Cherian Abraham

English 170 M/T

Elizabeth Guthrie

11/19/19

Major Assignment #2 

 

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”. Your favorite book or story holds ideas and themes that have been passed on since the early ages of storytelling. These themes, and structures, have influenced you somehow, on some personal level. Otherwise, why would you resonate with a particular character, or story? Believe it or not, most stories share more than just the typical “hero wins, bad guy loses” scenario. From “The Hunger Games” to “Harry Potter”, many stories fall under what is called the “monomyth” – a term coined by American writer Joseph Campbell. The monomyth, as described by Campbell, is used to categorize how all heroes in stories are essentially the same character, just solving their ordeals in different worlds, and through different means. By analyzing the twelve different parts of the monomyth (also referred to as the hero’s journey), relating the twelve different parts to different stories in cultures, and comparing how the hero’s journey can be implemented throughout dystopian works, I plan to demonstrate the power that the hero’s journey holds not only for story telling, but modern life.

The first part of the monomyth, as described by Joseph Campbell in his book, “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” is the ordinary world. In the ordinary world, viewers see the hero before the hero’s plight on adventure. We view the character, how the character interacts with others, and see the hero be normal. It is not until the hero “..feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or permitted to members of society.” (Campbell 234)  does the monomyth move to it’s second part, the call to adventure. In the call to adventure, a mysterious sign is presented to the hero, whether the sign may be a phone call, a gunshot, or a sort of signal, something disrupts the hero’s everyday life in a meaningful way. The call to adventure is followed by the refusal of the call. According to the article titled “The Hero’s Journey-Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth”, the refusal of the call involves the hero not accepting the sign because “at this stage he/she will have fears to overcome.. the problem he faces may seem too much to handle and the comfort of home [is] far more attractive than the perilous road ahead”. The crucial turning point for our hero during this twelve step process is part four, the meeting of the mentor. It is here where the hero is given valuable information, that teaches the hero how to handle the call to adventure. This knowledge that is given to the hero helps relinquish the fears the hero had before, and allows the character to move forward to the fifth step of the monomyth.

Called the crossing of the threshold, the fifth part of the monomyth deals with the first steps the hero takes out of the ordinary world. It is here where the hero faces their fears, and leaves their safe zone, to where it’s uncomfortable. Since the hero has reached the point of no return, the sixth part of the process involves tests, allies and enemies. It is during the sixth part of the monomyth where our hero gets challenged, mentally or physically. Our hero must find different ways to overcome each unique hurdle only present to them, while also figuring out who can and cannot be trusted throughout their journey. While overcoming each problem through the use of the hero’s skills and abilities, viewers gain a deeper insight into the true nature of the character, while also crafting a unique personality for the hero. During the seventh part of the monomyth, called the approach to the inmost cave, the hero must make preparations for the final task ahead. Doubts and fears swim throughout the mind of the hero, as the challenges get harder, and the road ahead is more treacherous. This part escalates the anticipation for the final test ahead, the eight part, called the ordeal. During the ordeal, everything the hero learned gets put to use, as the hero faces the hardest threat yet. The threat manifests the form of what the hero fears the most, and it is not until the hero “dies” in a metaphorical, or physical way, that allows the hero to gain insight on how to take down the threat. This is the climax of the story: either the hero dies, or the hero wins, leading us to the ninth part of the monomyth, the reward.

 Following the hero’s grand win, the reward symbolises what the hero gets out of the whole ordeal. Whether it’s a physical object, such as a weapon, or a feeling, such as love, the hero becomes a stronger person. The tenth part of the monomyth, the road back, showcases the return to the ordinary world. Instead of dangers being present, the hero is welcomed back with congratulations, and happiness. The hero’s journey is not over, as there is one last push back to the ordinary world, called the resurrection. It is during this eleventh part, in which the hero comes closest to death, as the hero is forced to face the biggest threat present. If the hero fails to succeed, the ordinary world will be influenced by the threat, but in the end, the hero almost always ends up defeating this enemy. They come out of the battle reborn, a new person. The final part of the hero’s journey, the return with the elixir, is when the hero returns home to the ordinary world. His allies are rewarded, his enemies are put down, resolution is present. The hero ends their journey where they started it, but the hero is not the same person anymore. Nor is the environment surrounding them. The ordinary world has changed, and it is because of the hero’s journey. 

How did Joseph Campbell find these connections between all stories? Campbell saw “..parallels between seemingly unique Christian beliefs, such as the Virgin Birth of Jesus, and the religious beliefs of Native Americans.” according to the article titled “Joseph Campbell”. Seeing these connections between two vastly different cultures at such a young age prompted Campbell to look into myths of different civilizations around the world. His book, “The Hero With a Thousand Faces” records his observations, and his idea that all heroes are part of the same monomyth. This monomyth can be seen in integral cultural stories, such as “The Bible”. One story of “The Bible” deals with a hero who runs away from his problems, a clear relation to the third part of the hero’s journey, the refusal of the call. “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish…After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”(Jonah 514). The rest of the story follows the steps of the hero’s journey perfectly. This connection of the hero’s journey, to a sacred text shows just how important the monomyth it to stories throughout cultures. 

