Excellent essay! You are having a little trouble with agreement of nouns and pronouns — read that section of your English Handbook or purchase a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White at the bookstore.
It’s widely known that cultures from around the world have vastly differing legends, folklore, and mythology. However, the stories of the journeys of a famous hero or savior of the cultures are all remarkably similar. This trend has continued to modern day stories of heroes in books and films. Joseph Campbell, an American mythology professor used the term “Monomyth” to describe a hero’s quest. He believed that regardless of the circumstances, narratives involving heroes all have this same predictable pattern and components. The Monomyth is applicable to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, as it is to a multitude of other modern stories including George Lucas’s Star Wars.
The Monomyth begins a “Departure,” in which the hero must leave their home and is usually drawn into something much greater than him, be it a conflict or turmoil of some sort, or a quest or adventure. The departure in The Lord of the Rings is the Hobbits leaving the Shire on their quest for the ring. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is plucked from the planet Tatooine and flung into an intergalactic war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance on a quest to rescue Princess Leia.
The departure is initiated with a “Call to Adventure,” usually brought upon the hero by a messenger or a herald. This herald is commonly portrayed as a dark, disheveled character. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is told by Gandalf the urgency of the situation and the power of Bilbo’s ring. In this interpretation, Gandalf is portraying the herald. However he delays for several months from the warning. This component is referred to as the “Refusal of the Call” in the Monomyth. The hero may suffer somehow because of his delay, and the Nazgul stalked Frodo until he arrived at Rivendell in the process seriously wounding him in the process. Luke encounters Ben Kenobi on Tatooine who, representing the herald, tells him that he must come with him to Alderan and help the Rebel cause. Luke is very reluctant, explaining to Ben that his Uncle would never let him leave. Luke agrees to bring Ben to the spaceport but tells him that he would go no farther than that. Luke’s refusal to the call results in the death of his Aunt and Uncle.
The hero also receives “Supernatural Aid” in some form. In the book, Frodo and the other hobbits meet Tom Bombadil, a sort of spirit in human form who inhabits the Old Forest in the Shire. Tom aids them by saving them from Old Man Willow. Tom provides them with shelter and gives the hobbits weapons from the Barrow Downs. Tom is very similar to the supernatural aid that Campbell speaks of in the Monomyth. Ben can be interpreted as the supernatural aid. He rescues Luke and the droids from Tusken Raiders and bequeaths Anikin’s lightsaber to him.
The hero then needs to “Cross the Threshold.” There could be two interpretations of this threshold seen in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first being Sam in the Shire saying that this is the farthest that he’s ever been away from home, the second being entering Bree. Bree is the first big landmark after leaving the Shire and along with the town comes all of the strangers to hobbits including men and dwarves. The Hobbits are unfamiliar with these new surroundings, but will have to endure them for the remainder of the quest. Luke and Ben come to Mos Esley spaceport, and must escape Tatooine, being the threshold, and encounter Imperial Star Destroyers in orbit before they completely escape into hyperspace.
The final portion of the departure is entering “The Belly of the Whale.” The Hero must go through a metamorphosis, involving either death and rebirth, or some hardship. Frodo, Aragorn, and the Hobbits are attacked by the Ring Wraiths in The Fellowship of the Ring after leaving Bree. Frodo is then stabbed by the Witch King and stabbed with a Morgul Knife, poisoning him. After the Nazgul are fended off, Frodo must be quickly conveyed to Rivenedel before he dies from the evil blade’s effect. After he is healed by Elrond, Frodo accepts the task of being the ring bearer. In Star Wars, Luke (along with Ben, Han Solo, and Chewbacca) is captured by the Empire and must escape the Death Star. In the process they find the Princess and devise an escape plan. Armed with the specifications of the Death Star obtained by Leia, the heroes plan an attack and succeed in destroying the space station.
In conclusion, the departure phase of the Monomyth applies to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, as well as George Lucas’ Star Wars. These stories of heroes are evidence that stories from the legends, folklore, and mythology of many different cultures all share common patterns of the Monomyth.
Brian Nacov October 02, 2008, at 05:47 PM
