The Hero's Journey: A Summary of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth PDF

THE HERO’S JOURNEY MONOMYTH ENTER THE CYCLE CONNECTING US TO THE BEGINNING OF HISTORY… INTRODUCTION: Joseph Campbell created The Hero’s Journey by conducting research on heroes and myths. He found in almost every Hero or...

THE HERO’S JOURNEY MONOMYTH ENTER THE CYCLE CONNECTING US TO THE BEGINNING OF HISTORY… INTRODUCTION: Joseph Campbell created The Hero’s Journey by conducting research on heroes and myths. He found in almost every Hero or myth there was a pattern. This pattern follows 17 general steps.  CAMPBELL & THE HERO FIGURE Joseph Campbell, American Mythologist/Writer/ Lecturer (1904-1987) o Best known for work in comparative religions and mythology o In his revolutionary book, The Hero with A Thousand Faces, Campbell introduced the concept of the hero’s journey cycle (1949). o Monomyth : mono = one; myth = story. From decades of research, Campbell concluded all hero figures share one story, one cycle. o Campbell identified the hero as an archetype all peoples share across all cultures; this hero undergoes certain stages/steps in his/her voyage to heroism. FROM WHERE DID THESE IDEAS ORIGINATE? Carl Jung, Swiss Psychiatrist/Psychotherapist (1875-1961) o Proposed and developed the concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes in his influential work in psychology and religion. o Collective Unconscious: a portion of our mind which is common to all peoples, derived from ancestral memory and experiences. o Archetype : a typical or common example; a reoccurring symbol, idea, or motif in literature, art, or mythology THE MONOMYTH CYCLE  THREE MAJOR STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY 1 stStage – Departure (Separation) 2 Stage – Initiation nd 3 Stage - Return rd STAGE ONE: THE DEPARTURE The Call to Adventure The Refusal of the Call Supernatural Aid Crossing the First Threshold Entering the Belly of the Whale  THE CALL TO ADVENTURE The hero is faced with leaving his/her ordinary world (Separation) with a problem or challenge to be overcome. o Jason must retrieve the Golden Fleece. o Harry is informed he is a wizard and is the only wizard capable of defeating the wizarding world’s enemy, Voldemort. o King Leonidas must take 300 Spartans to war against the Persian empire, a far vaster and more powerful army of fierce warriors.  REFUSAL OF CALL Put quite simply, the hero doesn’t want to go. o Neo must decide whether to take a blue pill and forget about what he’s learned about the Matrix, or the red pill and begin his journey. o Coraline must determine whether she will follow the mouse through a small door into a dark corridor, which she senses will forever change her reality, indeed a fairly miserable one. SUPERNATURAL AID The hero is given support by a more powerful figure – a mentor of sorts, often one with supernatural abilities. o Fawkes comes to Harry in his time of need as the support to Dumbledore, Harry’s wizard mentor; Fawkes saves Harry. o Trinity becomes Neo (Mr. Anderson)’s partner, illuminating the ways of the Matrix and providing him the confidence he needs to achieve his task. o Gandalf leads Frodo on his mission to restore the One Ring (The Lord of the Rings trilogy)  CROSSING FIRST THRESHOLD The hero figure begins his/her quest, leaving the known world for the unknown; this step moves the hero from Separation to Initiation. o Katniss Everdeen takes the place of her sister and enters into the loathsome Hunger Games, in which she is certain she will perish. o Bruce Wayne determines he must become the thing he fears most, in an effort to save his city and use his vast wealth for good; Lucius Fox builds the Bat suit for him, along with numerous “toys.” (Batman Begins) o Dorothy begins to “follow the yellow brick road” (The Wizard of Oz) BELLY OF THE WHALE The most harrowing initial stage of the journey, as it is the final step toward full separation; here, the hero figure senses death is imminent. o Atreyu loses hope when he cannot save his best friend Artax in the swamps of sadness, and begins to sink himself into the abyss (The Neverending Story) o Indy is trapped in the Well of Souls with his long-lost friend and one-time love, Marion Ravenwood: their torch flames burn out, surrounded by poisonous snakes in a cave without windows or door (Raiders of the Lost Ark) o Hercules must survive the ever-multiplying, growing fiercer with each new head sprouted Hydra in Disney’s version of the ancient myth of Hercules. REVIEW - STAGE ONE: THE DEPARTURE The Call to Adventure The Refusal of the Call Supernatural Aid Crossing the First Threshold Entering the Belly of the Whale STAGE TWO: THE INITIATION The Road of Trials Meeting with the God/Goddess Temptation Atonement with the Father The Apotheosis Receiving the Ultimate Boon  ROAD OF TRIALS A series of ordeals, hardships, tasks the hero figure must endure and survive to move forward toward the end goal. o Rapunzel, in Disney’s Tangled, must escape soldiers and thieves with Flynn Rider, along with her “mother,” and eventually a cave which is flooding. o In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen must train alongside those she knows she must eventually destroy in order to survive the lethal games; the training is grueling yet the games themselves prove far, far harsher trials – both of the spirit as well as of the body.  MEETING WITH THE GODDESS This figure can be human, but is often a female spirit guide with supernatural powers/strengths, who provides the support and unconditional love the hero requires to plod ever forward on what appears an impossible journey. o In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Galadriel (high elf priestess) finds Frodo Baggins, and illuminates a possible future for him while also providing him guidance and a magical token. o Bastian comes face to face with the Empress, the guardian spirit behind the world of Fantasia in the book he is reading; she shares a grain of sand, opening the possibility that he recreate Fantasia (The Neverending Story) o In the film 300, King Leonidas’s wife, Gorgo, reminds him what makes him a Spartan and why she loves him, prompting his confidence in moving forward with his small but massively powerful army of 300.  