Wizard Of Oz Hero's Journey

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I am glad that The Wizard of Oz was a viewing option for this portion of the class, because the story does not immediately draw up the traditional thought of the “hero’s journey.” For audiences spanning generations, the hero is a somewhat mythological character– the hero is strong and resourceful while still being thoughtful and kind, maintaining a level of relatability that stems from a desire to protect those they love, or maybe defend a place they once called home. We watch the hero evolve into a “final form,” where they are often forced to choose between two enticing paths and eventually defeat the thing that was always standing in their way. All of this is easy to see in movies like The Fellowship of the Ring or Episode IV of Star Wars, where the heroes tote weapons and …show more content…
This is all to say that in “The Writer’s Journey” by Chris Volger, the author makes a wonderful point; “At heart, despite its infinite variety, the hero’s story is always a journey.” The Hero’s Journey is not so much about the hero as it is the journey that they embark upon, and the conquests that happen along the way. I found many thoughts from others who have read “The Writer’s Journey” saying that Volger makes this literary device much easier to understand compared to Joseph Campbell, who wrote “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” and originated the idea of a “hero’s journey.” Having now read both, I have to agree with them– Campbell was originating a complicated theory about basic plot structure, something that is bound to get anyone literature-inclined sent into a spiral, determined to prove the theory even slightly false. Obviously, one cannot make an overarching claim about storytelling without being wrong about certain facets. We see this in Volger’s book, where he makes a chart that shows the Hero’s Journey in cyclical
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