The Hero's Journey Essay

What is a hero? To our understanding, a hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, and writer wrote The Odyssey. In this novel he talks about The Heroes Journey which are twelve different stages of adventure known as the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Test/Allies/Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, the Road Back, Resurrection, and the Return With The Elixir. The Odyssey is about a legendary hero named Odysseus, who fought among the Greeks in the battle of Troy and went through the stages of The Heroes Journey. Odysseus lived in Ithaca, Northwest of Greece, with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.

Allies and Mentors, as discussed in The Odyssey, are the ones who are trusted because of their great wisdom, training, and unity. Athena and Hermes are great representations of Odysseus’ mentors and allies due to their endless guidance and support. For example, Athena “ … disguises him as an old man so that he can surprise the suitors and then urges him to visit his faithful swineherd, Eumaeus.”(17. 4-6) Although Athena was instructed not to help Odysseus, she proves to be a loyal mentor and ally by providing him with information and direction that saved his life throughout his entire journey. ”On the way, he meets the god Hermes, who gives him a magical plant called moly to protect him from Circe’s power”(10. 48-50) After Odysseus’ men turn into pigs, Hermes demonstrates that he is a trustworthy mentor and ally to Odysseus by keeping him safe from Circe. Henry Johnson also had an abundance of mentors and allies during his journey during World War 1. Johnson relied on his mentor; Georgia Johnson (wife), and his allies; the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Italy, the United States, and Austria-Hungary for moral support, encouragement, and to be there for him. “When her husband got offered a job to work as the Recorder of Deeds for the president, Taft, her and her family moved to Washington, D.C… after Johnson later passed Georgia supported their sons by working temporary jobs.” (Harlem Renaissance Poet. 2012) This

Through these four stages, we have come to realize that both of these men went through thick and thin to be considered a hero. One thing they always had in common was their determination to keep fighting and to keep pushing to do their best until the job was done. All of the qualities found through these stages are all possessed by Odysseus and Johnson. These men have shown us what it takes to be a real hero. This consists of being brave, tough, kind and compassionate, but to also have wisdom. This is exactly why Odysseus and Henry endure aspects of the Heroes