supernatural aid hero's journey examples

Supernatural Aid

Internally or externally, the Hero receives their call to adventure. Often, the Hero must first be stuck in refusal of the call, or otherwise have started their journey, refused to continue at some point thereafter, and then opted to continue the call onward. Perhaps the call to adventure is an idea from without or an acceptance from within that it’s time for change, time to improve one’s Self, time to move on from the old and begin the new. Once that call has been accepted, even through a simple mindset shift, the Hero is ready to meet their supernatural aid, their mentor.

The supernatural aid is a mentor, God or gods, teacher, guide, Spirit, dream, lingering feeling, reassurance from within, or even fantasy which guides the Hero onward on their quest. In some sense the supernatural aid is the Hero’s initiator into the journey. They appear when the time is right, and often only after having a willingness to undertake the adventure can the Hero commence their journey of Self-discovery. As initiator, the supernatural aid can be the first indicator that the Hero is even on a journey, and they are every bit as mysterious as they ubiquitously appear throughout stories and myths.

In the world of myths and stories, the supernatural aid offers magical tokens, amulets, symbols, weapons, or blessings through which the Hero is better prepared to face the first monsters of their story. In the waking conscious world, the supernatural aid is a mysterious figure who offers tools for the journey, such as symbols, psychedelics, spiritual techniques or meditation or yoga, advice in general, or other spiritual keys that will give the Hero protection as they journey onward. With the Hero’s Journey consisting initially of an inward journey into the unconscious, the supernatural aid offers protection against the monsters soon to be discovered within.

These monsters of the psyche, unconscious depths, often scare the uninitiated. And so tools are essential if the Hero is to have any chance of venturing onward. These first monsters are dragons, the trolls, ogres, Medusas and Harpies, Cylcopses; the resentments and anger and jealousy and greed and any dark part of ourselves which happens to first appear. To face the monster within is to face one’s Shadow, and our personal Shadow is the most frightening thing we can face. The Shadow is so frightening because facing it requires one to accept that we aren’t the grand, great person we once imagined ourselves to be; but instead a human as flawed as any other, capable of manifesting great harm into the world through egocentric desires.

The supernatural aid, in whatever form it comes, gives us confidence in taking the journey, knowing that it’s even possible, that some light within the dark corridors of our mind’s labyrinth awaits us at the end.

Tools of the Supernatural Aid

As mentor the supernatural aid’s primary purpose is to prepare us for the journey, not constantly carry us onwards or even accompany us the entire way. Consider Gandalf, the mentor to both Bilbo and Frodo. He appears at the beginning offering advice and hope, and then only at seemingly random but convenient intervals to save the day or offer further guidance. The preparation offered are tools: confidence, songs, or symbols placed upon his door. These symbols are representative of the mystical side of humanity which, for the uninitiated, can appear as hidden, magical knowledge that nobody could possibly know.

Consider Jordan Peterson as a real life example of offering tools, who started teaching myths and stories and symbolism to young men through YouTube. He served as one of many mentors along my Hero’s Journey and when I came across him, the information shared and lessons taught rang as uncertainly certain: true. Another real life version of Gandalf would have been Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein, who were more like alchemists of arcane knowledge, philosophers even, creative geniuses more than conventional laboratory scientists.

Symbolic understanding is perhaps the greatest tool to have along the Hero’s Journey, but is also one of the most abstract tools to think about. When talking about symbols to others, I am met frequently with looks of confusion, to which a similar confusion also results in me. This sometimes leads me to question whether I truly have learned anything at all, or speak mostly nonsense.

Confusion is understandable because the world of symbolic understanding seems a lost art, a distant relic before Western Civilization was subsumed by a rapidly advancing cultural machine leading us further into the material world. The symbolic world, representative of the emotional, creative side of humanity in the right brain, can only be properly understand when interpreted and related using the analytical, logical side of the brain, the left hemisphere. Given that modern humans have been pushed further and further into the logical and analytical brain through education, addictions, consumerism and work, we can see why the symbolic side has been lost.

Only in combining the two can these two worlds be bridged. This is what the supernatural aid offers, an understanding of some deeper side of humanity, consciousness, a pattern underlying a shared human psychology represented in myths and stories and Heroes and monsters. In this way, the supernatural aid prepares us for the Hero’s Journey by giving us the symbolic tools to defeat the monsters we encounter within and without, else we run back to the safety and comfort of home at the first sign of challenge or distress. Instead, we recognize the internal and external monsters for what they symbolically are as dark sides of ourselves, integrate them, and continue along.

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Symbols can be predicting what the Hero will encounter, advice on how to defeat a monster the Hero hasn’t even met. In facing a monster the Hero generally uses their wits, not shear strength, and so symbols give the Hero an ability to go within their unconscious, facing the Shadows within. The symbols are as armor and weapons for the inner work. In some other sense the supernatural aid checks the Hero and their constant reversion to selfish egocentrism through the symbolic world, keeping them from going too far astray, like a shepherd does his sheep. In another light, their guidance is what keeps the Hero journeying onward in the face of utter uncertainty faced at every turn, a kind of propeller or wind pushing their boat further ahead into the unknown.

Psychedelics

One potent tool not often openly discussed in myths are a supernatural aid’s offering of psychedelics. Morpheus is offering this to Neo, likely in the form of mescaline. Jesus, too, if he was indeed a mushroom, may have been offering the same via teachings to apostles. The Shaman of indigenous tribes, prior to being integrated into civilization, may have used psychedelics with young men as well. Used by either the mentor, the mentee, or both, psychedelics send messages of meaning that the initiand undergoing initiation can build upon.

While the supernatural aid may explicitly offer psychedelics, to some of us the initiator can be another kind of psychedelic. Psychedelics, in this way, can serve as someone’s supernatural aid guiding them further along whatever journey they are on or heading towards. This is because psychedelics, in some sense, teach us the world of symbols: particularly psychedelics like psilocybin , mescaline, LSD, or ayahuasca. How this teaching occurs is not exactly clear, but it seems to be related to some dampening of the ego, default mode network, and rebuilding of the bridge between the two brain hemispheres, the corpus callosum.

Psilocybin, for example, can show one the story of their life and then create a future story based on the past, upon which someone can live in the present. In seeing one’s past, the symbolic understanding of why certain events occurred the way they did leading to the present becomes immediately clear. Increased use seems to further build this understanding, though it can also get out of hand if it creates an attachment to an imagined future. Regardless, the personally profound experiences which occur with psychedelics are not to be discounted and can lead to both the call to adventure and supernatural aid through their use. It can also lead to a continued and ongoing relationship with one’s God.

A Higher Power

Giving up control of my life to something else beyond myself or comprehension has been the hardest but most important part of the supernatural aid. God has always seemed an abstract idea to me, and for Western Civilization it is an idea that has been quickly dying over the past two hundred years. But without this higher power, however we define that, the Hero’s Journey would not be been possible.

In the common pattern seen throughout myths, God is some form higher power beyond human understanding residing in the unconscious or spiritual worlds, related to our subjective experiences. This higher power, it would seem throughout time and history in the forms of Heroes small and large, guides each of us on something that feels like destiny , fate . These are all illusive terms for something imperfectly inexplicable in words, but it is each of our individual paths. As a kind of destiny, the higher power we find leads us ever onwards until death or our final transformation, the cosmic winds of the Hero.

The higher power equivalently resides in our conscience. Morality in some objective sense may not be universal at its roots, or perhaps it could be. However, when you follow dreams, feelings, God, subjective signs and messages and emotions or pulls, the conscience does take each of us somewhere. There would seem to be few who might say their conscience has led them astray.

A higher power affirms that we all have our own part to play in actualizing our becoming closer to consciousness or further from consciousness, God, Self. Coming closer depends on this ability to give in to losing our own egocentrism, too. Facing and integrating the Shadow, how it manifests in form of ego, requires we must give up control and attachment to what we grip weakly on to, stubbornly clinging to a false version of who we imagine ourselves to be. This imagined person is never based on following our personal meaning and internal callings. There is an illusion humans hold onto, that we dictate all or perhaps any terms of the outcomes of our individual lives. Releasing this illusion is required in some sense for the supernatural aid to enter our lives.

Lee has demonstrated in his dream work that delving further into dream consciousness allows access to further places, keys, messages, images, teachers. From how he relates it, going further seems to be improving his life as told to me through his fascinating story; but is offered only through regular giving in to something indescribable. I might call giving in control to our Shadow, our selfish nature, taking responsibility.

Generally, with the supernatural aid’s teachings, there is always an element of learning to let go, becoming one with the force. Thus, as we progress on our Hero’s Journey, we gradually move beyond the outer supernatural aid and start to flow with Dao Way, the Middle Path, the Force, operating on a pendulum swing, following the supernatural aid from within, alone.

Many times, the signs of what to do or where to go on my Path have been quite frequently relearning or being reminded of giving up hidden parts of my ego. This involves no longer trying to control outcomes and instead going with the flow. Going with the flow requires trust. As the supernatural aid starts to develop from within, we are trusting fate to wherever it takes us, guided from within.

As well, we must learn to trust others. This trust is essential and perhaps easy to miss, since trust may not come easily to the Hero. For men much distrust results from a frequent kind of disconnection between fathers and sons, because fathers almost rarely ever raise their sons and instead work all day outside of the home. The supernatural aid as a mentor in the conscious world is someone we must trust regardless of what they do, because some feeling tells us to. The issue of trust can be particularly relevant for anyone who is extremely isolated. When someone just pops into our life, our own kind of supernatural aid or Gandalf, nothing else further can happen without trust.

Perhaps the most important source of supernatural aid comes from dreaming consciousness. Dreams have profound meaning as messages of what we are supposed to do in waking reality. Perhaps dreams are as drama which hides symbols as proxies for events and people in our daily lives. Perhaps deeper dreams act out more of the process visually in some than others. Regardless, within dreams are encoded significant symbolic meaning of what we are supposed to be doing with our lives, the changes or actions needing to be taken. Ignoring dream symbols, our gut instinctual association as they relate to our present lives, is to ignore the supernatural aid.

For some taking the dreaming Hero’s Journey, the supernatural aid could be found entirely within dream contents. This type of unconscious-focused Hero’s Journey is different from mine, in which supernatural aids are often the people I encounter in waking conscious awareness. As I continue along, my supernatural aid has started to reside more within the unconscious, which manifests in my life through ideas, feelings, or nagging thoughts.

In other ways, the supernatural aid offers advice. However, the advice is often not explicit and is as often coded in symbolic language. The Hero’s Journey can only be taken and continued by those ready for whatever lies ahead. Those who are not ready, the unintitated, will eventually face things they are not ready to face. This is as if the supernatural aid has given someone the keys to the front door, behind which some hidden monster stands ready to strike at door’s first cracking. While this advice can also be explicit, as a process of initiating the advice comes as metaphor, symbols to be decoded by the respective Hero. Most often, the Hero is only given access to symbols for which they are ready.

Imagine a psychotherapist telling a patient that their problem is X Y or Z. While the patient may believe the therapist, there is a significant level of work afterwards and self-satisfaction that is essential if the Hero’s Journey is to successfully continue onwards. The supernatural aid is a kind of psychoanalyst, and the challenges lie in us accepting and taking advice when we know it rings true.

Bringing out Monsters

As teacher the supernatural aid pushes buttons, triggers our emotions. Sometimes they can bring out our internal monsters in this way, which is why they are the initiator. These internal monsters are emotional triggers; in bringing them out, such as occurs to Carlos Castaneda constantly with don Juan and other teachers, the mentor helps the Hero redirect energy otherwise wasted on emotional attachments. In other ways the mentor propels us onward, not remaining constantly by our side but appearing just when we are about to throw our hands into the air and surrender, or be consumed by monsters within or without. As such the supernatural aid offers us just enough, not more than we can handle yet also not nearly enough such that the Hero’s Journey becomes too easy. The adventure is ours, after all.

Attachment to childish emotions, irritation, wasted time thinking rather than doing, then, is indelible to the mentor’s assistance. In some sense we are being taught resentments , anger and other intense negative emotions towards others or ourselves. This is part of facing the Shadow. Consider Yoda’s annoyance of Luke through the training regimen he is put through. Luke considers the journey to Dagoba as merely a stopover at first and is extremely impatient to move onward. The story makes clear, however, that he is not ready to do so and is far too eager. In foolishly heading onwards too soon, Luke loses one arm in a battle with Darth Vader that he is woefully unprepared for.

Psychoanalyst Supernatural Aid

A psychotherapist is essentially a supernatural aid for many, but the challenge is completing a course of treatment long enough. This is a challenge because, as Carl Jung relates in his writings, and from personal experience working with a psychologist, a patient can frequently feel as though they have been cured and seek to convince the analyst of such. A good psychoanalyst continually pushes back by finding the weaknesses and flaws in the patients’ arguments and claims of being healed. In helping a patient break down their ego, dig deeper into their onion of consciousness, the patient has the ability to better do so on their own in the future.

Someone pushing back on us to improve, to change, is like Yoda. This causes emotional reactions within us, which are often psychic projections. Psychic projections are the monsters we are seeking to battle through the Hero’s Journey, which is at once also a kind of personal psychoanalysis. Projections are the Shadow aspect of ourselves we put onto others which we are often blind to.

One of the primary reasons the supernatural aid appears as they do is that they have already taken the Hero’s Journey in their own way. Thus, the supernatural aid appears extremely wise beyond their years, having hidden knowledge, and displaying the various outcomes of the Hero’s Journey. One of these outcomes is a diminishment of the ego, which is the selfish adherence to an illusory mask we wear around others, at work, or in social circles. In being less egocentric, the supernatural aid offers a strange kind of unconditional Love and trust not commonly found in strangers. For men, this loving aspect can be the most difficult to accept and requires trust which may have been long lost; a great part of the Hero’s Journey for men is healing the spiritual disconnection and love between father and son.

Another important aspect is that the supernatural aid is frequently found to have both masculine and feminine features and characteristics. These characteristics can be in physical appearance, for example, through hair, clothing, tattoos or paint. Or, in contrast, since one outcome of the Hero’s Journey is becoming the master of two worlds, the supernatural aid can appear as androgynous, neither masculine nor feminine. Although they still embody both the feminine and masculine within, they have total command over both. Buddha and Morpheus come to mind in this way.

The supernatural aid is uncommonly eccentric since they have lost much of their egocentrism, their cares for material desires. As an uninitiated, imagine seeing someone disheveled yet speaking truths one would not expect to hear from someone of such appearance. Humans tend to shy away from others with differing opinions, particularly when they press upon us in some manner. Stranger persons may say strange things, or look strange and wear robes, walk barefoot, have patchy or colorful garments, or dress simply.

Proteus is a Greek god of rivers, capable of changing forms endlessly. The supernatural aid represents in another sense the Hero continually transformed. The supernatural aid takes on so many different identities or roles that he or she is at one moment some thing and another time an entirely different person. Proteus, like the Hero, defies understanding and is complex beyond comprehension. Right when Proteus is pegged as one form, he is instantly another. Thus, the appearance of the supernatural aid inherently defies explanation.

The idea of Proteus is like what happens to our identity in taking the Hero’s Journey. Our human identity becomes slippery, indefinable, regularly shifting, just as Proteus does. The supernatural aid takes on numerous roles in the story of the Hero. If we were to hear the story of the supernatural aid becoming a Hero, the hats they wear may be even more limitless. Imagine everything Gandalf might have done over the course of his life, walking and traveling all over the land.

“That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere, and that the present only exists for it, not the past, nor the shadow of the future?” – Vasudeva in Siddhartha

Examples of the Supernatural Aid

Rogues are at once thieves, fools, singers and poets, takers from the rich and givers to the poor. The rogue is a trickster playing tricks, someone who moves on to future and brighter horizons, some personal dream in mind though manifests as selfishness at times. A rogue is like the Court Jester or Bard of Medieval times: the Jester served to remind the King and his Court of their humility, their foolish egos and dark Shadows. Wise Kings would listen, Tyrant Kings would chop the Jester’s head off, or banish them. Bards are storytellers, Troubadours sing songs of romance long-lost.

Like all supernatural aids, the rogue plays life’s game very well and shares symbols and lessons from myth, causing comedy, drama, and offense wherever they go. Such as Han Solo.

Han is a Roguish Pilot who teaches and frequently angers Luke, perhaps representing some masculine version of Luke in the story, with Leia a feminine version. Han thus plays an occasional role as Luke’s mentor throughout the original trilogy.

The genie from Aladdin is one example of the supernatural aid; the genie is derived from the jinn, which are supernatural spirits in Arabic and early Islamic mythology. The jinn is neither good nor evil, just as Heroes, are neither good nor evil ; one major outcome of the Hero’s Journey is that we lay down our childish notions of morality, which result from categorizations and dualities. In Aladdin, the same-named protagonist descends into the Cave, which represents his willingness to descend into his own unconscious depths and face whatever lies within.

The genie offers Aladdin three wishes and is generally a companion and advisor along the journey; however, like all supernatural aids, their assistance is shrouded in mystery, as seen through the uncertain gifts given to Aladdin through each of his wishes. This represents that which we ask for aloud. While we may get some similar version to what we asked for, it may not be exactly how, when, or what we desired , but what we needed to progress on our journey.

Gandalf is a kind of prototypical example of the supernatural aid since he appears as both a real person but also someone holding secret, magical powers. Frodo especially seems to have some internal willingness, longing, curiosity for what lies beyond Hobbiton, perhaps because he is seen an outcast as byproduct of Bilbo’s adventures. For Bilbo, he seems quite unwilling and uninterested, yet the coaxing comes quite easily once he hears a mystical song:

Far over the misty mountains cold To dungeons deep and caverns old We must away, ere break of day, To claim our long-forgotten gold.   Goblets they carved there for themselves And harps of gold; where no man delves There lay they long, and many a song Was sung unheard by men or elves.   The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light.   The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire Laid low their towers and houses frail.   The mountain smoked beneath the moon; The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom. They fled their hall to dying fall Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.   Far over the misty mountains grim To dungeons deep and caverns dim We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him!

And Gandalf appears at the perfect time in the story, as the mentor often does, bearing gifts and beckoning each respective hobbit onwards to uncertainty and adventure. Gandalf is much like a real life supernatural aid, since he appears only sporadically throughout the movies and books, offering advice and assistance here and there, before heading off to provide help elsewhere in the troubled lands of Middle Earth. Gandalf too serves a unique role in the sense that he is both the supernatural aid guiding our hobbits on there adventures, but also serves the call to adventure for each.

Internal Voice

Jiminy Cricket appears to Pinocchio as a literal form of Pinocchio’s conscience. The fairy spirit, initiating the call to adventure, reminds him: “Now remember Pinocchio, be a good boy; and always let your conscience be your guide.” Although Jiminy Cricket actually appears in the story, our conscience is in some other sense a real form of supernatural aid guiding us along. Our conscience can be conceived as being that part of us which leads us onward through a feeling only known within, living our own truth. As a mentor of mine taught me, a more accurate definition of morality is be true to one’s Self.

The voice of our conscience is what steers us towards our truth, away from the many distractions to doing so. Jiminy Cricket, unlike some supernatural aids like Gandalf, remains frequently by Pinocchio’s side until Pinocchio loses his conscience through various distractions. Pinocchio’s conscience guides him back to his path towards becoming an individual, his journey of individuation.

For others, the internal voice can be a kind of nagging pull, feeling, or drive towards something. This quote inspired me, particularly, given his Napoleon’s sudden downfall at the Battle of Waterloo. From then he was done, shattered, but until that point he seemed invincible.

“I feel myself driven towards an end that I do not know. As soon as I shall have reached it, as soon as I shall become unnecessary, an atom will suffice to shatter me. Till then, not all the forces of mankind can do anything against me.” – Napoleon cited in The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Gods and Angels

Crom is the agent leading Conan through his journey in the movie Conan the Barbarian, based very roughly off of Robert Howard’s Conan novels. Crom is the God of the Earth and serves as an internal guide for Conan along his journey, beginning with the movie’s opening scenes in which his father teaches him the Riddle of Steel; the Riddle can be likened to a symbol he is unprepared to fully understand: that true steel lies within a man’s heart, in his beliefs in himself and his God.

Throughout the story Conan derives great strength and power from Crom, first by working the Wheel of Pain for years on end, and then shortly after his escape diving into a cave. The cave, a common symbol already discussed, represents Conan reaching into his unconscious willingly, and finding a God within who grants him actual Steel in the form of a sword. The supernatural aid appears as a kind of hidden power, and from then on Conan holds firm belief in Crom.

Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon religion, was searching for a true church his entire life. On Cumorah Hill in New York State, he prayed and saw a vision from an angel, Moroni. He claimed to find and then translate a set of golden plates, which turned into the Book of Mormon. The Book, on its own, is an inspired work, and Joseph Smith seemed to have channeled it from somewhere. Inspired wisdom, such as that, is not unknown throughout history. Regardless of our natural modern logical predilection towards not believing visions of angels, it seems hard to consider where the text came from, if not some kind of divine inspiration.

Jedi Masters

For Luke, his supernatural aids are two Jedi, with Han as another form, teaching him other lessons. Each of the original trilogy can be seen as a Hero’s Journey in themselves, with each movie resulting in Luke starting as one person and becoming some version of the Hero by the end. This is emblematic of our lives, as we also take on various incarnations through letting go of control and attachment towards a past way of being or identity, and pick a new one when the time is right. In A New Hope , Luke starts from simple beginnings like so many heroes do until he meets the supernatural aid in Obi Wan Kenobi. Although Obi Wan soon perishes, he stays with Luke throughout the film as a kind of internal force guiding him along.

