Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Quest” (also known as The Monomyth or the Quest Wheel)
Hey, a lot of this stuff is similar - and some of it is REALLY similar.
There is a Jesus character in so many stories and religious beliefs and myths and legends and so on.
The character follows the same pattern that the Biblical Jesus follows.
Unusual Birth - there is a hero born who does not fit the world into which he/she is born
the birth separates the hero as special
the birth is marked by strange or unusual circumstances
eg - Harry Potter - was “born” when he didn’t die
Hercules - born of a human and a Greek god (Zeus)
Jesus - born of a human and a god (Yahweh)
Spiderman - born when he was bitten by a radioactive spider
Superman - sent from Krypton to Earth by his father in a global catastrophe
Orphaned! - the hero is almost always alone - the parents are “dead” in some way - often there is adoption, separation (forced or unforced) or maybe actual orphaning
this creates a distance between the hero and the rest of the hero’s community
the hero feels outside and alone
EVEN if the hero is adopted, he/she doesn’t fit and doesn’t work out in the situation
The hero feels a need that he/she cannot really address - a yearning, sadness or some kind of seeking
Luke Skywalker - “you can’t keep him here forever”
Wise Master - is a character who encounters the hero and provides some clues as to the hero’s DESTINY and then may train or guide the hero in developing the skills and talents that make the hero different.
“hey, you’re actually a ____________ and you need to learn your __________ in order to __________ your _________. “
the wise master can be all good (Gandalf, Yoda) or can be a little bit uncertain or even flat out evil - (R’as-al-ghul from Batman Begins)
the hero needs to learn how to harness whatever it is that he/she has (that difference)
sometimes there are more than one - sometimes the WM is part of a process in general
In the Disney model (or similar) this character can be a wisecracking sidekick - the conscience or the moral or the joker, etc - Donkey in Shrek
the hero is dangerous - if he/she isn’t trained and guided, he/she will be a serious problem to “the community” - this is the key turning point for villains.
The Call to Adventure - there is some factor or process that forces the hero to leave the community and go out into the unknown - this can be something very dark and dramatic (Star Wars - Luke’s aunt and uncle are killed - HP gets a letter(s) - LOTR - the ring is dangerous and HAS to be destroyed)
this call to adventure could be the hero’s decision or not
it usually causes the hero to be forced into a tough decision - dilemma or a scary choice
the story really begins here - the stuff before was set up for this
Defeat the Guardian to the Underworld
there is some kind of challenge or trick or puzzle or obstacle or difficult task or something that has to be negotiated in order to get into the “adventure world”
Does Harry simply get to Hogwarts? No way - it takes some work
this model is based upon the old Greek legends where heroes went into Hades - the boatman Charon - who required a coin), the river Styx, Cereberus, etc
the model is set that everything is designed to TEST the hero and if he/she fails, he/she dies, or something like death
In the Underworld - The Obstacle Course - The Test Ground - The Labyrinth
almost all video games are based upon this structure
one after the other, challenges and puzzles and obstacles that test the hero and force the hero to utilize his/her powers and talents
the hero will often discover a TALISMAN or object of power
the hero will often gain new skills or abilities
the hero will often gain a friend or sidekick or partner (romantic as well)
the hero will encounter minions of the Dark Lord, a character who is responsible for some evil and brutality that can often be the key to things from his/her past
Confrontation with The Darkness
the hero has negotiated through the Underworld and has proven him/herself to a point where he/she is ready to confront the Darkness
the Darkness could be internal or external, natural or character, or even some simple monster -
the hero engages in a “battle” where he/she has to dig deep and apply all that he/she has learned - recall the words of the Wise Master, rely on the friend/sidekick, use the talisman or object and finally, in the REAL TEST, be confident in him/herself
the ultimate test for the hero
the riskiest, the scariest thing that there could ever be is what this is
Evil Father Figure - a frequent character in this confrontation - often, the EFF has been the cause of the hero’s problems in early life - ie killed the parents (paging Harry Potter), chased the hero out of the community, killed the adoptive parents, or the wise master, etc.
often, the EFF will try to tell the hero to “join me!”
the idea here is that the hero has been created by the Evil Father Figure
we often read the line “I made you!” as well
the EFF is correct - the hero has been made powerful and honed by the struggle with the Underworld and his minions. Heroes without villains are freaks and vigilante - a lawbreaker who takes the law into his own hands
the hero realizes that this is true - this is a difficult thing to realize - “I almost need him and he almost needs me”
8. Flight or Escape from the Underworld
once the hero has defeated the EFF, the Underworld will collapse - sometimes literally
in the chaos surrounding the death or defeat, the hero gets a new choice: does he/she want to “rule in Hell?”
if not, the chaos intensifies and the hero must escape back to the real world
that escape is often very quick, with Hell falling apart, sometimes like a “rollercoaster ride”
there a few more challenges here, but they are fast and not quite as troublesome, until
The Exit Guardian
in order to get back to the daylight, there is one final challenge, and it is often a very dramatic and sudden challenge - ie we thought we’d made it!
this challenge will be a final “kiss goodbye” from the underworld
could be anything, but it’s the last traces of the Underworld (so we think)
upon defeating it, the hero is back “home”
10a) - Fairy Tale Ending
the hero returns to the real world, all is well, he/she wins, gets the reward (lands, title, acceptance by the community, the prince/ess, and the feeling that he/she has done exactly what they were designed to do - fulfill his/her destiny
this is an old-fashioned, fun, nice, awesome ending and the audience feels satisfied
10b) - Enlightenment
the hero comes back and realizes some things about him/herself and about the Underworld and about Life and it is a hard thing to learn
He/she has looked in the Darkness and seen him/herself looking back
because the darkness is in us all
the real world is just as dark
the people judge the hero
the hero is as much a product of the Underworld as the EFF
the hero misses the Underworld and needs it and will have to live knowing that
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