Archetypal hero

The Ordinary world

Often this character has an unknown background or origin and is raised by some type of foster parents. The hero could also have a special birth (many times in ancient myths the hero is created by gods). Most of the time this character seems to be an “unlikely hero” before the quest begins.

Call to adventure

The hero is presented with a problem--a challenge is put before him or her that must be dealt with.

The Refusal of the call

Often at this point, the hero balks at the threshold of adventure, at least initially. After all, he or she is facing the greatest of all fears—fear of the unknown.

Mentor

Above the hero both in knowledge and experience and gives the hero advice or training and sometimes even magical weapons needed on the journey. The mentor may use his powers to aid the hero on the quest, but the mentor can only go so far with the hero. Eventually the hero must face the unknown by himself.

Crossing the threshold

The hero passes from the ordinary world and fully enters the special world of his or her story for the first time. The hero has left his or her “comfort zone” and the road up ahead is unknown. The hero is now committed to his journey, and there's no turning back.

The belly of the whale

The hero comes at last to a dangerous place, often deep underground, where the object of his quest is hidden. The hero must venture into this dark place to get what he or she is seeking.

Supreme ordeal

Moment at which the hero touches bottom emotionally and faces the possibility of death. This is the critical moment of the monomyth where it looks like the hero might not succeed. The audience is encouraged to experience the brink-of-death feeling with the hero, is temporarily depressed, and then revived by the hero's survival.

Reward

Having survived death, the hero now takes possession of the treasure he's been seeking. Sometimes it’s a physical item or treasure, but often the reward is simply knowledge or experience that leads to a larger understanding about life or the hero’s identity and place in the world.

Return

The hero is not necessarily out of the woods yet. He or she often has to face more perils before returning back to the ordinary world.

Resurrection

Instead of a physical death and resurrection (which does happen in some stories), the hero often goes through a psychological death and rebirth here and becomes his or here true self. It involves the “death” of the hero’s old identity and perspective as he or she emerges from the special world transformed by the experience into a new being.

Elixir

The hero returns to the ordinary world, but the adventure would be meaningless unless he or she brought back an elixir, treasure, or some lesson from the special world to share with others. Sometimes the elixir is a treasure won on the quest, or love, or just the knowledge gained that all can benefit from. Sometimes it's just coming home with a good story to tell, but the quest would be futile if the hero returned with nothing for his people.

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Archetypal hero

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