The hero eventually accepts the adventure because they realize it's important to their personal growth to accept the adventure. This choice often stems from a desire to overcome their discomfort in the ordinary world, fulfill their potential, or confront challenges that push them to grow as individuals.
The Hero's Journey
Jessica McBirney
2017
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Joseph Campbell was an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer. His book The Hero with a Thousand Faces explores the common journey that heroes from different works of literature take. In this informational text, Jessica McBirney further discusses this common structure of storytelling that Campbell identified.
As you read, take notes on the different parts of the Hero’s Journey.
When we follow a good story, we tend to follow the journey a character makes from beginning to end. We can’t wait to find out what happens next. It’s a page-turner; there are obstacles at every stage and crucial choices that characters have to make in order to overcome these obstacles. Eventually, we pick up another story. We have an appetite for stories. There are so many for us to choose from — in libraries, in bookshops, and on our screens — and each story seems new and exciting.
Well, in fact, oftentimes this is not true. We are led to believe these stories are new even though a lot of them follow a simple formula. When we stop to think about it, many of these stories have more similarities than we might think.
In the 1940s, the writer and professor, Joseph Campbell, noticed that a lot of his favorite stories shared a similar structure. He decided to write about it in his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Today, this story structure is popularly known as “The Hero’s Journey.” Stories that use this structure loosely follow a similar series of general events, otherwise known as plot points.
The hero is the main character in the story. He or she sets off on an adventure, or quest, to accomplish a specific goal. Below are just a few of the steps all heroes face in the “Hero’s Journey” story plot. Popular stories like The Hobbit and The Hunger Games follow this structure.
The Ordinary World
The story usually opens with the hero’s normal life: their ordinary world. This “world” can include their home and family life, their job, their personal history, and more. The author does this to introduce their hero and explain certain things about their personality and actions.
In the ordinary world, the hero often feels uncomfortable in some way. There is something they don’t like about their normal life, something that causes them stress or discomfort. Others in the ordinary world might think the hero is odd in some way.
Call to Adventure
According to Campbell’s formula, something will then occur that disrupts our hero’s life in the ordinary world and causes them to face a decision. It could be an event, a discovery, an added danger, or something new from within the hero. It requires the hero to do something; they are the only person who can fulfill this call or accomplish this goal. The call to adventure provides a first look into what Campbell calls “a new world,” one very different from the ordinary world.
Refusing the Call
The hero may not immediately accept their call to adventure. They might be afraid of entering the new world or of the tasks they have to do. If this is the case, they will initially refuse to accept the call. If the hero initially refuses their call to adventure, bad things usually begin to occur.
Crossing the Threshold
In some stories, before the hero accepts the call to adventure, they meet with a mentor. This person will be a mature person who has experienced the new world before. The mentor offers advice that convinces the hero to accept the call and enter the new world.
“Crossing the threshold” happens when the hero finally accepts the call to adventure and enters the new world. The new world is very different from their ordinary world. It has unfamiliar rules and values that the hero must navigate.
Question 3 of 7
Why does the hero eventually accept the adventure?
They are anxious to experience new things with a new friend.
They are punished for initially refusing the adventure and receive help.
They must accept the adventure to save someone they care for.
They realize it's important to their personal growth to accept the adventure.
1 answer