Harry Potter : An Epic Journey

Rebecca and Phillip Stein (2017) discuss monomyth, a hero’s journey, in their book “Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft.” In the text, they use the definition of a monomyth given by Joseph Campbell. Campbell defines it as when “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (Stein & Stein, 2017.) According to the text, a hero’s journey has three stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return. (Stein and Stein, 2017.) The Disney movie, The Lion King, is a monomyth movie about a young lion who abandons his role as king of the Pride lands and must come back to save his family and his land when danger ensues. Simba is the son of Mufasa, the current king, therefore he is the rightful heir to the throne. This is the common day world that Simba lives in. His uncle, Scar, is filled with hatred towards both Simba and Mufasa, because he believes he deserves to be king. He comes up with an elaborate plan to kill them both. He tricks Simba into thinking that his father has a surprise for him, and he instructs Simba to wait inside of a canyon while he fetches his Mufasa. Scar deliberately starts a stampede of wildebeests to try and kill Simba. Mufasa arrives to the canyon to witness Simba clinging for his life, on a lone shrub’s branch, as thousands of

The archetype of the Hero’s Journey holds a prevalent pattern in the works of “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, “A & P” by John Updike, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. These works all follow the 17 stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth which are separated in three stages; separation, initiation, and return. The main characters have different characterizations; however, they all follow the basic structure of the Hero’s journey archetype. There are many similarities and differences between the stages that are shown through many context clues and literary devices in each work. The Hero’s Journey archetype expressed in these literary works follow a similar and direct narrative pattern.

Joseph Campbell’s term monomyth can be described as a hero’s journey. Many heroic characters follow the monomyth, no matter the time period or culture the literature was created in. The poem Beowulf is known to follow the adventure of the hero described in Campbell’s monomyth . The hero’s journey consists of three rites of passages: separation, initiation, and return. Beowulf endures each of these stages throughout the epic poem, so his journey does follow Campbell’s monomyth.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling is a magical story about a boy who set on a heroic journey to save his home. Along the way he shows great heroism, courage, and natural intelligence as he navigates his way through Hogwarts and it’s mystery’s. Harry Potter’s story left a mark in every audience member's heart and a permanent fondness for the magical story in their minds.

During the course of this World Literature class, several stories have been covered that accurately describe Joseph Campbell's mono-myth, or basic pattern found in narratives from every corner of the world. The Hero's Journey in it's entirety has seventeen stages or steps, but if boiled down can be described in three; the departure, the initiation, and the return (Monomyth Cycle). Each stage has several steps, but the cycle describes the hero starting in his initial state, encountering something to change him, and this his return as a changed person. To further explain this concept, there are a few stories covered in this class that can be used.

Harry Potter enters the epic hero cycle when he experiences the call to adventure and finds out his supernatural qualities. Joseph Campbell writes in his book that ?the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood? (56). Hagrid arrives with a letter for Harry and says, ?Harry, you are a wizard? (Rowling 50). Hagrid?s announcement reveals Harry Potter?s supernatural quality and brings him to a world that he don?t understand. When Hagrid gives him the envelope, Harry ?pulled out the letter and read: HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY? (Rowling 57). Receiving the letter is Harry?s call to adventure. The Joseph explains that the call to adventure ?signifies that destiny has summoned the hero and

But to fully grasp an audience, with twelve to fifteen steps is a lot to explain. Joseph Campbell gisted the essential components of the mononmyth as a whole, “The standard path of the mythological hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rights of a passage: separation—initiation—return” (23). In these simple steps Campbell identified the foundation of all monomyths. In separation, the hero ventures astray from their later “prosaic” life into a region of supernatural wonder (23).Initiation, overzealous figures/forces are encountered and a decisive victory is won (23).Lastly,the now master of the narrative returns from the surreptitious journey with bestowed power

