” ~ Joseph Campbell, 1986
Joseph Campbell was an influential writer, lecturer, and mythologist who truly believed that myths are interconnecting keys that help humans unlock the experience of life. His work and dedication to the subject of mythology is what led to the prominent concept of monomyth in modern society. Campbell popularized the monomyth and gave it meaning and structure through his book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” In this famous work, he outlines and details the steps, phases, and trials of a typical heroic journey that can be found in tales from every culture and age. Inspired by a Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show he attended at the age of 7, Campbell immersed
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himself in Native American culture and books about “primal” schools of thought, which introduced him to a love of reading. Over time, these ideas shaped his worldview and introduced him to the ideas of mythological perspective. Then, while studying in Europe, Campbell became inspired by the philosophies of Freud and Jung. This inspiration turned into a lifestyle for Campbell, introducing and encouraging him to explore how myths were created and what purpose they serve to humans. With this influence in mind, Campbell decided to delve into the world of myths and try to understand their importance to humanity and its culture (About Joseph Campbell). Monomyth is the theory that Joseph Campbell proposed after examining the pattern between various literary works. It is the theory that all of the heroic quests that are written in literature and film throughout history follow the same basic guideline or outline. The structure shown through the monomyth, “dates back to Homer’s The Odyssey...Ancient Greece and this idea of the journey motif, and with it, there is a specific course which a hero takes in the journey,” and was reintroduced to society through the story of Huck Finn, written by Mark Twain (Bray 4:09). One of the philosophers that influenced Joseph Campbell the most throughout his study of the monomyth was Carl Jung. Jung believed that myth is the true link between the past, present, and future and that without myth, that link would be uprooted and disconnected. Jung’s ideas about how the common heroic archetype is representative of human needs and instincts have also played a role in Campbell’s definition of the monomyth (Portable Jung 22). An excerpt from Campbell’s book reads, The ancient myths were designed to harmonize the mind and the body. The mind can ramble off in strange ways and want things that the body does not want. The myths and rites were means of putting the mind in accord with the body and they way of life in accord with the way that nature dictates (Power of Myth 87). This quote demonstrates Campbell’s agreement with Jung’s philosophy, that myth is based on human nature and instinct, and exemplifies the influence Jung had on Campbell’s ideology. Campbell’s idea of the monomyth identifies the major stages and steps that a hero takes during their journey. It starts with the departure stage, goes into the initiation stage, and ends with the return, all of which detail the specific actions, events, and people that the hero will encounter along their journey. Overall, Campbell’s theory of the monomyth outlines the process that a character goes through in order to transform into a true hero. The archetypal journey that is detailed by the monomyth starts with the departure stage, which is where the hero enters their heroic journey.
The call to adventure is the first step of the departure stage, where the hero is summoned to begin their transformation and leave their comfort zone. As Campbell states, this is when the hero senses an inner awakening of the soul and is drawn into a new life that is full of adventure. The call to adventure is “a mystery of transfiguration - a rite, or moment, of spiritual passage, which, when complete, amounts to a dying and a birth” (Campbell Hero 42-43). Campbell is referring here to the death of the character’s old personality and a birth into their new life and adventure, where they will become a hero. In Mark Twain’s classic work, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the call to adventure is exhibited through Pap’s footprint in the snow. Huck Finn instantly recognizes his father’s boot tracks due to the cross on the heel, acting as the awakening in which Huck realizes he must leave his home. This moment, where Huck realizes he has to escape his father by running away, is the motivational force that starts Huck’s entire journey. Therefore, the call to adventure is the driving force in the hero’s journey that pushes them towards heroism (Campbell Hero;