Later, in The Empire Strikes Back , Luke meets Yoda, the supernatural aid for his next incarnation of the Hero. Although Luke learns much from Yoda, he leaves too soon before being adequately prepared. The result is that he faces his father, Darth Vader, far too soon and loses an arm as a result. In The Return of the Jedi , Luke takes on yet another incarnation with his egocentrism and brash belief in himself, to continue learning from Yoda.

Game of Thrones

From Game of Thrones there are numerous examples of the supernatural aid. Each character of the show is in effect becoming their own version of the Hero. By contrast, some become monsters, the anti-hero. Daenerys and Jon Snow both follow some internal feeling, calling: for Daenerys, it is the Dragon’s Fire, her ancestors and birthright; for Jon Snow it is a constant moral feeling of right and wrong. Bran Stark follows visionary experiences leading him north. Arya has Jaqen H’ghar as her supernatural aid.

Varys is another example of the supernatural aid, appearing throughout as a kind of mentor wandering from cause to cause. Melisandre, as well, functions this way, attaching herself from King to King.

Supernatural Aids From My Life

My mentors have all have been a kind of initiator into the worlds of symbolic, spiritual understanding, and psychedelics. One friend and I met in the Navy, and from the onset of our very first interaction we noticed that each was unlike almost any others in the unit. It’s like saying: “Yeah, this dude gets it.” Mentors are those close friends and memorable acquaintances I gravitated towards, the people I had lasting, meaningful conversations with. Such meaningful conversations and shared experiences, some frequent, others a one-off encounter, change  who I am. The Navy time was an unhappy time and place in my life, and I lived a hermetic existence when not required to engage with training activities. This friend helped was a bright spot in challenging times.

As we stayed friends years later, I gradually learned that my friend had been using psychedelics during his time in the Navy, and he eventually helped me take my first journey with psilocybin. A couple years back, with the Oklavueha Native American Church, we also undertook a ceremony using peyote. Furthermore, beyond psychedelics, I found that my friend had hidden wisdom, knowledge, which I often ignored out of egocentrism, believing I was too smart to need to listen. Another barrier to bringing in the supernatural aid can be an inability or unwillingness to trust others.

Some examples of other supernatural aids at various points were numerous veterans, a Shaman, kindred spirit pilgrims, or some magical pull onwards, with every decision a pendulum swing.

In other ways, my primary supernatural aid from within has been a feeling I’ve been following. This feeling has led me into and out of numerous situations and resulted in what others might interpret as “good luck.” I view luck as something which seems to occur when we start to recognize unconscious symbols and synchronicities and are guided by them. My feeling and experience suggests that, when we listen to what God, the universe, or our gut tells us we should do, rather than what the world of desire or passions or emotions tells us we should do, things just work out.

The Mentor’s Appearance

While one primary supernatural aid may continue reappearing on our journey of personal meaning and Self-discovery, often we will encounter many more than one. As mentioned repeatedly already, the Hero’s Journey is a process of constant death and rebirth, of attachment to egocentrism and our identity. Thus, as we take up various calls and then set them down at various points for various reasons, the supernatural aid, our mentor, is likely to change. Perhaps there is a final outcome to be found on this journey, but until then we have ever changing mentors.

Consider the calling to practice yoga, use psychedelics, be a painter or writer or musician, a farmer or storyteller; these vocations are not likely to have be the same people helping guide us on our varying spiritual journeys. They may not be of one vocation or meaning or path, but may lead us on diverse paths throughout our lives. For others, the supernatural aid can be a wounded healer of our souls, someone who brings out whatever it is within us which keeps us following our truth.

Our journey is likely to have many helpers appearing throughout, all of whom are in some sense supernatural aids. However, in the totality of our journey, the aid remains primarily an internal one that the Hero is guided by in the end, alone. The mentor, supernatural aid, friend, whomever it is, is rarely present in the final battle, the culmination. What is present, however, is belief in something greater than ourselves that keeps guiding the Hero onwards, alone .

The supernatural aid’s appearance in waking conscious reality and dream imagery may be feminine or masculine, but often has strong elements of both or a general ambiguity, like Buddha or Morpheus. The Wild Man, Shaman, Jesus, Greek Heroes and some Knights often have both. They are often close with nature, yet capable of living within civilization. Robert Bly suggests that the supernatural aid for the male’s Hero’s Journey is also a male, generally older. The supernatural aid is someone who has integrated their masculine and feminine earlier in life through their own Hero’s Journey.

In tribal hunter gatherer cultures, this was almost always the case, older men rearing young men and older women rearing young women. Yet it appears we cannot learn the keys to the symbolic world from the opposite gender, since the symbolic keys males and females tend to lack, are different. Where the contrast lies, most often, is the absence of mother/daughter love and father/son love, for females and male, respectively. Older men or those wise beyond their years almost always used to initiate men on their adventures, with similar opposite patterns appearing for women: the older woman, the Crone or Wise Woman initiating daughters.

Finding The Supernatural Aid

There are a number of ideas for finding one’s supernatural aid. If you are isolated in life and tend to spend much time alone, there may be few people who fit this category right now. If you have numerous friends, perhaps one of them may be your mentor in disguise. In all likelihood, whether you are on the journey or stuck in refusal, the supernatural aid is already in your life; you just may not know it. Look for someone aloof, complex, representing both masculine/feminine, deceptively simple but able to change forms.

For others wishing to undertake their Hero’s Journey who have not started, however, the supernatural aid is likely someone we are not yet aware of. For others, the time may be right to progress to another part of your journey, which can sometimes include new mentors. Perhaps you rely too much on one friend or on family members. The Hero must leave behind our old lives as we set out upon the new life, whenever the time for death and rebirth has come. Sometimes this means moving on, change, and in others this is simply pivoting.

Prayer, Belief

Prayer can be a convoluted idea for many people, and perhaps the reason is simply the religious and Christian connotation associated with the word prayer for many people. An equivalent idea might be intention, conscience, or gut instinct. Regardless of what we call it, prayer is an essential part to taking the Hero’s Journey. A relationship with some power beyond ourselves or understanding is essential, whether one take the journey based solely on that feeling or internal guide, or whether the supernatural aid starts as a person from without. Regardless, as we continue along towards later parts of our journey, the Hero is almost always guided primarily or entirely by this internal feeling. how to live our truth.

Contrast the situation of Joan of Arc with Bilbo. Joan’s adventure came entirely from within as a peasant girl who had visions from an angelic Saint Michael telling her to save France, and so she did. These visions recurred throughout her brief, bright existence. Consider Joan of Arc’s early childhood interactions with her supernatural aid through prayer: “And, among other things he told me to come to the help of the King of France.”

Bilbo, by contrast, is frequently goaded onwards by Gandalf and the dwarves, helping him stay on the path when he starts to lose it at various points. Yet, Bilbo has to ultimately find the way forward through his own ingenuity , belief in himself, some magic within; eventually guiding him through Gollum’s cavern and overcoming the dragon Smaug. Gandalf gives Frodo the impetus at the beginning, but the means and will to throw the ring at the end, symbolizing Frodo shedding his internal evil, comes from only  from within.

To pray, simply ask aloud what you wish to manifest before sleep or at the beginning of the day. Or, giving up control, ask what it is you are meant to see or do. After doing so, take events and circumstances as entirely serendipitous, with meaning and purpose behind them. The people who you seem to randomly encounter, then, are actually teachers, mentors, aids in disguise, helping push us further along our Hero’s Journey. In asking a question or seeking meaning, go with your gut, see the answer in the most immediate fashion once you make a connection; keep an open mind.

Patience, Hesitation

Often the supernatural aid, coming from without, can be someone right in front of our eyes. In other cases, the timing is at issue, such that the mentor often appears exactly when the Hero is ready. In both cases, patience is essential for when we are waiting or stuck in a refusal of the call pattern. Or, if we are making a shift in our Hero’s Journey as part of a later step, the mentor almost always changes. Eventually, the guide comes entirely from within. If you are on a spiritual path, and the same mentor has been in your life awhile, then perhaps it is time to move on to a new mentor or path if life seems stagnant. Perhaps also start to consider that you have all the answers, within, and follow your feeling rather than wait for advice from without.

Joseph Campbell found a frequent pattern of a second mentor occurring somewhere around the Belly of the Whale, yet teachers appear at all steps. Monsters within or without, the people we meet are all teachers in disguise through forms of advice, lessons shared, or emotions stirred. Going ahead in the Hero’s Journey does not mean there is not a need to revisit something in the past; perhaps some new mode of change is in order. Starting the Hero’s Journey anew, undertaking our next identity, will almost certainly have another mentor associated with it until whenever it is we reach the story’s conclusion.

Patience has been another challenge for me related to the supernatural aid. Often I have an idea and am unwilling to wait to get started, even though the signs all seem to resist me doing so. We don’t have ideas, ideas have us, as Jung said, and so sometimes the idea is a form of over-attachment, something I’m not ready for or some version of me in an alternate universe. Or, stuck in the refusal, I may not see a way out of my refusal and onto the next calling. In either case, patience is often called for.

Practically, the supernatural aid can also be found from an example in a story or myth. At one extreme this is the example of Jesus or Buddha, who show the path of the Hero’s Journey through each of Jesus’ and Buddha’s respective Middle Paths. And we can take examples from the Hero in every other story, as well. The Hero gives lessons through their deeds of how to live our lives. From Pinocchio it is the dangers of lying, from Percival and the Quest for the Holy Grail it is taking off his mother’s homespun tunic. With numerous Heroes it is the dangers of lust, addiction, pleasure, and desires of the material world. From every Hero and myth we can find the answers we seek for ourselves; we have only to read the story, integrate parts of each Hero into our life, and continue along the path. The patterns of the Hero’s Journey are the same keys contained within every legend.

The supernatural aid is a mentor, appearing both within and without. For me, oriented towards the conscious Hero’s Journey, the mentor appears as teachers of all kinds; people who share wisdom, advice, press my emotional buttons, or teach tools. At first, being oriented towards the conscious world, the mentor would be a friend or trusted confidant. Gradually, as I have progressed, my supernatural aid comes further and further from within, as it does for all Heroes. The aid from within is the closer connection to the symbolic world, with one’s personal relationship with God. Eventually, this internal feeling is all that remains and it continues to guide us towards the end of our adventure.

Questions about your Supernatural Aid

Are your dreams telling you anything in symbolic imagery as a kind of supernatural aid or mentor offering advice? Is there a recurring dream character you might listen to?

Is  there a mentor in your waking life offering to lead you away from something that relates to personal suffering, making a change, starting a new adventure?

Have you ever had some nagging idea to find or follow a more meaningful, creative, or spiritual kind of path? An idea that keeps returning, time after time?

Are there any teachers in your life who, like Yoda, cause irritation or frustration, yet might have much wisdom to impart if listened to?

Can you pray, start to practice honest conversations, talking to some internal part of ourselves or God about what you want to manifest? “I want to manifest ______ dream or meaningful pursuit, can you help show me a path towards that?”

As you get further along, like Luke with the Force, can you get closer to following that internal feeling, energy, implementing it more into your life without assistance from without?

Can you follow a moral truth, a feeling of being comfortable going alone, like Frodo does to Mt. Doom?

What about letting go, giving in to something greater? Does the idea of giving up control, allowing a higher power in, challenge you? What would it take to open up to this asking this, letting go of your expectations of what the morrow should bring: “What is it I am meant to see or do tomorrow?”

Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces . Novato, CA: New World Publications.

Kopacz, D. (2015). The hero’s journey . Self-published.

Andrew Haacke is a lifelong spiritual seeker who researches and writes about the Hero's Journey, symbolism, mythology, and psychedelics. He studied anthropology at the University of Utah and social work and public administration at the University of Southern California.

Spiritual Seeker , Taileaters

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The hero's journey: a story structure as old as time, the hero's journey offers a powerful framework for creating quest-based stories emphasizing self-transformation..

Table of Contents

Holding out for a hero to take your story to the next level? 

The Hero’s Journey might be just what you’ve been looking for. Created by Joseph Campbell, this narrative framework packs mythic storytelling into a series of steps across three acts, each representing a crucial phase in a character's transformative journey.

Challenge . Growth . Triumph .

Whether you're penning a novel, screenplay, or video game, The Hero’s Journey is a tried-and-tested blueprint for crafting epic stories that transcend time and culture. Let’s explore the steps together and kickstart your next masterpiece.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a famous template for storytelling, mapping a hero's adventurous quest through trials and tribulations to ultimate transformation. 

What are the Origins of the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey was invented by Campbell in his seminal 1949 work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces , where he introduces the concept of the "monomyth."

A comparative mythologist by trade, Campbell studied myths from cultures around the world and identified a common pattern in their narratives. He proposed that all mythic narratives are variations of a single, universal story, structured around a hero's adventure, trials, and eventual triumph.

His work unveiled the archetypal hero’s path as a mirror to humanity’s commonly shared experiences and aspirations. It was subsequently named one of the All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books by TIME in 2011.

How are the Hero’s and Heroine’s Journeys Different? 

While both the Hero's and Heroine's Journeys share the theme of transformation, they diverge in their focus and execution.

The Hero’s Journey, as outlined by Campbell, emphasizes external challenges and a quest for physical or metaphorical treasures. In contrast, Murdock's Heroine’s Journey, explores internal landscapes, focusing on personal reconciliation, emotional growth, and the path to self-actualization.

In short, heroes seek to conquer the world, while heroines seek to transform their own lives; but…

Twelve Steps of the Hero’s Journey

So influential was Campbell’s monomyth theory that it's been used as the basis for some of the largest franchises of our generation: The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter ...and George Lucas even cited it as a direct influence on Star Wars .

There are, in fact, several variations of the Hero's Journey, which we discuss further below. But for this breakdown, we'll use the twelve-step version outlined by Christopher Vogler in his book, The Writer's Journey (seemingly now out of print, unfortunately).

You probably already know the above stories pretty well so we’ll unpack the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey using Ben Gates’ journey in National Treasure as a case study—because what is more heroic than saving the Declaration of Independence from a bunch of goons?

Ye be warned: Spoilers ahead!

Act One: Departure

Step 1. the ordinary world.

The journey begins with the status quo—business as usual. We meet the hero and are introduced to the Known World they live in. In other words, this is your exposition, the starting stuff that establishes the story to come.

National Treasure begins in media res (preceded only by a short prologue), where we are given key information that introduces us to Ben Gates' world, who he is (a historian from a notorious family), what he does (treasure hunts), and why he's doing it (restoring his family's name).

With the help of his main ally, Riley, and a crew of other treasure hunters backed by a wealthy patron, he finds an 18th-century American ship in the Canadian Arctic, the Charlotte . Here, they find a ship-shaped pipe that presents a new riddle and later doubles as a key—for now, it's just another clue in the search for the lost treasure of the Templars, one that leads them to the Declaration of Independence.

Step 2. The Call to Adventure

The inciting incident takes place and the hero is called to act upon it. While they're still firmly in the Known World, the story kicks off and leaves the hero feeling out of balance. In other words, they are placed at a crossroads.

Ian (the wealthy patron of the Charlotte operation) steals the pipe from Ben and Riley and leaves them stranded. This is a key moment: Ian becomes the villain, Ben has now sufficiently lost his funding for this expedition, and if he decides to pursue the chase, he'll be up against extreme odds.

Step 3. Refusal of the Call

The hero hesitates and instead refuses their call to action. Following the call would mean making a conscious decision to break away from the status quo. Ahead lies danger, risk, and the unknown; but here and now, the hero is still in the safety and comfort of what they know.

Ben debates continuing the hunt for the Templar treasure. Before taking any action, he decides to try and warn the authorities: the FBI, Homeland Security, and the staff of the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence is housed and monitored. Nobody will listen to him, and his family's notoriety doesn't help matters.

Step 4. Meeting the Mentor

The protagonist receives knowledge or motivation from a powerful or influential figure. This is a tactical move on the hero's part—remember that it was only the previous step in which they debated whether or not to jump headfirst into the unknown. By Meeting the Mentor, they can gain new information or insight, and better equip themselves for the journey they might to embark on.

Abigail, an archivist at the National Archives, brushes Ben and Riley off as being crazy, but Ben uses the interaction to his advantage in other ways—to seek out information about how the Declaration of Independence is stored and cared for, as well as what (and more importantly, who) else he might be up against in his own attempt to steal it.

In a key scene, we see him contemplate the entire operation while standing over the glass-encased Declaration of Independence. Finally, he firmly decides to pursue the treasure and stop Ian, uttering the famous line, "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence."

Act Two: Initiation

Step 5. crossing the threshold.

The hero leaves the Known World to face the Unknown World. They are fully committed to the journey, with no way to turn back now. There may be a confrontation of some sort, and the stakes will be raised.

Ben and Riley infiltrate the National Archives during a gala and successfully steal the Declaration of Independence. But wait—it's not so easy. While stealing the Declaration of Independence, Abigail suspects something is up and Ben faces off against Ian.

Then, when trying to escape the building, Ben exits through the gift shop, where an attendant spots the document peeking out of his jacket. He is forced to pay for it, feigning that it's a replica—and because he doesn't have enough cash, he has to use his credit card, so there goes keeping his identity anonymous.

The game is afoot.

Step 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

The hero explores the Unknown World. Now that they have firmly crossed the threshold from the Known World, the hero will face new challenges and possibly meet new enemies. They'll have to call upon their allies, new and old, in order to keep moving forward.

Abigail reluctantly joins the team under the agreement that she'll help handle the Declaration of Independence, given her background in document archiving and restoration. Ben and co. seek the aid of Ben's father, Patrick Gates, whom Ben has a strained relationship with thanks to years of failed treasure hunting that has created a rift between grandfather, father, and son. Finally, they travel around Philadelphia deciphering clues while avoiding both Ian and the FBI.

Step 7. Approach the Innermost Cave

The hero nears the goal of their quest, the reason they crossed the threshold in the first place. Here, they could be making plans, having new revelations, or gaining new skills. To put it in other familiar terms, this step would mark the moment just before the story's climax.

Ben uncovers a pivotal clue—or rather, he finds an essential item—a pair of bifocals with interchangeable lenses made by Benjamin Franklin. It is revealed that by switching through the various lenses, different messages will be revealed on the back of the Declaration of Independence. He's forced to split from Abigail and Riley, but Ben has never been closer to the treasure.

Step 8. The Ordeal

The hero faces a dire situation that changes how they view the world. All threads of the story come together at this pinnacle, the central crisis from which the hero will emerge unscathed or otherwise. The stakes will be at their absolute highest here.

Vogler details that in this stage, the hero will experience a "death," though it need not be literal. In your story, this could signify the end of something and the beginning of another, which could itself be figurative or literal. For example, a certain relationship could come to an end, or it could mean someone "stuck in their ways" opens up to a new perspective.

In National Treasure , The FBI captures Ben and Ian makes off with the Declaration of Independence—all hope feels lost. To add to it, Ian reveals that he's kidnapped Ben's father and threatens to take further action if Ben doesn't help solve the final clues and lead Ian to the treasure.

Ben escapes the FBI with Ian's help, reunites with Abigail and Riley, and leads everyone to an underground structure built below Trinity Church in New York City. Here, they manage to split from Ian once more, sending him on a goose chase to Boston with a false clue, and proceed further into the underground structure.

Though they haven't found the treasure just yet, being this far into the hunt proves to Ben's father, Patrick, that it's real enough. The two men share an emotional moment that validates what their family has been trying to do for generations.

Step 9. Reward

This is it, the moment the hero has been waiting for. They've survived "death," weathered the crisis of The Ordeal, and earned the Reward for which they went on this journey.

Now, free of Ian's clutches and with some light clue-solving, Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Patrick keep progressing through the underground structure and eventually find the Templar's treasure—it's real and more massive than they could have imagined. Everyone revels in their discovery while simultaneously looking for a way back out.

Act Three: Return

Step 10. the road back.

It's time for the journey to head towards its conclusion. The hero begins their return to the Known World and may face unexpected challenges. Whatever happens, the "why" remains paramount here (i.e. why the hero ultimately chose to embark on their journey).

This step marks a final turning point where they'll have to take action or make a decision to keep moving forward and be "reborn" back into the Known World.

Act Three of National Treasure is admittedly quite short. After finding the treasure, Ben and co. emerge from underground to face the FBI once more. Not much of a road to travel back here so much as a tunnel to scale in a crypt.

Step 11. Resurrection

The hero faces their ultimate challenge and emerges victorious, but forever changed. This step often requires a sacrifice of some sort, and having stepped into the role of The Hero™, they must answer to this.

Ben is given an ultimatum— somebody has to go to jail (on account of the whole stealing-the-Declaration-of-Independence thing). But, Ben also found a treasure worth millions of dollars and that has great value to several nations around the world, so that counts for something.

Ultimately, Ben sells Ian out, makes a deal to exonerate his friends and family, and willingly hands the treasure over to the authorities. Remember: he wanted to find the treasure, but his "why" was to restore the Gates family name, so he won regardless.

Step 12. Return With the Elixir

Finally, the hero returns home as a new version of themself, the elixir is shared amongst the people, and the journey is completed full circle.

The elixir, like many other elements of the hero's journey, can be literal or figurative. It can be a tangible thing, such as an actual elixir meant for some specific purpose, or it could be represented by an abstract concept such as hope, wisdom, or love.

Vogler notes that if the Hero's Journey results in a tragedy, the elixir can instead have an effect external to the story—meaning that it could be something meant to affect the audience and/or increase their awareness of the world.

In the final scene of National Treasure , we see Ben and Abigail walking the grounds of a massive estate. Riley pulls up in a fancy sports car and comments on how they could have gotten more money. They all chat about attending a museum exhibit in Cairo (Egypt).

In one scene, we're given a lot of closure: Ben and co. received a hefty payout for finding the treasure, Ben and Abigail are a couple now, and the treasure was rightfully spread to those it benefitted most—in this case, countries who were able to reunite with significant pieces of their history. Everyone's happy, none of them went to jail despite the serious crimes committed, and they're all a whole lot wealthier. Oh, Hollywood.

