English 10 / Unit 3: Character Development and Archetypes
3.5 The Hero's Journey
Notes
The hero's journey (or monomyth), described by the scholar Joseph Campbell, is a pattern found in myths around the world.
- Departure: the ordinary world, the call to adventure, often a refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, crossing the threshold into the unknown.
- Initiation: tests, allies and enemies; the ordeal (greatest challenge, often facing death); the reward.
- Return: the road back, transformation, and return with the elixir (a gift or wisdom for the community).
- Example: in the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, the death of his friend Enkidu sends Gilgamesh on a quest for immortality; he fails but returns wiser about human limits.
Practice
A farm boy is told he must leave home to save the kingdom, but he first says he is too young. This stage is the:
Hesitating to accept the adventure is the refusal of the call.
In the hero's journey, the "elixir" the hero brings home is best described as:
The return shares what was gained with others.
What sends Gilgamesh on his quest for immortality?
Grief and fear of death after Enkidu dies drive his quest.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 3 test.