Have you recently watched a movie or read a book in which the protagonist goes on a mysterious adventure, encounters different challenges, overcomes them, and eventually returns home as a changed person? Well, that’s a hero journey—a classic narrative structure!
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What Is the Hero’s Journey?
As mentioned earlier, a hero’s journey or monomyth is a narrative structure in which the hero ventures on an unforeseen quest filled with obstacles and lessons and returns home with a different view of the world.
Joseph Campbell, a writer and literature professor, coined the term in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. To put it simply, he noticed that many ancient myths followed a similar structure.
This structure contains 17 stages, divided into three main acts: departure, initiation, and return.
Examples of a hero’s journey
- Star Wars: In this popular sci-fi movie series, we follow Luke Skywalker as he transforms into a Jedi and fights against the dark side of the Force.
- The Lord of the Rings: In this book, we follow a hobbit, Frodo Baggins, who goes on an unexpected journey to destroy a ring that holds the fate of Middle-earth.
- Harry Potter: In this story, we follow Harry Potter’s journey to discover he is the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort.
- The Lion King: Simba, a prince who doesn’t understand how important his role is, leaves home and returns just in time to save the pride.
- The Matrix: This story follows Neo, a hacker who learns he is in a simulation and enters the real world as he tries to take the machine down.
What Are the 17 Steps of a Hero’s Journey?
As mentioned earlier, Campbell’s hero’s journey consists of 17 stages split between 3 acts. Here is a closer look at each step:
Act I. Departure
You can’t go on a journey without leaving. In Act One (the departure stage), the protagonist leaves behind their comfort zone. Most of the time, the hero doesn’t want to go! They are either happy with their current life or don’t count themselves as capable enough to complete the task.
1. The Call To Adventure
In the first part of Act One, the hero’s ordinary life is disrupted by an external threat, a mysterious invitation, or an internal turmoil. In The Matrix, Neo receives the call to adventure when his computer screen displays, “Wake up, Neo. The Matrix has you. Follow the white rabbit.”
Whatever the cause may be, “The Call to Adventure” stage sets the stage for the protagonist’s adventure.
2. Refusal of the Call
Most of the time, the hero is hesitant and afraid to accept the unknown adventure. However, something always happens that pushes the hero in the direction of adventure.
For Neo, seeing the white rabbit tattoo on his client’s girlfriend made him curious about the connection.
3. Supernatural Aid
In stage 3, a mentor helps prepare the hero for the journey. They either give advice or a physical tool. Campbell refers to this as “supernatural aid” because it is supposed to signify that Mother Nature supports the journey ahead.
Neo’s aid is the famous Morpheus, who first appears on the other end of the phone in an attempt to help him escape Agent Smith.
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
The hero is finally mentally and physically ready to start their adventure. The threshold signifies a moment the hero can not turn back from. Once they take that step, it’ll be virtually impossible to return to their normal life.
Neo’s aid, Morpheus, offers him a blue pill (which would allow him to live his normal life) or a red pill (which will awaken him to the “real world”). Neo crosses the threshold by taking the red pill.
5. The Belly of the Whale
In the last stage of Act One, the hero can no longer return and is already facing the first challenge in their journey. This is usually something small, acting as a segue between the end of Act One and the beginning of Act Two.
Once Neo officially wakes up to the real world, he is taken aboard a ship and almost immediately begins training.
Act II. Initiation
In the second act, the story is contained in the new world the hero finds themself in. They prepare to face their biggest challenge and receive a reward for succeeding.
Newer stories stray away from Campbell’s original “hero’s journey,” so we have to go back around 2,500 years ago with the Odyssey to understand what happens during Act Two.
6. The Road of Trials
These are the tests and challenges the hero faces in their mission to become capable of defeating the villain. They don’t win all the time, but the trials are helpful in winning the main battle later on.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus faces many challenges, from the Cyclops to the Sirens.
7. The Meeting With the Goddess
The hero now meets one or two extra “guide” characters. Joseph Campbell saw women naturally fitting into this role since they, along with Mother Earth, represent the boon of love.
For Odysseus, his goddess moment comes from meeting Circe.