Variations of the Hero's Journey

Plot structure is important, but you don't need to follow it exactly; and, in fact, your story probably won't. Your version of the Hero's Journey might require more or fewer steps, or you might simply go off the beaten path for a few steps—and that's okay!

What follows are three additional versions of the Hero's Journey, which you may be more familiar with than Vogler's version presented above.

Dan Harmon's Story Circle (or, The Eight-Step Hero's Journey)

Screenwriter Dan Harmon has riffed on the Hero's Journey by creating a more compact version, the Story Circle —and it works especially well for shorter-format stories such as television episodes, which happens to be what Harmon writes.

The Story Circle comprises eight simple steps with a heavy emphasis on the hero's character arc:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort...
• But they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation...
• And adapt to it by facing trials.
• They get what they want...
• But they pay a heavy price for it.
• They return to their familiar situation...
• Having changed.

You may have noticed, but there is a sort of rhythm here. The eight steps work well in four pairs, simplifying the core of the Hero's Journey even further:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort, but they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation and have to adapt via new trials.
• They get what they want, but they pay a price for it.
• They return to their zone of comfort, forever changed.

If you're writing shorter fiction, such as a short story or novella, definitely check out the Story Circle. It's the Hero's Journey minus all the extraneous bells & whistles.

Ten-Step Hero's Journey

The ten-step Hero's Journey is similar to the twelve-step version we presented above. It includes most of the same steps except for Refusal of the Call and Meeting the Mentor, arguing that these steps aren't as essential to include; and, it moves Crossing the Threshold to the end of Act One and Reward to the end of Act Two.

• The Ordinary World
• The Call to Adventure
• Crossing the Threshold
• Tests, Allies, Enemies
• Approach the Innermost Cave
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with Elixir

We've previously written about the ten-step hero's journey in a series of essays separated by act: Act One (with a prologue), Act Two , and Act Three .

Twelve-Step Hero's Journey: Version Two

Again, the second version of the twelve-step hero's journey is very similar to the one above, save for a few changes, including in which story act certain steps appear.

This version skips The Ordinary World exposition and starts right at The Call to Adventure; then, the story ends with two new steps in place of Return With Elixir: The Return and The Freedom to Live.

• The Refusal of the Call
• Meeting the Mentor
• Test, Allies, Enemies
• Approaching the Innermost Cave
• The Resurrection
• The Return*
• The Freedom to Live*

In the final act of this version, there is more of a focus on an internal transformation for the hero. They experience a metamorphosis on their journey back to the Known World, return home changed, and go on to live a new life, uninhibited.

Seventeen-Step Hero's Journey

Finally, the granddaddy of heroic journeys: the seventeen-step Hero's Journey. This version includes a slew of extra steps your hero might face out in the expanse.

• Refusal of the Call
• Supernatural Aid (aka Meeting the Mentor)
• Belly of the Whale*: This added stage marks the hero's immediate descent into danger once they've crossed the threshold.
• Road of Trials (...with Allies, Tests, and Enemies)
• Meeting with the Goddess/God*: In this stage, the hero meets with a new advisor or powerful figure, who equips them with the knowledge or insight needed to keep progressing forward.
• Woman as Temptress (or simply, Temptation)*: Here, the hero is tempted, against their better judgment, to question themselves and their reason for being on the journey. They may feel insecure about something specific or have an exposed weakness that momentarily holds them back.
• Atonement with the Father (or, Catharthis)*: The hero faces their Temptation and moves beyond it, shedding free from all that holds them back.
• Apotheosis (aka The Ordeal)
• The Ultimate Boon (aka the Reward)
• Refusal of the Return*: The hero wonders if they even want to go back to their old life now that they've been forever changed.
• The Magic Flight*: Having decided to return to the Known World, the hero needs to actually find a way back.
• Rescue From Without*: Allies may come to the hero's rescue, helping them escape this bold, new world and return home.
• Crossing of the Return Threshold (aka The Return)
• Master of Two Worlds*: Very closely resembling The Resurrection stage in other variations, this stage signifies that the hero is quite literally a master of two worlds—The Known World and the Unknown World—having conquered each.
• Freedom to Live

Again, we skip the Ordinary World opening here. Additionally, Acts Two and Three look pretty different from what we've seen so far, although, the bones of the Hero's Journey structure remain.

The Eight Hero’s Journey Archetypes

The Hero is, understandably, the cornerstone of the Hero’s Journey, but they’re just one of eight key archetypes that make up this narrative framework.

In The Writer's Journey , Vogler outlined seven of these archetypes, only excluding the Ally, which we've included below. Here’s a breakdown of all eight with examples: 

1. The Hero

As outlined, the Hero is the protagonist who embarks on a transformative quest or journey. The challenges they overcome represent universal human struggles and triumphs. 

Vogler assigned a "primary function" to each archetype—helpful for establishing their role in a story. The Hero's primary function is "to service and sacrifice."

Example: Neo from The Matrix , who evolves from a regular individual into the prophesied savior of humanity.

2. The Mentor

A wise guide offering knowledge, tools, and advice, Mentors help the Hero navigate the journey and discover their potential. Their primary function is "to guide."

Example: Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid imparts not only martial arts skills but invaluable life lessons to Daniel.

3. The Ally

Companions who support the Hero, Allies provide assistance, friendship, and moral support throughout the journey. They may also become a friends-to-lovers romantic partner. 

Not included in Vogler's list is the Ally, though we'd argue they are essential nonetheless. Let's say their primary function is "to aid and support."

Example: Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings , a loyal friend and steadfast supporter of Frodo.

4. The Herald

The Herald acts as a catalyst to initiate the Hero's Journey, often presenting a challenge or calling the hero to adventure. Their primary function is "to warn or challenge."

Example: Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games , whose selection at the Reaping sets Katniss’s journey into motion.

5. The Trickster

A character who brings humor and unpredictability, challenges conventions, and offers alternative perspectives or solutions. Their primary function is "to disrupt."

Example: Loki from Norse mythology exemplifies the trickster, with his cunning and chaotic influence.

6. The Shapeshifter

Ambiguous figures whose allegiance and intentions are uncertain. They may be a friend one moment and a foe the next. Their primary function is "to question and deceive."

Example: Catwoman from the Batman universe often blurs the line between ally and adversary, slinking between both roles with glee.

7. The Guardian

Protectors of important thresholds, Guardians challenge or test the Hero, serving as obstacles to overcome or lessons to be learned. Their primary function is "to test."

Example: The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail literally bellows “None shall pass!”—a quintessential ( but not very effective ) Guardian.

8. The Shadow

Represents the Hero's inner conflict or an antagonist, often embodying the darker aspects of the hero or their opposition. Their primary function is "to destroy."

Example: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender; initially an adversary, his journey parallels the Hero’s path of transformation.

While your story does not have to use all of the archetypes, they can help you develop your characters and visualize how they interact with one another—especially the Hero.

For example, take your hero and place them in the center of a blank worksheet, then write down your other major characters in a circle around them and determine who best fits into which archetype. Who challenges your hero? Who tricks them? Who guides them? And so on...

Stories that Use the Hero’s Journey

Not a fan of saving the Declaration of Independence? Check out these alternative examples of the Hero’s Journey to get inspired: 

• Epic of Gilgamesh : An ancient Mesopotamian epic poem thought to be one of the earliest examples of the Hero’s Journey (and one of the oldest recorded stories).
• The Lion King (1994): Simba's exile and return depict a tale of growth, responsibility, and reclaiming his rightful place as king.
• The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo: Santiago's quest for treasure transforms into a journey of self-discovery and personal enlightenment.
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman: A young girl's adventure in a parallel world teaches her about courage, family, and appreciating her own reality.
• Kung Fu Panda (2008): Po's transformation from a clumsy panda to a skilled warrior perfectly exemplifies the Hero's Journey. Skadoosh!

The Hero's Journey is so generalized that it's ubiquitous. You can plop the plot of just about any quest-style narrative into its framework and say that the story follows the Hero's Journey. Try it out for yourself as an exercise in getting familiar with the method.

Will the Hero's Journey Work For You?

As renowned as it is, the Hero's Journey works best for the kinds of tales that inspired it: mythic stories.

Writers of speculative fiction may gravitate towards this method over others, especially those writing epic fantasy and science fiction (big, bold fantasy quests and grand space operas come to mind).

The stories we tell today are vast and varied, and they stretch far beyond the dealings of deities, saving kingdoms, or acquiring some fabled "elixir." While that may have worked for Gilgamesh a few thousand years ago, it's not always representative of our lived experiences here and now.

If you decide to give the Hero's Journey a go, we encourage you to make it your own! The pieces of your plot don't have to neatly fit into the structure, but you can certainly make a strong start on mapping out your story.

Hero's Journey Campfire Template

The Timeline Module in Campfire offers a versatile canvas to plot out each basic component of your story while featuring nested "notebooks."

Simply double-click on each event card in your timeline to open up a canvas specific to that card. This allows you to look at your plot at the highest level, while also adding as much detail for each plot element as needed!

If you're just hearing about Campfire for the first time, it's free to sign up—forever! Let's plot the most epic of hero's journeys 👇

Lessons From the Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey offers a powerful framework for creating stories centered around growth, adventure, and transformation.

If you want to develop compelling characters, spin out engaging plots, and write books that express themes of valor and courage, consider The Hero’s Journey your blueprint. So stop holding out for a hero, and start writing!

Does your story mirror the Hero's Journey? Let us know in the comments below.

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The Hero's Journey: Stages, Steps, and Examples

Remember when you were younger, probably around middle school age, and your teacher introduced the Greek mythology lesson? It was such an exciting time of reading books like Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief . Maybe you fell in love with Percy, a lovable and relatable young boy struggling with his identity. Or maybe you were a part of the dystopian crave and fell in love with Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games . Either way, this may have been your first introduction to the hero's journey (we're sure you've seen the templates). After all, the hero's journey is all around us!

If you fell in love with reading a hero's journey archetype and want to try to create your own modern hero, then you've come to the perfect place. We're going to explore the crucial steps of a hero's journey and what they entail, so you can have a template through which to write your own story. Your questions act as our call to action (you'll understand what we mean by that shortly). But first, let's define a hero's journey. After all, how can we possibly evaluate the steps of a hero's journey if we don't even have a solid definition?

The hero's journey

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

The hero's journey is the story of a hero who leaves the ordinary world to go on an adventure full of peril. On it, the hero will gain both adversaries and allies, and will face a great evil. The hero will also face his shadow self, which is perhaps the most frightening antagonist of all.

Campbell references 17 total steps in the hero's journey. Wait a minute, 17 steps? That seems like a lot. Don't worry! Depending on who you ask, the number of steps and what those steps look like will differ, though they all follow a similar template. The hero's journey is commonly accepted to have 12 main steps. To make it even simpler on you, these steps can actually be broken down into three stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return.

Stage 1: the departure

The departure is just as you might expect. This is the stage where the protagonist is introduced, typically in a modern, realistic setting, and we are introduced to some struggles the protagonist may be experiencing or questions they may have about their own identity. This stage can be broken into our first four steps.

• The ordinary world : As we said, we are first introduced to our protagonist and soon-to-be hero in the reality we know. It is just as the first step is listed: the ordinary world. There is no magic, mayhem, or supernatural creatures evident in this ordinary world. It is the world the protagonist has known all their life.
• Call to adventure : This is one of the steps you may be most familiar with, as it's one of the most commonly known phrases in literature. Regardless of what genre you are writing, your hero has a call to action. After all, there must be a reason why the protagonist leaves the mundane, comfortable lifestyle they've lived up until now. This is the moment where the journey or quest is initiated: a problem, challenge, or quest is presented to the protagonist, and they must decide to leave behind their ordinary lives to face new challenges. Whether the protagonist is immediately threatened, a family member is threatened, or they see something they shouldn't have, it is up to the protagonist to respond to the call.
• Refusal of the call : Wow, isn't it so cool that the hero was discovered by some other world (or they discovered it!) and now they get to embark on this awesome journey? Yes, well, sometimes. Despite how amazing it may seem to be called to accept a quest (hence the reason why this archetype is so popular in literature), the protagonist may not be feeling that excitement. In fact, it's likely that the protagonist is feeling nervous, anxious, scared, hesitant, and thus, resistant to the call at first (don't worry, they'll give in eventually).
• Meeting the mentor/supernatural aid : Okay, so the protagonist is done refusing the call. Maybe they've gotten over their fears, or maybe something happened that makes it impossible for them to continue to deny their inevitable quest. Yay! Now it's time for our protagonist to meet their mentor. The mentor can be supernatural or not, but they act as a teacher, trainer, and instructor for the protagonist. After all, the protagonist is going to need some serious guidance once they've been booted out of their ordinary world. This step involves a lot of trust, though, as the protagonist may barely know their mentor. This step also involves the passing on of certain tools and equipment the protagonist may need to succeed on their journey. These can be special powers or physical instruments.

Stage 2: the initiation

Now that you've spent a decent chunk of time introducing your protagonist (and hero!) and their conflict, it's time to head into the second stage of the hero's journey: the initiation. Before you do this, though, ensure you've checked off the first four items on the previous list. It is crucial that you meet these criteria for a successful hero's journey. After all, the hero can't be truly initiated into their new world if you have not established their old world, their main conflict, and the introduction of their next steps.

This next stage will take up the largest portion of your story. You should fill it with lots of new characters, settings, and trials and tests for your protagonist to endure. This is also a stage where you should focus a lot on character development for your protagonist. No person is going to go through a massive journey and end up the same person they once were when everything is said and done. Take this time to think about how you want your protagonist to change and what it's going to take to accomplish that change.

• Crossing the first threshold : This is the point at which the hero decides to embark on the adventure and cross over into the unknown, leaving his or her ordinary world behind. This is called the threshold because there is something or someone acting as a literal barrier between the protagonist's ordinary world and their new world. Beyond the threshold lies trials and tribulations and potential risks and dangers. Once the protagonist takes that first step beyond this threshold, there is no returning to the life they once knew. This is where the hero's actual journey truly begins.
• Introduction to tests, friends, and foe : This is the step of the story where the cast of characters expands and a new setting, the new world, is introduced. The protagonist may be lost in their new world, so they must evaluate the new people around them to identify potential allies, enemies, or morally ambiguous characters. Trust is established or denied. Just like anyone would struggle with encountering anew environment, the protagonist will endure some struggles of their own, but this is how they'll determine who is friend and who is foe, establishing other character roles in the process. The rules of the ordinary world do not apply to this new world, so hopefully the protagonist meets some good people who will teach him the new ways of life.
• Approaching the innermost cave : At this point on the hero's journey, they have left all semblance of the ordinary world behind. This step marks the preparation for the main event of the journey. The protagonist may gather materials and even other characters, if they're trustworthy enough, to take on the rest of the steps of the quest with them. The cave acts as a metaphor for what the protagonist is about to endure: risk, danger, darkness, and even potential loss. This step also includes some of the tests leading up to the large test yet, which happens to be the next step in the hero's journey.
• The ordeal : Buckle up, this is about to be a wild ride! That's right, your hero has finally made it to one of the biggest challenges of all. The protagonist is no longer approaching the innermost cave. Rather, the protagonist is now fully in the belly of the beast, and what a beast it is! The ordeal is usually not the climax of the story, but this is the moment where the protagonist truly transforms from an ordinary character into a true hero. It may involve their greatest fear or a physically or mentally demanding task.
• The reward : If your protagonist, now hero, succeeds in their greatest challenge, then they will be given a reward that makes the journey worth so much time, effort, and challenge. If they can succeed, then there is hope for them, that bright light that shines through the top of a dark cave and promises fulfillment and a future. This is what the hero has been fighting for this whole time. As for the reward itself, you should make sure it makes sense in the context of your story. It can be an object, a piece of knowledge, or even something entirely different, so long as its value matches the degree of the journey.

Stage 3: the return

Wahoo, your hero has endured so much and has finally gotten their reward! It's over, right? They can return to their ordinary life and reap the benefits of all their hard work? Wrong! Things are never as easy as they seem, especially in a hero's journey, so why would the road back to the ordinary world be any different for your hero?

• On the road again : This is the turning point, literally. The hero turns back around, hoping to return to their normal life after receiving their reward. But thing's are never that simple, so be sure to make sure that road is blocked. Traffic cones, stoplights, maybe a supernatural villain or catastrophic natural disaster! That should do the trick. If the road back home was easy, we'd be bored, so maintain the stakes with challenges for the hero to face as they make their way back home.
• The resurrection : Congratulations, you've finally reached the climax of your story. Remember how we said the ordeal was the moment where your protagonist transformed from an ordinary character into an actual hero, this is the moment where they can prove to us that they deserve the hero title, after all. The stakes become extremely high, as the hero does not want to fail after having endured so much already. This is the final test for the hero and the final opportunity for the villain or opposing forces to defeat the hero. If the hero comes out on top, then they will finally be able to reach that light at the end of the tunnel.
• Return with the elixir : The hero has finally completed all their challenges and is able to return home with their reward. Their transformation is complete, and they've most likely become a better person because of the journey. Or, if you want to add a twist to this step, you can always have the hero fail to return without they set out to receive, but you better be prepared to write a sequel and a whole other journey!

Following the template

Since we mentioned The Hunger Games at the very beginning, let's use Katniss Everdeen and her hero's journey as a model for this template.

• The ordinary world : Katniss Everdeen is introduced as a citizen on District 12, a poor mining district. She spends her days hunting in the woods to provide food for her family.
• The call to action : Every year, a reaping takes place where a male and female tribute from each district is randomly chosen to take place in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death. During the reaping, Katniss' sister Primrose is selected, so Katniss volunteers to take her place as the female tribute from District 12.
• Refusal of the call : As we mentioned, you may not include all 12 steps of the hero's journey in your own story. Katniss does not actually refuse the call, as she volunteered herself to save her sister. A refusal of the call is slightly seen in Peeta, Katniss' fellow tribute, as he is visibly nervous and shaken up. The nature of this story makes it so that a refusal is impossible.
• Meeting the mentor : Katniss meets Haymitch Abernathy, a previous Hunger Games victor from her District. He is her literal mentor and is meant to teach her how to make allies, get sponsors, and survive in the arena. She also finds a mentor in Cinna, the person in charge of her appearance for promotions.
• Crossing the threshold : Katniss is whisked out of District 12 and on the train to the gaudy, wealthy Capitol.
• Introduction to tests, friends, and foe : Katniss must attempt to learn who to trust while also earning sponsors and impressing the Game Makers. Katniss makes a reluctant alliance with Peeta and admires Rue from District 11. During training, it is evident that the Careers (tributes from the wealthier districts) are enemies.
• Approaching the innermost cave : Katniss enters the physical arena.
• The ordeal : The arena is full of challenges: tracker jackers, mutant wolves, poisonous berries, and other tributes trying to survive. The games themselves are the whole ordeal.
• The reward : Katniss and Peeta are the last tributes standing.
• On the road again : Although Katniss and Peeta have survived, there can only be one winner, and the Capitol wants to force them to select who lives and who dies.
• The resurrection : Katniss' bold attempt at a mutual suicide leads to both of them being allowed to live as victors, lest they become martyrs in front of the whole country.
• Return with the elixir : Katniss and Peeta return to District 12 as victors, allowing them to live lives of wealth and luxury. If you've read the books, you'll know this is nowhere near the end of Katniss' journey.

Reaping the rewards

If you've managed to check off all 12 steps on our hero's journey checklist, then you've got yourself an awesome hero's journey. If you're just starting out on your own journey of writing for a hero, then be sure to follow this template for maximum results. Be the hero in your own journey and remember to never give up as you face those roadblocks and challenges while buckling down and writing a story of your own!

Header photo by Zoltan Tasi .

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DANILO TAMBONE

Transformative Coaching 

• Mar 14, 2021
• 12 min read

(6) The Road of Trials

Updated: Mar 3, 2022

In the next step of the Hero's Journey , "The Road of Trials" , the Hero undergoes tests, tasks, and ordeals to begin the transformation, sometimes failing one or more of them.

The Hero uses the amulets and advice that the Supernatural Aid has provided them with and often discovers that there is a favorable power everywhere to support the Journey in unexpected ways.

As we progress with our inner journey we may happen to confront ourselves with our fears, demons, and dragons. New situations can trigger and expose our limiting beliefs.

Most likely than not, you realize that those limiting beliefs are just "thoughts" and not real things, and as such there's nothing to fight against. You just become aware of this, and you see the truth beyond your thoughts. Fears dissolve, dragons disappear.

Some unexpected external help might even ease our way through them, but the real Journey is happening within ourselves. Everything is inside-out.

When we hold ourselves back we may feel overwhelmed and struck, but when we relax into the flow of creation the trials seem to solve by themselves.

Have you ever experienced anything like this?

In this stage myth and stories show the Hero getting prepped up for the second part of the Journey, both mentally and physically. They get trained or find themselves into troubles from which they have to get out.

They are tested to see (and to discover by themselves) if they have what it takes to proceed with the Journey.

Sometimes they discover and put at service new talents. Sometimes they get conscious about their already existing abilities. Other times they receive unexpected help from people or benign beings that they have been kind to in the past.

They might fail one or more of the tests, but they are mostly successful and savor their wins. They make allies and learn how to address enemies.

Beyond the metaphor, we learn the rules of the new fluid and ambiguous environment we are finding ourselves in.

We start experiencing what it means "being" in the new world, and we start creating.

We learn how to use the new language to make us understood and make allies and companions at work, in our new city, in the new situation that we are facing.

We manage to get some wins, and when we happen to get something wrong, we learn from it and next time we play it better.

Let's see with some examples how this turns out in myth, movies, and real life.

In his " Metamorphoses ", Apuleius tells that Cupid (Eros) and Psyche fall in love.

