Joseph Campbell's The Power Of Myth

A myth is a symbolic way of expressing truths and beliefs that are accepted by society. Myths, which are reading literature that is imaginative, teach truths that may not always have a basis for historical fact. Myths, which communicate ideas in story form, are creative stories that explain and teach religious truths of sin and consequence.

Myths explain our circumstances in the world and the universe. A prime example of this is the myth of Icarus and Daedalus. Pieter Brueghel painted a picture decrypting the moment of Icarus fall from the heavens. And the two poets William Carlos Williams and W. H. Auden each wrote a poem based on Brueghel's painting, both of which developed a deep meaningful message to the reader. Diction, connotation, and denotation are all used to help describe the emotions and tragedies that Brueghel's painting portrays. These poems are written based on the myth of Icarus.

Countless cultures and religions gather around campfires and even hold ceremonies to hear a good hero story. But little do they know that these traditional stories that they are oh so eager to listen to, are all alike someway, somehow. All heroes in all cultures, dating from the earliest hero-story written, miraculously follow a sequence of events called a mononmyth/heroes Journey. The ineffable spectacle of the mononmyth is that despite the thousands of miles between ancient civilizations it was subconsciously present in the psychology of all the hero-writers. Joseph Campbell, an established psychologist stated his identification of the monomyth in his book, A Hero with a Thousand Faces. But, Campbell not only explained the monomyth in great detail, but he also elaborated into the psychology of humans. He did this by elucidating the exact steps in every hero’s journey, and providing factual proof. The initial belief is that no matter what the circumstance is, No matter past or present, man or woman, the heroes all have the same initiation. Here Campbell states that, “Whether hero ridiculous or sublime, Greek

Myth – Is a cultural featured folklore story of some early history regarding a supernatural phenomenon or wild belief. Myths are often told by people in order to explain a particular history or the origin of a custom. This can include contexts to a story that is over exaggerated or truthful in some perspectives. For example, the folklore history of “Bloody Mary” and saying her name three times will make her appear.

Aspects such as abnormality, the visits to the supernatural world, and greater knowledge gain than original expected of the epic hero archetype guide the reader through this story. Leading them to realize that without understanding the dangers of something irreversible mistakes may be made and yet at the same time wisdom allows for innovation and progress to

Life is a precious gift, as you only get one chance to become your best self. In life everyone has hopes and dreams to find their calling to potentially make a difference in the world. In literature we are presented with an abundance of epic hero stories, referring to fictional or non-fictional characters that have made a difference in their world. These characters grant the reader with entertaining stories pertaining to historical or fictional events that reflect the hero’s journey to making a triumphant change. Joseph Campbell’s theory that every hero has a similar journey to becoming their best self commences with a call to an adventure. The call to adventure is the first and most important step in Joseph Campbell’s hero monomyth, “A hero with a Thousand Faces.”

A simple definition of a myth is a story handed down through history, often through oral tradition, that explains or gives value to the unknown. Myths are composed of stories or explanations. Myths are not always false sometimes they have some truth to them. They come to being by people making an assumption about a person based on their race.

What is a myth? When one thinks of a myth perhaps one thinks about a story being told by the fire, or a dramatic tale about an invincible hero, or perhaps a cosmological occurrence that caused everything to be. Personally, when I think of the word myth, I think of the ancient Greeks or Romans with their many gods and goddesses; however, to most, the story being told by a myth is simply that, just a story. To most the term “myth” has been confused for a legend or folklore. The truth of the matter is however, that to religious scholars, a myth is more than just a story; a myth is how a society’s religion came to explain what seemed the inexplicable. With modern science booming and being capable of explaining the events

The Hero’s Journey is the route that a character must go through to become a hero. “The hero's journey is a narrative structure identified by Joseph Campbell as an archetypal map of the human spiritual quest. Drawn from the realm of myth and religion, the hero's journey was first presented in Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1956). The concept reached mass audiences through Bill Moyers's interviews with Joseph Campbell in the 1988 PBS series The Power of Myth” (Holmes). According to Campbell, there are twelve steps for the hero to accomplish his or her journey :1. The ordinary world, 2. The call to adventure, 3. Refusal of the call, 4. Meeting with the mentor, 5. Crossing the threshold, 6. Tests, aliens and enemies, 7. Approach, 8. The ordeal, 9. The Reward, 10. The road back,11. The resurrection ,12. Return with the elixir. Contrasting the heroes in Beowulf and Judith journeys, the first and foremost difference is that they have different genders protagonists, however the traits that leads them to their journeys proves that they have the same values and qualities in which heroes from that period should have, such as glory, confidence, courage, and practicality. Additionally, they trust on the Christian God’s help to guide and to protect their people despite the unknown fate, they believe that the good will win the evil.

There are different types of definitions for the word myth. Etymological definitions concentrate on the subject at head being untrue. One of these definitions states the word myth is defined as a story about the gods that is false. Another type of definition is sociological-theological definitions. In this definitions, the person telling the myth is only telling what is true to them. The story is not false in their mind. The truth is whatever the person thinks is true.

Imagine more than half of the population being denied its basic human rights. Fifty years ago, many basic human rights were a luxury, were a work in progress, or were even nonexistent. In fifty years, racism, sexism, homophobia, and many other types of prejudice have been challenged in the effort to create a civil and unbiased national community. However, despite the prodigious movements that have been at work for quite some time, each of these issues and many more still stand and exist today. I agree with Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth.” Campbell’s stance applies to the issues of present day political ethics concerning human rights, more specifically, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

In The Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell states, “…myths offer life models. But the models have to be appropriate to the time in which you are living, and our time has changed so fast that what was proper fifty years ago is not proper today. The virtues of the past are the vices of today. And many of what were thought to be the vices of the past are the necessities of today. The moral order has to catch up with the moral necessities of actual life in time, here and now. And that is what we are not doing.” I support Joseph Campbell’s stance that ideals and paradigms we rely on now have changed over time and will change in time. Myths are used as a tool to teach children the conduct they should be exhibiting. Nonetheless, these myths and conducts

Throughout history it becomes apparent that all the great stories: The Odyssey, Great Expectations, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are all founded on a similar theme. The same plot line, a hero, most often the protagonist, faces danger and adversity to the highest extreme but always comes out on top. He is depicted as the pinnacle of human triumph and in essence, demonstrates a fundamental strength that all men should strive to achieve. These stories were, “ full of darkness and danger. And sometimes one did not want to know the end; How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? In the end, it is only a passing thing. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out even clearer. Those

Myths and religion share the same qualities. Myths help connect to the spiritual world. “The myth is for spiritual instruction” (Campbell, 59). Myths help us relate to other spiritual references. Campbell uses the example of reincarnation and how it ties into other concepts of religion also, “….dimensions of your being and a potential for realization and consciousness that are not included with the concept of yourself.” (Campbell,70). In religion, you come out a new

"A myth is a collective term denoting a symbolic narrative in religion, as distinguished from symbolic behavior (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons)". (The New Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 24)Mythology is a collection of myths meant to explain the universe. Mythological stories were told in many different cultures and civilizations. The existence of myths is known in every society. Many different myths were conceived to explain occurrences that happened in nature.