Hero's Journey and Seven Stories

Hero's Journey

Below is an excerpt from Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with the Thousand Faces,

'The standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation--initiation--return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth.'

1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change. 

3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life. 

9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

In order to test this theory, I'm going to try and apply each stage to a film of my choosing, Jon Favreau's Chef.

1. The Ordinary World: Carl Casper is introduced as a chef who is friendly with his staff and has a true passion for cooking. We find out that he's separated from his wife and he has a detached relationship with his son.

2. The Call to Adventure: Carl is revamping the menu but the owner of the restaurant forbids him from doing it and demands that he cooks his normal, albeit bland and dated menu. As a result, a food critic gives Carl an abysmal and personally insulting food review.

3. Refusal of the Call: After challenging the food critique to come back so that Carl can cook his new menu, the owner threatens to fire him. Carl quits and leaves the restaurant so the food critic gives yet another scathing review. Carl then shows up at the restaurant and has a hysterical breakdown.

4.Meeting With the Mentor: Carl meets with his wife after his breakdown went viral. She counsels him and convinces him to start a food truck business so he can cook for himself and be happy.

5.Crossing the Threshold: Carl starts setting up the van with his son, thus creating a father/son bond.

6.Test, Allies and Enemies: Carl's relationship with his son is tested during the trip and it is shown that he may have lost interest in working at a proper restaurant.

7.Approach: Carl, his friend and his son tries new recipes to prepare for the amount of customers they are getting every day.

8. The Ordeal: They are now nearing the end of their trip and Carl and his son are both disappointed and scared that things will go back too they way they were.

9. The Reward: Carl faces his fears and opens up to new possibilities. He makes compromises and adjusts his schedule to accommodate more time for his son.

10. The Road Back: Carl now works in his food truck with his friend, son and ex-wife. He seems happy and his business is booming.

11. The Resurrection: The food critic that ended Carl's career approached him at his food truck. Tension rises as the last time they met, Carl had a meltdown. It turns out that the food critic want to open a new restaurant and wants Carl to be his partner.

12. Return With the Elixir: The film ends with a scene of the new restaurant. People are dancing and having fun in what looks to be a wedding. Carl is seen dancing with his ex wife and they are now re-married.  Carl's 'treaure' is his new restaurant and rekindled relationship with his family.

SEVEN STORIES

In his book, (Booker, 2004) outlined 7 basics of plot writing; They are as follows:

Overcoming the Monster
Hero learns of a great evil threatening the land, and sets out to destroy it.

Rags to Riches
Surrounded by dark forces who suppress and ridicule him, the Hero slowly blossoms into a mature figure who ultimately gets riches, a kingdom, and the perfect mate.

The Quest
Hero learns of a great MacGuffin that he desperately wants or needs to find, and sets out to find it, often with companions.

Voyage and Return
Hero heads off into a magic land with crazy rules, ultimately triumphs over the madness and returns home far more mature than when he set out.

Comedy
Hero and Heroine are destined to get together, but a dark force is preventing them from doing so; the story conspires to make the dark force repent, and suddenly the Hero and Heroine are free to get together. This is part of a cascade of effects that shows everyone for who they really are, and allows two or more other relationships to correctly form.

Tragedy
The flip side of the Overcoming the Monster plot. Our protagonist character is the Villain, but we get to watch him slowly spiral down into darkness before he's finally defeated, freeing the land from his evil influence.

Rebirth
As with the Tragedy plot, but our protagonist manages to realize his error before it's too late, and does a Heel-Face Turn to avoid inevitable defeat.

These categories can be applied not only to books but also to films and games. Working in a group, we chose a game that fits in each category.

Overcoming the Monster: Diablo 3 represents overcoming the monster quite literally. As a nephalem, you have to defeat evil and Diablo himself.

Rags to Riches: This trope applies to every MMO game as you usually start with default and basic items. Games like Grand Theft Auto shows that you can be rich as the game progresses and you are able to buy cars, weapons and clothing.

The Quest: Mario's MacGuffin is Princess Peach. The game is all about his quest to rescue her.

Voyage and Return: Pokemon is a good example because the game is about the player's voyage to be the greatest Pokemon trainer and his return home to show everyone his accomplishments.

Comedy: Grim Fandango  is filled with light and dark humour.The visual design perfectly compliments the humour and narrative of the game.

Tragedy: Papers Please sounds like a boring game if you've never played it. Checking paperworks sounds like a chore and if you;re not being rewarded to do it, then why try? However the narrative is simple yet compelling. Making moral decisions that determines the fate of the characters around you, although you've never met them, makes this game both sad and captivating.

Rebirth: Braid  in my opinion is the perfect example of rebirth. The character goes through a form of rebirth when he realises that he is actually the bad guy. He might have been the bad guy throughout the whole film but it shows that your personal view of yourself is what matters the most. The mechanics of the game is also a form of rebirth as you bend time and you are able to redo your actions.

Campbell, J. (1972). The hero with a thousand faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Booker, C. (2004). The seven basic plots. London: Continuum.