1. Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth
The Hero's Journey
Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth

2. Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey
Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey ***You don’t have to write this slide
Campbell was an American mythological researcher and wrote The Hero With a Thousand Faces (among other books). He discovered many common patterns within stories and myths form around the world, and his research led him to his theory of the hero’s journey – the idea that in every story, each hero follows a similar pattern of events. He called this discovery the “monomyth.”
The hero’s journey is a cycle, so once the hero completes a full rotation of the journey, he/she can start all over again (this is often seen in book or movie series).

4. The Ordinary World 
This is the hero’s home. The hero is often uneasy or uncomfortable in his/her place in society and doesn’t feel like he/she fits in. The hero is cast in a sympathetic light and there’s some kind of polarity in the hero’s life pulling in different directions and causing stress.

5. The Call to Adventure
Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from an internal drive to change. This is the beginning of change.

6. Refusal of the Call
The hero is afraid and uncertain. He/she may try to refuse the call to adventure. Alternatively, another character may express concern.

7. Meeting With the Mentor / Supernatural Aid
The hero is introduced to a seasoned traveler of the worlds, someone who has experience and gives the hero training, equipment or advice. Alternatively, the hero can find a source of courage or wisdom within.

8. Crossing the Threshold
The hero commits fully to the adventure and leaves the known world – the unknown world is full of challenges and has different rules or values.

9. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
The hero is tested in many different ways (these all prepare him/her for The Ordeal later on).
The hero figures out his/her allegiances within the unknown world.

10. The Approach
The hero and his/her allies prepare for The Ordeal (the main challenge).

11. The Ordeal
The hero confronts death or faces his/her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes new life. This is the main challenge within the unknown world.

12. The Reward
The hero is rewarded for completing The Ordeal. This could be a physical reward or just a newfound sense of belonging.

13. The Road Back
Just because The Ordeal is over, does not mean the hero is done. He/she must leave the unknown world. Often a chase scene will signal the urgency and danger of the mission.

14. The Resurrection
The hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of the known world. He/she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved. The hero may come to a new conclusion about his/her place in the world.

15. Return with the Elixir
The hero returns home (or continues the journey), bearing the reward with him/her that has the power to transform the world - just as the hero was transformed.