As there are maps for roads, there is also a map for stories. Joseph Campbell invented a way to compare and write stories, and this is called the Hero’s Journey (Day). The Hero’s Journey is divided into three main parts: The Departure, The Initiation, and the Return (Day). One classic story that clearly follows Hero’s Journey is The Oddysey. Although Joseph Campbell created The Hero’s Journey to organize and compare stories, it can also apply to individuals going through their everyday life. The Hero’s Journey begins with the Departure which is comprised of five subsections: The Ordinary World, The Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting with the Mentor, and Crossing the Threshold to the Special World (Day). The Ordinary World is the …show more content…
After multiple tests, the Hero Approaches the Innermost Cave. In this part of the Hero’s story, he will win a major battle which prepares him for the most important battle of all. Now, in The Ordeal, the Hero finally fights the antagonist–his biggest enemy. Defeating the antagonist leads to the Reward: a reward given to the Hero for winning. Just like lives in stories, lives in the real world continue after Crossing the Threshold. The person usually goes through tests. They may have failures in their life and have to mature emotionally, or they may have physical tests and have to overcome a challenge. Throughout life in unfamiliar territory, a person is bound to make enemies and friends. There may be a rival, a person that needs to be beaten, or a friendship developed that could last forever. With these new-found friends and new abilities from all they have experienced, a person may approach their Innermost Cave, or biggest enemy. This person may be leading towards graduating college and may have to be taking tests or maybe even about to have a child. Odysseus’s approach to the Innermost Cave was when he was about to get to Ithaca to fight off the …show more content…
The Return includes The Road Back, The Resurrection, and the Return of the Elixer (Day). In society, The Road Back is an example of getting used to the different, and the different starts becoming the ordinary. The Resurrection is when the Hero is tested on the Road Back (Day). Sometimes people may be tested on the way home; maybe hardship hits the person. Odysseus has to fight the suitors at this time, finishing his final testing. Finally, the Hero will Return with the Elixer, which is making the world a better place (Day). People make the world a better place- some people teach the younger generation and change things for the better. Having a better understanding of the Hero’s Journey may open up a new perspective. Instead of the Call to Adventure being a good thing, it could be an accident or sickness. A person in an accident would first be in denial, and refuse the call. However, they would probably meet with a mentor, perhaps a doctor or a new friend. This mentor could help the person realize that they can recover, but they would have to Cross the
The first major step is a call to adventure. In this step, there’s something in the hero’s life that requires them to do something or go somewhere and take some type of action. Second, the hero must enter the unknown. This step sends the hero into a new world, entering something unfamiliar to the hero. By entering unfamiliar territory, whether it’s a place, an event never experiences, there are challenges and temptations the hero must face. With every new world comes new challenges. Dealing with new people or being alone.
Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the hero will fulfill the prophecy and find his/herself, realizing his/her full potential. This rubric may be easy to spot in epic action films, but if upon close inspection is found in a wide array of genres, some of which are fully surprising.
In the Hero’s journey, The Odyssey, the main protagonist, Odysseus, changes in a way which helps him gain self-knowledge. Odysseus ' experiences transformed his personality from how he was in the beginning to the end, by leading him through a heroic journey, also known as a quest. The real reason for a quest never involves the stated reason, and this is no different with Odysseus. As the story developed, many of Odysseus’ sides were exposed through the challenges he faced. Out of the countless dangers and obstacles every step back home, him and his crew have only acquired minimal character changes. Even though they are minimal, they are those which take many decades to achieve.
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
The novel began with the narrator embarking on a journey to the underworld. As he entered the battle royal, Ralph Ellison set up the narrator’s story using the archetype of the Odyssey. The narrator spends the entirety of the book trying to become enlightened, and to prove to his grandfather and Dr.Bledsoe that he is more than what they think he is. However, the book ends with the narrator stuck in a dark hole, living underground, right back where he started. This contrast to the story of odysseus allows Ellison to demonstrate how the narrator failed to become what he had tried so hard to be, and how his enlightenment had been destined to be a troubled one.
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 embarkation of the hero’s journey is more than a call, it is taking control of your life and discovering the hero who dwells inside you. Each hero who enters the journey is tested to the very end of the cycle, where the hero must choose rebirth or death. Othello is man of many fortunes, but he does not have what it takes to complete the Hero’s Journey.
