Black Swan and The Hero’s Journey
Joseph Campbell’s mono-myth, as first presented in his book A Hero with a
Thousand Faces, is perhaps not a storytelling model that one would immediately associate with the film Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky’s thriller set in the world of New
York City Ballet is not a prototypical hero’s journey, mostly because it simply doesn’t involve a physical journey into an unknown land. However, as we further examine the structure imposed by writers Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John McLaughlin, we can find many of the plot points present in the hero’s journey also present in Black Swan.
The journey is clear, as is the transition into an unknown land; the key difference being that the character’s journey
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She’s not faking it. Pay attention.” Nina’s response is described on page 26:
“Nina stares at her, attracted and threatened.” While this is not a blatant refusal of the call, this moment is about reluctance and fear, and it instills a certain vulnerability in the hero that she will have to overcome in order to succeed in her quest.
The fourth stage of the journey is the Mentor stage. The function of the Mentor is
“to prepare the hero to face the unknown. They may give advice, guidance or magical equipment” (18). This moment in Black Swan can be found on page 36, when Nina visits
Leroy in his apartment after the gala. Here, Leroy nudges Nina towards a bit of sexual play, and ultimately tells Nina to “go home and masturbate. Live a little” (36).
Previously, we’ve established that Nina’s need is to loosen up and let go, if she is to succeed. Thus, this moment establishes Leroy as the Mentor in Nina’s journey, pushing her towards sexual (physical) liberation, a necessary step in her transformation.
Stage five is described by Vogler as the stage where “the hero finally commits to the adventure and fully enters the Special World of the story for the first time by
Crossing the First Threshold” (18). This is the turning point between Acts 1 and 2, where the hero steps into unknown territory. In Black Swan, this moment occurs on page
38 when Nina, following her mentor’s advice, “slowly reaches down under the
In stories, there is always a pattern that they all have in common. This certain pattern is known as the Hero’s Journey. There are varying descriptions of the Hero’s Journey steps but only the steps that are set by the teacher is used. These steps are the “The Call”, “Allies”, “Preparation”, “The Guardians of the Threshold”, “Crossing the Threshold”, “Road of Trials”, “Saving Experience”, “Transformation”, and ”Sharing the Gift”.This essay is explaining what the Hero’s Journey is in the book Whirligig by Paul Fleischman. The step that is coming up is the Call which is when the hero starts their journey.
It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.” The 12 stages of this are ‘the ordinary world’, ‘the call to adventure’, ‘refusal of the call’, ‘meeting with the mentor’, ‘crossing the threshold’, ‘tests, allies and enemies’, ‘approach’, ‘the ordeal’, ‘the reward’, ‘the road back’, ‘the resurrection’ and finally ‘return with the
The first stage of The Hero’s Journey is the ordinary world, which is essentially the part of the story in which the protagonist is
The classic tale of the hero's journey can be recognized in almost every situation. It is not only apparent through daily life and historical events, but in this circumstance, a fictional novel, as well. As an epic voyage, it can be recognized in the vast majority of books throughout the course of history. One specific example where it is carefully and intricately exhibited is in Sue Monk Kidd's novel, The Secret Life of Bees, in which a young woman's search for acceptance and the truth becomes a heart-warming chronicle. Through the obstacles and people she meets, Lily is able to experience the trials and self-fulfilling incidents that are required in the hero's journey she partakes in.
Taking the time to pick apart the hero’s actions and thoughts can make the journey much more interesting and easier to understand. By understanding the basic characteristics and the stages of the hero’s journey we can not only understand the story more but we can also understand ourselves more. We can learn new ways to relate to heroes and our peers we did not know of before. In conclusion, the hero’s journey is a great way to learn a new lesson or two, learn more about yourself, and be entertained at the same
The fifth stage is Crossing the Threshold. This is when the Hero finally leaves the Ordinary World and his normal life and enters a new and unknown region or condition where he is completely foreign. The trio in the movie take a lift from the blind man in the railway handcar, and they leave the prison behind, ready to start their
In another scene the two women are at the Sanctuary, which is the club where Nina met Darius. They come to the club straight from the train station because Nina wants to see if Darius is there. Darius and Nina have gone through a separation period so she is anxious to see him but doesn?t want to call him this soon so she just hopes to run into him. He isn?t there and Nina is really tired and wants to go home. She never comes out and says that is her motivation but her girl knows her and she knows her motivation. Josie just validates Nina wanting to leave by saying
A Hero bypasses twelve stages while attending his Journey. The Hero’s journey begins in the Ordinary World, the Ordinary World's task is to allow the reader to distinguish the Hero. The reader sees the Hero’s journey exactly how the Hero experiences, the challenges, and emotion throughout the journey. The Call to Adventure introduces the very first challenges of the journey. During the Call the Hero might not be ready to accept the journey. In addition, the Refusal of the Call might make the Hero feel insecure like not willing to or able to accept the new world or maybe he is not ready for a change. By Meeting the Mentor the Hero will feel more secure about the new world because this mentor guides the Heros. The Mentor helps the Hero find
The Hero’s Journey is a list of steps comprised by Joseph Campbell that describes the steps a hero must take on his adventure. The works of “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” by the Coen brothers and “The Odyssey” of Homer, embody and resemble the threshold of adventure in “The Hero’s Journey” where a hero crosses into an unknown world and carries out a challenging adventure in order to live freely by carrying out steps such as The Supreme Ordeal, The Road Back, and Returning with the Elixir.
