1. Hero’s or Archetypal Journey (Monomyth)
Key Vocabulary
Hero, archetype, tragedy, quest, and the eight-step transformation

2. Hero
someone that is distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, and strength and embodies the values of the culture from which he originates.

3. Archetype
representing an original type after which other similar things are patterned
recurring patterns of human behavior, symbolized by standard types of characters in movies and stories

4. Quest
the act of searching for something

16. “Every challenge or change we face in life is a journey.”

17. “Every move to a new school, job, or city opens the chance to stop being what we were and to start being what we can become.”

18. “The journey is a process of self-discovery and self-integration, of maintaining balance and harmony in our lives.”

19. “As with any process of growth and change, a journey can be confusing and painful, but it brings opportunities to develop confidence, perspective and a new way of being in our world.”

20. Freewrite (5 Minutes) What journey in life have you experienced?
What was the end result of your journey?
Did you experience or undergo a change or transformation?

21. “Understanding the Journey pattern can help us understand the literature we read, the movies we see, and the experiences which shape our life.”

22. REMEMBER: “The journey is a single process, an individual adventure towards growth and transformation.”

23. 8-Step Journey

24. SEPARATION (from the known) 1. The Call
2. The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentors)
INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
3. The Challenges
4. The Abyss / Ordeal
5. The Transformation/Apotheosis
6. The Revelation
7. The Atonement
THE RETURN (to the known world)
8. The Return (with a gift) to assume new role in life

25. SEPARATION
(from known)
1. THE CALL

26. SEPARATION (from the known)
1. The Call
Invites us into the journey willingly or by force
Gives us a chance to face the “unknown” and gain something new
May be a quick or traumatic change or it may “sneak up on us”

27. (guardians and helpers)
SEPARATION
(from known)
2. THE
THRESHOLD
(guardians and helpers)

28. SEPARATION (from the known)
2. The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentors)
-once we are “called,” we must PASS OVER the threshold into the UNKNOWN which may be filled with challenges and dangers; the “jump start” for the journey
-we encounter “threshold guardians”; they protect us by keeping us from taking journeys for which we are unready or unprepared
-once we are READY, the guardians step aside and point the way = Helpers and Mentors

29. INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION 3. THE CHALLENGES -SERIES of challenges
-experiences TEMPTERS that try
to pull you away from your path
using fear, doubt, or distraction

30. INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
3. The Challenges
-face a series of challenges or temptations that strike our greatest weakness
-Problem = trying to tell the difference between “guardians” and “tempters”
-Tempters try to PULL US AWAY from our path using fear, doubt, or distraction

31. INITIATION & TRANSFORMATION 4. THE ABYSS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE
(must face it ALONE)

32. INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
4. The Abyss
-GREATEST CHALLENGE of the journey
-we must face it “ALONE”

33. TRANSFORMATION / APOTHEOSIS
INITIATION &
TRANSFORMATION
TRANSFORMATION / APOTHEOSIS
REVELATION
ATONEMENT

34. INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
5. Transformation or the Apotheosis
6. Revelation
-when we conquer the Abyss and overcome our fears, our transformation becomes complete
-final step in this process = a moment of death and rebirth (a part of us dies so that a new part can be born) / EXAMPLE: fear dies to make way for courage
-Apotheosis is the realization that we are now “godlike”
-we experience a REVELATION (dramatic change in the way we think or view life)
-we are not just changed, but we are DIFFERENT

35. INITIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
7. The Atonement
We are “AT ONE” with our new self
We are FULLY reborn
We have been restored to harmony in our life and in our world until “our next call”

36. TRANSFORMATION / APOTHEOSIS:
Katniss is transformed because she conquers the Abyss (She destroys the “undestroyable” arena). This represents a moment of “death” and “rebirth” (she CAN and DOES save herself and Peeta). The transformation is complete.
She experiences the Apotheosis because her powers have become seemingly LIMITLESS.

37. She experiences a dramatic change in the way she thinks or views life.
REVELATION
She experiences a dramatic change in the way she thinks or views life.
RESULT: She matures. She becomes DIFFERENT. She is no longer a child, a victim, or a pawn used by the government.
ATONEMENT
She knew that what she did went against everything that she had been taught by the leaders and President Snow. However, she finds a sense of PEACE or CLOSURE to her decision.

38. The Return

39. THE RETURN (to the known world)
8. The Return (with a gift) to assume NEW ROLE in life
FINAL STAGE OF OUR JOURNEY = RETURN TO EVERYDAY LIFE
We discover our gift (new level of skill or awareness)
BEGIN CONTRIBUTING TO OUR SOCIETY (save or renew a city/community)
DISADVANTAGES: 1) may be rejected by society 2) society may not be able to grasp/accept your gifts 3) HERO may become frustrated and leave society to be on his/her own

43. RESOURCES
Life’s Great Adventure The Hero’s Journey by Reg Harris Link: