The Hero’s Journey: The Search for Meaning in the Patterns of Literature English II – World Literature

The Hero’s Journey:The Hero’s Journey:

The Search for Meaning in thePatterns of Literature

English II – World Literature

Shared StoriesShared Stories

Historians know that humans have been inventing and telling stories since the beginning. Stories, myths, and legends have helped humans explain the natural world around them and the emotional world within. Pre-literate societies maintained a rich oral tradition. The earliest written stories appeared in the Bronze Age civilizations of ancient Egypt and Sumeria (2600 BCE).

Shared StoriesShared Stories

The need for storytelling is not the only thing that connects societies. It turns out that societies often tell the same stories. Research has revealed stories originating thousands of years apart on opposite sides of the globe share similar characters and plot lines. These similarities can best be studied with knowledge of the following terms.

The Literary TermsThe Literary TermsArchetype - a universal symbol or pattern that holds the same meaning in the myths and literature of many different cultures and time periods. (Examples: red can represent death or passion)

Symbol – a person, object, image, or event that represents a meaning beyond its literal significance. This symbols may only hold meaning within a particular work of art or literature. (Example: Harper Lee’s mockingbird represents innocence).

Motif – a repeated pattern common to many stories(Example: all creation stories show a transition from light to dark, an animal that saves or destroys humans, a human made from elements of earth.)

Background on ArchetypesBackground on Archetypes

Psychologist Carl Jung coined the term “archetype” (Greek: arche=original; type=model) and first proposed that certain symbols occur universally in dreams and stories. These symbols and patterns express the basic human experiences shared by everyone, regardless of when or where they live. Jung proposed that these archetypes are somehow embedded in humankind’s “collective unconscious” and that the same ideas, traditions, and stories can be found across cultures in the past and the present.

Carl Jung Quote:Carl Jung Quote:

"Yet every descent is followed by an ascent; the vanishing shapes are shaped anew, and a truth is valid in the end only if it suffers change and bears new witness in new images, in new tongues, like a new wine that is put into new bottles."

---- Carl G. Jung

The Universal HeroThe Universal Hero

The most common ARCHETYPE shared by all of WORLD LITERATURE is the

character of the hero andthe pattern of the hero’s journey.

The archetypal hero appears in all religions, mythologies, and stories of the world. He is an

expression of mankinds’ personal and collectiveexperience.

The Hero’s JourneyThe Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell, an American professor of mythology, first studied hero’s journey archetypes in his important book The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

In this book he traced the similarities between many different hero stories from different cultures and time. You give it a try . . .

The Hero's Home/BeginningsThe Hero's Home/Beginnings “But the makers of legend have seldom rested content to regard the world’s great heroes as mere human beings who broke past the horizons that limited their fellows and returned with such boons as any man with equal faith and courage might have found. On the contrary, the tendency has always been to endow the hero with extraordinary powers from the moment of birth, or even the moment of conception…This accords with the view that the herohood is predestined, rather than simply achieved.”

--Joseph Campbell,The Hero With A Thousand Faces (319)

The Hero’s Home / BeginningsThe Hero’s Home / Beginnings

The early life of the hero is usually a unique one that determines the manner in which he will accept and carry out his journey. A hero's birth will almost always have an unusual aspect to it. Many heroes are born to royalty or are in danger at birth. There may be a prophecy regarding his destiny. Either way, he is marked by these circumstances as “different,” as bound for greatness.

Stage I - Stage I - Departure from the Departure from the

Known WorldKnown World

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder…”

--Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (30)

The Call to AdventureThe Call to Adventure

“…destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown…”


The Call to AdventureThe Call to Adventure

The call to adventure is the point in a hero’s life when he first discovers that life as he knows it is going to change, whether he wants it to or not. The Call may come boldly as a "life-changing crisis," a sudden, often traumatic change in our lives. Or it can sneak up on us gradually, with our first awareness of it being a vague sense of unhappiness, imbalance or restlessness in our lives.

The Refusal of the CallThe Refusal of the Call

“Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or 'culture,' the hero loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved.”


The Refusal of the CallThe Refusal of the Call

Often the hero feels that he/she has it "too good" and refuses to give up all that they currently have (often resulting in the hero being forced to move on). The hero doesn't understand that the refusal of the call means a refusal to move on in life. The hero may view his present system of ideals, virtues, goals, and advantages as fixed and secure, or the hero is waiting for the perfect call. Often times the refusal will be encouraged by another character.

Supernatural AssistanceSupernatural Assistance

"For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter of the hero journey is with a protective figure… what such a figure represents is the benign, protecting power of destiny…”

--Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (71-72)

Supernatural AssistanceSupernatural Assistance

Usually an elder (old crone or old man), he or she provides the hero with something (physical or mental) which will help the hero move forward in his adventure - perhaps a sword to fight the dragon or a confidence boost to help the hero believe in him/herself.