Twain). The refusal of the call comes next, where the start of the journey is postponed because of the protest against becoming a hero. Campbell states that, “The myths and folktales of the whole world make clear that the refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interest” (Hero 49). When a hero chooses to keep their old life instead of entering a new world of adventure, they are refusing the call because they do not want to give up what they think is best for them. However, a refusal can also come in the form of a forced choice. For example, Huck Finn’s refusal of the call is not under his control. Since Huck is trapped in the cabin with Pap and cannot escape, he is physically inhibited from being able to start his heroic journey. So, the refusal of the call is what stands in the way of the hero’s transformation and hinders the start of the journey (Campbell Hero; Twain). The hero will then encounter the supernatural aid, which was originally defined by Campbell as a divine force that helps the hero. In modern literature and films, this stage has evolved to include helpers and guides that aren’t divine or celestial beings. Still, these characters serve the same purpose: to help the hero along their journey and give them motivation or inspiration to stay on their heroic path (Campbell Hero 59-60). Mark Twain shows Huckleberry Finn’s aid in the form of both divine forces and friends, since both the Mississippi River and Jim are influential in Huck’s journey. The Mississippi River represents a source of freedom and nature that Huck relates to and uses as a driving force for his adventure. Jim also serves as an aid to Huck, acting as a father figure to guide and protect him through his journey (Twain). As the hero’s guide, Jim also leads Huck towards his transformation in the form of crossing the threshold. After the encounter with the supernatural aid comes the crossing of the threshold or comfort zone, where there is a definitive exit from the hero’s old life into a new territory. This step is the point at which the hero accepts their role and crosses into a new world of adventure to start their transformation. Campbell describes this step saying, “The adventure is always and everywhere a passage beyond the veil of the known into the unknown...yet for anyone with competence and courage the danger fades” (Hero 76). The crossing of the threshold is the passage beyond the veil that Campbell talked about in his book. In the case of Huck Finn, crossing the threshold occurs when he travels across the river and starts his new life on Jackson Island. This event is the journey into a world unknown to Huck, but he pushes through the doubt and leaves for the island. The crossing of the threshold makes way for the hero to enter into the belly of the whale step of the monomythic journey (Campbell Hero; Twain).
Most myths have a common pattern between them. Today, this pattern is often seen in some of our most beloved motion pictures. Joseph Campbell-a respected 20th century American mythologist, lecturer, and writer- observed this and created a theory based off of the similarities he saw. He showed the world that almost every story with a hero follows the three stages in his theory he called “Monomyth” (Campbell). The monomyth, often times called “The Hero’s Journey” or “The hero with a thousand faces”, includes the departure, initiation, and return stages (Campbell). In these stages the hero leaves his normal life behind, fulfills him/herself in some activity, and returns as a hero (Campbell). These stages can be applied to a smash hit released in 2009, a science-fiction film titled Star Trek. James T. Kirk in Star Trek closely follows Campbell’s theory as he departs from his childhood home in Iowa, fights a rogue Romulan enemy, and returns to Earth as a Starfleet captain.
In the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Jim is now believing in Huck to help and free him. With all of the author’s craft techniques used by Twain shows how the adventure between Huck and Jim is getting somewhere where he can be free. Huck is looking out for Jim and wants the best for him by going out and getting the canoe, to head to Cairo. Feeling the pressure of becoming the people that they have always wanted to be is now happening, Jim becoming free and Huck escaping his father. The author’s craft that Twain uses help express the new lives the Huck and Jim are creating on their journey. The different ways that represent the journey help depict the passion for this change, the homebound feeling of escaping all
During the course of this World Literature class, several stories have been covered that accurately describe Joseph Campbell's mono-myth, or basic pattern found in narratives from every corner of the world. The Hero's Journey in it's entirety has seventeen stages or steps, but if boiled down can be described in three; the departure, the initiation, and the return (Monomyth Cycle). Each stage has several steps, but the cycle describes the hero starting in his initial state, encountering something to change him, and this his return as a changed person. To further explain this concept, there are a few stories covered in this class that can be used.
The Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work. Google Books. November 10, 2009. http://books.google.com/books.
"Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey." "HeroQuest" Adventures; spiritual quests to renew purpose, create vision, success.. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.