Departure, is when the main character is leaving their ordinary world behind because they have received the call to adventure by the herald. Once they have enter the first threshold, their life begins to change. They come face to face with the threshold guardian, who is trying to prevent the potential hero from moving forward into their journey. However, with the amulet provided by the mentor, the hero is able to defeat the threshold guardian and continue on seeking knowledge. During the initiation, the hero goes through trials, allies and enemies. As well as, receiving enlightenment along the way. The hero slowly realizes their old world was a trapped for them because their have not fulfilled their needs and wants. One of the most prominent stages of the hero’s journey is the Belly of the Whale. When entered into the Belly of the Whale, the hero is reborn into a new person. After their resurrection, the hero encounters one last battle with death before returning to the ordinary world with the elixir. The elixir, or the boon, is a reward the hero receives once they completed their journey. Often, the hero’s thoughts were the boon being a physical object such as buried treasure or finding love from another. However, they receive a spiritual token or lesson to be shared with others because it is important to bring knowledge to others around you in order to not be lost. If the ones
Many of the stories that have been told for centuries, or have recently been created, incorporate the story of a young innocent character who embarks on a journey and becomes a hero, known as The Hero’s Journey; a series of steps that all heroes follow. This journey not only shows the main character becoming a hero but also shows the hero move along a path similar to that of adolescence, the path between childhood and maturity. The Hero’s Journey was created by a man by the name of Joseph Campbell. He wrote a book called The Hero with One Thousand Faces, a novel containing a variety of stories that follow the steps of the Hero’s Journey. One famous creation that follows The Hero’s Journey is the science fiction film trilogy: Star Wars, created by George Lucas. Lucas depicts the struggles that take place along the path of adolescence through the story of a protagonist Luke Skywalker, who strives to become a Jedi Knight to show that Campbell’s Hero’s Journey reflects the struggles that youth go through whether they are depicted in a story or not.
endure the pain and strife that came from his homeward journey. Without his heroic resources to help him escape the temptations by battling his way out or using his wit to escape he holds on and endures and finally returns. Dying on the battlefield would be a fantastic ending for a hero such as Odysseus. Dying alone without a fight or giving in and living without ever returning to his home or Penelope would be a fate no hero could accept. He would have been forgotten and others would claim what was his. Odysseus does endure and returns, escaping danger and great temptation to be the hero and claim his own.
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
Journeys are suppose to be long and hard but the knowledge you gain helps a person grow spiritually and physically as a person or hero. The Odyssey, by Homer is about Odysseus’s long and difficult journey home to Ithaca. During this journey Odysseus searches for his identity, while the gods make his journey more interesting. Along his way home to Ithaca, he uncovers many secrets and takes on many challenging tasks. During these tasks Odysseus shows
embedded deep in the human psyche lies the narrative of what Joseph Campbell called the hero's journey this is more than just a mere mythological narrativethis is a deep truth that applies to
This would be like a person’s adulthood where they face many struggles in life that help them mature and learn valuable lessons as they overcome them. For example, when Odysseus is on his way to save his men from Circe “...he meets the god Hermes, who gives him a magical plant called molly to protect him from Circe’s power” (387). At this moment Odysseus has an internal conflict where he needs to decide if he should or should not trust Hermes. If Odysseus chooses to take the molly and Hermes is lying, he could get poisoned. But if he doesn’t choose to take the molly he is facing a risk of potentially getting turned into an animal by Circe. In the end, Odysseus takes accepts the molly which, by the way, does save him from Circe’s power. This experience teaches Odysseus that sometimes people have to take risks and trust others. Odysseus’ experience with trust is a connection to real life because adults have to chose to trust people and take risks in their lives as well. Another struggle that Odysseus overcomes is agreeing to the scarification of his belongings in order to get his prophecy. The following quote illustrates the moment Odysseus is in the underworld and agrees to make sacrifices. “‘Then I addressed the blurred and breathless dead, vowing to slaughter my best heifer for them before she calved, at home in Ithaca, and burn the choice bits on the altar fire; as
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... ...