Ulyssess The Hero's Journey Essay

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

The answer to that question is family. Both men have great senses of family; Ulysses has a wife whom he loves and six daughters that he fights to keep custody of over the

Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman; when you hear the word hero or heroine that is who you think of. The most famous heroes of all time, as well as the not so famous heroes such as Hazel, fit the archetype of a hero; they are all courageous, resourceful, and strong-willed. Most people don’t notice that almost all action/adventure movies and novels are the same. All of their stories fit the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest. A heroic quest consists of twelve steps that the hero completes throughout his or her journey. In this essay, I will be explaining the parallels between Watership Down by Richard Adams and the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest; as well as the parallels between

Taking the time to pick apart the hero’s actions and thoughts can make the journey much more interesting and easier to understand. By understanding the basic characteristics and the stages of the hero’s journey we can not only understand the story more but we can also understand ourselves more. We can learn new ways to relate to heroes and our peers we did not know of before. In conclusion, the hero’s journey is a great way to learn a new lesson or two, learn more about yourself, and be entertained at the same

In the late 1940’s a man named Joseph Campbell shared his Mythic principal with the world. He explains that there is a three-stage formula that he calls a Hero Journey which is the structure of every story. Though most stories are completely different on the outside, the stories are almost structured around these three stages. Stage 1 is the hero leaves the everyday world and enters another world. While Stage 2 the hero is challenged by opposing forces and must pass a series a test throughout the movie. That will then determine who will be victorious, either the hero or the opposing forces. Stage 3 is tied into Stage 2 because if the hero is victorious, they will return to the ordinary world with a gift for the world.

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life

Small or big, everything we do in life is part of our journey. Reg Harris’ “The Hero’s Journey” describes the voyage one takes throughout life to grow and change as a person. He breaks the journey down into eight steps leading to the return. It starts out as a goal that isn’t always easy to reach, one goes through hardship and personal doubts only to succeed and become a better person. An example of this journey can be found in the movie, Troy through the character Achilles. Achilles is a strong fearless warrior in the movie, Troy who goes through “The Hero’s Journey” and ends up with a change of heart.

The “hero’s journey”, coined by Joseph Campbell, is a pattern in the plot structure of literature, myths, and oral tradition in which the hero is consistently faced with similar obstacles and achieves many of the same goals. The first part of the hero’s journey is “The Call.” The hero is usually living a very comfortable and easy life, unaware of the journey ahead. The hero is then faced with a situation or dilemma which eventually causes them to seek change. The hero, at this point, tends to refuse the call to adventure in fear of the unknown. Once the hero has been given the strength to push past the unknown, they have entered the threshold. The hero will experience many challenges and temptations where the hero is tested, eventually reaching “The Abyss,” the most difficult challenge. The hero is then transformed by these trials and returns home to every-day life and begins to contribute to their society. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist, Janie, experiences the hero’s journey first-hand through overcoming obstacles and transforming herself. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the heroine Janie overcomes many obstacles and is therefore transformed into a self reliant woman.

leave Ithaca cannot be simply based on a whim: he is a young king with

They are arrogant, yet sometimes uncertain, they are cunning, but still find themselves weak at times. This is very evident throughout the whole story, where both characters are very independent of others, especially when it comes to the help of the god(s). Odysseus’ audacity towards the gods causes quite a delay in his journey home, in particular because of his hostility towards Poseidon. On the other hand, Ulysses himself is not a very religious man. He cannot be lured into foolish tricks along with his friends. However, when push comes to shove, both characters realise where they stand and what needs to be done. They need to swallow their pride and put their egos behind them, and finally acknowledge the fact that they will need to seek help from the higher powers in order to reach their goal of arriving home sooner rather than later.

Throughout history it becomes apparent that all the great stories: The Odyssey, Great Expectations, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all founded on a similar theme. The same plot line, a hero, most often the protagonist, faces danger and adversity to the highest extreme but always comes out on top. He is depicted as the pinnacle of human triumph and in essence, demonstrates a fundamental strength that all men should strive to achieve. These stories were, “ full of darkness and danger. And sometimes one did not want to know the end; How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? In the end, it is only a passing thing. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out even clearer. Those

The Hero’s journey, or in its more correct terminology the Monomyth is an object from the area of comparative mythology. Its definition in the most basic of forms, it is a pattern or outline that is used in storytelling, usually the myth. This pattern is found in many famous pieces from all around the world. In the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces from 1949 by author Joseph Campbell, this pattern is described in detail. Campbell describes that numerous myths from different times and areas of the world seem to share an identical structure in their storytelling. He summarized this with a well-known quote found at the intro of his book:

hero's journey is not solely “applicable to fiction but also to the journeys that everyone goes

Indeed there are multiple events that one could argue as the Call to Adventure. One is when Ulysses remembered everything about his journey prior to when Nausicaa found him lying on the sands by the ocean. He reminisce about his trip from when he and his men tricked the one-eyed giant -- son of Neptune -- by making the giant drunk and blinded him, and why Ulysses was tied on his boat and why all his men couldn’t hear anything when the Sirens were singing on the wandering rocks, then his journey to the witch, Circe, that looked like Ulysses’ wife, Penelope, along with how all his men died. I think this is the Call to Adventure because he got informations of what his mission is and what happened to him before.