Joseph Campbell once said, “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” A hero comes in many different forms; some may be strong and confident, while others can be wise and cunning. The Hero’s Journey was created by Joseph Campbell. The reason for the steps is to provide writers a basic template of it. It is a cycle explaining the steps of what a hero generally goes through. Heroes, who can be anyone who is selfless enough to help others rather than themselves, are needed in life because we cannot always do everything by ourselves. A template for all stories, the Hero’s Journey has eight stages and it is an important tool for any story because every hero is essentially the same in the end, and there are many forms of a hero; the only difference is the journey. This essay will provide insight on each step of the Hero’s Journey so that anyone is able to identify a Hero’s Journey.
The beginning of any journey is the call; this occurs when the main character willingly, or unwillingly, takes on the quest. “The initiate may choose willingly to undertake the quest, or she may be dragged into unwillingly. In general, the Call comes as a realization of an imbalance or injustice in her life” (Thompson and Harris 8). When the initiate, or protagonist, notices the imbalance in life, they can choose to take the quest or they can be forced. The initiate will think that they cannot do the quest, or they are not ready to take on a challenge about their world. One example of the initiate willingly taking the quest is shown in Mulan. When her father is drafted into the war between the Chinese and the Huns, she decides to go in place of her father because she thinks that he is too fragile and ill. In contrast, an example demonstrating the initiate taking the quest unwillingly is shown in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Finn wants to run from the first order more, while Rey declines the gift of the lightsaber. Once the protagonist goes through the Call, they will go through the next stage, the Threshold.
This stage is the part in the journey where the protagonist leaves their world to go to a world that they have never seen before, and experience how the new world functions with their mentors, guides, or helpers. “The Threshold is the ‘jumping off point’ for the adventure. It is the interference between the known and the unknown… Often at the threshold, the initiate may encounter people, beings, or situations which block her passage into the journey” (Thompson and Harris 8-9). After the call is accepted, the initiate will leave their ordinary world to the unknown world that is full of dangers. At this point, the character feels safe because they know how their society works; however, when they arrive at the new world, they do not know what is safe and what is considered dangerous. This makes them scared, or vulnerable because they could have broken a law or a rule without knowing it. An example is when Mulan leaves her home, and travels to go to war. During the trip, she becomes closer to Khan, Shang, and Cri-Kee. Mulan met these animals for a reason, and that is because they are the guardian, mentor, and the helper. These people, or items, prevent the initiate from continuing the journey before they are ready. Without these people, the initiate would face many more difficulties if they continued the journey without being ready. The guardian would be Mulan’s horse, Khan. For instance, when Khan stomps on Mushu when he first meets with Mulan; this is because Khan knew about Mushu’s past failures as a guardian. So as a guardian, Khan tries to tell Mushu to stay away from Mulan. Shang is both a mentor and a helper since he kept an eye on the men and trained the army. After the initiate passes this step, they will now face difficulties that will allow them to grow and mature.
The Challenges are a series of difficulties that the initiate has to face in order to continue the journey. “The early challenges are relatively easy. By meeting them successfully, he builds maturity, skill, and confidence. As his journey progresses, the challenges become more and more difficult, testing him to the utmost, forcing him to change and grow” (Thompson and Harris 9). The first few challenges are relatively easy to bypass. Since they are easier, the initiate gains confidence in himself and changes themselves into thinking that they can overcome the more difficult challenges. As the character develops, the reader can sympathize, or empathize, with the initiate. As the character matures, they see how different life is between the known and unknown world. They ease themselves into the abnormal world this way, and they feel much more comfortable, which leads to the initiate into a mental state where they do not underestimate themselves. When she undergoes Shang’s training, she does not have the strength and mentality and she is stuck at first. However, she keeps on training early in the morning, and she is able to overcome the obstacle. She learns that practice makes perfect, and she realizes how the unordinary world works. After facing a few difficult challenges, the initiate transcends into the most difficult challenge.
The Abyss is when the challenge is so difficult, that the initiate has to lose himself in the quest and unites with it. “There is always the possibility that the initiate is not ready or has a flaw in this character, and the challenge beats him” (Thompson and Harris 9). When the character is at this stage, the initiate feels confident and happy at first. However, they become dissatisfied with themselves once they are a failure to their greatest fear. The hero prepares to fight their greatest fear again because they realize that the only way to pass the hardest stage is to focus and defeat the antagonist. An example of a hero overcoming the Abyss on the first try is when Mulan saves the emperor's life by risking her friend’s life, as well as her own. This is the stage where they fully mature and realize how strong they are. After overcoming the Abyss, they will feel accomplished and superior. Surpassing your greatest fear can cause changes that would impact your life greatly because fears lead to major changes.