8. Woman as the Temptress
This moment is where the hero usually contemplates straying from their ultimate goal (and love interest), usually because of a temptress.
Calypso fits this part for Odysseus as she essentially keeps him captive both on her island and in her bed. Odysseus does have a wife back home.
9. Atonement With the Father
This stage does not mean the hero must literally face their father. Instead, this part represents facing a large and powerful foe or father figure.
Odysseus faces this on Calypso’s island as he has plenty of time to think about where he went wrong in the past and is forgiven by the Gods (except Poseidon).
10. Apotheosis
This is a turning point in which they confront the inner part of themselves that needs to change in order to reach their goals. Think of it as the transformation in between knowing how to succeed and succeeding.
Atonement leads them to figure out this area, and apotheosis is where they use this newfound knowledge about themselves to reach their goal.
Through traveling to the underworld, Odysseus begins to realize his impact on the people around him and how he fits into the mortal world.
11. The Ultimate Boon
The hero has finally reached their goal! This encompasses the climax and the resolution. The hero now accepts the rewards of battle and is gearing up for the final act.
In the Odyssey, this is when Odysseus reaches Alcinous’ Island. His reward is help getting back home.
Act III. Return
The hardest part is over; the hero has achieved their goal and discovered something about themselves along the way.
12. Refusal of the Return
A refusal to return happens when the hero is happy in their new world . The closest we see to this in modern stories is when Harry in Harry Potter doesn’t want to leave the wizarding world to return to the Dursleys.
13. The Magic Flight
The flight this part refers to is quickly leaving the new special world and returning to the old. The hero may be helped in this journey, like in Lord of the Rings, in which Gandalf quickly gets Bilbo home. Or they are forced to flee after angering someone in their new world.
14. Rescue From Without
This is another section that is most common to ancient myths. If the hero doesn’t return in step 13, then someone or something from the old world will come to collect them.
15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Returning the threshold home is usually a rough transition for the hero because they now see things differently. But while this might be an arduous journey for the hero, it doesn’t mean they aren’t welcomed back with open arms. Think of Luke Skywalker returning from the Death Star and receiving a medal.
16. Master of the Two Worlds
Eventually, the hero learns how to manage both worlds, moving freely between the two and combining the normal parts of his life with the new “supernatural” parts of it. While not a perfect example, Harry Potter fills this area again as Harry is consistently pulled between the muggle and wizarding world.
17. Freedom to Live
We now finally reach the end of the hero’s journey. This is a true happy ending that brings the story to a “full circle.”
What Are the 12 Steps of a Hero’s Journey?
Over the years, many have revised the structure of a hero’s journey to fit modern narratives. One of the most popular is Christopher Vogler’s version, in which he condensed the structure into 12 steps:
- The Ordinary World: This is where we see the protagonist’s everyday life.
- Call to Adventure: This is usually a catalyst moment in which the protagonist knows they have a journey to take.
- Refusal of the Call: Just like Campbell’s hero’s journey, the hero might try to refuse or run away from their destiny.
- Meeting the Mentor: This replaces the “supernatural aid” part since most modern stories involve meeting a normal(ish) person who will help the protagonist.
- Crossing the First Threshold: The point of no return, the hero is officially on their journey.
- Tests, Allies, Enemies: This step combines the belly of the whale and the road of trials, wherein the hero meets their group in the new world and overcomes smaller challenges.
- Approach to the Inmost Cave: The inmost cave is when the protagonist does all the prep work to complete his journey.
- Ordeal: The hero faces the most challenging part of their journey, often their greatest fear. This stage is a major turning point; this isn’t the climax, as there is still more to the story.
- Reward (Seizing the Sword): Thanks to step 8, the hero now has some reward that will help them win once and for all.
- The Road Back: The hero thinks they’ve completed their journey, but that’s not the case. They will now have to use the “reward” they received previously.
- Resurrection: This stage is the true climax of the story. This is where the hero uses all that they have learned to defeat their enemy. The key part here is that they have usually learned something about themselves, too, that helps them win.
- Return with the Elixir: The hero or heroine’s journey ends, and they can finally go home. They are different, and hopefully, they will use their “new self” to better their old world.
