By: Zach Martin, Reid McIntire, Daniel Sellers, and Braedon Huber (2014)

The Hero ●Noble/Orphan? Marlin is an average clownfish and citizen/father who lost his wife and all of his children but one, Nemo. His loss and nobility of mind fit with the archetype. ●Special Abilities/Weapons: Marlin has perseverance on his journey to rescue his son Nemo, and never gives up on his search for him. ● Flaw: Marlin is a stubborn, over- protective parent of his son. Marlin is a clownfish because it is ironic – his behavior is the opposite of what you would expect from a fish named after a funny type of entertainer.

The Call to Action ●While frolicking in the sand during a school field trip on one cool Australian morning, Nemo makes friends with a couple of troublemakers. ●After being dared to swim out into the vast open ocean, Nemo is caught by a scuba diver and is taken into a boat. ●After witnessing this while following his son’s class on a school field trip, Marlin, without hesitation, embarks on a journey to retrieve his son.

The Threshold ●Known World: Marlin and Nemo live in a coral reef in a sea anemone. ●Unknown World: Off the coral reef is the “drop-off” and the rest of the ocean, which is unknown to Marlin. ●Character Archetypes: As Marlin set out after Nemo, he met Dory, a loyal, but often forgetful, fish. She sometimes serves as a mentor and sometimes as a sidekick. ●He also met some sharks, a smoove sea turtle named Crush, a school of helpful fish, and the pelican Nigel. The fact that the unknown world begins at the drop-off symbolizes Marlin’s fear of Nemo’s mortality. The drop-off is an endless chasm, representing the horror of death as an eternal darkness.

The Challenges ●Marlin and Dory run into sharks and go to the sharks’ party where they nearly get eaten and blown to smithereens. ●Then they swim down into a dark abyss where they have to fend off an angler fish. ●Later they find themselves caught in the middle of a field of jellyfish where they both get injured. ●Towards the end of the story they have to escape the mouth of a whale. ●All these challenges are encountered on the journey to find Nemo.

The Abyss ●Marlin finally reaches Sydney, Australia. ●Nigel, a pelican, flies him to the dentist’s office where Nemo is being held. ●Marlin witnesses his son “belly-up” and assumes he is dead. ●In pure grief, he sluggishly embarks for his journey back home, alone.

Transformation/Revelation ●Shortly after Marlin saw what he thought to be his dead son, Dory assisted Nemo in finding his lost father. ●Almost immediately after they found Marlin, both of them, along with hundreds of other fish, are trapped in a massive fishing net with Marlin left on the outside. ●Nemo squeezed out through a small hole and began to tell Marlin what to do to save the fish. ●Marlin then recalled something that the smoove sea turtle, Crush, had told him. Crush said, “Well, you never really know, but when they know, you’ll know. Y’know?” ●After remembering this, Marlin heeded his son’s instructions in order to save the fish. ●Marlin had finally listened to his son and let him lead for once. His overprotectiveness has changed – he is transformed!

The Atonement ●The Atonement is slightly different in this hero’s journey – it happens back in the known world. We know Marlin is at one with his new self when he tells Nemo to “Go have an adventure.” When he says this, we know his transformation/revelation is now permanent.

The Return ●When the adventure comes to a close, Nemo and Marlin return to their home at the coral reef where life has become different for them. ●Marlin also makes friends, tells jokes, and is more comfortable and laid back.

The End The fact that the aquarium fish escape but remain trapped in plastic bags at the end symbolizes how all of us suffer the illusion of freedom when we are truly trapped: we are penned in by societal expectations and roles that we don’t always see – just like a clear plastic bag serving as an impermeable membrane between the fish and the ocean.