The one issue about using the hero’s journey, is that sometimes the formula can be a bit too stale or predictable. That is why dystopian novels are so interesting to read. Dystopian stories don’t follow a clear cut path that is pictured in the monomyth. For example, the opening segment in the short story “Harrison Bergeron” is something that cannot be relatable to our ordinary world. “[People] were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else.” These lines evoke something that is so baffling, so out of this world, that it can’t be true. This is what most dystopian stories do. By creating an ordinary world that is vastly different to the world we as humans live in, fear is established. We would never want to live in a world where the privileges we have are restricted from us, and that is what makes dystopian stories stand from the rest.

Another form of media which breaks the conventional mold of the hero’s journey is a 1992 documentary called Baraka. Baraka is different from other movies in that there is no dialogue. There is no continuation of one shot to another, there is no singular character, or plot. The whole movie is comprised of footage of cultures around the world. From the train stations of urban Tokyo, to a tribal celebration in the Dip Tse Chok Ling monastery in India, viewers form a plot of their own. A main topic that is brilliantly implied throughout the film is the dark future that humanity is running itself into. This dystopian fear is shown through the directors usage of implementing shots of homeless people on the streets. These somber uses of imagery, are then followed up by shots of mass industrialization of military weapons, all ready to be fired. The director ends the movie with shots of nature, to reinforce the idea that the Earth will still be alive when we as humans run our own course. What this movie does brilliantly, is it’s able to relate to multiple people on different levels. I relate to the story in one way, much like someone else can relate to the story present in another. The twelve parts of the hero’s journey are scattered in Baraka, you form your own interpretation of how they fit together. 

The twelve different parts of the hero’s journey don’t just apply to stories. According to the peer reviewed article titled “The Hero-Journey, Hamlet and Positive Psychological Transformation”, “The challenges and quests of mythic heroes are universally found in the lives of real people, ‘the Mythic is the one deed done by many, many people’”. Essentially, we are all heroes,  living different, and perplexing journey’s everyday. Heroes grow after facing hardships and battles, much like we as people grow after facing traumas. The same article states “However, they also recognize that trauma can activate positive psychological processes of growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995, 2008).”. What this means is that the grand hero’s journey we see in stories, mirror what we as humans experience on a daily basis. Whatever problems we may face, such as a fear to perform for an audition, or the grief followed after losing a loved one, humans have a natural resiliency to meet these hardships, and find solutions for them. That is why we connect to the monomyth so much. A majority of the hero’s journey can be related back to our everyday life. Understanding this connection plays a crucial role in growing, and developing as a human being.

With this knowledge of the hero’s journey under grasp, people can use the monomyth for practical, everyday use. For example, the peer reviewed article titled “Heroes and Mentors: A Consideration of Relational-Cultural Theory and ‘The Hero’s Journey’”, talks about using the monomyth to help people who suffer from mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression. “Clients may feel shame and disconnection when they believe their struggles with life are due to some inherent weakness or personal flaw…Campbell’s writings normalize these processes by condensing the wisdom of the ages into a universal storyline that suggests struggle is inherent.” By teaching those who believe the problems in life are simply another marker to success, professional therapists could help educate the idea that struggles are just another part of life. Avoiding hardships is not the way to handle a problem, but rather facing the issue is the only way to solve it. That idea is the main thing the hero’s journey relates back to.

The hero’s journey is every story, all at once. By seeing the patterns, and realising we are all the same hero, living our journeys in different ways, it puts perspective on the importance of life, the importance of finding balance between the struggle. I implore everyone to learn about the hero’s journey, while realising the stories you read, watch, or listen to, all relate back to that one basic principle: it’s all the same. By fighting the problems in life, you become a better person, cleansed from the mistakes you made before. It’s all about a steady rise up, instead of a persistence to remain the same. The hero’s journey is so important for life lessons, but also for those who want to craft and make stories of their own. Follow the twelve steps, and you’ve created a story that can be related to the myths told thousands of years before you.

Works Cited

 

Baraka, Directed by Ron Fricke, The Samuel Goldywn Company, 24 September 1992. Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sso5n_7mP-0

 

Bray, Peter, et al. “The Hero-Journey, Hamlet and Positive Psychological Transformation.” Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 58, no. 5, SAGE Publications, Sept. 2018, pp. 525–55, doi:10.1177/0022167816689357.

 

Bronzite, Dan, www.nuvotech.co.uk, Nuvotech Limited. “The Hero’s Journey – Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth.” Movie Outline – Screenwriting Software, http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html.

 

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with A Thousand Faces. Pantheon Books, 1949.

 

Robertson, Derek L, and Lawrence, Christopher. “Heroes and Mentors: A Consideration of Relational-Cultural Theory and ‘The Hero’s Journey.’” Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, vol. 10, no. 3, Routledge, July 2015, pp. 264–77, doi:10.1080/15401383.2014.968700.

 

Segal, Robert. Joseph Campbell. Encyclopedia Britannica, November 15 2019, https://www.britannica.com/. Accessed 20 November 2019

 

Taylor, John, and John Taylor. The Bible. Printed by Fay & Davison, 1978.

 

Vonnegut, Kurt. Harrison Bergeron. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1961.