Similarities Between Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone Monomyth

This was the start of Harry’s journey at

Joseph Campbell is an American writer and mythologist. According to his teachings, all mythologies adopt the same pattern, recognized as the heroic Monomyth. The monomyth can also be defined as a hero's journey. Tons of heroic characters reflect the monomyth, regardless of the era, culture and literature it was made in. The epic poem Beowlf executes the theory of a hero's journey thoroghly.

The Monomyth (mythological telling of a heroic journey) is a narrative structure which a work of Fantasy usually takes leading into the three main stages: Departure, Initiation and Return. Within those three main stages there are sub stages, which the heroic character follows more simply like a path. The Monomyth also known as the Hero’s Journey, which was created by Joseph Campbell. This essay explores on how The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien fits or how it may not fit the cliché points of The Hero’s Journey as explored in the paragraphs below: 1. Departure: This is the first stage of the Monomyth, which deals with the hero’s “adventure” prior to the quest/ journey.

From coping with of loss, gaining responsibilities, and learning to accept his town and his life, Harry is able to make this transition. His journey that is not an easy one and Steven Herrick shows this by the end of his novel, by the river, that Harry is more maturity and can venture into the future more

  Harry Potter was forced to endure many hardships of death and still needed to face the killer of his loved ones, who was known as the embodiment of evil.   These three individuals had to endure many hardships to reach their goal.

Hagrid had to explain to him his past and when Harry learned everything he accepted it and was brave enough to go with Hagrid and begin his journey to the wizard world. This also demonstrated the theme of the supernatural. Diagon Alley shows an opening into the wizard world. He got his wand and all his other objects he needed to fully begin his journey. “Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the toll’s neck from behind” (176).

At the beginning of the novel, we find that Harry hates his town and regards his life miserable. Harry wants to ‘find the quickest way out’ of his town, and never wants to ‘come back… [not] for a long time’. He dreams and wishes of being ‘miles and another world away’ from the town he lives in. Harry has been exposed to death, loneliness, sadness and anger in his childhood. This makes Harry strong but sometimes lonely and isolated.

To become a hero or heroine, one must participate in a process, or transformation, known as the Hero’s Journey. Mythologist Joseph Campbell found patterns in literature, better known as archetypes, concerning the monomyth, or a prevalent aspect in folklore. In other words, most stories are made of essentially the same elements, described as the monomyth. A common outline in tales involving a hero, the Hero’s Journey begins with escaping a dull world to enter the underworld. The traveler faces barriers prior to metamorphosing into a triumphant hero.

In Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he writes about the many different stages of the hero’s journey. He claims that the hero’s journey, or the monomyth, has existed as a guideline for authors and storytellers for centuries. The authors of these stories may have consciously utilized the monomyth, or the stories may be so commonly used that it became the natural way of telling a story about a hero. The monomyth is organized into three different phases: the initiation, separation, and return. Within these phases are the different encounters the hero has.

Harry Potter’s narrative follows Campbell’s pattern. In Harry’s case, he is living with his Muggle relatives, when letters from Hogwarts arrive to notify him that he has been accepted to the wizarding school (cf. Ahmed, 2012,

Books and movies are often very different, although the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and the book for the most part are analogous. I liked the book better though, because there is the chance to use your imagination. One major change is the letters that Harry receives from Hogwarts. In the book the first letter is in the mailbox.

The film of J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an uncommon critical movie in the arrangement. Like the book, this film is vital in setting up a perception for the straggling leftovers of the course of action. It is essential that the film supplements the novel however much as could sensibly be normal. Using one of the critical features of a movie; visual imagery, the film change of the fourth novel is a better than average reinforcement to the novel. The visual similarity in this film complements sentiments and reactions that we can't in any capacity, shape or form get from the book.

Harry’s life isn’t very bright in the beginning of our story; he is forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, never gets anything for his birthdays (except a pair of Uncle Vernon’s old socks, and coat hangers ) and he is constantly being bullied by his 12 year old nephew, Dudley. One fine morning, Harry starts receiving strange letters adressed to his cupboard and is rescued by a giant man. Harry discovers his parents hadn’t died in a car crash (as his uncle and aunt always told him), but that they were wizards, and that he’s one as well. Though that’s not all; Harry isn’t just an ordinary wizard, but a famous one. The reason behind this is when, At the time of Harrys’ birth, a dark wizard roamed the country, and this wizard so happened to be at his prime (strongest).

Harry always puts his friends first, and in this book one of the people who are put in danger is his close friend Hermione, and in the end his best friend’s sister is abducted. The book’s theme can be compared to many other books, for example The Hunger Games. Katniss, the main character in that book, volunteers to be a part of a dangerous game so that she can protect her little sister. But the book is also about character development and being a good person.

A HEROS JOURNEY Comparing The Monomyth in The Odyssey and The Lord of the Rings Ordinary World Frodo Baggins’s story begins when he inherits the Ring and all of Bilbo’s possessions at Bilbo's 111 birthday. Bilbo leaves the Shire, gifting his magic ring to Frodo. During the years leading up to the realization of what the Ring really was, Frodo grew restless and found himself looking at Bilbo’s old maps and wondering what might lay beyond those maps.