TEMPTATION Material or worldly possessions/figures which may cause the hero figure to abandon his/her quest. o Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins: she is a figure of morality, of home and everything the hero once knew and believed in. Staying with her, however, would put an end to Batman and relegate our hero figure to Bruce Wayne, a man he no longer quite knows how to be. o In Disney’s Hercules, Megara is the temptor: being pitted against Hercules due to a pact she signed with the god of the Underworld, Megara tempts Hercules to abandon his quest and be content to stay at her side.  ATONEMENT WITH THE FATHER The center point of the quest: here, the hero figure confronts and is to be initiated by that which holds the ultimate power; in many cases, his/her father. o Musfasa, in Disney’s The Lion King, appears to Simba. Simba recognizes it was not his fault his father died, but rather that Scar pushed him off the same cliff on which Simba is precariously perched. Simba recognizes the dynamic between his father and uncle, and thus saves himself. o Luke Skywalker must come face to face (literally) with his father, his sworn enemy, recognizing the brutal truth to the phrase “the dark side” within him yet fully claiming himself as a Jedi warrior.  APOTHEOSIS (APOSTASIS) Potentially the most excruciating stage yet, the hero figure must “die” to his/her previous self, becoming fully who he or she was meant to be; often involves a physical or spiritual death and/or deification (becoming a god/goddess); establishes opportunity for Return. o Harry Potter painfully recognizes and must break his true tie with his arch enemy, and arguably the world’s most powerful wizard, Voldemort. o Neo survives the “pulling of the plug,” and finally sees the Matrix for what it is: a game of sorts. THE ULTIMATE BOON (GIFT) The gift the hero figure seeks / the achievement of the original task for which all the separation and initiation prepared him/her. o This is the returning of the ring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Mordor, where it is destroyed; Aragorn takes rightful place as heir to the throne of Gondor. o In The Hunger Games, it is the survival of the games themselves and the sheer fact of Katniss’s still-beating heart, alongside her sister once again. REVIEW - STAGE TWO: THE INITIATION The Road of Trials Meeting with the God/Goddess Temptation Atonement with the Father The Apotheosis Receiving the Ultimate Boon STAGE THREE: THE RETURN The Refusal of the Return The Magic Flight Help From Without Crossing the Return Threshold The Master of Two Worlds Freedom to Live  REFUSAL OF RETURN The hero has become enlightened and/or found bliss in this new world; returning to the ordinary world seems less than he/she bargained for…. o In I Am Legend, Robert Neville realizes that he cannot save both himself and the antidote to rid the post-apocalyptic world of vampirism; he wouldn’t know how to live in such a world again. o In the first Ironman movie, Obadiah Stane nearly kills Tony Stark (Ironman), thus preventing him from helping the world or surviving at all. o In Tangled, Rapunzel attempts to strike a deal with Mother Gothel: if you let Flynn live, I’ll stay with you.  MAGIC FLIGHT The Return stage, the flight is often as difficult – if not moreso – than the initiation to the journey; the hero must attempt to return with the boon intact. o Bastian rides Falcor as Fantasia is recreated, and experiences the world in ways only the main character (Atreyu) had done so previously (The Neverending Story) o Mufasa appears to Simba in the clouds once Simba has freed himself from his evil uncle Scar, and Simba roars with satisfaction and pride as his father speaks to him.  RESCUE FROM WITHOUT The Journey weakens the hero figure, and he/she must be rescued or prompted to continue from someone or some thing near the quest’s end. o In Batman Begins, Lieutenant Gordon topples the elevated line just in time for Batman to escape and the villain to crash the train to the ground. o Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy is not only Frodo’s best friend/right hand man, but an integral force without whom the quest would never have been achieved. o In I Am Legend, the antidote is salvaged and given to the people at the hands of Anna and her son, Ethan; they save the world which Robert had to foresake.  CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD In this stage of the Return, the hero must retain what he/she has learned, and carry it to share with those from the world he/she left. o In The Neverending Story, Atreyu makes his journey to the Oracle only to learn that he himself cannot complete the journey to the boundaries of Fantastia, as there are none; he becomes aware that he has “brought along” a human child, Bastian, who has been reading Atreyu’s story from the beginning of his call to adventure, and is the only one who can return across the threshold and restore Fantastia. o Coraline must go to the old well in the woods in order to cast her “Other Mother” away for good and restore her life as it should have always been, with her real family. MASTER OF TWO WORLDS The hero figure achieves balance between the physical (material) and inner (spiritual) worlds: he or she may be a king/queen or other between two worlds. o In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy returns to Kansas with the realization that there truly is no place like home – nowhere she feels more herself, where she can embrace unconditional love and support. o Disney’s title character in Hercules marries Megara and remains human as well as becoming a deity: he is now a demigod, able to move between Mt. Olympus with all the other ancient Greek gods/goddesses and Earth.  FREEDOM TO LIVE The hero figure has secured the safety and freedom for those from his/her ordinary world to live in relative peace, as often has the hero figure him/herself. o Frodo Baggins chooses to live in The Gray Havens, sailing with the elves, while the shire returns to a place of calm and beauty (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) o Simba and Nala rule together as King and Queen of Pride Rock, learning to parent their own cub, and forgiving Scar his trespasses (The Lion King) o Jason returns to his land as king after destroying his wicked uncle, and begins a family, ruling in peace having restored the Fleece. REVIEW - STAGE THREE: THE RETURN The Refusal of the Return The Magic Flight Help From Without Crossing the Return Threshold The Master of Two Worlds Freedom to Live  REVIEW THREE MAJOR STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY 1st Stage – Departure (Separation) 2nd Stage – Initiation 3rd Stage - Return Broken up into 17 smaller steps that are often found in stories