Psyche is so beautiful that she is rumored to be prettier than Venus. The Beauty Goddess gets offended, and does what she can to obstacle the union of the two lovers by putting the girl in front of impossible tasks. The girl will do all what's possible to her (and some more) to get back to Cupid.

First, the Goddess throws at her a mass of mixed cereals, beans, and seeds, ordering her to sort them into separate heaps before she returns.

A fleet of ants is moved to pity and helps Psyche.

Then, Venus tells her to gather the golden wool from violent wild sheep that pasture in an inaccessible valley.

The desperate girl is then instructed by a divinely inspired green reed to take the wool remained on some bushes near which the sheep had passed.

As a third task, the Goddess orders Psyche to get to her the black water from the source of the rivers Styx and Cocytus.

The girl reaches the cliff from where the water springs, but there she sees dreadful dragons near the rocks. While she is in despair, Jupiter himself sends his eagle to fill a vessel of water for her.

Finally, Venus sends her on an impossible journey to the underworld, ordering her to gather in a flask a dose of the beauty of Proserpina, queen of the underworld itself.

Psyche, hopeless, climbs a tower to throw herself off, but the tower animates and instructs her on where to enter the underworld and how to reach her mission.

On her way back though, Psyche opens with curiosity the flask, and a cloud of "infernal sleep" falls on her.

Cupid reaches her, takes the "sleep cloud" back in the flask, and awakes her.

Then they go and ask Jupiter, father of Cupid, to give his consent for their union.

Psyche is allowed by the King of the Gods to drink ambrosia, which grants her immortality, and the couple could be finally united in marriage, as equals.

In the dystopic, post-apocalyptic nation of Panem, every year 12 boys and 12 girls are sent out on a deadly game where only one survives.

This is how the totalitarian regime punishes and keeps under control and under terror those populations that once rebelled against it.

Katniss Everdeen, from District 12, volunteers to be a "Tribute" for these Hunger Games, in order to save her younger sister who has instead been chosen by lottery.

Katniss has to learn fast that these mortal games are structured as entertainment. Everything is recorded by cameras and broadcast in real time to all Districts.

As such, not only physical prowess and courage are required, but also the ability to gain the favour of Sponsors who can provide Tributes with special help along their journey. It can make a difference between life and death.

Before the Hunger Games start, the Tributes are trained and have the possibility to showcase themselves so they can get a score.

Katniss is a skilled archer, yet when time comes for showing her ability in front of the Sponsors and Gamemakers, she misses the target. They laugh at her.

Her second arrow lands perfectly on the bull's eye, but in the meantime they had been distracted by sumptuous food on their table and don't give her attention anymore.

And that's a test for the young girl. Without even thinking, she aims at the apple in the mouth of the opulent roasted pork right there on the Sponsors' table, and this time she's perfectly on target. Scared as hell, all of the Sponsors' and Gamekeepers' eyes are now on her.

"Thank you for your consideration," she tells them while making a curtsy and leaving the room.

She's shown them her character, but this could cost her her life.

Yet, after the three days of evaluation, on a scale of 1 to 12 she's the only one Tribute who reaches a top score of 11. Her determination has been rewarded.

But the real trials start with the Games. She sees the other Tributes killing each other to survive and gain food and weapons. She stays away, ventures in the forest, and hides herself on trees, avoiding fights as much as possible and always remaining true to her human nature.

Since Katniss proceeds too much safely on her journey and too far away from the other tributes, the Gamekeepers decide to spice things up and provoke a fire in that part of forest where she is sleeping. Katniss runs away, but gets injured with a painful burn on her leg.

Then she is attacked by a band of Tributes. She saves her life by climbing a big tree, but the group camps there, with the aim to kill her as soon as she gets down.

During the night a drone brings to her a Sponsor's gift - an ointment to heal her burn. On the morning after she'll be already healed.

As she wakes up, she sees a large nest of poisonous wasps on the same tree she's on. She cuts the branch that supports it and it falls on the sleeping group. Most get killed by the wasps, but also Katniss gets stung and, right after reaching the ground, faints.

For two days and two nights she remains asleep, and another Tribute, the kind young girl Rue, takes care of her. The two of them become allies.

While Katniss is away to destroy the food reserve of the other group of Tributes, Rue gets trapped. Katniss comes and rescue her, but it's an ambush - a Tribute shoots an arrow to kill Katniss, but it is Rue who gets fatally wounded.

Katniss kills the other Tribute, and Rue, right after telling her "You have to win," dies in her arms.

She covers her with flowers. Right before getting away, she turns at one of the Games' cameras who are secretly watching on them and raises her hand with three fingers, as an act of respect towards Rue and the District 11 that the the fallen girl belonged to.

Moved by the scene, District 11 rebels against the absurdity of the Games and sets fires everywhere, but the insurrection gets extinguished with violence by the regime.

The Gamemakers get ready to punish with her life Katniss for her insolence, but her Mentor Haymitch suggests them not to kill her - they would create a martyr - but rather to distract the populations who are watching the Games with something new in their show: "Young Love".

A new rule is therefore introduced - not one, but two Tributes can win the Games, but only if they belong to the same District .

Peeta, the boy from the same District 12 that Katniss belongs to, is one of the few Tributes still alive. There's still hope for the two of them.

After rescuing Neo, Morpheus' crew gets him in shape. His Road of Trials starts here.

First, his muscles are atrophied, so they get to build them via bio-electrostimulators.

After the shock of realizing what being in the Matrix has meant, and how he has learnt to believe in a simulated reality as if it were his real life, Neo gets trained.

Ju-Jitsu and Kung Fu sparring programs are literally downloaded into his brain, and to the amazement of the crew, he absorbs every bit of data at the speed of light.

Then, Morpheus challenges Neo to prove his newly acquired Kung Fu skills by fighting with him in a simulated environment.

Some rules like gravity still apply, Morpheus explains, some can be bent, and some can be broken.

Neo performs quite well, but gets knocked down several times by Morpheus, who reveals him: "You're much faster than this. Don't think you are. Know it!"

With this understanding, Neo speeds up incredibly and defeats Morpheus, who goes on explaining: "I'm trying to free your mind, but I can only show you the door. You're the one who has to walk through it".

Then, Neo is catapulted into the "Jump Program". In this additional simulated environment, Morpheus challenges him to jump from the terrace of a skyscraper to another, far too distant for a jump in real life.

Morpheus shows him how to do it by performing the jump himself and recommending him to leave away fear, doubt, and disbelief.

Neo tries to take a good jump, but gets scared by the simulated height and falls down miserably.

Back to reality and out of the simulator, Neo tastes blood in his mouth because of the fall.

"Even if what is in the Matrix isn't 'real', the mind makes it real," Morpheus tells him.

And that's what happens in our thought-created world, when we believe that our thoughts about the world are more real than reality itself.

Those thoughts generate feelings, that in turn generate biochemical and physical reactions in the body, and yes, those may hurt.

But what if those thoughts weren't real at all? What if they were just a mental projection of what we want to experience, while reality encompasses a much deeper and wider spectrum of possibilities where wellness is the normal and natural state of being?

What if we were able to access, right here and now, a potential that the human mind cannot comprehend?

"Don't think you are," Morpheus says. " Know it."

My work in Switzerland as an "IT Project Management Consultant" lasted for exactly one year.

Then the project reached its successful completion and no more activities were required.

Except for some maintenance activity on the System developed, also the Consulting Company had a significant reduction of work, and I came back home.

Strong of the experience just completed, and with a new line on my CV, I started proposing myself for collaborations to IT and Software Development Companies in Milan.

So confident was I about the quality of what I had done and about my ability to adapt and shapeshift, so skeptical were the HRs and the Managers I had interviews with. They couldn't believe the transformation I had undertaken, and I didn't get any follow-up from them.

My Ego got crushed, once more. This was a hell of a test for me.

Then I started receiving requests from recruiters in diverse sectors - Banking, Finance, Consulting.

I was going through first level and second level interviews, but in the end there was always something on the client's internal side putting the job search on hold.

The good thing was that anyway I was starting opening up to the possibility to go beyond my past identity, in any sector where my project management experience could have been of use, and now with the flexibility of a freelancer.

In particular, one of the consulting companies required that I studied several books on Lean Product Development before I could be interviewed by them.

I accepted the challenge, especially because Lean Product Development was at the base of the Agile approaches that I had studied and applied thus far.

The contractual proposal that I received after the interview, though, was unacceptable, and I didn't follow up with them.

Yet, the study that I had just done on Lean principles and their applications would turn into gold several months later in unexpected ways.

I'll share more on this in the post on the "Apotheosis".

In the meantime, also because of my positive experience and a certain amount of success on Udemy, I started looking for opportunities to make a real business as an instructor of online courses, with the goal of reaching figures much higher than the "popular ones" that I had earned until then with that Platform.

I sensed that I had to learn from entrepreneurs expert in the field, and I started looking for inspiration, but without much success. The ones who claimed to be experts didn't convince me.

The entrepreneur who had shown up the year before, right after I had signed for Basel, came to the rescue. He started proposing me for several job positions with his clients that required competence in traditional Project and Program Management, Business Analysis, and Agility.

When also these final clients ended up by putting their search on hold, the entrepreneur asked me to be his Assistant on some of the trainings he would have conducted on subjects related to Business Analysis and to the Professional Scrum Master Certification.

In fact, he had sensed that I had the right skills to undertake the role of trainer on some of the courses that his clients asked him to perform, and he wanted both to show me his teaching style, so that I could align myself to it, and to give me an opportunity to show him my abilities.

So I assisted him on a couple of courses, and then we switched roles so he could see me in action. The class appreciated my style, the final client too, and so did he.

I had passed the test.

I had finally found an entrepreneur who would bet on the "weird mix" of my competences, and he had found a professional he could trust, with that exact weird mix he had for so long been looking for.

My outlook anyway was far from being good.

In fact, after the end of the activities in Switzerland I hadn't had a stable income, but only a few gigs in several months, and also the training activities with that entrepreneur had been occasional ones.

Something inside was telling me that, if I hadn't found my way out yet, there had to be something terribly wrong with me. Was I even worth?

I would soon discover the truth.

But... would I have been ready to embrace it, whatever it was?

And this is another story, for another post.

INSIGHTS CHECKPOINT

Do you remember a time when you felt challenged to prove your worth?

How did you approach it? Light-heartedly and with confidence, or dubious and scared?

Were you able to use advice or tools that you had previously received by a Mentor or by other sources?

Did you get expected or unexpected help along the journey to pass the test?

If you passed it, what did you gain?

If you didn't, what did you learn?

If you had limiting beliefs about yourself at that time, could you see now that they were just thoughts? If you had had a breakthrough allowing you to go beyond your limiting thoughts, how would your life be different today?

Are there still thoughts limiting your potential today? Can you see the space of pure creation just beyond those thoughts?

Is this post lighting you up? Are you willing to Open Up to Your Potentials?

Make sure you download your free Hero's Journey Map and Hero's Journey Workbook from here .

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The Journey so far:

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(0) Unleash Your Potential with the Hero's Journey

(1) The Ordinary World - When “Ordinary” rhymes with “Uneasy”

(2) The Call to Adventure - How to Go Past Your Doubts and Answer Your True Call

(3) Supernatural Aid - When You're Ready To Go, Helpers Show Up

(4) Crossing the First Threshold - The Door Is Open, and You’re Already Through It

Would You Like Your Story to be Showcased in my New Book?

(5) Belly of the Whale - First You Take the Journey, then The Journey Takes You

(6) The Road of Trials - This post

(7) Meeting with Your Goddess

(8) The Temptress

Jennifer's Hero's Journey

(9) Atonement With The Father - When the Two Become One

(10) Apotheosis - Being One With All That Is

Gisela's Hero's Journey

(11) The Ultimate Boon - What treasure are you looking for?

The Pursuit of Happyness – The Hero’s Journey Beyond the Story

(12) Refusal of the Return - Are you ready to show who you truly are?

(13) The Magic Flight - Fasten Your Seatbelts!

(14) The Rescue from Without - Helping Hands to get back Home

Copyright © Danilo Tambone. All rights reserved.

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Joseph Campbell & The Hero’s Journey

In 1949, scholar  joseph campbell published his 1st book, the hero with a thousand faces. in this book, campbell introduced us to his theory that myths from around the globe share a fundamental structure, the monomyth ..

C ampbell formulated this theory over 5 years, spending 9 hours a day reading mythology from around the world. The Monomyth structure is divided into 3 events with additional stages in between. The stories of Osiris, Prometheus, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and many other tales from history use this structure. It has inspired many artists and storytellers, such as, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Bob Dylan, creator of Star Wars George Lucas, Bob Weir, and Jerry Garcia of the band, The Grateful Dead. While countless stories follow this Monomyth structure, we will use the original Star Wars Trilogy as an example for exploring this process.

The Seventeen Stages of the Monomyth

The Cycle of Mythology

Stage 1: Separation

I n the first stage of the hero’s journey, we find our protangonist living life in a typically mundane situation. The  Star Wars , Luke Skywalker lives as a talented yet lowly and pretty damn whiny moisture farmer on Tatooine.

Until…

1. Call to Adventure – By some chance the hero will become aware of information or actions that call for them to go on a quest. The lovable and recently acquired droid R2-D2 plays a holographic message of Princess Leia pleading for Luke’s soon to be mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s assistance.

2. Refusal of the Call – Overwhelmed by the information, the hero refuses the call and makes excuses as to why they cannot answer it. Luke refuses Obi-Wan’s request to join him on his mission, stating that he has responsibilities at home.

Luke’s Supernatural Aid is in the form of a Lightsaber and newfound Knowledge of the Force

3. Supernatural Aid – Once a commitment to the quest is made by the hero, they are provided with a special weapon or power that will assist them along the way. Obi-Wan gifts Luke his fathers lightsaber and explains some Force 101.

4. Crossing the Threshold – The moment when the hero actually embarks upon the journey. After Luke discovers that his family has been murdered and that nothing is left for him at home, he decides to join Obi-Wan on the quest to save Princess Leia, cause that sounds way cooler than hanging at the farm where your entire family was just massacred.

5. Belly of the Whale – The final separation between the hero and their home. Luke and Kenobi bail out from Tatooine with their new bros Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Stage 2: Initiation

The Empire Strikes Back is nothing but a road of trials for our hero, Luke.

6. The Road of Trials – A series of usually 3 trials and tests, the hero often fails one or more of these test. In Luke’s journey the destruction of the Death Star is his first test and one that he passes. His second and third tests do not end so well. While training with Yoda on Dagobah, Luke fails in his truly mastering himself and the force. Thirdly, in the duel between himself and his newly revealed father, Darth Vader, he is defeated, injured, and almost killed.

7. The Meeting with the Goddess – Our hero experiences a love that has the power and significance to that of a mother. Luke begins to have strong feelings for Leia, his unbeknownst sister.

8. Woman as Temptress – The temptation to abandon the journey for material or other gain. Luke is close to being seduced to the dark side as the Emperor feeds his rage against his father and especially with the prospect that if he will not turn, perhaps his sister will.

9. Atonement with the Father – In this stage, the hero must confront and be initiated by whoever holds the ultimate power in their life. Luke battles Darth Vader and once again is on the losing side of the fight. Nearing death from the Emperor’s attacks, Luke begs his father to help save him from certain death.

Anakin & Luke Meet for the 1st Time

10. Apotheosis – The spiritual death and rebirth of the hero. Darth Vader hears his son’s cries for help and returns to the light, deciding to destroy the Emperor in a self sacrificial action. By bringing his father back to the light, Luke has finally become a true jedi.

11. The Ultimate Boon – The stage of achievement of the goal. Luke is a jedi, has defeated the Empire, the dark side, saved his father, and all his friends and family are safe.

12. Refusal of the Return – The hero basking in their newly found bliss, may not want to return to their previous life and share this bliss with his fellow man. Luke does the opposite of this, upon his reunification with his friends, he shares with Leia that they are siblings. He then goes on to train her and new jedi in the ways of the force.

Stage 3: Return

13. The Magic Flight – The daring escape made after obtaining the boon. Luke carries his fathers body onto a transport and flees the Death Star before its complete destruction.

The Millennium Falcon in Magical Flight

14. Rescue from Without – When powerful guides or mentors help bring the hero back to normal life. When Anniken, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appear from the ether to acknowledge Luke and his newfound jedi knighthood.

15. Crossing the Return Threshold – Retaining, integrating, and sharing wisdom learned on the quest. Luke shares his knowledge of the force with future jedi.

16. Master of Two Worlds – The hero has achieved a balance between the material and spiritual world. Luke has sorted all of his family issues, become a man and a jedi.

17. Freedom to Live – By becoming a master of the two worlds, the hero is free from regrets of the past and worries of the future, this leaves them to live in the moment. Luke has resolved all the  conflicts in his life, he is free to live at one with the force.

Each of Us are the Heroes in Our own Journey

The Monomyth is a method of story telling that is innate to humans. Cultures from around the world share it’s structure in their stories. Every human, whether they are aware of it or not, is on their own hero’s journey. By studying Joseph Campbell’s work we can better our own understanding of the tests, trials, and progress along our journey.

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Tamlorn Chase

Tamlorn Chase hails from the coastal town of Santa Barbara, where he works as a wilderness guide, wildlife filmmaker, and environmental activist. Protecting the natural world is his profession and passion.

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Decoding the Hero’s Journey

The hero’s journey is a powerful storytelling tool that resonates with audiences because it reflects our own personal journeys of triumph, adversity, and self-realization and is a reflection of everyday life

• Post author By Arja Salafranca
• 2 Comments on Decoding the Hero’s Journey

Whether you’re a fan of mythology or simply interested in the art of storytelling, let’s delve into the world of the Hero’s Journey.

What is the Hero’s Journey or the monomyth?

The Hero’s Journey is a widely recognised pattern of storytelling and is essentially a circular storytelling journey. It follows a hero setting out on a journey of transformation, often into the unknown, there is often fierce resistance, and many trials and challenges, before the hero returns to their known world. It’s also called a “monomyth” as it’s the story of the archetypal hero shared by the world’s mythologies. It was first identified by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949), who was in turn influenced by Carl Jung’s psychological perspective of models of self-transformation.

In his book Joseph Campbell described the journey a hero takes:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

Campbell identified 17 stages of the hero’s journey, which are explored in more detail below.

I Departure stage

• The Call to Adventure
• Refusal of the Call
• Supernatural Aid
• The Crossing of the First Threshold
• Belly of the Whale

II Initiation stage

• The Road of Trials
• The Meeting with the Goddess
• Woman as the Temptress
• Atonement with the Father
• The Ultimate Boon
• Refusal of the Return
• The Magic Flight
• Rescue from Without
• The Crossing of the Return Threshold
• Master of the Two Worlds
• Freedom to Live

The Hero’s Journey in fairy tales, folklore and film

To get a better idea of what this means let’s look at some examples. There are countless stories that reference this common story structure. The hero’s journey can be found in well-known fairy tales and folklore such as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella . In Greek literature there’s the famous poem, “The Odyssey” attributed to Homer. This tells of the hero Odysseus, King of Ithaca, who wanders for 10 years (although the action of the poem covers only the final six weeks) trying to get home after the Trojan War.

Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre is an example of a female hero in literature. From an orphaned childhood to life as a governess, this novel follows Jane’s journey to her eventual marriage.

For more on the feminist hero’s journey, there is a detailed look at the female hero’s journey popularised by psychologist Maureen Mudock . Also explore From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey Through Myth and Legend (2010) by Valerie Estelle Frankel. This book explores the universal heroine’s journey as she quests through world myth.

Other books that use the Hero’s Journey as a frame include Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness which tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Then there’s The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Set in the future of what was North America lies the nation of Panem. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. It is centered on 16-year-old Katniss who volunteers for the Games in place of her sister, Primrose.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien is another example. Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the stories follow the hobbit Frodi Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring to ensure the destruction of its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron.

In film Luke Skywalker’s journey toward Jedi Knighthood in the original Star Wars films is another example of the Hero’s Journey.

The Matrix (1999) is another example of the hero’s journey on the silver screen. In this sci-fi tale Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a man who joins a group of insurgents in their fight against the powerful computers who rule Earth.

The hero’s journey can be found in well-known fairy tales and folklore such as Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella . Tweet This

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Three main stages

So, generally speaking, the common theme in a hero’s journey is represented by the three main stages of departure, initiation and return. And, as with so many stories, transformation, and growth is at the heart of the journey. The hero leaves a familiar world behind, ( departure ) encounters obstacles, ( initiation ) and fights through them and returns changed, enlightened and having grown, to their familiar world and life ( return ). It’s a journey fraught with challenges and trials, as well as encounters with enemies.

The 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey

Let’s take a closer look at these stages:

I Departure

• The Call to Adventure: We meet the hero in their familiar world living their normal life. They receive a call to go exploring an unfamiliar world. Campbell says this region can take the place of a distant land, or even a place that is not recognisably realistic, the sky, underground, even a dream state.
• Refusal of the Call: Understandably, they don’t want to answer the call and leave all that is familiar. But something compels them to answer it: perhaps life has become meaningless or perhaps they feel inadequate to the task.
• Supernatural Aid: Once the hero has accepted the call, they receive supernatural aid in the form of a mentor, who may give them special amulets or talismans to help them.
• The Crossing of the First Threshold: The hero takes that first step into that unfamiliar world, the darkness of what is not known and the quest begins.
• Belly of the Whale: There’s no going back, now. The title of this stage is likened to the Biblical story of Jonah in the belly of the whale. There is also now an expectation of re-birth.