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life

The first stage of the monomyth is the departure. In this stage, the hero first receives “call to adventure,” either directly or sometimes unwittingly. In a real life example, this would be taking on a task, one that is assigned by someone else or one that is chosen by oneself. This could be an assignment at a job, or it could be the desire to pursue a new hobby. Campbell mentions the “refusal of the call,” or the turning away from the journey. In life, when taking on a task, it can seem too difficult or frightening, and the natural desire may be to turn away. Campbell warns that this “converts the adventure into its negative… [and] the subject loses the power of affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved” (59). Though an adventure may be difficult, the hero will usually gain the assist of a supernatural aid. Many

Upon analysis of Kurt Vonnegut's, "Harrison Bergeron", evidence suggests that the story imitates the basic structure of the monomyth. However, unlike the sequence and obvious events presented in a monomyth Vonnegut cleverly applies his own unique play on the iconic structure. What is to be noted first is the definition of amonomyth. Joseph Campbell defines the term, "monomyth", as the standard cycle of events that occur to which the hero endures during the progression of the story (kfjakhfakjf). This is a common format for various works of literature (hfakhfke). Important phases of the monomyth are as follows: 1)separation 2)initiation 3)return, all of which have countless endeavors within the main before the hero can venture on to the next facet (kjazkjfkajk). Thought there are multiple stages one can focus on, the one to consider meticulously is the last stage of the monomythic hero's journey: return.

The Harry Potter series is the best book series ever. On top you see wizards, wand, and other cool magical things every human wants to be able to do. But deep down Harry Potter is full of literary elements including an epic quest for the three main characters, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. Harry Potter’s overall quest throughout the books is to track down the evil wizard, Voldemort. He must also learn about why he is so famous. His best friend, Ron Weasley, is poor boy with 7 siblings. Ron’s quest is to become more brave and be the leader. Hermione Granger, Harry’s other best friends, her quest is all about knowledge and to do what’s right.

In 1949, Joseph Campbell popularized his version of the monomyth, or the hero’s journey. In this version, there were seventeen stages which were split into three distinct categories including the Departure, the Initiation, and finally, the Return. Over the course of several years, there have been numerous versions of the hero’s journey; most of them derived from Joseph Campbell’s initial version. After watching “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, I was able to categorize the events in the movie into Christopher Vogler’s version of the hero’s journey which consists of twelve stages. The twelve stages are 1. The ordinary world, 2. The call to adventure, 3. Refusal of the call, 4. Meeting the master, 5. Crossing the threshold, 6. Tests, allies, and enemies, 7. Approaching the dragon’s den, 8. The ordeal, 9. Seizing the treasure, 10. The road back, 11. Resurrection, and finally, 12. Return with the treasure. However, modern film tends to stray from the typical hero’s journey more than the usual traditional epic poem.

The American author, teacher, and mythologist, Joseph John Campbell, is universally known for his work in comparative folklore and culture. His studies led him to discover the pattern, journey of the hero. The sequence consists of three stages and exists in many dealings with Greek mythology as well as current popular culture. A modern example of the occurring cycle is the 2001 production, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In the film, an orphaned young boy named Harry Potter is invited to study at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In time, he is involved in a dangerous quest to save the wizarding community from the grasps of the Dark Lord. The film demonstrates aspects of a traditional journey of the hero because Harry

The Hero’s journey, or in its more correct terminology the Monomyth is an object from the area of comparative mythology. Its definition in the most basic of forms, it is a pattern or outline that is used in storytelling, usually the myth. This pattern is found in many famous pieces from all around the world. In the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces from 1949 by author Joseph Campbell, this pattern is described in detail. Campbell describes that numerous myths from different times and areas of the world seem to share an identical structure in their storytelling. He summarized this with a well-known quote found at the intro of his book:

By reviewing textual sources of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling and The Gilgamesh, and sources on the monomyth, it can be made clear that the Harry Potter books and the story of Gilgamesh are similar due to their use of the hero’s journey.