The Hero’s JourneyFreshman Honors

English

Stages of the Hero’s Journey

Crossing the Threshold The journey begins

in the ordinary world;

Crossing the Threshold The hero is called to

adventure by some external event or messenger.

The hero may accept the call willingly or reluctantly, consciously or accidentally.

Crossing the Threshold: Hero Moves from Ordinary World to the Unknown

Alice

The Innermost Cave: The Dark Moment of Truth

This is the critical moment in the hero’s journey in which there is often a final battle with a monster, wizard or warrior, which facilitates the particular resolution of the adventure.

Sometimes it’s a final victory over a nemesis and sometimes just over self

The hero touches bottom, appearing to die and be born again

The Innermost Cave

The Innermost Cave: Obstacles

The Final Confrontation: The Innermost Cave

Seizing the Sword Finds it in the innermost cave

Often an inner quality that the hero didn’t know he had

Sometimes the boon is knowledge and experience.

Re-Emergence and Rebirth:The Road Back

The hero again crosses the threshold of adventure and returns to the everyday world of daylight. The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a simple emergence from a cave or forest.

Re-Emergence and Rebirth:The Road Back

Re-Emergence and Rebirth:The Road Back

The Hero’s Journey in Movies

Final Battle

I am your father.

Joseph Campbell1904-1987

"Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human manifestation..." (Joseph Campbell, Hero with a Thousand Faces)

 

What is a hero?hero noun

1. a man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength; "RAF pilots were the heroes of the Battle of Britain" 

2. the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem  3. someone who fights for a cause [syn: champion]  4. Greek mathematician and inventor who devised a way to determine the

area of a triangle and who described various mechanical devices (first century) 

5. (classical mythology) a being of great strength and courage celebrated for bold exploits; often the offspring of a mortal and a god 

6. (Greek mythology) priestess of Aphrodite who killed herself when her lover Leander drowned while trying to swim the Hellespont to see her 

7. a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

From Joseph Campbell: The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The mythological hero, setting forth from his common day hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntarily proceeds, to the threshold of adventure. There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage. The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle; offering, charm), or be slain by the opponent and descend in death (dismemberment, crucifixion). Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give magical aid (helpers). When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward. The triumph may be represented as the hero's sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again—if the powers have remained unfriendly to him—his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom). The final work is that of the return. If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight). At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return resurrection). The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).

 

Elements of the Epic Hero Cycle(from http://edsitement.neh.gov)

The main character is a hero, who is often possessed of supernatural abilities or qualities.The hero is charged with a quest.The hero is tested, often to prove the worthiness of himself and his quest.The presence of numerous mythical beings, magical and helpful animals, and human helpers and companions.

The hero’s travels take him to a supernatural world, often one that normal human beings are barred from entering.The cycle must reach a low point where the hero nearly gives up his quest or appears defeated.A resurrection.Restitution. Often this takes the form of the hero regaining his rightful place on the throne.