In life, heroes are everywhere. They fight crime, save lives, and basically just do good deeds. Heroes follow their journey, which, when written, is actually very cliché. A hero follows a set of events in their journey that are rarely changed. In this essay, two hero’s are examined, Santiago from The Alchemist, and Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. These two stories seem very different, but in the end, are actually very similar. When examined closely, one may find that their journeys are very similar, following the events of a hero’s journey. This seemingly simple set of events is found in almost every heroic story. First is the problem. The hero is in a not quite perfect way of life, and needs to fix it. Then there is the refusal, the hero is called up to fixed the problem, but refuses for whatever personal reason. Then they are forced to go, and meet a mentor. This mentor gives them the wisdom that they need to get through the journey. It may even be what the hero is striving to be. Then they cross the threshold from their ordinary world to the new special world. The fifth and sixth parts can be interchangeable. Trials and allies/enemies, either can come first. Then they reach what they have been striving for, the liar, the cave, the final destination as a normal person. Once the hero reaches this part, they will be forever changed. At some point in this final destination, they will be killed and reborn, whether it is metaphorical or literal. After this they will fight
The Hero’s Journey tells us the path that every hero takes in every story, and the conflicts that he faces throughout it. In the Ordinary World the hero is in comfort and tranquility until he is called upon to take this journey, into and unknown place called the Special World. The Special World is nothing like the Ordinary World, it has unstableness and that is where the hero will meet the villain which he must stop. In the Call Of The Adventure Stage, the hero will be presented with his challenge and will be told where to go and if he is willing to perform this journey. The Hero is left to choose if he has the courage to go to an extremely strange and unpredictable world. Next he will enter the Refusal Of The Call, here the hero feels frightened by the quest he must face and
In his outline of a hero’s journey Joseph Campbell talks about the main parts of the departure phase. The hero will realize something is different
A second argument occurred when Nate and Sheila played ping pong. Sheila accused Nate of being too competitive during the game. Later when Sheila refused to hold his hand, Nate felt disrespected and said he doesn't have it in him to stay with Shelia. After that second argument about an activity, Nate said he is changing his mind about Sheila. He said the future of their marriage is not looking too good.
She shows aptitude in dealing with people, especially Brantain, during her conversation with him. The conversation takes place after her affair is revealed and Nathalie convinces Brantain that the kiss she shares with Harvy was merely a form of familial affection. The end of aforementioned scene suggests that Nathalie's life starts to go as she wishes when "...they [turn] to retrace their steps [and] Brantain's face was radiant [while] hers was triumphant"(). The conclusion to this clip highlights Nathalie's belief in the fact that she is back in control of her life now that she has convinced Brantain to take her back, therefore causing the reader to think the same. This belief continues to be supported in the following paragraphs, in the beginning of Harvy and Nathalie's conversation. During their exchange, Nathalie surmises Harvy will kiss her, especially after Harvy says that Brantain has sent him over towards her to do so. Nathalie also expresses she "[feels] like a chess player who, by the clever handling of his pieces, sees the game taking the course intended"(). At this point, close to the end of the story, Nathalie, and the reader, are almost certain Nathalie has played her cards correctly and she will obtain everything she truly desires. The following sentence continues to build on that
Nina’s sub-personality seems to be the complete opposite of Nina herself. The sub-personality displays confidence, lustfulness, and deceitfulness. She has also attempted to hurt Nina through self-mutilating while in control.