Adapted from Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces
“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” ~Joseph Campbell Monomyth: The basic pattern found in many myths around the world. This is known as “The Hero’s Journey.” It is the idea that human consciousness tends to produce similar ideas regardless of time or culture. MONOMYTH “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” ~Joseph Campbell
This isn’t only a pattern in myth! We see it in TV, movies, literature These ideas are repeated in many popular stories, as well as the oldest stories we know. Beowulf, The Odyssey, and The Epic of Gilgamesh (From ancient Sumeria), as well as Star Wars, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. THE GREAT ADVENTURE Wikipedia.org
1. Separation from the familiar 2. Initiation and transformation 3. The return Examples include: Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Hazing/Initiation in Greek societies at college, first alcoholic beverage, marriage, etc. Imagine a college major where you leave home to attend, the first classes are so hard that those who don’t LOVE it drop or switch majors, while those who stay are educated until they return to the world as doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. RITES OF PASSAGE
*Separation 1.The Call 2.The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and a mentor) *Initiation and Transformation 3. The Challenges 4. The Abyss 5. The Transformation 6. The Revelation 7. The Atonement *The Return to the known world 8. The Return (With a gift) 8 STEPS my.spill.com
The Call Invites the (future) hero into the adventure. **The character may be willing to go, or they may be unwilling! This can take many forms: 1.Something is stolen and the hero must reclaim it. 2.There is something missing in the hero’s life and they must find it. 3.The hero wants to save honor (own, family’s, country’s). 4.The hero realizes that someone in society has fewer rights, and he or she goes out to win them. SEPARATION Luke’s family is killed, and Obi Wan Kenobi “calls” him to help the rebel cause. inkensoul.com
The Threshold This is the “jumping off point,” when the hero leaves the known for the unknown. Guardians often block the hero from leaving, and passing them means making a real commitment Luckily, the hero has a helper(s), including a mentor or guide. This will help keep the hero focused on the goal. SEPARATION 2 The cantina scene is Luke’s first step into a world outside the farm where he grew up. tech.701panduan.com
Challenges Increase in difficulty over time Hero gets pulled deeper into quest Tend to strike at hero’s weakness The Abyss The “Boss at the end of the level” The most difficult challenge, causing the hero to completely give over to the quest. “Slay the Dragon.” If s/he fails, life becomes bleak and meaningless until a second chance occurs. Transformation & Revelation Conquering the Abyss= Transformation complete A part of the hero dies, so a new part can be born. Fear and ignorance die, too. Independence is accepted Revelation= “Aha! Moment” when thinking changes dramatically Usually during or after Abyss New way of thinking= new self, and often new confidence and abilities! THE INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION
Atonement Hero is “at one” with new self Changes are absorbed, hero is fully “reborn.” The wrongs that started the journey have been righted, balance is restored. Now s/he is truly a HERO. Gift of some kind is received or noticed. Wealth, strength, leadership, spiritual enlightenment I&T PART 2 starwars.wikia.com
May return as a great hero for saving or fixing the community Others return to create new city/nation/religion May also be rejected due to changes/enlightenment. May lose new understanding as result. May become disillusioned if rejected, and leave society due to frustration. THE RETURN fanpop.com togetherforadoption.org
Kurt Vonnegut on “The Shapes of Stories”