The Hero’s Journey
Background
The Hero’s Journey has been around forever, but the term was first coined in Joseph
Campbell’s The Hero with Thousand Faces.
Much of it is built upon the idea of archetypes, or common characters that appear in
stories again and again, which was popularized by psychologist named Carl Jung.
The basic premise is that there is one story that is so powerful that it exists in every
culture of the world independently from the other cultures. Further, it is the story at the
heart of nearly all mega-blockbuster book franchises and movies.
The theory behind it is that this story is so popular because it is nothing less than a
handbook for life. It is seen as a metaphor for the way we have to deal with troubles that
come our way. Screenwriter Chris Vogler puts it this way: “The Hero’s Journey is not an
invention, but an observation. It is a recognition of a beautiful design, a set of principles
that govern the conduct of life and the world of storytelling the way physics and
chemistry govern the physical world.”
It is best looked at as less of a formula and more an inspiration.
The Stages
Step #1: The Mundane Ordinary
World
Heroes start with thinking they ordinary people. Often, but not
always, they are cast a tough hand, of nobel birth that they
don’t know about, and orphaned or missing parents.
The land they come from is often both mundane and sick in
some way.
Think Harry Potter or my favorite example of all time: The
Wizard of Oz
Step #2: The Call to Adventure
Eventually the hero is presented with a problem,
challenge, or adventure to undertake. This is called
the Call to Adventure.
The Call to Adventure establishes the stakes and
hints at the conflicts to come.
Step #3: Refusal of the Call
The hero generally refuses the call.
This is because he/she is facing the facing one of the greatest fears: fear of
the unknown
Something generally forces the hero’s hand to inspire him/her to go on
the journey.
Some examples are Maximus, Shrek, and Bilbo.
Step #4: The Mentor
The journey often begins with training from a mentor.
This stands for the parent/child or teacher/student bond that we
all encounter in life.
Mentors prepare the hero for the journey, but they cannot go with
them the whole way. This represents how our mentors can only go
with us through life.
Think Gandalf, Mr. Miyagi, Rafiki, and Haymitch.
Step #5: Crossing the First
Threshold
Once the hero commits fully to the adventure, he/she enters the
special world.
By doing this the hero agrees to face the consequences of the problem
posed in the call to adventure. This overcoming of fear is the first
climax in the story.
Think Jake in his avatar, Anna riding into the woods, or Harry Potter
at King’s Cross Station.
Step #6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies
After crossing the first threshold, the hero gains companions,
encounters enemies, and goes through tests.
Most of the major characters are often archetypes. An archetype is a
term meaning ancient patterns of personality that appear in numerous
stories.
They generally perform important functions for the stories; an example
would be the mentor.
Common archetypes employed in Hero’s Journeys are the following:
Hero, Mentor, Threshold Guardian, Shadow, and Companion.
Archetype #1: The Threshold
Guardian
Threshold Guardians block the entrance to the special world.
They are usually not the main villain. Instead they are lower level villains, not
affiliated with the villains, or occasionally they turn out to be helpers.
The threshold guardians test a hero, which ultimately helps to him to understand the
Think Cerberus or the river Styx in Greek mythology.
Think the challenges in The Princess Bride or Heimdall in Thor.
Archetype #2: The Shadow
The shadow represents the energy of the dark side of human nature.
Shadows are the dark things that we don’t like about ourselves and
the dark secrets that we can’t fully look at.
The best shadows tend to be exaggerations of real and complex
darknesses that reside in all of us. Think Voldemort’s need to feel
superior, Smaug’s greed, and the Joker’s enjoyment of chaos.
Archetype #3: The Companion
Heroes always have a companion/s.
The Companion fills in the gaps of the hero to make the hero
complete.
The companion also often provides comic relief.
Think Donkey, Samwise Gamgee, Ron and Hermoine, Robin, Peeta,
etc.
Archetype #4: The Special Weapon
Heroes often have a special weapon of some sort.
The weapon generally either chooses the hero (not the other
way around) or has some hidden connection to the hero’s path
(aka, it has been waiting for them).
Think Harry’s wand, Frodo’s ring, Aladdin’s lamp, Eragon’s
dragon, Dr. Strange’s cape.
Step #7: The Approach to the
Inmost Cave
After heroes have adjusted to the new world, they
now seek its dark heart.
As they go farther into the world, they encounter
new obstacles, guardians, and issues, but they
also tend to do the following:
Stoke romance. This is the time for courtship
before they encounter the final ordeal.
Prepare for the final ordeal and do
reconnaissance.
Have last laughs with others before going into
the breach.
Step #8: The Ordeal
When heroes go into the depths of the inmost cave, they face the greatest
challenges and most fearsome opponent yet.
This is a crisis, NOT the climax. Still, the hero must undergo a “death”
and then a rebirth.
In doing this, the hero undergoes the last test of being a hero and are now
ready to finish the job.
Think Indiana Jones, the battle with the Wicked Witch, or the battle for
Gondor in Lord of the Rings.
Step #9: The Reward
After the ordeal, the hero claims the rewards.
These rewards can be the following:
A special treasure
Love
An “elixir” (a medicine that heals every ill) that will be essential later
New ways of perceiving the world (clairvoyance, self-realization, or and
epiphany)
Step #10: The Road Back
After a short interlude to celebrate the Reward, the hero begins the
Road Back.
Often the original plan is to go towards home, but some even
bigger obstacle, the heart of evil, arises while on this road. The
lesson here is that one must fully finish off one’s opponents or they
may come back seeking revenge.
The road back often has a chase scene that is followed by the
climax.
Step #11: The Resurrection
The Resurrection is the climax. In it, the hero battles the heart of evil in the
darkest cave of all.
At first the hero strives to defeat evil in a physical way, but eventually the hero
realizes that the only way to win is to sacrifice him/herself.
Sometimes the hero is reborn from this death; other times the hero dies. Either
way, the here is reborn in a certain sense.
Think Neo and Harry Potter dying and coming back, Frodo sacrificing his
hand and place in society, Katniss getting ready to swallow poison berries, etc.
Step #12: Return with the Elixir
The last step is for the hero to return “home” (it can differ from
the original home) with the elixir. The elixir can be the following:
A healed world
The elixir of responsibility
The elixir of love
The elixir of knowledge