Crossing the First ThresholdCrossing the First Threshold"With the personifications of his destiny to guide and aid him, the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to the …entrance to the zone of magnified power. Beyond them is darkness, the unknown and danger; just as beyond the parental watch is danger to the infant and beyond the protection of his society danger to the members of the tribe…”


Crossing the First ThresholdCrossing the First Threshold The hero ventures into an unknown world - the Unconscious Realm - which breaks from tradition, and the hero meets some dangerous presence. The hero encounters a "threshold guardian" at the entrance to the unconscious realm. This guardian stands in the way of the hero moving on to the next area. Beyond the entrance to this zone is darkness, the unknown, and danger (desert, jungle, deep sea, alien land, etc.)

The Belly of the WhaleThe Belly of the Whale

“The idea that the passage of the magical threshold is a transit into a sphere of rebirth is symbolized in the worldwide womb image of the belly of the whale. The hero, instead of conquering or conciliating the power of the threshold, is swallowed into the unknown and would appear to have died… ”


The Belly of the WhaleThe Belly of the WhaleOnce the hero has crossed the threshold, his old world is destroyed (literally or figuratively). He/she moves into a world of darkness (the belly of the whale) and will not come out until he/she is ready to proceed (so the hero stays in the belly of the whale through all of initiation). Often times there will be a "deepest part" to the belly. This stage gets its name from the Biblical Jonah and the whale story. It is a place of rebirth, a place of darkness and uncertainty; the hero is swallowed into an unknown, womb-like darkness (representing the unconscious). The hero goes inward (into his own mind) in order to be "reborn."

II. II. The Quest / InitiationThe Quest / Initiation

“…fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won…”


The Road of TrialsThe Road of Trials

"Once having traversed the threshold, the hero moves in a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials…”

--Joseph Campbell,The Hero with a Thousand Faces (97)

The Road of TrialsThe Road of Trials Hero experiences miraculous tests or ordeals on the

road of trials. There are usually several events that affect the hero at this point. The hero will appear weak and vulnerable, but he/she will also begin to show growth. The hero finds parts of himself he was unaware of and begins to use that newfound skill or strength. The "item" that the supernatural aid has given the hero at the time of departure will now start to become useful as the hero learns how to use it to his advantage.

Meeting with the “Goddess”Meeting with the “Goddess”

“She is the paragon of all paragons of beauty…every hero’s earthly and unearthly quest. She is mother, sister, mistress, bride…for she is the incarnation of the promise of perfection; the soul’s assurance that, at the conclusion of its exile…the bliss that once was known will be known again…”

--Joseph Campbell,The Hero with a Thousand Faces (110-111)

Meeting with the “Goddess”Meeting with the “Goddess”

After surviving the road of trials, the hero may experience a great love. In many stories it is a romantic love. Or it may be the warm heart filling love we feel for friends and family. It may also be an experience of a divine love. Either way, the hero gains healing, strength, and wonderful feelings of well being as a result of the experience.

Encounters with TemptationEncounters with Temptation

“Not even monastery walls, however, not even the remoteness of the desert, can defend against the female presence; for as long as the hermit’s flesh clings to his bones and pulses warm, the images of life are alert to storm his mind…”


Encounters with TemptationEncounters with TemptationThe hero meets a presence that attempts to destroy the hero's mission. Often the temptress is sent by the evil forces working against the hero in order to try to stop the hero. The hero is misled into giving up. "This is the easy way out." "Stop now or you will be destroyed." "Join us; you will be happy here.” These encounters are diversions meant to stop the hero from finishing the journey, and must be overcome. Like the Meeting with the Goddess, these encounters do not necessarily have to take the form of a female figure.

Atonement with the FatherAtonement with the Father "The problem of the hero going to meet the father is to pen his soul beyond terror to such a degree that he will be ripe to understand how the sickening and insane tragedies of this vast and ruthless cosmos are completely validated in the majesty of Being. The hero transcends life with its peculiar blind spot and for a moment rises to a glimpse of the source. He beholds the face of the father, understands - and the two are atoned…"


Atonement with the FatherAtonement with the Father The Father-figure symbolizes judgment; the hero overcomes fear, judgment, and mental blocks that may have been holding him/her back. Sometimes the father-figure is larger than life, and the hero must learn to live outside his shadow. Other times the hero finds himself making up for the sins of his father. This stage shows growth and the ability to take on adult responsibilities – to move beyond the past and embrace the future.

ApotheosisApotheosis“Those who know, not only that the Everlasting lies in them, but that what they, and all things, really are is the Everlasting, dwell in the groves of the wish fulfilling trees, drink the brew of immortality, and listen everywhere to the unheard music of eternal concord…”


ApotheosisApotheosisThe literal meaning of this term is “to become god-like.” After facing and surviving the confrontation with the great power in his or her life, the hero may experience a great revelation, an almost “divine” gift of confidence about himself or his life. Of course, if the hero did not survive the encounter with the great power in his or her life, he or she may actually be in heaven. Either way, it is a period of rest and reflection before the return journey is made. Usually, some sort of physical change accompanies this inner transformation.

