Archetype In The Hero's Journey

Heroic figures have long been the root of inspiration and fascination for humankind. A myriad of hero myths share themes and patterns that have recurred throughout time in countless narratives. In J. K. Rowling’s books about the young wizard Harry Potter, we find the same themes, motifs and structures that these hero myths are composed of. To analyse the mythical structure in Harry Potter, two influential concepts about the construction of typical hero myths will be discussed in this chapter: psychoanalyst Otto Rank’s theory of the archetypical hero’s life and mythologist Joseph Campbell’s theory of the “monomyth”: • The archetypical hero: Psychoanalyst Otto Rank analyses in his work The Myth of the Birth of the Hero (Rank, 1909) hero myths

The two works used in this essay are the story of Beowulf, by Seamus Heaney, and the movie of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, directed by Guy Ritchie. Some things that appear in the King Arthur movie are included due to Hollywood effects that are not mentioned in the real story of King Arthur. Other than that, most of the information in the movie contains the same information as the mythical story. The two heros in both works play major roles in the storyline and have a huge effect on many different things that happen throughout the plot. Two major things that these two are remember for are their heroic acts and that they were both kings.

One of the most notable theories came from Joseph Campbell 's Monomyth, The Adventure of the Hero or The Hero’s Journey, in the late 1940s. His theory suggests that each hero shares the same story: they overcome many challenges and go on their journey that would eventually lead to their reward. Amongst these challenges, there are villains, who are important to any hero’s journey. Just like the hero, the villains have their own journey, but it is not highly talked

The call to adventure and the hero 's resistance to joining the cause tie together nicely as they are the same. The hero resists the original call then leaves more motivated. This is demonstrated by Vogler again using the example of star wars, where he writes, “Suddenly Luke is no longer reluctant, and is eager to undertake the adventure. He is motivated.” (F-b) This shows how in Star Wars there is clearly Call to adventure where Lucas’s hero rejects only to end up even more motivated. This motivation fully leads Luke Skywalker, Lucas hero, on his fully on his journey, stripping away all feelings of doubts.

Odysseus is most definitely a hero—this is clear from the beginning of the epic—but he truly earns this title well after the Trojan War ends and his long, misguided travels begin. From “man of woe” (IV, 86) to “patient hero” (XXIII, 127) a change is evident in the man, the myth, and the legend who is Odysseus. This growth is perhaps most clearly emphasized in Book XX when Odysseus encounters his maidservants leaving their rooms at night to go to the suitors’ chambers. He sees these women betraying him and immediately anger overtakes him “like a wave,” urging him to “kill them” (XX, 10-11). He is so enraged by this traitorous act against not only himself but his beloved wife and son that he is ready to fly off the handle and end the treachery.

Nevertheless there are many amazing similarities, there are also many common differences that some people don’t agree with. Overall, I believe the movie was better than the book for many reasons. A quick review of The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins the quiet hobbit led a quiet life until he met the wizard who is going to take him on the journey of a lifetime. Little does he know it would change his life forever.

A reader needs to keep in mind that when Pluto is introduced into the story, the narrator had already began to become very delusional because of his alcohol addiction. Pluto symbolizes the guilt that follows the narrator throughout the story. In the story, Pluto loved the narrator and followed him wherever he went. No matter where the narrator went, Pluto was sure to be there. This connection between Pluto and the narrator symbolizes how the evil thoughts that the narrator begun to fathom early in the story would follow him throughout his life.

In many novels, plays, and anything of literature, comes many themes. One of these themes being triumphing over adversity, which is apparent in Life of Pi, Hamlet, and The Great Gatsby. When adversity arises, people are faced with a decision to make. Every novel just listed contains many examples of this theme, as in Pi’s fight for survival out at sea and survives, and in Hamlet when Hamlet’s father is murdered and the ghost of his father tells him to seek revenge on his father’s killer, Claudius, which in the end Hamlet achieves by proving Claudius’s guilt in Act 3, during the play. Lastly, in The Great Gatsby an example of this theme would be Gatsby’s haunting past, so he works and becomes wealthy so that he can be what she really wants.

In comparison with the start of their journey and the end, each hero had become wiser and smarter. While reading the stories, I could not have helped but noticed that the mentors of each hero were portrayed as a wiser or more powerful figure, The King from The Alchemist, the priest, from The Count of Monte Cristo, and Athena from The Odyssey. Among the 3 heroes, the most heroic one would be Santiago from The Alchemist simply because when Santiago encounters troubles or difficulties, the words of The King plays in his head, as if he was physically present with Santiago. The mentors and helpers an important role in their journeys for without their assistance and aid, they might have never accomplished their

Heroes have always used their powers to help people, they live by codes of honor, and they usually win. In addition, heroes today are coming from more diverse backgrounds than the typical white male. The fact that many modern heroes wear masks is quite controversial. Finally, when heroes are not around, chaos can ensue. I feel like the definition of a hero has changed since the time of Beowulf, though there are still some things that have remained the same.