II Initiation

• The Road of Trials: The hero now undergoes a series of tests or challenges which must be overcome. Here the dragons must be slain, they may call upon the talismans given to them at the start of the journey.  
• The Meeting with the Goddess: The hero meets someone who will help them on the journey, a metaphorical “goddess” and is given items to help them navigate the path ahead.
• Woman as the Temptress: Again, the figure of a woman is a metaphorical one, the hero will face temptations that may lead them astray and want to abandon it all.
• Atonement with the Father: Here too the father figure can be a metaphorical one, and could be regarded as a person with great power. The hero gains an understanding of what is stopping them from achieving this goal. This is the beginning of the “end”, all steps from here lead outward to an eventual conclusion.
• Apotheosis: This can be visualized as rising action. A point of realization and understanding has been achieved. This equips the hero to continue on their journey.
• The Ultimate Boon: The quest has been achieved, they have answered or fulfilled the goal set out at the beginning of the story.
• Refusal of the Return: Having found enlightenment, answered the call, discovered a new world, the hero may be reluctant to return to the “mundane” world they knew.
• The Magic Flight: This is when escape beckons. The hero might need to leave with world with the “boon” they have found. This may be a dangerous escape as the gods might be jealously guarding such a treasure.
• Rescue from Without: The hero may need help getting out of this world, just as they received help entering this world.
• The Crossing of the Return Threshold: The hero returns to their regular world, armed with the new knowledge or realization they gained on the journey.
• Master of the Two Worlds: This represents a balance between the two worlds, a uniting of two worlds or a balance between spiritual and material needs.
• Freedom to Live: The quest has been achieved, this is the resolution of the journey.

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What are the (condensed) 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey?

In contrast to Campbell’s 17 stages, is screenwriter’s Christopher Vogler who created a 12-step hero’s journey and authored the screenwriting guide , The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers which takes the 17 stages as inspiration. It’s a more condensed version and the stages are:

• Ordinary World
• Call to Adventure
• Meeting the Mentor
• Crossing the First Threshold
• Tests, Allies, Enemies
• Approach to the Inmost Cave
• Reward (Seizing the Sword)
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with the Elixir

Counter-arguments to Campbell’s Hero’s Journey

There has been criticism of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and it’s worth looking at these briefly.

American folklorist Barre Toelken noted that, “Campbell could construct a monomyth of the hero only by citing those stories that fit his preconceived mold, and leaving out equally valid stories… which did not fit the pattern.” Others have said that it is too broad and general, leading to oversimplification of complex narratives. Not all stories can be neatly forced into the prescribed stages of the Hero’s Journey.

In looking at today’s post-modern storytelling landscape, it can be argued that the Hero’s Journey it is too simplistic. In today’s writing, traditional may be deconstructed or subverted.

The Hero’s Journey follows a strictly linear structure – not all stories follow this structure and it doesn’t always support compelling stories. Non-linear or fragmented storytelling wouldn’t fit this framework, for example. Some writers do not follow linear structures.

There is a decided male-centric bias, with Campbell often centering on a male protagonist in his description of the monomyth. However, as described above, the Hero’s Journey has been used by women writers writing female-centric characters. So one could argue that the monomyth is infinitely adaptable. However, another criticism that is aligned with this is that the Hero’s Journey does not focus on collective or group heroism – but again, this form seems suited to be adapted to that kind of story, too.

Some argue that the Hero’s Journey places more emphasis on external events and challenges rather than on the internal growth and development of the hero. However, the framework in a novel such as Jane Eyre also focuses on a woman’s inner development and growth, so the form does prove to be adaptable.

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Writing your own Hero’s Journey

If you’re interested in writing your own hero’s journey, here are some pointers to consider. Firstly, you may be concerned that you’re following a formula and that there’s no room for “creativity”. The formula is a helpful plotting tool, though, and may be just what you need to get your story planned and outlined. Secondly, the creativity will come in the writing, the creation of the worlds your hero inhabits, the characters you draw and so on.

Create a credible hero – this formula works for all sorts of stories from fabulist fables to more realistic, nitty gritty stories. When you examine many stories, there is always something that “happens”, and this is usually something transformative that keeps readers interested and reading to the end.

Decide which Hero’s Journey you are going to use. Or divide your story into three acts, and plot the story according to the stages set out in each, you may find you decide to use only 12 steps as your story falls more neatly into this structure. Divide each act into a number of scenes. Don’t be afraid to play with the structure, you never know where this might lead you. Here’s a comprehensive look at how to write a heroic journey, with eight tips for epic arcs.

Remember too that you could use Now Novel’s The Process to plot your story.

You may also find that having a personal coach or joining our group coaching program is what you need to get started.

Related Posts:

• Writing a heroic journey: 8 tips for epic arcs
• Tags writing advice , writing process

By Arja Salafranca

Arja Salafranca has published a collection of short stories, three collections of poetry and has edited anthologies of prose. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

2 replies on “Decoding the Hero’s Journey”

I am a fan of the Heroes and Heroines Journey structure. As well as Prophecies of the Chosen One. I admire the simplicity of the story rather than a complex one.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind a complex one, but there’s something to be said about a simple story. Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Door Within Series, Percy Jackson, etc., all of these are a reason why I write.

Rooting for the good guys and gals to triumph over the wicked. When characters are tested and they change for better or worse. Reading the parts when the hero or heroine has to hold on until the end. Reading the ups and downs of their journeys.

I ultimately look for a good story.

Dear Thomas, Thanks for your comment. Good to get your thoughts, glad to hear that you’re a fan of the story structure.

For those who don’t know, the Prophecies of the Chosen One is well described here :

A good story is the backbone to keep readers reading and wanting more.

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The Hero’s Journey made SIMPLE

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The Hero’s Journey is a theory that I have come across on many occasions throughout my life in academia, both as a student and as an academic. With both practical and philosophical applications, Cambell’s writings of The Hero’s Journey are relevant within a number of different disciplines, but what does it mean? Read on to find out…

What is The Hero’s Journey?

Where does the hero’s journey theory come from, criticisms of the hero’s journey theory, the call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, the crossing of the first threshold, belly of the whale, the road of trials, the meeting with the goddess, woman as the temptress, atonement with the father/abyss, the ultimate boon, refusal of the return, the magic flight, rescue from without, the crossing of the return threshold, master of the two worlds, freedom to live, the hero’s journey.

This is a theory within narratology and comparative mythology. It is also known as the monomyth. The hero’s journey is a common template, used in stories which involve a hero going off on an adventure. The hero is victorious in a decisive crisis, and then comes home ‘changed or transformed’. A classic – and very famous – example of this would be The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein.

The hero’s journey theory was popularised by Joseph Campbell. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College, now one of the most expensive universities in the world. He worked primarily in the fields of comparative mythology and comparative religion. The Hero with a Thousand Faces , published in 1949, is his most famous work. This is where he discusses The Hero’s Journey theory, or the monomyth.

He wasn’t the first to recognise this pattern, however. Otto Rank, an Austrian psychoanalyst, philosopher and writer, discussed the hero narrative – as did Lord Raglan. Both did so in the context of Freudian psychoanalysis and ritualism.

Campbell was certainly influenced by this, as well as Carl Jung’s ‘analytical psychology’. The Swiss psychiatrist coined this term in order to describe the research into his new empirical science – that of the psyche. Campbell built on all of this, and used the idea of the monomyth to both deconstruct and compare religions. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he described the narrative pattern as this:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Campbell’s work and theories have been criticised extensively. It is said to be non-scholarly, and to also be suffering from ‘source-selection bias’ – as in, Campbell is said to have been biased when choosing his sources, to make them reflect his hypothesis. Much criticism comes from those who study folklore. Barre Toelken, an American folklorist, said of Campbell that he ‘could construct a monomyth of the hero only by citing those stories that fit his preconceived mold, and leaving out equally valid stories…which did not fit the pattern’. 

Other critics of The Hero’s Journey theory say that it is vague and risks lumping all myths together in terms of their narrative. Alan Dundes, another American folklorist, said that ‘there is no single idea promulgated by amateurs that have done more harm to serious folklore study than the notion of archetype’. He has been outspoken in his criticism of Campbell and the monomyth theory.

And of course, there have been valid criticisms made in terms of Cambell’s Hero’s Journey theory focusing on the masucline and disregarding the female or feminine hero. Two books have shifted the focus onto a feminine hero. These are The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock, and Valerie Estelle Frankel’s From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend. These both examine the journeys of female heroes, and how they differ from the monomyth Campbell presented us with.

The Hero’s Journey theory itself

Let’s look at Campbell’s actual theory: The Hero’s Journey. Campbell says there are three ‘acts’ or sections. These are as follows…

These three sections are broken down into a further 17 subsections or steps. These 17 steps go something like this…

• Women as the Temptress

Campbell suggests that every hero’s journey within mythology can be fit into this narrative structure. And many philosophers and academics today will utilise this theory as a means to understanding different aspects of life and human behaviour. Below I’ll briefly examine each stage of the journey, with examples from contemporary fiction to illustrate each step.

This is part of the departure act of the hero’s journey. It is the beginning of the story, in the protagonist’s ‘ordinary’ or home setting. They are just living their life when someone or something provides new information which acts as a call to venture into the unknown. An example of this can be found in the Star Wars saga. Luke lives a simple life on a farm on Tatooine with his aunt and uncle, when he receives a ‘call to adventure’ from R2-D2. This is a message of distress from Princess Leia, needing someone to transport the droid to Alderaan…

Stage two is where the protagonist and would-be hero refuses to go, or needs convincing. This could be for any number of reasons, such as being scared or not wanting to leave behind their current responsibilities. In the first part of Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo is called to adventure but is unsure about leaving his home (the Shire) as he has no previous experience of the outside world.

By this point, the hero has decided that they will go on the adventure after all. A supernatural aid, as the name of this step suggests, appears in order to guide them and offer advice/support. Usually they give the hero something to aid them in their quest. To go back to the Star Wars example, Obi-Wan Kenobi is the supernatural aid and he presents Luke with his father’s lightsaber.

This is still part of the departure section of The Hero’s Journey. It is when the actual adventure starts, and our hero gets going. Using another contemporary story as an example to illustrate Campbell’s theory here, we can look at The Matrix. This stage is when Neo chooses the red pill and sees what the Matrix is.

This is the final separation, and the last stage of the departure. The hero is now completely unattached from his own world, and showing that they are going to (and are willing to) undergo some change. Usually there is some danger at this point, like Jonah himself being swallowed by a whale…

We are now in the initiation stage. The road of trials is part of the hero’s journey that sees him undergo a series of tests in order to begin his eventual transformation. There tends to be three tests, though this isn’t set in stone. The hero will often fail and then succeed. An example is the three tasks Venus sets for Psyche in the ​​ancient Roman novel Metamorphoses . 

This is basically where our hero meets (any) woman. This step is the final test of the hero’s talent in order to win the ‘boon of love’. The hero will also gain items to help him on his journey. An example would be Frodo in The Lord of the Rings meeting the high elf Galadriel. She shows him a possible future and gives him a token.

The woman here is a metaphor for something that tempts the hero, and may lead him astray from his quest. For example – Luke in Star Wars meeting Leia, before he knows they are siblings…

This tends to be where the hero meets whatever it is that holds the ultimate power within his life, and this tends to be the central point of the hero’s journey. This turning point can be seen in The Lion King, when Scar admits to killing Mufasa – this causes Simba to undergo a transformation.

This is the very next part of the hero’s journey theory – when the protagonist has passed the halfway point – the point of no return. They are changed and can’t turn back. This is the ‘aha’ moment of every Sherlock Holmes story, for example.

This is the last stage of the initiation act. Our hero will achieve his goal, and everything is worth it – like when Luke destroys the Death Star in the Star Wars saga. Every hero’s journey has one, as this is ultimately the point of the story. All previous parts of the story were simply leading up to this moment, Campbell theorises. It’s a good point.

We are now in the return act of the hero’s journey theory. The first part is, however, the refusal of the return – our hero is so happy with himself that he doesn’t want to go back to normal life. It is almost a ‘comedown’ of sorts, after the goal has been achieved – like when Frodo and his party stay in Gondor for a while after completing their quest in LOTR.

This is when the hero must make a sudden return home. Sometimes this is supported by their supernatural aid, and sometimes it is thwarted by god, demons and so on. An example is when Neo is seen to ‘jack in’ to the Matrix.

One of the latter stages of the hero’s journey, this is almost a second half of The Magic Flight – it sees the hero being rescued or brought back home, like Sam and Frodo being rescued by eagles from Mount Doom… Linked to the Refusal to Return, Campbell explains that ‘in so far as one is alive, life will call. Society is jealous of those who remain away from it and will come knocking at the door’.

This examines the hero’s return to his normal world, and how he must try to hold onto what he has learned on his journey. It is a symbolic rebirth, like when Sherlock Holmes finds himself and returns after eventually defeating Moriarty.

This is the 16th and penultimate stage of the hero’s journey. It describes when our hero has achieved a balance between his normal life and that which he had on his quest in the ‘other world’. Another Star Wars example – this is when Luke finally becomes a jedi knight!

The final step. Our hero has defeated his enemy, achieved greatness and can now live as he pleases. For example, in Nicholas Cage’s fantastic film National Treasure, he is seen running off into his grand mansion at the end, laughing and smiling with his new girlfriend. He is settled down, and his story has come to an end.

The Hero’s Journey is an old theory, but at the same time it remains current. Utilised throughout the world as a means of understanding life and human behaviour, Campbell’s theory is often applied to a wide range of scenarios and situations, including those that may take place in the context of travel and tourism !

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5 Hero’s Journey Examples in Classic Mythology

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What are some good hero’s journey examples? What can these examples of the hero’s journey demonstrate about the hero’s journey?

Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces is an exploration of the power of myth and storytelling, from the ancient world to modern times, and spanning every human culture across the world. We’ll cover hero’s journey examples for the departure stage of the journey and explore how the themes of myth remain consistent across the globe.

Hero’s Journey Examples

All peoples, and indeed, all individuals, make sense of the world they live in and grapple with the experience of living by telling stories . Myths are the foundation of all human physical and intellectual pursuits, be they religious, economic, social, or cultural, because these myths tell us who we are and what destinies we are here to fulfill. Let’s look at some hero’s journey examples for the departure stage.

Hero’s Journey Example, Departure Stage #1: The Call to Adventure

In the first part of the monomyth, we meet our hero, our “man of destiny,” and witness their call to adventure. The call to adventure can come about through chance, even a mistake or blunder, which introduces the hero to a hidden world of possibility, guided by mysterious forces which the hero will come to understand through the course of their journey.

A frequent device employed in mythology is that of the herald or conjurer , the (often unlikely) figure who reveals the hero’s destiny and spurs them to action. The herald represents our subconscious, wherein all of our darkest fears are hidden. They are forcing us to confront things that we do not want to. As such, the herald is frequently a grotesque or unpleasant-looking figure, like a frog or a beast , or otherwise some veiled, mysterious, or unknown figure.

King Arthur and the Hart

In the hero’s journey example of Arthurian legend, King Arthur encounters a great hart (an archaic Old English term for a deer) in the forest. He gives chase to the animal, vigorously riding his horse until it dies from exhaustion. Arthur then comes to a fountain, where he sets down his dead horse and becomes lost in deep thought.

While he’s sitting at the forest fountain, he hears what sounds like dozens of hounds coming toward him. But, it is not hounds—instead, it is some strange beast, the likes of which the King had never seen before. The noise of 30 hounds barking and snarling emanate from its stomach, although there is no noise while the beast drinks at the fountain. Arthur marvels at this sight: this is his herald, his signal to begin his quest.

Hero’s Journey Example, Departure Stage #2: Refusal of the Call

A common feature of the monomyth is the hero’s refusal of the call , an initial reluctance to follow the steps of their destiny. In folk tales and myths across the world and throughout history, this refusal amounts to a selfish impulse to give up one’s narrow, immediate interests in the pursuit of spiritual awakening or even the salvation of the universe. In psychoanalytic terms, the refusal represents the clinging to infantile needs for security . Thus, the mother and father are the figures preventing true growth and transformation as the ego fails to develop and embrace the world outside the nursery.

Prince Kamar al-Zaman and Princess Budur

This concept is well illustrated in the hero’s journey example of the Arabian Nights tale of Prince Kamar al-Zaman and Princess Budur. In it, the prince has rejected his father’s demands that he take a wife, citing his desire to commit his life to Allah and avoid the pleasures (and sins) of the flesh. 

The sultan is advised to broach the subject with his son in the presence of a great council of state, the rationale being that the prince will surely be goaded into accepting marriage under these conditions of immense social pressure. But Kamar al-Zaman again refuses his father and insults him in front of his great ministers and viziers. Enraged, Kamar al-Zaman’s father has him imprisoned in a decrepit tower, where he is to reflect upon the injury and shame he has brought upon his family.

Simultaneously, in distant China, Princess Budur—the beautiful daughter of the emperor—is similarly refusing marriage to all suitors her father presents to her. She even threatens to kill herself with a sword if he brings up the subject of matrimony again. Like the sultan, the emperor locks his daughter up and appoints ten old women to guard her. He then sends messengers to all the kingdoms of Asia, telling the rulers that Princess Budur has gone mad.

Both the hero and the heroine have taken the negative path and refused the call of destiny. They are a predestined match, but it will take a miracle to bring them together.

Hero’s Journey Example, Departure Stage #3: Supernatural Aid

Some heroes respond to the call immediately. They are then guided along the path of adventure by a supernatural helper , as part of their first steps along the hero-journey. This helper is the personification of destiny. Often, this figure takes the form of an old man or old woman, like the fairy godmother, wizard, shepherd, smith, or woodsman figures of European fairy tales . But it can also take on other forms, like that of the Virgin Mary in many Christian saints legends from the Middle Ages. In the ancient mythology of Egypt and Greece, this figure was the boatman or ferryman, the conductor of souls to the afterworld—Thoth in Egyptian lore and Hermes-Mercury in Greek legend.

We see the supernatural aid theme as we return to the story of Kamar al-Zaman and Budur , another hero’s journey example. A shape-shifting figure named Maymunah crawls out of an old well in the tower where Kamar al-Zaman has been locked up by the sultan (the well symbolizes the unconscious and Maymunah the flowing up of unconscious thoughts into the realm of the conscious).

Finding the prince sleeping, she is awed by his physical beauty. Flying away, Maymunah encounters another supernatural being called Dahnash, who declares that he has just returned from China, where he has laid eyes on the most beautiful woman in the world—none other than Princess Budur. The two spirits argue about which royal youth is fairer. Each of them brings the other to their preferred candidate’s resting-place, but they cannot decide who is more beautiful unless they see them lying side-by-side.

Thus, these two otherworldly helpers begin the process of uniting the two fated youths , without either the prince or princess exerting any conscious will. The helpers are moving the hand of destiny. 

Hero’s Journey Example, Departure Stage #4: Crossing the Threshold

With this aid and guidance in hand, the hero sets off on their adventure until they come to a point where they are further away from the world of comfort and familiarity than they have ever been before. Ahead of them lies the danger of the unknown. On an individual level, this aspect of the heroic monomyth parallels the dangers and uncertainties of growing out of childhood and away from the protection of one’s parents . 

It is at this point that the hero meets the guardian of the threshold , who stands between the worlds of the known and the unknown. This guardian  is often a fearsome and monstrous figure, who represents our fears of leaving our comfort zone and stepping out into the world beyond. The hero must overcome this obstacle, just as we all must overcome our fears of the unknown if we are to thrive and grow as human beings in the great adventure of life . Only those with competence and courage can overcome the danger.

The Greek god Pan is perhaps the best-known of this type of border guard in hero’s journey examples. He instilled a wild, irrational fear into those who dared to cross into his realm (this is where the word “panic” comes from). To some, Pan would frighten his victims to death. But to those who paid him proper respect and homage, Pan would bestow bounty and wisdom. 

Hero’s Journey Example, Departure Stage #5: Belly of the Whale

Next comes one of the most potent symbols of the hero’s death and rebirth—the common motif of the hero being inside the belly of the whale. This belly symbolizes the womb (also a temple); the darkness within represents death; and the hero’s emergence parallels the act of birth (or rebirth).

The Greek hero Heracles sees the city of Troy being sacked by a monster that had been sent by the angry god of the sea, Poseidon. The king ties his daughter to the sea rocks as a sacrificial offering, hoping to appease the angry deity. Heracles agrees to rescue the girl and dives into the monster’s gaping mouth. He is digested, and manages to kill the beast by hacking his way out and emerging from the belly.

Other swallowing-and-reemerging motifs occur in mythological traditions across the world. The Irish hero Finn MacCool is swallowed by a monster known as a peist ; in the German fairy tale of Red Ridinghood, the heroine is devoured by a wolf; on the other side of the world, in Polynesia, Maui is consumed by his great-great-grandmother. 

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Here's what you'll find in our full The Hero with a Thousand Faces summary :

• How the Hero's Journey reappears hundreds of times in different cultures and ages
• How we attach our psychology to heroes, and how they help embolden us in our lives
• Why stories and mythology are so important, even in today's world
• ← Extremistan: Why Improbable Events Have a Huge Impact
• Supernatural Aid: The Hero’s Journey, Stage 3 (Explained) →

Amanda Penn

Amanda Penn is a writer and reading specialist. She’s published dozens of articles and book reviews spanning a wide range of topics, including health, relationships, psychology, science, and much more. Amanda was a Fulbright Scholar and has taught in schools in the US and South Africa. Amanda received her Master's Degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

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The Art(s) of Ideology

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Tragedy, the Monomyth, and Stories of Creation/Destruction

This week, we are working to lay important intellectual foundations for our class by introducing the classical theories of Aristotle (on the subject of tragedy) and the recent scholarship of Joseph Campbell (on the “monomyth” and the mythical hero).  To more fully comprehend the theories in question and the first mythical stories on the syllabus – myths of creation and flood/apocalypse stories from the ancient world – I want see how you can tie them together in a very specific way.  You have two options for this exploration.  1)  In the first case, you may apply specific ideas from Aristotle’s theories of tragedy to a specific myth (assigned for Wednesday) of your choosing.  I was particularly thinking that it would be interesting to see how the plot of your chosen tale fits certain “tragic” modes (such as leading toward a “catharsis”), or to consider how the characters fit Aristotle’s ideals – especially of the “tragic hero.”  2)  On the other hand, you might work with and through key ideas from Campbell’s influential scholarship.  If, for example, you would like to explore the notion of a “monomyth,” you might compare/contrast the similarities between several of the creation tales.  Alternately, it might be interesting to think about how a given story depicts the stages of the hero’s journey according to Campbell’s terms (i.e. separation, initiation, return).   For this first Blog post of the semester, it’s all about applied critical thinking – and it will be interesting to see what kinds of intellectual connections you can make by utilizing the ideas of Aristotle or Campbell.

