Comparing The Hero's Journey In The Hero With A Thousand Faces By Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, otherwise known as the hero's journey, delves into the nature of mythological tales and storytelling from ancient to modern times. These epics often tell tales of heroes’ challenges and what adventures that change their character. According to Campbell, the hero's journey follows this basic formula: The hero is inherently special, whether it be due to prophecy, divine status, or being extremely intelligent or strong. Namely, they can be a God or demigod like Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal. Secondly, there will be a call to action the hero initially refuses for whatever reason. For example, in the case of the Epic of Gilgamesh, he was extremely rowdy and violent and was in no way ready

For instance, an example I grew up with was always fascinated by is King Arthur. Originating from England, King Arthur’s Sword in the Stone entails him growing up to become the future chivalrous and strong leader of England. Protagonists of the hero journey are initially of a higher status due to their birth, but are currently living an ordinary life. Prior to the famous events of The Sword in the Stone, Arthur was living away from his royal duties with a knight named Sir Ector, unaware of his status as the next heir to the throne. One day, Sir Ector tells Arthur he can no longer mentor him and Arthur must step up to the challenge, which Arthur at first refuses. However, what seals Arthur’s motivation to embark on his journey is an encounter with a beast in the woods when trying and failing at chasing a Hart, a red male deer. Thesite is so marvelous to Arthur he decided to travel, train and find a new mentor to become king. In this moment, he realizes there is a lot the world can offer outside of what he knows. Following this change of heart, Arthur does what was perceived as impossible and pulls the mystical sword out of stone. The myth behind this sword is whoever succeeds in pulling it out is pure of heart and to be the next king of England. Arthur is the first to accomplish this task and at first is doubted by some high ranking knights. Arthur puts the sword back, does it again, further proving his place as king and sets out with a new goal to restore the glory of England. Not long after, Arthur meets his mentor figure, a wizard named Merlin. Subsequently, Merlin teaches Arthur how to remain good-hearted as well as handling the supernatural elements of their world. Similarly, Arthur gathers the knights of the round table, a group of knights that are purely good and heroic, to help build a better kingdom as well as assist Arthur in his quests. Together, they overcome many