The Transformation occurs when an aspect of the initiate is left behind so a new part can take over, while revelation is a sudden change in the way they perceive life. “Fear must die to make way for courage. Ignorance must die for the birth of enlightenment… Revelation… this change in thinking is crucial because it makes the initiate a truly different person” (Thompson and Harris 9). The transformation is a pivotal part of the Hero’s Journey because the initiate has overcome their fears. They realize that their greatest fear is defeated, so they do not have any more worries. Not only that, but they are more proud of themselves. One example is after Mulan saved the emperor and all of China. In the beginning, she was a dishonorable girl who was not what her family wanted her to be. However, in the end, she becomes a stunning warrior and her family is proud of who she is. Due to her transformation, Mulan realizes that pretending to be someone who she was not, was actually causing pain to her and her family. She also learned that everyone has their own path and that she should stay on that path. This is the revelation; while Mulan was fighting for China, she realized that pleasing everyone does not work and that it only leads to suffering. When the initiate arises in a new form, they understand the importance of knowing yourself and bring the injustice or imbalance back to the known world.
The Atonement happens when the protagonist has balanced his new self and life. “The initiate is now truly a ‘hero’ and he is content at last. Here he receives a ‘boon,’ a gift which is bestowed upon him based on his new level of skill and awareness” (Thompson and Harris 10). During the Atonement, the character is now a hero because they have fixed the wrong in the world, and has come back with better qualities of themselves from the previous stage. With these new qualities, the character has changed into a different person, and he knows that he should not make the same mistakes again. Additionally, the hero will be more content with their life now that they restored the injustice or imbalance. During this stage, the hero will receive a gift or a boon. The gift will help with the hero’s pride and will constantly remind themselves of the deed that they accomplished. For example, in Mulan, after she saves China from the Mongolians, she is given a sword to represent honor and respect in front of an audience. After this, the character has become a hero and is now ready to return to their world.
The Return is when the hero leaves the unknown to go back to their own society. “The essence of the return is to begin contributing to one’s society” (Thompson and Harris 10). The Return is an important part of the journey since they left their safe, comfortable world because they felt that there was a missing part. There would be no point of taking on the quest without coming back because they would not be able to return back to the ordinary world. Once the hero has returned, they need to start helping their society now that the hero has restored the injustice/imbalance. Mulan was accepted back into her family after crying with her father, and then Shang came over and confessed his feelings for her. Additionally, there are times where the hero faces rejection from society. The hero might be angry and frustrated that the society cannot accept the gift or message that they suffered for. The hero may feel angry because they risked their entire life for a missing piece, only to find out that the idea was rejected. They would think that the journey was a waste of time, or that there was no point in going on the journey. The society could also disapprove of the message and punish the hero. Similarly to the Call, some heroes return home on their will, while others refuse to leave the unknown. In Mulan, she voluntarily left the unknown world to come back home because she missed her family. Once the hero is settled back to their world, readers often think about the story and how the story was created.
Every story has a beginning and an end, and it usually ends with the protagonist being content with their life. The story will then cycle through the stages of being challenged and being rewarded in the end. At the end of each failed challenged comes a life lesson that prevents the readers from making the same mistake. This is the Hero’s Journey, and why we still learn about it today. In a hero’s journey, they start by leaving their world to go to a world that they have never seen before. Then they face their challenges and leave that stage to become a changed person and a hero. When they return to the known world, they help the society adapt to the world with the missing piece. For example, when Mulan left her home for war, she successfully passes the challenges that led her to be a stronger warrior. Since she is able to push through the training, it masked her femininity. People would think that females would not be able to complete the training a man goes through, however, Mulan proved that stereotype wrong by surpassing most of the men at the training site. Despite the fact that everyone found out that she was a woman, she still used her skills to save China, which ultimately led to her being a hero. When she returned home, her family was extremely emotional because she came back alive. Morals are an important part of any story, and they tell us to stay away from the same mistakes heroes make. Not only that, but the Hero’s Journey is used universally; they are used in movies, books, and more. They are all connected in some way, and it is because they all follow the same structure. Everyone has their own journey, and they will become a hero no matter how long it takes. With each passing day, more and more people become heroes and tell others about their own journey; this inspires young people to do more good rather than commit evil.