Epic Hero Journey Essay

A Journey into Hero’s life: The Twelve stages of greatness Joseph Campbell revolutionized the world of story-telling, movies, books, and nearly all narrations by introducing the concept of Hero’s Journey in his book Hero With a Thousand Faces. Campbell focused on the idea that legends and myths all across the world all share the same pattern of organization. First introduced by Campbell and later structured by Christopher Vogler into the twelve stages the Hero’s Journey.

According to Campbell, An-mei’s mother is a hero because she completed the hero’s journey: departure, trial, fulfillment, and return. She fulfills the hero’s journey when her status as a first wife was taken, faces an unhappy life for her daughter’s future, resolves it by taking her life to give her daughter a better one, and gets her status returned to as a first wife.

Have you ever been so down in the dumps you ever thought about taking your own life? JJ, Jess, Martin, and Maureen unexpectedly found each other in a moment of on a rooftop, ready to jump to their deaths. Due to their shared feelings of depression, they were able to support each other through their struggles. Maureen, specifically, had major, life-changing benefits from her experiences with the group. As Nick Hornby's novel, A Long Way Down progresses, Maureen undergoes a major development in identity, embarking on a deep, personal journey alongside the three strangers she unexpectedly befriends on a night of desperation.

What does a hero go though thought-out the journey? In Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he explains that all heroes go through the same steps in their stories. The main steps a hero goes through are separation, initiation, and return. All heroes are different because of where they are from or from different times. But they go through the same steps, even when it’s not said the readers assume it happened.

Heroes are the same as you and me, human. Most heroes have weaknesses like Achilles and his heel, his only area that can cut or injured. Others have inner weaknesses like Hercules and his anger issues, and Odysseus and his pride. However most heroes are always troubled humanity, mortality, and love, creating more weaknesses ,or strengths, in the heroes. Heroes also have some amazing abilities.

In the beginning there was only a path that was traveled by many, each from a different place. There were different Gods from other worlds and some were just there for the endless ride. Our god named Silas didn’t own a world yet because he had seen that they were hard work, but he knew he would eventually have to create one to live up to everyone 's expectations. One day he was traveling the path and came across a human, her name was December and she was from another land. They decided to walk together.

Ulysses has a restless spirit and, while he has traveled much, he has left a part of himself everywhere he has traveled, “I am a part of all that I have met” (line 18). While he is old, he still has much to offer, and he will rust with no use, “To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!” (line 23). Quite simply, he suffers from wanderlust and cannot live without adventure. He recognizes that the time he has left is short, and admirably wants to make the most of it.

The first time I went sailing I was eight years old. It was such a foreign entity at the time and more work than I was used too. The days spent on the lake with the hot summer sun and high wind where mystical to me. My father, the captain, was always competitive and slightly impatient of my little understanding with the workings of the boat.

And I don 't mean to” (Biography). In fact, Samwise is described by the author as: “a small gardener, not heroic by nature, but in his very humble, he is a prime candidate for the focus of Tolkien’s story. Perhaps he was not the hero of the age, but he is Frodo’s hero” (website source). In addition, throughout the course of the story,

Man and God's Relationship The Epic of Gilgamesh and In the Beginning have many similarities. Both incorporate the Hero’s Journey and three archetypes: character, situational, and symbolic. Both are about man's relationship with God(s), including man’s struggle with temptation, and the serpent as a symbol.

Active viewing remains necessary as many scenes end in questions with no answers. In classical narrative style, the following scene would answer a questions, either spoken or rhetorical, addressed in the previous. However, Show Me a Hero chooses to breaks down this linear storytelling. Instead the audience does not see answers until much later in the series. These questions are often not directly answered, but simply shown as the effect of a question.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien is an epic that was written recently when it is compared to the epics of the ancient Greeks. The was written in 1954 and began the trilogy known as The Lord of the Rings, “The Fellowship of the Ring, first book (1954) in the trilogy,” (Hall). Some of the characteristics of an epic are: the hero is noble-born, goes on a long journey, his decisions affect the fate of the nation, the hero’s characteristics reflects the ideas of his society, and a large setting (Applebee 29). The Fellowship of the Ring meets almost all of the above criteria. The first condition of an epic is that the hero is a noble-born male who is generally a well-respected member of the society (Applebee 29).

A Hero’s Quest for Immortality Gilgamesh, just like any other heroes, receives a vision from the gods pertaining to his fate, “The father of the gods has given you kingship, such is your destiny, everlasting life is not your destiny.” It makes no sense at first but as the story progress, we found out that Gilgamesh was never meant to live eternal life. The quest for immortality is a common theme in mythologies. Heroes undergo challenges against gods and supernatural creatures in order to get the desired item that would restore one’s youth.

“What you think you become. What you feel you attract. What you imagine you create” –Buddha Buddha expressed that you have a power. That is the power of thought. That power gives you anything you want; happiness, health, and wealth.

The plane landed and I was unbuckled and out of my seat before we made it to the gate. First class and people with small children be damned I’m getting off this fucking tin clycleder first. The flight attendnet made a face that said bring it and I would so fucking bring it, she wouldnt know what fucking hit her. I am Isbella Cullen and I will tear anyone apart if they tried to stop me from getting off the plane. The gross faced woman better have brung her lunch and a few friends if they wanted to come up against me.