24 thoughts on “ Tragedy, the Monomyth, and Stories of Creation/Destruction ”

Exploring Joseph Campbell’s Key Ideas

I am going to explore the step in The Hero’s Journey, in which the tragic hero encounters his “Supernatural aid.” Before I get into the specifics, the three major steps in The Hero’s Journey are the separation, the initiation, and the return. These steps make the journey interesting, entertaining, and are a chance for the hero in the story to grow. I like to think of these three steps in very general terms, as the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Specifically, I would like to focus on the hero’s encounter with their supernatural aid, which typically occurs in the separation part of the story. The first question that comes to mind is, what exactly the meaning of “supernatural” is? The supernatural aid in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling is Hagrid, who can be considered as a supernatural figure. Hagrid is technically supernatural because he is introduced as a man who is half human, and half giant, but can their be a supernatural aid who is just human? In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell describes a supernatural helper, as “In fairy lore it may be some little fellow of the wood, some wizard, hermit, shepherd, or smith, who appears, to supply the amulets and advice that the hero will require.” (66.2) Campbell explains a supernatural mentor as sometimes being a wizard, hermit, or fellow of the woods. My question is, can there be a supernatural aid that is not necessarily, “supernatural?” After researching this question, I found that there are many examples of supernatural helpers that do not necessarily fit into the category of “above the laws of nature.” For example, in the movie, The Amazing Spiderman, Uncle Ben is Peter Parker’s supernatural aid. Uncle Ben is not a supernatural wizard or fairy, he is a human, but he is still considered Peter Parker’s mentor. As I was exploring Joseph Campbell’s steps in the Hero’s Journey, I found that supernatural aids do not always have to be “supernatural,” they can simply be wiser or older figures in a character’s life.

Works Cited

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library, 2008.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Mentor in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Sep. 2017.

Joseph Campbell’s theory of a “monomyth”, meaning that all stories follow the same basic pattern was at first seen as absurd when he first introduced it to the public. It was especially taken wrong when the monomyth was applied to religion, which clearly rubbed some people wrong. However, when you examine myths with this idea in mind, it is very interesting to see how true it is. One type of myth that nearly all ancient groups have is a creation story. It is very easy to see the monomyth in these stories. Many creation stores, regardless of where in the world they were generated, begin with some form of order emerging from Chaos. In some stories Chaos is seen as an actually living thing, while in other stories, such as China’s story of a giant egg, it is seen as a mixture of two things, Yin and Yang. Next, the world has to be created, and this usually happens with some relation to water. This could be a flood, as it is in Chinese mythology, or it could be that water is a mother figure and the land is her son, which is common in many mythologies. During this process, a High God is usually created, and he creates other gods, which end up having a war in Heaven. A classic example of this is Greek Mythology, where Zeus and his siblings find themselves fighting their father and his Titans. From this there comes the emergence of a king god, in the case of Greek mythology that would be Zeus. This god, along with other gods, depending on the mythology, teaches people lessons on how to survive in their newly created world. One way to visualize this is looking at religion as myth, which some may agree with and some may not. If you look at it this way, the story of Adam and Eve is a classic example of humans learning what they can and cannot do in their new world. Another common theme in creation stories from around the world is that there are usually opposites involved. An obvious example of this is Yin and Yang, the idea that there must be opposites for the world to live in harmony. However, as many ancient mythologies relate to each other in their ideas of a creation story, they also relate to the monomyth in their beliefs on the way the world will end. Most stories involve an apocalyptic situation, often involving a horrific flood or other natural disaster. A common theme of evil prevailing over good is seen in many mythologies, a great example of the monomyth. Often there will be a time of judgement, involving the God interacting with the people to determine their futures’. In all of these stories of creation and destruction, the many common themes are easy to point out. These stories, from all over the world, somehow relate to one another, and are practically the same, but with different names and ideas. They are like one story, the monomyth. It makes you wonder how the stories could be so similar, if many of these ancient peoples could have never interacted with one another. This makes the idea of the monomyth extremely interesting.

Aristotle and Genesis

When applying the concepts of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy to a particular creation myth, one can directly see a parallel to Adam and Eve being tragic heroes in the story of Genesis. As God’s holy creation, they are seen to be blessed and good, pure in a sense, without sin. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is so that it focuses on one particular serious event, in this case it is the Original Sin of Disobedience created by Adam and Eve which in turn results from their fall from grace and ultimate expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Likewise, the whole creation story of Genesis is unified, it follows one whole pattern. God begins by creating Heaven and Earth and all the creatures to inhabit it, and on the last day he creates man to be the Supreme steward from clay, soon after he creates woman to be his partner. Since they are human, they are not perfect, therefore they have one particular hamartia about them, in this case it is gullibility and disobedience. Eve lets the Serpent trick her into eating the forbidden fruit that God told her not to touch, soon after she convinces Adam to do the same thing. Since they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge they themselves go from ignorance to knowledge and realize that they are naked, so they go to try and hide themselves from God. This part of the story can most likely be attributed to being a catharsis as one can relate to the amount of fear that is going through Adam and Eve’s body for they know that they have sinned against their creator and there will most certainly be a horrible punishment. When God discovers what has happened and even more so that Adam and Eve lied to him about it. He inflicts a great punishment upon them which one could most definitely say was not deserved. God takes away their immortality, he says they will have to work by the sweat of their brow to survive and childbirth for women will be long and painful, and finally Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden. The story itself goes from a completely warm, good, benevolent state in the beginning to one of despair and damnation in the end, a complete peripity of plot. Humans to this day see their life as being just like Adam and Eve in that they are not perfect, they are just like Adam and Eve because they are descendants of the same sinners, Genesis is the complete mimesis of ordinary human life because it is the model from which humans came from, the exact blueprint for modern human behavior. Sources: The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments ; Translated out of the Original Tongues and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised. American Bible Society, 1986.

A Superhero’s Journey Many superheroes follow the the outline developed by the Hero’s Journey, to an extent. Most heroes never get the ending, or return, outlined in Campbell’s work. The closest a comic book superhero gets to going through the full “Hero’s Journey” is actually what happens before the normal person actually becomes a “Superhero.” In this I will specifically be focusing on Bruce Wayne’s long journey to become the Batman and how it more closely follows the Hero’s Journey than his actual adventures as Batman. Bruce Wayne starts off as a happy young boy with his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, in Gotham City. One day, when Bruce is ten years old, he and his parents go to a movie where his parents are shot and killed in an alleyway. This event is Bruce’s call to action. This event directly leads to Batman’s crusade on crime in his city. At first this led to Bruce giving up and going into a depression until some words from his butler, Alfred, led to Bruce’s re-invigoration. I would also consider Alfred to be the “Supernatural Aid” of Bruce. Although he is not supernatural, similar to what Austyn has pointed out above with Uncle Ben, he is Bruce’s wise mentor. Bruce finally was prepared to do what he has to do to save his city, but he is still only 10 years old and pretty weak. Over the next 10-15 years Bruce trains his mind and body, travelling the world and learning new ways of fighting, meeting new teachers, and overcoming many challenges on his journey until he is finally able to return to Gotham City. Finalizing the journey outlined by Campbell, Bruce has become a changed man and is now ready to become, The Batman. Although his journey as Batman is just beginning, his true “Hero’s Journey” as Bruce Wayne has been completed.

Joseph Campbell is most famous for his work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. In this piece, Campbell explains that there are several basic stages that almost every hero goes through on their journey. Campbell calls this “the Monomyth”. There are 3 main stages of this journey- separation, initiation, and the return home. These three stages are what make the Hero’s Journey so interesting. For this blog post, I will be addressing the stage in The Hero’s Journey where the tragic hero is met with temptation. This stage of the journey usually takes place in the initiation section. The hero is usually so preoccupied with some kind of selfish pleasure, that they stray from the journey they are meant to fulfill. In older pieces, temptation was depicted as a beautiful woman, tempting a man (our tragic hero) to stray from or even abandoned his quest. This occasionally would lead to the tragic hero’s death if he was to give into the temptation. A well-known example of this kind of temptation is in Homer’s “The Odyssey”. As Odysseus and his men approach the island of Sirens, Odysseus has his men plug their ears with wax, so they cannot be swayed by the Sirens’ song. However, Odysseus himself hears the song and begs his men to untie him, so that he may join the Sirens. If his men had let him go, Odysseus’ journey would have ended quite differently. However, the modern-day view of temptation varies. The temptation a hero may face on their journey may not be a person, but an object, or creature instead. In “Lord of the Rings”, Frodo faces temptation from the Ring all throughout the movie and novel. It constantly reminds him of all the power he could have if he was to wear it. This is a similar situation to the infamous Infinity Gauntlet in marvel comics. Power is a temptation that most find hard to resist. In the classic Disney film, “Aladdin” temptation makes itself known in the form of magic. Once Aladdin realizes he has been giving three wishes, he is tempted several times to make wishes, even though he knows he may need them later on. A final example of temptation in modern-day movies and novels is the temptation of money. Villains, or the “bad guys”, of the story may try and bribe the hero to keep a secret or to complete a certain task. If the hero were to accept the bribe, they would stray from their journey

I chose to explore the key ideas of Joseph Campbell by examining the use of monomyth in a story such as The Hunger Games. It is know that the three most prominent steps of The Hero’s Journey are separation, initiation, and return. In this case, you will find all three steps in this story. Katniss Everdeen’s Call to Adventure occurred when her sister, Prim was drawn as District 12’s participant in the annual Hunger Games. Katniss is infuriated and can’t bear to lose her sister, so she decides to take Prim’s place and volunteer as tribute. Shortly after, Katniss is taken away from her family and friends which leads to the first step: separation. Within time, Katniss leads to the next step: initiation. Katniss goes through initiation when she is sent to the arena where she must not only survive, but keep Peeta, her fellow District 12 tribute alive. The final step of her initiation is when she gains sponsors as she’s fighting in the arena. As she gains these sponsors, she realizes that she is becoming a hero. They have faith in her and are rooting for her to win the games. In the return stage, Peeta and Katniss both survive which is more than anticipated since there can only be one winner of the games. The reason for this is due to Katniss which makes her even more of a hero. They both get to return back to District 12 and live a life full of luxury or so they think? It turns out that they have actually insinuated an issue that is more than they can control, which leads to a sequel of The Hunger Games. Overall, I found it really interested to know that you don’t have to be supernatural to be a hero. There wasn’t a time in The Hunger Games when Katniss had a higher advantage over others based off a supernatural gift. She’s simply a person who was naturally gifted with intelligence, strength, and compassion. That’s what made her a hero.

Joseph Campbell defined a layout for hero stories of separation, initiation, and return. Campbell’s point was that, essentially, all stories are really the same with just twists of details. This cyclic pattern can be seen in nearly any tale if looked for and specifically in works like The Hobbit, Harry Potter, and Moana. A step by step comparison of Campbell’s main “sections” of the Hero’s Journey shows just how similar these stories are, despite their apparent differences, as “monomyths”. Starting with the first step of separation, a very neat division can be seen where the main character crosses the threshold into the unknown. Bilbo Baggins leaves his familiar shire with a troupe of dwarves and a wizard headed for enchanted forests, dragons, and war. Harry Potter quite literally finds himself in another world of wizards, mystery, and danger. Moana sails beyond the reef which hasn’t been crossed in generations by her people to find a demigod and save the world. Each and every one of these characters are flung from their comfort zones into new realities where there is no going back and they must make new allies and enemies. The next phase of the journey is initiation where the heroes face fantastic danger and hardship. Just looking at a few of Bilbo’s myriad adventures shows that he outsmarts Gollum in a game of riddles, outwits elves to save his friends, and steals from a dragon to stop a war. Poor Bilbo had quite the introduction to being a hero, yet he was not the only one. Harry Potter is forced to fight for his friends and his life against the evil wizard Voldemort and hunts him down through a series of clues and hard won knowledge. Moana finds herself shipwrecked, running around in the realm of monsters, and fighting a lava monster all while learning how to become a voyager. These trials not only initiate the main characters into their new lives as heroes, but help them grow as people, changing them forever for their inevitable return. The return is a trip of reluctance and necessity where each character revisits their old world and merges it with who they have become. Bilbo returns well travelled, wizened of the world, rich, a professional burglar, and with a healthy streak of mischief concerning his ring of power. No longer a secluded hobbit, Bilbo remains connected with his friends and keeps up with the world around him now aware of the bigger events at play. With summer break upon him, Harry Potter returns home to find himself given a little more respect from his adoptive family and a newfound confidence thanks to his knowledge that he is a wizard and will always have a place where he belongs in the world of magic. Meanwhile, Moana sails back successfully having saved her island and gained the abilities of a seasoned, courageous voyager. Her tribe behind her, Moana finally steps into her role as chief and leads them off to explore the ocean and the islands that fill it. Now that each story has been broken down into Campbell’s key phases, the cycle of the Hero’s Journey can be seen clearly in all of them. It is almost like they are the same stories. The term “monomyth” does not seem to be so mythical after all once Campbell’s cycle is unveiled.

Tragic Heroes in Children’s Books

Everyone, no matter who they are, has at some point in their lives come into contact with a story that focuses on what Aristotle described as a tragic hero. However, that “contact” might have happened earlier than you had originally thought. But, what classifies a character as a tragic hero? To Aristotle, a tragic hero is, “a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction,”(1) and over all the character should posses certain traits and follow structural plot points such as:

-Noble birth -Hamartia/ Tragic Flaw -Peripeteia/ Downfall by Hamartia -Epiphany/ Realization -Catharsis/ Pity

One character in children’s literature that best fits this description would be The Giving Tree from Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Following down the outlined path, many lines can be drawn connecting the apple tree with symbolism of nobility and virtue. The apple tree has particularly bold symbolic value in Celtic culture, as it “concerns many admirable qualities such as purity, integrity, completeness and generosity”(2). Being associated with characteristics, especially that of integrity which is a synonym for nobility, really helps to highlight the innate nobility that our main character naturally posses. Next is hamartia and peripeteia, which are two traits that are more easily identifiable in the story itself. If you are not familiar with The Giving Tree, it is about an apple tree a boy throughout numerous stages in their lives. As a child, the boy enjoys playing with the tree, climbing her trunk, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. However, as the boy grows older, he spends less time with the tree and tends to visit her only when he wants material items. The tree, in a way, longs for the days when he was a child, repeatedly asking, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy,” to which the boy repeatedly refuses. In an effort to make him happy, the tree gives away parts of herself, which he can transform into the material items he desires, and at the end, she is nothing but a stump. The tree’s unconditional love for the boy is her hamartia, and her stump state at the end of the book is her peripeteia. Not even that it’s unconditional love, it’s more that the tree loves the boy more than itself, and again her giving nature literally whittles her down to almost nothing. While rereading this story, I almost thought that the tree didn’t have an epiphany or realization to what her actions had done to her, but it turns out she does towards the end when the boy comes to visit her one last time. The apple tree goes on to say, “I wish that I could give you something….but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry….” She has a realization that she gave all of her away to the boy, and even in this moment apologizes to him for not having anything left to give due to again her unconditional love. The catharsis, or our release of strong emotions, then comes from the realization that not only does the tree still have something to offer to the boy, but also that it is not something material, he only desires a place to sit and rest in his old age. While this story may not fit the description to a complete tee, I would still argue the fact that the character of the apple tree fits into Aristotle’s description of a Tragic hero. The Giving Tree flows through the bulleted stages that most tragic heroes follow very closely and aligns with them in some way shape or form. While the ending is more of a happy one, that doesn’t dismiss this story’s inherent sense of tragedy. It’s not that our characters aren’t in a tragic state at the end of the story, but more that they’ve come to terms with it, and ultimately are okay with it.

Sources: 1. https://www.bisd303.org/cms/lib3/WA01001636/Centricity/Domain/593/10th%20english%20Fall/C%20-%20The%20Tragic%20Play/Antigone.Medea/Definition%20of%20Tragic%20Hero.pdf 2. https://www.sunsigns.org/celtic-apple-tree-symbolism-meaning/

Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedies Applied to Oedipus Rex

Ancient philosopher, Aristotle, broke down the plot of a tragedy into three simple parts: reversal, recognition, and suffering. In addition to these three parts, he insisted that every tragedy accomplishes a catharsis. He also defined the “tragic hero” of a great tragedy as a decent man who experiences great misfortune. These concepts can easily be applied to the play, Oedipus Rex. When the city of Thebes is struck by a plague, they turn to their king, Oedipus. He consults the prophet, Tiresias and is told that the cause for the plague is the murder of Oedipus’s predecessor and his wife’s former husband, King Laius. He then tells Oedipus that not only is he the murderer, but he is Laius’s son and he is married to his mother. This point in the story reveals not only the tragic flaw of the tragic hero, but also the reversal of fortune. Oedipus killed his father and has married and procreated with his mother. Although he is in complete denial of this, the audience knows the truth and the initial build of emotions begins that will later lead to the catharsis. The recognition stage of the plot comes soon after when Oedipus discovers he is adopted. This part of the story progression is essential because the tragic hero must discover his or her tragic flaw. The catharsis takes place when the more than deserved suffering occurs as Oedipus blinds himself when he discovers his wife, who is also his mother, had hung herself in grief.

An American mythologist and writer named Joseph Campbell believed every hero goes through three main steps in their journey. The steps include separation, initiation, and return while obtaining some supernatural influence in the beginning of their journeys. However, these steps do not always end the way imagined by the readers. This is preeminently seen in the Creation myth from India, Manu. In the beginning, it starts with separation. This is where an event happens that ultimately makes the protagonist embark on a life-changing journey. While examining the Creation Myth this is seen early on when Manu, an average man, had left for his daily trip of hand washing. Once there he had been approached by a fish (supernatural assistance). This fish urged him for a favor and in return he offered Manu’s life. The fish warned of a flood that would eliminate every creature. After this, the fish had given Manu strict instructions on what he had to do if he wanted to survive the flood. It is important to note the fish is a key detail in correlating Campbell’s ideas, because he insists supernatural aid appears in every myth. Following the three-step plan after separation comes initiation. Initiation is illustrated through the main character having to prove himself by facing his fear, or completing a task. For Manu, the task had been to keep the talking fish in a jar until he could no longer fit, then release it back into the ocean. Upon release, Manu was supposed to obtain a boat and wait for this talking fish. This and only this, would save Manu’s life from the flood destined to come. While this holds true one could also argue the fact that Manu had been doing these tasks to evade his own fears which would have been death. Once the initiation had been completed and the task was completed the last stage in the Hero’s Journey begins, return. Return is conveyed when the Protagonist/hero of the story returns to his once mediocre life. However, the life he is returning to is forever changed by his prior excursion, whether it be physically or mentally. After Manu followed all the supernatural fish’s orders, he resided on his boat. The Earth had been flooded and as he said the fish eventually rescued Manu. Differently from other hero’s journeys, when Manu was finished with his he wasn’t met with a grateful, happy town; rather, he was left the last person alive on Earth. Overall, even though some of the stages are a bit skewed from the original concepts, the Indian creation story does closely follow Campbell’s ideas on hero’s journeys in myths.

The theory of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth is one that i believe is most accurate. Campbell has many steps in his Monomyth theory, but he divided them into three main parts. Separation, initiation, and return make up most of the hero’s story, but many smaller steps follow. One example seen in almost all stories and myths is the role of a woman temptress. The temptation will often take a beautiful female form and can come as good or bad. For example in Star Wars, Princess Leia is a innocent example to Luke of a women temptress. The importance of a temptress is the influence they bring and the possibilities he/she brings. This also can go back in time of the creation period when Eve is said to represent temptation and what the importance of a temptress is. There are many steps in Campbells theory, but temptation is something that humans have been dealing with for ages.

Joseph Campbell is Talks about the three main stages of a hero’s journey in his book “The hero with a thousand faces.” These three stages are Separation, initiation, and return, it’s what almost all hero’s go through during their journey. These stages can be represented in the movie “The Lion King”. In the movie, “The Lion King” Simba goes through separation at a young age. In the beginning of the movie Simba loses his father so that is separation from him. Another way he is separated id from his uncle. They always kept him separated cause his uncle who was named scar was no good. Scar was the one who technically killed Simba’s dad Mufasa. He pushes him off the ledge instead of trying to save him. He also loses separation from his mother because he ends up in the Jungle alone and that’s when the initiation comes in. While he is in the jungle alone he meets some new animals who later become his friends. They Timon and Pumbaa. They give him the confidence that he had deep down inside and never showed. They raised him to be the best he could be. Through the years with them Simba become a strong and confident Lion. The initiation Comes in during the middle of movie when he goes to the pool with Rafiki. Rafiki tells him to look deeper because when he first looks in the pool he saw his reflection. The second time around he saw his father to show who he could be. Then he sees a vision of what he can be and what it looks like if he doesn’t step up like he supposed to. He then realizes what he must do, He must take up responsibilities to set the kingdom start. That leads to the return home. When he come back its not looking so good that’s from his abandonment. At the end, he takes care of his responsibilities and the kingdom returns to its normal state. That’s how he becomes the hero.