The Ultimate BoonThe Ultimate Boon

“The boon bestowed on the worshipper is always scaled to his stature and to the nature of his dominant desire: the boon is simply a symbol of life energy stepped down to the requirements of a certain specific case…”


The Ultimate BoonThe Ultimate BoonThe hero receives the prize that he/she has been after. 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. Though the boon may come in the form a physical rewards (like the dragon's treasure), but will more importantly include a mental/emotional reward (like inner peace or special wisdom).

III. III. The ReturnThe Return

“…the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his

fellow man.”


Refusal of the ReturnRefusal of the Return "When the hero-quest has been accomplished, through penetration to the source, or through the grace of some male or female, human or animal, personification, the adventurer still must return with his life-transmuting trophy…But the responsibility has been frequently refused. Numerous indeed are the heroes fabled to have taken up residence forever in the blessed isle of the un-aging Goddess of Immortal Being."


Refusal of the ReturnRefusal of the Return So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes? Sometimes, when the adventure has been a glorious or very satisfying one, the hero refuses to come back to normal life. The hero often wishes to remain in isolation with his boon. Hero can refuse a return, and may sometimes experience a symbolic "death." Rarely will a true refusal occur, but often times the temptation to refuse a return is evident. It’s hard to leave paradise once you’ve found it…

The Magic FlightThe Magic Flight“…if the trophy has been attained against the opposition of its guardian, or if the hero's wish to return to the world has been resented by the gods or demons, then the last stage of the mythological round becomes a lively, often comical, pursuit. This flight may be complicated by marvels of magical obstruction and evasion.”

--Joseph Campbell,The Hero with a Thousand Faces (196-97)

The Magic FlightThe Magic FlightThe hero has his reward; now he must return to his home. There may be forces still working against him (possibly trying to get the boon back that the hero has taken or to keep him from sharing his knowledge with the folks back home). A “chase" ensues. The hero usually appears as a complete person by this time. Their final chase is characterized by the hero's determination.

Rescue from WithoutRescue from Without

“The hero may have to be brought back from his supernatural adventure by assistance from without. That is to say, the world may have to come and get him. For the bliss of the deep abode is not lightly abandoned in favor of the self-scattering of the wakened state.”


Rescue from WithoutRescue from WithoutJust as the hero may have needed a magical guide or helper to set out on the quest, sometimes he or she must have help to return, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the experience. Or perhaps the person doesn't realize that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon. This is sometimes a blow to the hero's ego, but the hero will recover because he sees the big picture and has accomplished a great deed.

Crossing the Return ThresholdCrossing the Return Threshold

"Many failures attest to the difficulties of this life-affirmative threshold. The first problem of the returning hero is to accept as real, after an experience of the soul-satisfying vision of fulfillment, the passing joys and sorrows, banalities and noisy obscenities of life. Why re-enter such a world? Why attempt to make plausible, or even interesting, to men and women consumed with passion, the experience of transcendental bliss?"


Crossing the Return ThresholdCrossing the Return Threshold

The hero crosses a threshold to return just as when the adventure began. The hero’s task at this point is to remember what was learned during the quest, and to use it to make life better for him or her and others. There is a difficulty in the hero's return to the conscious realm; the world has changed and so has the hero. The hero may not be accepted back to his old world. He may feel awkward in his immediate return. The returning hero must survive the impact of the world; he may not be able to verbalize the wisdom he has gained through his journey. The hero conquers the difficulty in returning, showing that he/she is able to adapt.

Master of Two WorldsMaster of Two Worlds“The disciple has been blessed with a vision transcending the scope of normal human destiny, and amounting to a glimpse of the essential nature of the cosmos. Not his personal fate, but the fate of mankind, of life as a whole…”


Master of Two WorldsMaster of Two WorldsThe hero has gained wisdom in both the spiritual (unconscious) and physical (conscious) world. The hero gives up completely all attachment to his personal limitations, hopes and fears. The hero no longer tries to live out his own plan, but willingly relaxes to whatever may come to pass in him, focusing more on the plan for mankind. The boon that the hero brings restores not himself, but the world (water to a drought-ravaged land, protection from an outside invader, etc.).

Freedom to LiveFreedom to Live

“Powerful in his insight . . . the hero is the conscious vehicle of the terrible, wonderful Law, whether his work be that of butcher, jockey, or king…. He does not mistake apparent changelessness in time for the permanence of being, nor is he fearful of the next moment, as destroying the permanent with its change. .”

--Joseph Campbell,The Hero with a Thousand Faces (239, 243)

Freedom to LiveFreedom to LiveWhen a hero has survived a great adventure, and has learned to accept himself, he often becomes free from the fear of death. The hero reconciles himself to the reality of the cycle of life - that every creature lives on the death of another. The hero understands that it was only through the "death" of his/her former self that the new life was able to surface. The hero learns never to be afraid of the next moment (destruction or change), he has learned "to be" (exist).

The Journey is a MapThe Journey is a Map

The Journey gives you a means for understanding and benefiting from these fictional adventures. Even if the characters aren't real, the journeys they take and challenges they face are reflections of the real journeys and challenges we all face in life. As you watch them move through their quests, observe their victories and their defeats, you can learn from their experiences.

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The Hero’s Journey: The Search for Meaning in the Patterns of Literature English II – World Literature