An Analysis of the Ten Stages of the Hero’s Journey in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces
(200)This mythic study will define the first ten stages of the hero’s journey as defined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell defines the various stages of the hero’s journey within the context of a universal mythic "cycle” found in world ligature. These similar events define the universal stages of the hero’s journey in (1) the call to adventure, (2) refusal of the call, (3) supernatural aid, (4) the first threshold, (5) challenges, (6)revelation (7) abyss (rebirth), (8) transformation, (9) atonement, and (10) the return in the gift of the goddess. These ten stages define the cycle of the heroic journey, which
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This stage defines the transformative process of the hero within a larger, and more relevant environment: “ When the panorama of space and nature is faced from the standpoint of the personages ordained to inhabit it, then a sudden transformation overshadows the cosmic scene” Campbell 241). In this manner, the hero is a reborn individual with new powers and spiritual insight that allow him to overcome the last obstacles to the …show more content…
The overarching stages of these steps defines the important trilogy of the departure, the initiation, and the return of the hero in the spiritual, physical, and emotional changes that are experienced in this mythic cycle. Campbell’s insightful evaluation of the ten stages of the hero’s journey define the initial reluctance of the hero to follow his destiny, yet he or she slowly walks through the various obstacles and the awakening of consciousness through the death and rebirth of their identity. Finally, the return of hero to “home” reveals the liberation from previous prejudices and limitations of the mind, soul, and body that were present before they partook in the adventure. Surely, Campbell’s’ heroic cycle defines the overarching challenges of selfhood that the hero must endure to raise his or her consciousness to a higher level of understanding and realization. These are the important aspects of the ten stages of Campbell’s heroic journey that define the transformative nature of the journey and the hero’s initiation into the mysteries of life in this mythic theory of the heroic
"Joseph Campbell and the Hero's Journey." "HeroQuest" Adventures; spiritual quests to renew purpose, create vision, success.. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2014.
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Face does Beowulf qualify as a mythic hero. Beowulf qualifies as a mythic character for many different reasons. Campbell’s stories share a lot of the same topic with the mythic creatures like in the story the belly of the whale. A hero was swallowed and had to find his way out. Beowulf and his village was being attacked by a creature who could not control himself.
As the story comes to its conclusion, the hero has endured his hardships; he went from the one that started fights to the one that thought of what could make everything work. An ordinary person in an ordinary world faced his share of trials and tribulations to come out as a new person. Defining the hero myth—he struggled and still was able to triumph to his prize at the end ; individuals relish these type of stories, they can
Successful heroes in literature must overcome plenty of obstacles in order to finish their journey. In fact, the journey of a hero in literature is characterized by 12 specific stages: ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the first threshold, tests and allies, approach, ordeal, reward, the road back, resurrection hero, and return with elixir.1 The Grapes of Wrath is an allegory for the hero’s journey because the Joads experience each of these stages on their trek from Oklahoma to California.
The second concept of the Hero’s journey shows us that all stories are the same. They all follow the same pattern or algorithm of separation, initiation, and return. An example from the movie is the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is removed from her natural environment by a tornado, initiated with a lion, scarecrow, and tin man, and the group embarks on a journey to see the wizard. In the end, she is able to return home by clicking her heels. She realizes she has had the ability the whole time, but she needed to test herself. We are just like the characters we see in our favoritie movies, books, and shows – they are a metaphor for us as normal human beings. The last concept I learned is “Follow your bliss”. This concept of bliss is defined in many ways. One definition is serenity. Another definition is the thing you cannot not do. It is what makes a person feel alive. In order to answer the question of what is your bliss, you must ask yourself difficult questions like: What am I passionate about? What makes hours seem like minutes? What made me different as a child? After answering these tough questions, a person can find their
Throughout the years, certain writers were able to set off a deep sympathetic resonance within readers by their usage of archetypal patterns. One of those patterns is known as the hero's journey, which Joseph Campbell gave an understandable idea of in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. According to his book, while comparing world's mythology, he found that no matter how far cultures are from each other, they will still have the same structure of hero's journey in their legends (Voytilla vii).
Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” shows all three of the main elements of a hero’s journey: the departure, initiation and the return, helping the story to greatly resemble Joseph Campbell’s structure of a hero’s journey. Through the trials Pi has to face, he proves himself to be a true hero. He proves himself, not just while trapped on the lifeboat with Richard Parker, but also before the sinking of the Tsimtsum. His achievement to fulfill the heroic characteristics of Campbell’s model are evident as he goes though the three stages.
Almost every story has a hero that goes on a journey. A hero’s journey is where an initiate becomes a hero by passing a series of tests, becoming a new person both physically and mentally. Every initiate faces challenges and temptations as well as an abyss, the final test. It is no different for Odysseus from The Odyssey, Santiago from The Alchemist, and Edmond from The Count of Monte Cristo. Some of their challenges are similar, but most are different and all are arduous. The following will describe the trials the three heroes—Odysseus, Santiago, and Edmond—undergo.
At the start of a typical hero’s journey, the hero starts off immature and flawed in one way or another. However, he undergoes the journey in order to attain the Ultimate Boon. To do so, he has to endure through the trials in the Road of Trails, The Meeting with The Goddess, Woman as Temptress and The Atonement with The Father. As the hero surmount each trial, he matures and inches one step closer towards the Ultimate Boon. The Apotheosis marks the peak of his development, and at that point the hero is ready to take on any challenge to attain the Ultimate Boon.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
Joseph Campbell’s monomyth explains the central stages of a hero/heroine’s quest. Campbell’s 17-stage monomyth creates a template for storytelling to reveal the universally shared emotions and struggles of a hero. The depiction of a hero embarking on a journey suggests nobility and strength, yet the hero must endure a set of perilous trials both mentally and physically in order to expand their minds and capabilities. Campbell’s A Hero with a Thousand Faces presents Carl Jung’s ideas and discoveries on archetypes. Jung describes archetypes to be images inherited from the earliest human ancestors, symbols ingrained into the mind from primitive instinct which result in a collective unconscious. Furthermore, the hero’s quest incorporates the feminine and masculine journey, the journey's center on characters experiencing internal
Joseph Campbell is an American Scholar who discovered the common pattern in the hero’s journey. After several years of hard word, he has identified seventeen stages analysing various myths, fairy tales in which hero goes for a journey irrespective of the culture. On the whole, he calls this common structure as ‘the monomyth’. The Hero with a Thousand Faces is the book written by him which deals in detail with the hero’s journey. He also says that the hero will be transformed into a new being physically, emotionally and intellectually.
This first stage of the mythological journey—which we have designated the "call to adventure" —signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown. (53)
Myths have been a great example of the hero’s journey. Many heroes have journeys and trials to face throughout their life. Most of their journeys start out with their origin and end with the return. However, the hero’s role remains identical to every other hero. Most heroes like Gilgamesh has heroic traits because of the stages in the hero's journey. Gilgamesh is a man who can turn into a hero by changing himself, even when he has unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. Gilgamesh is viewed as a hero due to the stages of the hero's journey.
Joseph Campbell was a well known mythology teacher who spent his whole life trying to understand the different types of stories that are told. To Campbell “all humans are involved in a struggle to accomplish the adventure of the hero in their own lives.” He made a list of stages that every hero goes through, and sums it up to three sections: separation (the departure), the initiation, and the return.