Multiple of Aristotle’s ideas of the tragic hero fit the God Vishnu in the story The end of The Kali Age. The Hindu God Vishnu can be described as a tragic hero and more specifically a “great man”. An Ohio University article on Aristotle’s Tragic terms defines a great man as a man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake. In many stories from India, there was believed to have an Apocalypse at the end of each age, which would create a new one after. During the fourth age, most commonly known as The Kali Age, an apocalypse occurs and Vishnu is able to experience it. Vishnu is defined as a great man because he doesn’t change due to malaise or evil but had to change due to an unfortunate event. Vishnu had to absorb the world while the apocalypse occurred so a new age could start, but he had to be birthed again.

Sources 1. http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/aristotletragedy.html 2. https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/courses/80771.201780/Creation%20%26%20Destruction%20Myths%281%29.pdf

Aristotle’s “tragic hero” ideal can be identified in numerous Greek myths that represent true loss. One such example of this tragic hero is found in India: The End of The Kali Age. Vishnu, the preserver god, has the sole responsibility of protecting the earth and recycling it when he deems necessary. While some may praise him as a “god” I choose to side with Aristotle’s ideology. Aristotle stated that the hero is “neither a villain nor a model of perfection but is basically good and decent.”.Although Vishnu is an idol, I feel as though he is not a hero but rather good and decent as he is simply fulfilling his one “purpose”. As Vishnu “recycles” the earth, the sun is responsible for nourishing earth and its inhabitants by giving it the essentials to thrive. All the same, you rarely see anyone praising the sun for rising up every morning and setting every night because the sun is simply fulfilling its sole “purpose”. Therefore I feel as though Vishnu should not be praised as he is simply good and decent.

Sources: 1) http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/aristotletragedy.html 2) https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/courses/80771.201780/Creation%20%26%20Destruction%20Myths%281%29.pdf

Campbell’s Influential Scholarship: Joseph Campbell, a renound mythological researcher developed stages of a hero’s journey that seem to apply to most (if not all) hero-quests. For instance, in the story of Manu, an Indian myth, the protagonist, Manu, is called away from his ordinary world/everyday life when “It” warns him about a great flood coming. This represents the beginning steps of the “hero’s journey”, “the ordinary world” and “the call to adventure”, as explained by Campbell. As the “The Hero’s Journey” document states, “usually there is a discovery, some event [the flood], or some danger that starts them on the heroic path” (1). The next prescribed step in the hero’s journey is “refusal of the quest”, which is basically that if the hero denies the quest, there will be misfortune but if they accept it, it will aid them, which in “Manu” is when Manu decides to listen to the ghasha’s advice to build a ship and enter it a year later when the flood was predicted to come. Since he accepted the “quest”/advice, it brought him fortune and saved his life, which applies to the step of the mono-myth “accepting the call”. Accordingly, Manu entering the ship would also be apart of the step in the mono-myth of “entering the unknown” due to Manu never doing so before and only entering the ship because of the advice he received from ghasha. Along in this, the ghasha is what Campbell would call a “supernatural aid” as well as an “ally/helper” because the fish is who warned Manu as well as pulled him by the rope of the ship to safety. Also, the “talisman” or “special item that assists the heroes on their quest” (3) would be the ship since it is primarily what completed the quest in saving Manu. In actuality, the “supreme ordeal” or “quest/test” Manu faces is taking the boat down to the sea in exactly a year since the warning from ghasha was given. Since he succeeded in doing so, ghasha made sure he made it to safety and “the tension [from the flood is] relieved” (3). This myth of Manu, however, does not precisely fit Campbell’s monomyth because there is no “journey home” necessarily. Basically, Manu’s journey home is just leaving the ship and his “reward” is being the only creature to survive the vast flood because of the aid from ghasha. On top of this, the myth does not entail if Manu was going to restore his world, so the last “stage” of Campbell’s monomyth does not exactly apply there. All in all, India’s myth of Manu follows the basic stages and common structure seen in a majority of myths/stories, which Campbell called the “monomyth”. Though the myth does not follow the monomyth step by step, it does embody the same elements Joseph Campbell discovered to be seen in most myths. Works cited: https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/xid-4968337_1 & http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/TheHeroJourney.pdf

The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of actions that is found in many stories. Popularized by Joseph Campbell, this template for storytelling is also known as monomyth. Campbell summarized his theory in three large steps; separation, initiation, and return. Now, these aren’t the only steps, but they can be considered the largest pieces in the plot. Separation is the first main piece that can be explained by being the start of the hero’s journey, where they are called into adventure and set out with supernatural assistance. For Dorthy of The Wizard of Oz, she is called into action by the twister that swept her away from Kansas. She must start her journey to return home, with the assistance of the ruby red slippers. Initiation is the next step, where the hero is faced with the main ‘meat’ of the story. This is where they experience trials and tribulations that cause them to emerge as a hero. For Dorthy this was recruiting and helping the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Cowardly Lion, along with defeating the Wicked Witch of the West. In the final step, return, the hero crosses back into the threshold of reality. For Dorthy this was clicking her heels back together and awaking to her Aunt, Uncle, and Professor.

Sources: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/852/The-Wizard-of-Oz/full-synopsis.html http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/hero_journey/hero_journey.htm

Joseph Campbell’s 3 main parts of a hero’s journey is able to relate to any great hero from your favorite novel or movie. In the story, the Hunger Games we are shown Campbell’s key ideas from the Hero’s Journey portrayed in this book. In the beginning we are firstly shown the separation as talked about by Campbell of Katniss leaving District 12 as she sacrifices herself in place of her sister Prim. The separation or departure is something mostly all heros go through in the beginning of their journey. Secondly we are shown the initiation part, which in the hunger games would be katniss going through trials and tests to get her ready and prepared for the ultimate test which is the hunger games. In the hunger games we are shown her true strength as she’s able to stay alive and this is when her true character emerges. She is seen as a hero in her districts eyes and they are all rooting for her. Lastly, her return is just like any other true heros. Her district patiently waited her arrival and celebrated her and peeta, the other boy in her district’s, return. Katniss is a great example of Campbell’s 3 main ideas of a heros journey as she portrays to all of his main points.

Joseph Campbell describes the idea of the “monomyth” as the “hero’s journey.” He outlines the patterns in the works he studies into seventeen stages; but for this blog post we will only be talking about the three main stages. The three main stages of separation, initiation and return can be seen in almost all of today’s books, movies and television show. The most concrete of these is the idea of the “superhero.” When I first read Campbell’s theories, the first example that came to mind was Captain America. In my mind, his story encompasses both Campbell’s idea of a monomyth and Aristotle’s ideas of a tragedy. When we first meet Captain America, he was only Steve Rogers. He was the scrawny kid who wanted to serve his country in the war but because of his health issues, he was denied time and time again. This is until he meets he doctor who proposed an experimental treatment that would allow him to be able to fight in the war like he always wanted. This moment shows the “Call to Adventure,” and the “Supernatural Aid.” Next, he goes through the extremely painful process of becoming the super soldier that the doctor was trying to create, only after becoming the exact thing that the army desired, he was told that it was too dangerous to send him out to the front lines, instead he became a show to sell bonds and boost moral for the soldiers. His dream of serving his country was crushed and he was forced to become a dancing monkey for the masses to “do his part.” These serve as “Crossing the First Threshold.” And, as Aristotle suggested, makes the audience feel pity for him and they want him to reach his goals and succeed. But then, the story shifts, and he hears that a group of soldiers were captured and the army didn’t want to risk losing more soldiers to save those few. Among them was his ally Bucky Barnes. So, he risks it all to save his friend and the other soldier. This kicks off his initiation where his travels around Europe “kicking Nazi butt” with his best friend and the Howling Commandos. Here, the “Road of Trials” is shown. But, then, things take a turn for the worst and Bucky falls to his death. Here, as Aristotle describes, Steve changes from an almost completely good man to one who now shows his fatal flaw, how much he cares. At this point he doesn’t care about the people who get in his way, if the people he cares about are safe. At the end of the movie, he reaches that point where his fatal flaw becomes, literally, fatal. He flies a plane full of nuclear bombs heading for New York into the arctic. He says to his love interest, Peggy Carter, “Right now I’m in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice.” It is at this point the audience weeps for the tragic hero who dies for the sake of the lives of others and the loss of what could have been. This was his “Refusal of the Return.” The last few scenes of the movie are when he is found almost 70 years later, alive, still frozen in the ice. This is both the “Return” and that moment of catharsis for the audience. From here his story continues to go through the Hero’s Journey throughout the other movies from the franchise. This film encompasses, in the most classic sense, both the ideas of Joseph Campbell and Aristotle.

Campbell describes that the process of a hero’s journey consisted of three parts. The parts starts with separation, thennitiation, and lastly the return. For a better understanding of this process, I would like to used the story of Harry Potter as an example. In the beginning, Harry Potter was stuck living underneath a tiny cupboard with his aunt and uncle, who would abuse him every chance they get. He then received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry asking him to attend. His aunt and uncles was against him going there and he himself did not believe that he could become a wizard. However, a man visited him soon after and brought him to a place called Diagon Alley, where Harry became fascinated to learn the tricks of magic. Hagrid, who guided him through the task of becoming a wizard soon became someone who Harry can depend on. This is where the separation ends and would slide into the initiation. At Hogwart, Harry found out that his parents was killed by Lord Voldemort. He want so much to avenge his parents’ death but he knows he’s too weak to do that alone so he made friends with Ron and Hermione to help him with the quest along the way. Their first quest is to protect the Philosopher’s Stone from Professor Snape. However, something with wrong during the quest and Harry ended up facing Professor Quirrel, who Voldemort has been hosting on, alone. Harry knows he is still not strong enough to fight Voldemort by himself and Voldemort strong power made Harry passed out and brought him to the verge of death. This would be where the initiation ends and the return begin. As result of the encountered, Harry did not died but was brought to the school hospital. He later discovered that he was protected by his parents’ love that was able to save him from Voldemort wrath. Although, Harry may not defeated Voldemort but he knows that by being alive, he would have another chance of meeting Voldemort again in the near future.

I agree with the the connections you made between Campbell’s explanation of a monomyth and the story of Harry Potter completely, but it also made connections with Aristotle’s tragic hero theory. Could Harry Potter be considered a tragic hero? Although he has a happy ending, he endured a lot of suffering and his journey brought him a lot of losses. Would Dobby, Dumbledore, Sirius Black, or Fred Weasley be considered tragic heroes? They all met tragic ends and their downfall was helping Harry Potter.

A monomyth or the hero’s journey is a template of tales that involves a hero who goes on an adventure (separation), and wins a victory during a crisis (initiation), and then comes home transformed (return). Joseph Campbell viewed monomyths as stories all followed by the same basic pattern and plot. Campbell describes 17 stages of the monomyth, but not all monomyths necessarily contain the 17 stages, whereas most are summed into three sections. The first section of the story is separation/departure which is about the separation of the hero from their normal world. For example, in the movie “Finding Nemo,” Nemo is caught by men in a boat and Marlin must embark on a journey across the ocean to get him back. The initiation is the main part of the story. Through daring and battle, the true character emerges. In Finding Nemo, Marlin and Dory come across Bruce who is a shark tempted to eat them, then they get caught in “the belly of the whale,” where it turns out the whale helps them in their journey. Overall, they are able to overcome their risky encounters. After their initiation, the hero returns in triumph to deserved recognition, just like Nemo, Marlin, and Dory safely returned home to their reef after their journey. Although, Finding Nemo is a popular movie, it’s story line still closely follows Joseph Campbells ideas on a hero’s journey.

Native North American Myth: Star Woman and Earth Divers is a creation myth that originated from the Onondagan tribe that explains how the Earth came to be. The myth follows a woman known as, “Star Woman,” who has a child. This child can be considered a tragic hero, but for this to make sense we must view the beings being forced to live on Earth, rather than in the sky as a tragedy. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a flaw, peripeteia (a disruption of fortune due to the hero’s poor judgement,) experiences anagnorisis (a recognition of one’s error or flaw,) and lastly the hero’s fate involves an excessive amount of suffering.

The flaw of the Star Women as a whole seems to be that when they give birth their husbands die. After the daughter of the Star Woman is married and has a baby her husband falls ill. I inferred from the reading that since her husband did not die that he throws his wife and child from the sky in order to avoid death. This is the event that disrupts the life of the Star Woman’s child. A factor from the myth that differs with Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero is that the Star Woman never recognizes any flaws or mistakes she might possess or might have made. Failing to recognize that birth leads to death she allows her daughter to give birth. Her daughter is murdered by one of her son’s and brings evil into the world. The Star Woman suffers through the loss of her father, the betrayal of her husband, the death of her daughter, and with now being introduced to evil.

Joseph Campbell identifies the Monomyth as a kind of template for many heroic tales in which a main character follows a series of steps to become a “hero”. It goes like so: A hero in an ordinary world is presented with some type of call to adventure in which he or she may or may not initially refuse. They then meet a mentor through whom (or on their own) they then choose to accept this call to adventure. In doing so the main character crosses to the “special world” and steps away from reality. They face tests which they should pass with relative ease, then will face a type of ultimate fear. One of two things can happen; either they pass this test, or die and are resurrected somehow. Then after this, the main character or hero will return to his initial society improved or changed for the better one way or another. This idea can be broken down into three larger steps which are separation, initiation and return. According to Campbell, you can apply this sequence of events known as “The Hero’s Journey” to almost any hero tale. When thinking of this, I tried to draw parallels to stories i already know, and one of my favorite childhood books came to mind; Percy Jackson: Lightning Thief. Percy was initially called into action when he finds out his father is poseidon and that he is in trouble. He must retrieve an item for his father, and so he sets out on his mission. In this call to action, he initially refuses, until he meets a mentor named Chiron which guides him in the direction of heroism. Within the first 3 chapters of the book, the first stage of the hero’s journey is accomplished. Percy faces initiation throughout the main part of the story, where he fights many types of monsters and demons. He faces a lot of smaller tasks, and pass them although they were rough. Then in the end he must face the ultimate task, a greater challenge than all; He ends up fighting Hades and although he doesn’t defeat him per say, he ends up victorious. Percy then is on a mountain full of gods, and his reward is the appreciation of all of the gods; they call kneel to him. He is a hero. He begins his return and makes quite the journey back home. He has to face a gatekeeper in order to pass the threshold from the special world back into the ordinary world. Once he makes it back into the ordinary world, he is a different person. Percy understands many things he did not understand before and sees the world in a completely different light. Aside from just this story, it’s quite interesting to use Campbell’s theories to draw comparisons with different stories and realize just how accurate it is. Joseph Campbell’s theory of monomyth holds true through just about any hero tale.

In this post, I would like to compare Aristotle’s Characteristics for a tragic hero with a character from game of thrones. Aristotle lays down a set of characteristics that nearly every tragic hero must follow. The character must suffer, must be doomed, be noble, and his story should arouse fear and empathy. One such character that meets all the criteria for as tragic hero in George RR Martins Book Series A Song Of Ice And Fire is Rob Stark. Rob Stark is the son of his recently deceased father who was killed in a treacherous act by an evil king. Outraged by this Rob being the noble man that he is takes up arms against the king. This action highlights robs inherent goodness, as he does the right thing and stands up for his family, it also shows how rob suffers much more than he deserves, the Stark family (which Rob belongs to) had never wronged the king or anyone in his service. Over the next year Rob shows his intelligence and prowess for leadership by wining every battle he is in. Sadly, these victories are not enough, leading into another characteristic rob meets. Rob is doomed from the start. Not only does everyone doubt his ability to lead due to his young age, they fear his political inexperience will lead him to tearing apart his hold on the kingdom he fights for. In the end is it not Robs Pride that kills him but a mixture of his Vices and Virtues. It is Robs lust and honor that kills him. Robs mother pledged to marry rob to the daughter of a lord they needed the service of to help win Robs war. Rob however, falls in love with another girl and does the “noble” thing and marries her. This offends the king that Rob had been promised to this leads into another matching characteristic. Rob Stark Now sees his faults and learns that it is not just important to win on the battlefield but also to win over the men under you. Rob trying to recover from this folly arranges to marry his uncle to the girl and a grand marriage is planned. When Rob attends this wedding he is betrayed by the lord he once betrayed and is killed in the process along with all his men and his mother. This microcosm of storytelling that takes place in the entire series show a perfect example of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s Guidelines of Such a hero.

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• Features / The Daily Prophet

Harry Potter and the Hero’s Journey

by MuggleNet · Published April 28, 2014 · Updated December 7, 2022

Last week, I found a post on Tumblr that analyzed a character from the TV show Doctor Who  and compared that character’s journey to the pattern of Joseph Campbell’s “monomyth,” or “the hero’s journey” (the original post can be found here ). Monomyth, as conveniently explained by Wikipedia, “is a basic pattern that its proponents argue is found in many narratives from around the world.” Essentially, it is the theory that many great literary heroes have all gone through the same seventeen stages of adventure (i.e., their stories all follow the same pattern).

Below is a diagram of the basic “hero’s journey”:

Still a bit confused? Here is how monomyth is explained by the creator of this idea himself:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. – Joseph Campbell

After researching this for a while, I was inspired to make my own comparisons between Harry’s journey in the Harry Potter series to see if it matched up with Joseph Campbell’s pattern. I wrote out the seventeen stages of monomyth (read more here ) and added the description of each. Then I tried to relate points in Harry’s story to those stages, and I learned that we should continue in the argument that Harry Potter is classic literature since this fits almost seamlessly with the basic pattern that many great myths and stories follow.

Here’s my analysis:

1. The Call to Adventure

“The hero begins in a mundane situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown.”

For Harry, this was the classic “Yer a wizard, Harry” moment that sets the story in motion.

2. Refusal of the Call

“Often when the call is given, the future hero first refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances.”

Harry’s “refusal” was the short-lived “I can’t be a wizard; I’m just Harry.”

3. Supernatural Aid

“Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid them later in their quest.”

Hagrid plays the role of Harry’s “supernatural aid,” subsequently providing Harry with an “artifact” that will help him “later in [his] quest” — a wand.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

“This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.”

This would be Harry’s first steps into Diagon Alley, where he is fully submerged into the wizarding world.

5. Belly of the Whale

“The belly of the whale represents the final separation from the hero’s known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis.”

While it is debatable which moment is the “belly of the whale,” I think the closest thing is when Harry is sorted into Gryffindor House, a place where he can finally belong like no other place in his life.

1. The Road of Trials

“The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes.”

Many “trials” occur in Harry’s time at Hogwarts, and they are typically presented in threes. For example, in Chamber of Secrets there is the Dueling Club, then following the spiders into the Forbidden Forest, and lastly Harry’s encounter with Tom Riddle and the Basilisk. There are also many Quidditch matches that could be considered trials or things like asking a date to the Yule Ball — however you see it, you have to agree that there is a  nearly never-ending road of trials in the Harry Potter series.

2. The Meeting with the Goddess

“This is the point when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother. This is a very important step in the process and is often represented by the person finding the other person that he or she loves most completely.”

I would argue that even though it is certainly out of order, Harry’s “meeting with the goddess” was when he was an infant and Lily died to protect him. This act saved Harry’s life many times and even helped defeat Voldemort later on, so it matches up with the criteria of being “a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful.”

3. Woman as Temptress

“In this step, the hero faces those temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from his or her quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.”

This one is tough because Harry doesn’t really ever “stray from his quest.” I think that the closest thing to this would be his relationship with Ginny since she was always on Harry’s mind, and him breaking up with her for her own safety at the beginning of  Deathly Hallows shows that Harry tried to push away this “temptress.”

4. Atonement with the Father

“In this step the person must confront and be initiated by whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life. In many myths and stories this is the father, or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center  point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving into this place, all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male entity, it does not have to be a male – just someone or thing with incredible power.”

Even though there are many moments when Harry has had “atonement” with James, at this point in the story Dumbledore is the “father” and mentor of this stage and is the one who “holds the ultimate power.” This act being the “center point” of the journey, we can conclude that this moment is best represented by:

• Being “initiated” by helping Dumbledore search for the locket Horcrux
• Dumbledore’s death at the Astronomy Tower, a turning point for Harry

5. Apotheosis

“When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. A more mundane way of looking at this step is that it is a period of rest, peace and fulfillment before the hero begins the return.”

Harry’s apotheosis is when he sacrifices himself to Voldemort in Deathly Hallows , physically dying and meeting Dumbledore in the purgatory/King’s Cross dream state. It is certainly a “period of rest” and allows Harry to  think through his plan and have a moment of “fulfillment” with Dumbledore, who finally answers the questions that Harry had been desperately wanting answers to.

6. The Ultimate Boon

“The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself or a plant that supplies immortality or the holy grail.”

Plain and simple: when Voldemort’s spell backfired and killed him, leaving Harry victorious.

1. Refusal of the Return

“Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.”

There is not a direct example of this in Harry Potter since we know little about what happened directly after the Battle of Hogwarts.

2. The Magic Flight

“Sometimes the hero must escape with the boon, if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it.”

Once more, there is not a direct example of this in Harry’s journey because of the limited information we are given after the “Ultimate Boon” stage.

3. Rescue from Without

“Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, oftentimes he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience.”

We can assume that Ginny was a one of the “guides” for Harry after the battle, leading him back to everyday life since in the epilogue they are living happy and peaceful lives.

4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

“The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world.”

Harry shared some of his “wisdom” with Albus Severus on Platform 9 3/4 when he reassured Albus that it did not matter what house he was sorted into, because “the bravest man” he ever knew was a Slytherin. This reflects directly back to the first novel when Harry himself was concerned about being sorted into Slytherin, and this moment in the epilogue at the train station is a little tidbit of Harry sharing knowledge from his journey “with the rest of the world.”