In every culture, there are stories that get past down from generation to generation (Campbell 1). Tales of knights who slay dragons and princesses who kissed frogs are a part of every culture. All over the world, stories share comment characteristic. Joseph Campbell introduces a theory based on this idea called the monomyth, the idea that stories all share the same narrative pattern, in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Overall, this theory shows the same narrative pattern in stories throughout the world, which symbolically reveals all humans must tackle difficulties and overcome them many times throughout life (5). Specifically, Campbell’s hero’s journey is comprised of six steps, which, collectively
The “Call to Adventure” is the part in the hero’s journey where the hero receives their first
Throughout the years, certain writers were able to set off a deep sympathetic resonance within readers by their usage of archetypal patterns. One of those patterns is known as the hero's journey, which Joseph Campbell gave an understandable idea of in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. According to his book, while comparing world's mythology, he found that no matter how far cultures are from each other, they will still have the same structure of hero's journey in their legends (Voytilla vii).
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.
“The Hero journey is inside of you; tear off the veils and open the mystery of yourself” said Joseph Campbell. This quote connects to the hero’s journey because it’s saying your have to get out of your comfort zone and how Huck went on his journey and found out who he was. In the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, there are examples of call to adventure, challenges, and Huck’s return in the book. Throughout Huck’s journey he finds out who he is.
Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, instituted the concept of the “monomyth,” the basic story pattern that can be applied to seemingly all literary works, which similarity shown as each of the text has a main character that goes on a journey. In the same way, the hero’s journey can be divided into three main sections: separation, initiation, and return. Into the three main sections, here are the several stages as the call to adventure, road of trail and magic flight, which all of these stages were shown in a lifelike way in the novel named Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar children.
Mythology by Edith Hamilton, is a collection of stories from greek myths that are told and passed down from generation to generation in order to give life a meaning. Humankind learns from each of these stories a lesson to apply in their own lives. Although most of them have lessons, there are a few that are honored. These stories that are honored follow the concept of a hero’s journey, a cycle which Joseph Campbell created. He believed that a true hero follows it. Hercules, the strongest man on earth, fits into it perfectly. Battling with his arrogance, to feeling remorseful for his actions, to never finding tranquility in his heart, until finally, Hercules comes to the conclusion that he is in the wrong, and changes it to receive his reward. These are the characteristics and the cycle of a true epic hero, that Hercules manifests.
The topic of this essay is to what extent the novel; The Hobbit complies with Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth. The Hobbit is a story of a hobbit, which is Bilbo Baggins who is brought on an unexpected adventure. The Monomyth is a theory that some stories have all 17 stages of a hero’s journey to achieving their goal.
After Campbell studied a lot of the great myths and realized this pattern, he published his findings in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Ever since then, authors have used “The Hero’s Journey” as an outline to tell their stories. “It is important to note that not all of these individual steps are present in every hero’s tale, nor is it important that they be in this exact order” (Vogler 20). The Hero with a Thousand Faces gives a sense of significance as it looks into the inner mind and soul. The author, Joseph Campbell, performs two extraordinary accomplishments: compelling his readers that myth and dream, those are the most effective and everlasting forces in life and a unification of mythology and psychoanalysis with a gripping narrative.
On June 6, 1943, in Greenbow, Alabama, an unexpected hero was born with a crooked spine and strong legs. Forrest Gump is not an expected conventional hero, however his accolades and accomplishments suggest otherwise. A hero is someone who inspires and instills good morals upon others by their courageous and outstanding acts. Forrest demonstrates these characteristics multiple times during his heroic journey. Whether it be diplomatic pingpong, fighting in the Vietnam War, becoming a local football legend at the University of Alabama or donating money to a deceased friend’s family, Forrest influenced many people with his unselfish and charitable acts. Joseph Campbell’s monomyth consists of the following stages: taking place in an ordinary world, a call to adventure, refusal of said call, meeting with a mentor, crossing the threshold, trials and tribulations, an approach to the final challenge, an ordeal, a reward, the journey back, a purification or resurrection into the normal world and a return home with the capabilities to alter the world in which he lives. Many heroes follow this journey and Forrest Gump is no exception.