The Hero Monomyth

1. The Hero Monomyth Joseph Campbell Most quotes are from The Power of Myth Taken from www.emich.edu/public/english/childlit/Monomyth.ppt

2. Moyers: Why are there so many stories of the hero in mythology? Campbell: Because that’s what’s worth writing about. (123)

3. Example Here’s one example of an application of Joseph Campbell’s ideas to a contemporary text, Hunger Games:

4. The Question is not whether we tell the same hero story over and over again (it is pretty clear that we do), the question is, “Why?”: Why are we compelled to tell and re-tell the same story? Is there something about this particular narrative we are drawn to, or that we, as humans, need?

6. Let’s begin with the basic pattern: 1. A call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline 2. A road of trials, at which the hero succeeds or fails 3. Achieving the goal or "boon", which often results in important self-knowledge 4. A return to the ordinary world, at which the hero can succeed or fail 5. Applying the boon: what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world

8. Where the Wild Things Are By Maurice Sendak Is a deceptively simple picture book for children that follows this pattern . . .

30. Max learns To be more human, a better human To love and to be loved To conquer his fears, his inner demons Self control, especially the ability to master his emotions

31. Campbell on the spirit quest: “All of these different mythologies give us the same essential quest. You leave the world that you’re in and go into a depth or into a distance or up to a height. There you come to what was missing in your consciousness in the world you formerly inhabited. Then comes the problem of either staying with that, and letting the world drop off, or returning with that boon and trying to hold on to it as you move back into your social world again. That’s not an easy thing to do” (129).

32. The popularity of Harry Potter and Hunger Games Campbell argued that contemporary, industrial cultures are starved for myth, “America has no ethos,” he said. “What we’re learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life.” Such wisdom – learning how to live – can only come from myth (8-9). Are we, as a culture, starved for myth? Who are our contemporary heroes?

33. Campbell claims that myth has four functions: Mystical Cosmological Sociological Pedagogical

34. 1. Mystical Myth helps us to “realize what a wonder the universe is, what a wonder you are, and experiencing awe before this mystery” (31). It is it not so much about learning the meaning of life, as it is about taking pleasure in the experience of living.

35. 2. Cosmological Myth shows “us the shape of the universe, but showing it in such a way that the mystery comes through” (31). It explains why things are the way they are, but not in the same ways that science explains these things.

36. 3. Sociological Myth is a way of “supporting and validating a certain social order” (31). Myth both reflects and helps to shape a particular culture’s values and belief systems.

37. 4. Pedagogical Myth teaches us “how to live a human lifetime under any circumstances” (31). Myth can teach us how to be more human, how to be better humans, how to survive, how to know ourselves, and how to lose ourselves. Myths are models for living.

38. Popular Culture as myth Campbell argues that in our contemporary, diffused, destabilized, commercial culture (made up of many sub-cultures) where there are no unifying myths, we create unifying myths through popular culture. Most of these follow the pattern of the hero monomyth . . .

47. Campbell outlined 17 Stages of the Hero Monomyth: We’re not going into that much detail here! (I’m borrowing from Wikipedia, a great source for over-simplified information.) If you are interested in learning more, read The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

48. The Call to Adventure The adventure begins with the hero receiving a call to action, such as a threat to the peace of the community, or the hero simply falls into or blunders into it.

49. The Herald The call is often announced to the hero by another character, who acts as a "herald". The herald, often represented as dark or terrifying and judged evil by the world, may call the character to adventure simply by the crisis of his appearance.

50. There is a choice: The hero-to-be can refuse the call (not a good idea, because characters who refuse the call often don’t end well) Or, the hero can choose to accept the call and begin the journey.