The Hero's Journey Research Paper

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Pages: 5

As there are maps for roads, there is also a map for stories. Joseph Campbell invented a way to compare and write stories, and this is called the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is divided into three main parts: The Departure, The Initiation, and the Return. They each have subsections, discussed later. Although Joseph Campbell made The Hero’s Journey to compare stories, it can also apply to everyday life. The Hero’s Journey begins with the Departure which has subsections of The Ordinary World, The Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting with the Mentor, and Crossing the Threshold to the Special World (Kylie). The Hero’s Journey begins with The Ordinary World. The Ordinary World is the character’s life where everything is normal (Kylie). …show more content…
The character will move to the Refusal of the Call. They refuse to accept the call in the first place, like Odysseus did when he acted crazy to not fight. When they finally choose to go on the adventure, the hero will meet a mentor, who will help them on their way. This may come in the form of material goods or encouragement. After accepting the call and heading on their way, the hero crosses the threshold. As stated before, the Hero’s Journey can be related to society. In real-life society, The Ordinary World parallels growing up in the normal world, where everything is ordinary. The Call to Adventure can parallel getting an offer in college or getting a job far away. This would require action to leave the ordinary world. Humans may have insecurity or fears about their life-changing offer, which is called the Refusal of the Call. In society just as in stories, people may have help in their life from counselors or elders; meeting with the mentor. This mentor will continue to help throughout the story. Eventually, the person would finally Cross Through the Threshold. This is when humans accept the offer to go to college or to go to