5. Master of Two Worlds

“This step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Gautama Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.”

Again, in the epilogue, Harry is shown content with everyday life while still being connected to the wizarding world.

6. Freedom to Live

“Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.”

We do not see any regret from Harry, but regarding the future we are told that “the scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years” and that finally, “all was well.”

I encourage you to research monomyth deeper — it was so interesting to learn about. There are many different variations out there, and I’ve read other comparisons of the hero’s journey to well-known stories (including Star Wars and even Lilo & Stitch ). Feel free to let me know in the comments if you agreed or disagreed with any of these comparisons or if you know any more about monomyth!

• Next story  “The Cripple of Inishmaan” lands several nominations for the 2014 Tony Awards
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2.1.2.8.5: Article- The Hero’s Journey

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• Page ID 117900

• Charity Davenport
• University of Tennessee

Before You Read

Discuss the following questions with a classmate.

• What makes someone a hero?
• What do heroes do in movies?
• Why do people love stories about heroes?
• What are some stories you can think of that have a hero?
• Skim the next reading. What do you think is the author’s purpose of the text: to inform, entertain, or to persuade? How will that affect the way you take notes on the reading?

Vocabulary in Context

This article has a lot of useful vocabulary for reading the rest of the chapter and for use in your next essay. Try to guess the vocabulary in bold .

• Chances are this kind of story has been told for millennia , and yet people still love them.
• Many stories that humans have loved throughout time have some interesting patterns, and that there’s a good reason why these kinds of stories strike a chord in us.
• Superhero movies epitomize the hero’s journey and are becoming bigger and bigger blockbusters each year. Even George Lucas himself, the creator of the groundbreaking Star Wars movie series, noted that Joseph Campbell’s book was very influential to him.
• This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are unknown.
• The hero may need to fight against foes who are guarding the gate or border of the realm to prevent the hero from coming in.
• While on their way towards their task, the hero might meet some friends, allies , or people willing to help them.
• In between facing ordeals , the hero gets to see more of the fantastic land they are in.
• Not long after she begins her trek on the yellow brick road, Dorothy meets others that will help her on her quest.
• Numerous times she traverses back and forth from Kansas and the land of Oz and other neighboring fantasy lands filled with interesting characters.
• The real reason why ordinary humans like ourselves love these kinds of outlandish storylines is that we want to strive to be heroes ourselves.

Vocabulary Building

Find the word in the paragraph given. Use the synonyms and definition to help.

• P1: surpass, exceed (v.): ______________________________________________________
• P2: a preset pattern (n.): ______________________________________________________
• P4: to be a perfect example of (v.): ____________________________________________
• P5: clearly, in full detail (adv.): _________________________________________________
• P12: a complete and thorough change (n.): ____________________________________
• P14: gentle, kind (adj.): _______________________________________________________
• P17: although (conj.): _________________________________________________________
• P18: equipped (v.): ___________________________________________________________
• P19: a magical or medicinal potion (n.): ________________________________________
• P20: great happiness (n.): _____________________________________________________
• P20: extremely interested (adj.): ______________________________________________
• P27: strange, unfamiliar (adj.): _________________________________________________
• P28: involve (v.): _____________________________________________________________

The Hero’s Journey

Written by Charity Davenport with material from the Wikipedia article “ Monomyth “, $\ccbysa$

Illustrations by W.W. Denslow for L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, $\ccpd$

Think about one of your favorite movies or stories. Chances are the story has a strong hero that you empathize with and aspire to become. And chances are this kind of story has been told for millennia, and yet people still love them. These stories transcend time and culture.

In narratology and comparative mythology, the monomyth, or the hero’s journey, is the common template of a broad category of tales that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a critical crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed.

The study of hero myth narratives started in 1871 with anthropologist Edward Taylor’s observations of common patterns in plots of heroes’ journeys. Later on, hero myth pattern studies were popularized by Joseph Campbell in his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell and other scholars describe narratives of Gautama Buddha, Moses, and Jesus Christ in terms of the monomyth, and notice that many stories that humans have loved throughout time have some interesting patterns, and that there’s a good reason why these kinds of stories strike a chord in us.

The stages of the hero’s journey can be found in all kinds of literature and movies, from thousands of years ago to now. Superhero movies epitomize the hero’s journey and are becoming bigger and bigger blockbusters each year. Even George Lucas himself, the creator of the groundbreaking Star Wars movie series, noted that Joseph Campbell’s book was very influential to him. The hero’s journey can be found in books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and most other fantasy sci-fi books, legends, fairy tales, and comic book series like Spiderman and Batman. Many video games like The Legend of Zelda, Skyrim, the Final Fantasy and even the Pokémon series carry many elements of the hero’s journey. But fantasies aren’t real. Why do we love these stories so much? Because the monsters might not be real, the witches might not be real, and the magical objects and fantastic settings might not be real. But the struggle is.

But before we talk about that, we need to dive deeper into the different stages of Campbell’s hero’s journey. The following list of stages also describes stages mentioned by other writers, like David Adams Leeming, who wrote a similar book inspired by Campbell’s book in 1981 called Mythology: The Voyage of the Hero, and Christopher Vogler who published The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers in 2007. As you read, think about examples from stories, movies, or books you have read that might fit these stages. You’ll be surprised. As an example, the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, America’s most well-known mythology written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum, will be used to help explain the stages. There are many stages–not all monomyths necessarily contain all stages explicitly; some myths may focus on only one of the stages, while others may deal with the stages in a somewhat different order. The stages are divided into three parts–departure, initiation, and return.

Part 1: Departure

1: unusual birth.

The hero may have an unusual birth or is born with unique powers. They may be born into a royal family but sent off to live with someone with a more ordinary existence. No matter their birth, something is different about them that lies unknown to others and themselves. They may be isolated by others due to this difference.

2: The Ordinary World / Humble Upbringing

Oftentimes, the story starts out in a world not too different from our own, and in contrast to stage 1, the hero might just be your everyday neighbor down the street. In the case of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the main character Dorothy is just a normal American girl living on a farm in Kansas.

3: The Call to Adventure

Suddenly something happens, and the hero is requested to do a task and /or is taken to a new world. For Dorothy, suddenly a tornado comes, but she is unable to get to the underground shelter in time and so runs into the house. The house is taken away into the sky and later lands in a beautifully colored land of tiny people named the Munchkins. The hero may often find themselves in a fantasy land much different from their home at one point or another.

4: Refusal of and Acceptance of the Call

Often when the call is given, the future hero first refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances. Someone may come to help convince the hero that they are the only ones who can do the task, or they are the best person for the job. Eventually, the hero learns that they must be responsible to complete the task at hand.

5: Supernatural Aid / Mentor & Talisman

Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears or becomes known. More often than not, this supernatural mentor will present the hero with one or more talismans or artifacts that will aid the hero later in their quest. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, after Dorothy finds herself in a magically colorful land filled with strange little people, the good witch Glinda comes to help Dorothy find her way to the Wizard of Oz, who can help her get home. Glinda gives Dorothy a pair of magical silver shoes (ruby slippers in the 1939 movie version)–shoes from the feet of her evil witch sister that has just been crushed by Dorothy’s house falling on her. Glinda appears every so often during the movie version to help Dorothy along the way.

6: Entering the Unknown: Crossing the Threshold

This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are unknown. Although Dorothy has already entered a strange land, she is instructed to follow a yellow brick road in order to reach the Wizard of Oz. At this point, she is only following her mentor Glinda’s orders but doesn’t know what she might find along the road, good or bad.

7: First Battle: Threshold Guardian

This may be the first battle they have, usually shortly after crossing the threshold into the other realm. The hero may need to fight against foes who are guarding the gate or border of the realm to prevent the hero from coming in. The first battle represents the final separation from the hero’s known world and self. By entering this stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis. When first entering the stage, the hero may encounter a minor danger or set back. For Dorothy, it was meeting with the Kalidahs, monsters with bodies like bears and heads like tigers–but at least she had some help.

8: Allies / Helpers

While on their way towards their task, the hero might meet some friends, allies, or people willing to help them. Not long after she begins her trek on the yellow brick road, one by Dorothy she meets a scarecrow, tin man, and cowardly lion, all of whom would also like to seek help from the wizard. Here we can see an example of how the stages should not be considered perfect–because Dorothy’s first battle with the Kalidahs happens after this stage, after she meets her allies.

Part 2: Initiation

9: road of trials.

The road of trials is a series of tests that the person must undergo to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes. This is usually where the most action lies in the story, with the hero coming upon obstacle after obstacle, maybe winning them all or may suffer a few losses. In between facing ordeals, the hero gets to see more of the fantastic land they are in. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her three allies face many barriers on their way to the wizard–one of which is a field of poppies that makes some of them fall asleep. Campbell writes, “The hero is covertly aided by the advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper whom he met before his entrance into this region. Or it may be that he here discovers for the first time that there is a benign power everywhere supporting him in his superhuman passage.” Through many of Dorothy’s obstacles, she is helped by the people in the different lands she travels through. A giant group of mice helps bring sleeping Dorothy and the lion out of the poppy field to safety.

10: Meeting with the Goddess / Temptress

Along the way, the hero may meet a woman who helps him or may also tempt him to wander away from his path. The meeting with the goddess does not need to be female nor a goddess, but it sometimes involves a romantic relationship with the hero. It could be anyone who helps the hero or gives items to him that will help him in the future. In Dorothy’s case, the goddess here is the wizard. Finally, Dorothy and her crew reach the land of Oz where the wizard lives to ask of him what they desire, with Dorothy’s wish to simply go back home to Kansas. But instead, the wizard will only help her if she agrees to kill the wicked witch of the West and bring back her broomstick.

The woman as temptress has the opposite effect. In this step, the hero faces temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or wander from his or her quest, which does not necessarily have to be represented by a woman. Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life, since the hero-knight was often tempted by lust from his spiritual journey.

11: Brother / Father Battle: The Final Showdown

In this step, the person must finally face whatever holds the ultimate power in his or her life, usually the villain or antagonist of the story. In many myths and stories, this is the father or a father figure who has life and death power. This is the center point of the journey. All the previous steps have been moving into this place, and it’s usually the ultimate goal of the hero, and all that follow will move out from it. Although this step is most frequently symbolized by an encounter with a male, it does not have to be a male; just someone or thing with incredible power. In Dorothy’s case, this is meeting with the wicked witch of the West, who Dorothy successfully (albeit accidentally) kills and takes her broomstick.

12: Apotheosis

This is the point of realization in which a greater understanding is achieved. Armed with this new knowledge and perception, the hero is resolved and ready for the more difficult part of the adventure, which for Dorothy is simply going home. In this stage, the hero is also finally recognized as a hero by the people of the realm they are in and the people of their homeland. They may even be immortalized as a god towards the end of the story. Having killed two evil witches that enslaved the beings of their realms, there are many in the magical land that see Dorothy as a powerful hero.

Part 3: Return

13: the ultimate reward.

The ultimate reward is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare the person for this step, since in many myths the reward is something that has supernatural powers, like an elixir of life, or a plant that makes one immortal, or the holy grail. Sometimes it’s the completion of the quest, like killing a monster that has been attacking the town. Unfortunately for little Dorothy, she doesn’t get what she wanted after fulfilling the wizard’s request because they learn that the wizard doesn’t have any magical powers to help them. Once again they must journey, this time to her mentor Glinda, to find out how to get home again.

14: Refusal to Return

Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to present the reward onto his fellow man. Although a while ago the hero was entering an unknown world, it has become familiar to them, they have made many friends and accomplishments, and thus they may not want to leave to go back home. This is definitely the case for Dorothy, who although frightened yet intrigued by this strange magical land, made lots of new friends, met interesting and helpful strangers, and learned that “home is where the heart is.”

15: Magical Flight / Rescue from Without

Sometimes the hero must escape with the reward, especially if it is something that the gods have been jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning from the journey as it was to go on it. This can also be another adventure the hero must complete just to escape the magical land. Now that Dorothy has a new quest to find Glinda, she once again finds ordeals blocking the way and monsters to fight. Dorothy uses the power of a magic cap to call flying monkeys to take her to certain places.

Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience.

16: The Return Threshold: Home Again

The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. Once Dorothy finally accomplishes her new goal of finding Glinda, Glinda tells Dorothy that what she needed to return home was with her all along–the magical silver (or ruby) shoes on her feet. The others also learned that everything they desire was within them all along. Dorothy learns that home is always where you want it to be.

17: Master of Two Worlds / Restoring the World

This step is usually represented by a transcendental hero like Jesus or Buddha. For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds. For the Dorothy in the Oz novels, numerous times she traverses back and forth from Kansas and the land of Oz and other neighboring fantasy lands filled with interesting characters.

18: Freedom to Live

Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past. Essentially, this is the hero’s “happily ever after.” Now the hero has returned home and probably faces a triumphant crowd cheering their return. Now they can rest and enjoy their life, until next time…

Were you thinking of a movie or a story while reading the three stages? Which stages could you easily point out in the story? Which were missing? And how does that affect the story’s plot? It’s just as important to point out the differences in stories as it is to see the patterns found in Campbell’s monomyth. You should do the same for the rest of the stories in this unit. As you read the stories, try to see which stages are represented and which aren’t.

The Monomyth: Not Just for Mythology

Earlier we mentioned that the popularity of the monomyth is not so much in the fantastical aspects. The real reason why ordinary humans like ourselves love these kinds of outlandish storylines is that we want to strive to be heroes ourselves. We might not be slaying monsters, but human life involves facing and defeating obstacles all around us. We sympathize with a hero in trouble, suffering, doubting his abilities, because we know this kind of struggle personally. We are the heroes in the story of our lives. Think of yourself– as an international student, as an immigrant in a strange land, the struggles, the victories, the obstacles, the sacrifices, the losses you have experienced, how all of those experiences have transformed you, and the ultimate goal you are working towards.

Not only has the monomyth inspired stories for generations, but it has inspired other fields. Some self-help books encourage people to look at their own hero’s journey as a kind of therapy and encouragement. The stages of the hero’s journey have been used to encourage entrepreneurs starting their own businesses–the risks it might entail, and what to do when facing difficult situations. There is even a hero’s journey fitness program to help people lose weight and gain confidence, and a book for teachers–the heroes of strange lands called “the classroom.” Not only is the monomyth an interesting theory behind some of the most popular adventure stories on Earth, it is the story of life itself.

Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions based on the article about the hero’s journey.

• Give a short paragraph summary (no more than 5 sentences) of the hero’s journey.
• Why has the monomyth stayed popular for thousands of years?

This chart will be used often to focus on how each of the adventure stories we read follows Campbell’s idea of the “hero’s journey”. Summarize the steps in the hero’s journey in the chart below.

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Blogs / For Writers / Hero’s Journey: Stages and Structure Examples

Hero’s Journey: Stages and Structure Examples

What can the stages of the hero’s journey offer you and your characters? How can you use the hero’s journey to enhance your story?

I’m not going to promise it can give you a step-by-step guide to a great story or offer magic solutions to solve plot-block.

So what can it offer?

While it isn’t the magic elixir, the hero’s journey stages can give you inspiration, ideas, and support as you write and edit your story. After all, this monomyth structure has a long, storied history.

Through analysis of myths and stories, the hero’s journey was born. Popularized by Joseph Campbell and refined by Christopher Vogler, the hero’s journey presents a narrative arc evident in stories told through the ages in a wide range of media.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The hero’s journey is a familiar guide for storytellers.

Following a hero, the story integrates external and internal growth as the hero leaves home to meet adventure and challenges, finally returning with both the object of the quest and a new realization of self.

The journey has three basic stages:

• Initiation, and;

In the departure, the hero begins in the ordinary world, gets a call to adventure which is often refused until a mentor/helper supports the hero in accepting the call.

Through the initiation stage, the hero enters a special world where they are challenged to use new knowledge to gain the object of the quest.

The return comes as the hero returns home, changed.

17 Steps and Examples

These stages are divided into 17 steps in Campbell’s monomyth.

Slight changes have been made from the traditional names of the steps to reflect the definitions.

Examples are drawn from a variety of stories.

As you read, remember that a story may not follow this exact order and may skip steps.

Campbell developed this list through analysis of numerous stories. What these steps offer are possible additions or connections you can use to add variety, tension and action to your story’s through line.

The Hero’s Journey, Part 1: Departure

Step 1: call to adventure.

Something or someone draws the hero from the ordinary world with a problem, threat, or opportunity.

In Beowulf , the hero learns of a monster who is killing people in the kingdom.

In The Hunger Games , this is the moment that Prim is called to be a Tribute, much to Katniss’s horror.

Through the call to adventure, the reader is promised a story goal.

Step 2: Refusal of the Call

The hero hesitates.

This may be due to fear or doubt. Eventually, or immediately, the hero accepts the call to adventure.

While Beowulf and Katniss immediately accept the call, Frodo feels he is not the one to be entrusted with the ring. By watching this struggle, the reader sees that the hero is human and develops a connection with the character.

Step 3: Meet Mentor/Aid

Traditionally, this would be supernatural aid.

The hero encounters someone who gives advice, power or a gift.

For Frodo, this was meeting Gandalf. For Dorothy, it was meeting Glinda the Good Witch.

In any form, the help given ensures the story won’t end too quickly as the hero has some of the skills or knowledge needed to survive.

Step 4: Crossing the Threshold

From this moment, the hero is moving toward the quest and away from the comfort of the ordinary world. Katniss gets on the train to the Capitol. Frodo and Sam leave the Shire.

The journey begins.

Step 5: Point of No Return

The hero meets the first obstacle and knows that there is no going home from here.

Dorothy must leave the house and begin her search for the Wizard of Oz with only Toto as company. As the reader sees the hero separated from home and who they were, empathy and connection can grow even stronger.

The Hero’s Journey, Part 2: Initiation

Step 6: the road of trials.

As part of the quest and transformation, the hero encounters trials and ordeals, meeting with both success and failure along the way.

Katniss trains for and takes  part in the Games. Frodo and his allies meet dangers.

The road of trials creates action and adventure for the reader as the hero moves toward the story goal.

Step 7: Meeting with Allies

The hero gathers a squad to help navigate the challenges.

Dorothy meets the Tinman, the Scarecrow and the Lion on her way to the Wizard. Katniss has Rue and Peeta as allies during the Games.

Step 8: Temptation

The hero is tempted to abandon the quest, often for love or power.

Tolkien has created a constant temptation in the ring. Dorothy is tempted to abandon the ruby slippers to protect Toto.

Showing the hero’s struggle with temptation allows the reader to see both the strength and weakness of the character.

Step 9: Overcome Judgment

Acknowledging doubts and fears, the hero recognizes how life has been controlled by external powers to this point.

Within this turning point, the hero:

• Confronts the reason for the journey,
• Recognizes growth, and;
• Exchanges innocence for experience.

Katniss understands the manipulation of the Gamemaker in announcing there can only be one winner. Dorothy confronts the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

Step 10: Climax/Realization

Out of the confrontation, the hero gains understanding of ultimate purpose and is ready to use this new knowledge and/or ability in meeting the final challenge.

Katniss and Peeta take their death into their own hands by eating the poison berries. Dorothy discovers that the wizard is just a man.

Step 11: The Ultimate Treasure

The hero attains the goal and completes the journey.

The Gamemaker changes the rules and makes both Katniss and Peeta winners of the Games. Dorothy learns that each of them already possess the thing they desire and that the ruby slippers can take her home.

The Hero’s Journey, Part 3: The Return

Step 12: refusal of the return.

A victorious hero may balk at returning to the ordinary world.

Whether due to recognition of internal change or fear of the future, a hero may want to stay in the special world.

While most of the heroes mentioned so far only hesitate for a moment, if at all, Dorothy recognizes that she will have to leave Oz and her friends behind to return home.

Step 13: The Magic Flight

The hero must evade those who want the treasure back.

Frodo and the Fellowship must flee the Orcs and Goblins. This step offers an exciting final flight from danger!

Step 14: Rescue from Without

In a mirror to the meeting with mentor/aid, the hero meets an ally who helps guide them home.

This may be more emotional than physical; Frodo needs time and Gandalf’s guidance to deal with the shock of returning home.

Step 15: The Crossing of the Return Threshold

This is the moment the hero steps back into the ordinary world. The hero has changed and the world may have changed too.

When Frodo returns to the Shire, he has changed and he finds it has as well. As Katniss returns, she knows that she has strong enemies in the Capitol. When Dorothy returns, she knows there is no place like home.

Step 16: Master of Two Worlds

The journey has changed the hero. Upon settling back into the ordinary world, the hero discovers ways to thrive.

Frodo saves the Shire. Katniss becomes the Mockingjay.

Step 17: Freedom to Live

The hero is free to live life in peace. In a series, this peace may be short-lived.

Katniss knows that she will be called to adventure even as the story ends. This can be a typical happy-ever-after or a happy-for-the-moment, but not all stories end happily.

What can the Stages of the Hero’s Journey Offer You?

A great story needs a strong story arc. There must be a protagonist who is pursuing a story goal. There must be something at stake if the goal isn’t achieved.

A story has a beginning, middle and end.

Begin with a problem that must be solved and clear stakes if it isn’t solved. Build a middle with the struggle of finding a solution and a turning point along the way. End with a resolution that shows that the problem is solved, or maybe that it is unsolvable.

Then, look to the hero’s journey for adventure and inspiration along the way. Within this basic and essential throughline, the hero’s journey offers options for plot and character development. Use the steps above to inspire a new scene, to add a new twist or to develop empathy for your protagonist.

The hero’s journey is a staple for storytellers for a reason. It is almost ingrained into our subconscious. With knowledge and creativity, the stages of the hero’s journey can be a little magic elixir for your story after all!

Further Reading

Want to write a great hero? Check out this blog by James Gallagher

Article Written by Lisa Taylor

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