Campbell's Heroic Archetypes and Hero's Journey

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A hero is a person who is admired for their distinguished achievements or braveness. Revealed in various films, some heroes have characteristics from both Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” and “Heroic Archetypes.” In Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”, the hero must depart from their home, then initiate a journey to get the goal, and have a refusal of return from the adventure. Moreover, Campbell’s “Heroic Archetype” requires the archetypes of quest, fear, dragon, task, and virtue; with which the hero will have to confront on their journey. From the film Shrek, Shrek is a hero that has aspects of both Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” and “Heroic Archetypes.” Setting out on an adventure to get his swamp back from Lord Farquad, Shrek rescues Princess Fiona from a tower that contains a dragon; even though he finishes the quest, Shrek finds himself refusing to return back to his swamp without Fiona. Similarly, one of Campbell’s “Heroic Archetype’s” accurately describes Shrek in his journey. All in all, Shrek conveys the ideas present in both Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey and “Heroic Archetype.”
Departure is the first step in Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”. When the fairy tale creatures get evicted from their homes and placed on Shrek’s swamp, Shrek is annoyed by their presence. To get the fairytale creatures off his land, Shrek is called to an adventure. (Warren) With the help of a “supernatural aid”, Donkey (a guide who assists Shrek), they head for Du Lock to get Shrek his swamp back. (Warren) When they arrive at Duloc, Shrek makes a deal with Lord Farquaad to get his swamp back. The deal entails that Shrek rescue Princess Fiona from her tower guarded by a ferocious dragon, and bring her to Lord Farquaad; once the mission is completed, Shrek can ge...

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...f return from the journey, Shrek has the characteristics of Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey”. Likewise, with the heroic archetype, warrior, Shrek has to win a quest (to fight for what matters), in a which he must confront a dragon, and come out with a virtue of perseverance; all while his ultimate fear is weakness. Overall, Shrek is a hero described by Campbell.

Works Cited

Shrek. Dir. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Screenplay by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Shulman. Perf. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz. Dream Works, 2001. DVD.
Warren, Liz. “Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps.” Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps.
Maricopa University, 1999.Web.14 Nov. 2012.
.
Campbell, Joseph. "Heroic Archetypes." The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1968. Print.

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