Excellent essay!! You obviously thought a lot about your topic. Lydia Fish October 16, 2008, at 09:46 AM
1,165 Words
The term mythology is Greek for story-telling. It includes stories, myths, novels, and lore that use supernatural powers to explain natural (common) events or meanings. Each culture has their own mythology depending on their beliefs (Mythology 1). Monomyth is the term that describes a hero’s journey. This term is used in comparative mythology where a pattern has developed from many narratives.
Monomyth has seventeen stages which can be broken down into three sections: departure, initiation, and return. The departure is where the hero starts venturing forth into the supernatural part of the myth. The initiation is the part of the myth where many of the hero’s adventures take place along the way of finding the boon (gift that could help the natural world). The return is when the hero chooses to go back home with his/her new knowledge and power (Monomyth).
Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, was a lecturer and writer of monomyth in comparative mythology. His saying was, “Follow your bliss” (Campbell 1). He said that if you followed what you needed and wanted, then you could break the dragon inside you that was holding you back from transcending to better ways of thinking (Movie). His way of summarizing the pattern of all myths is, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” (Monomyth 1). Campbell’s ideas of myth relate to the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in many ways. In both the trilogy and the series, there are heroes that go through the stages of monomyth and therefore the hero’s journey.
In my opinion, and it is debatable, the main hero of Lord of the Rings is Frodo. He is the heir of Bilbo Baggins and is given the ring as Bilbo is leaving. The ring was precious, but also had taken a hold on Mr. Baggins. After finding out what the ring was and what it could do to a hobbit as the story goes on, Frodo had to decide whether or not to take on the call of the supernatural world. The ring needs to be destroyed before it reaches its potential to destroy man and creature. Frodo decides to face the tasks, trials, and challenges that it takes in the supernatural sense to destroy the ring. He crosses the threshold and is aided by the fellowship on his journey.
In the initiation section, Frodo goes through many trials. He is aided by the elderly Gandalf as well as his companions. His consciousness becomes more aware and alert of the ‘reality’ around him. Though he does not transcend into better thinking right away, he does become more aware of that reality which surrounds him. His thinking actually gets worse throughout the story until the end. In the end of this section, Frodo (with help of course) is ready to obtain the boon which he set out for. Arguably, I believe that the boon was not an item but the destruction of the ring which means Frodo held the power to save the natural world.
In the return section of the monomyth, Frodo decides to return to the common world. He is saved with Sam from the rock on which they blacked out. At this point, he has crossed the threshold and is now the master of both worlds. He has seen and somewhat conquered both of them. In the destruction of the ring, the boon had already been bestowed upon his fellow man, hobbits, elves, and creatures. Frodo now has the freedom that came from overcoming the challenges, trials, and tasks. He passes into the Undying Lands in the end.
As Frodo went through the monomyth, or hero’s journey, he transcended into something better. His ego melted away, he began to listen more to himself, and he realized that even if it took sacrifice, he would do what was beneficial for the common world. He never had to accept the calling of the supernatural in the first place, but he did. As he went on, I think the events and situations helped him be able to see himself in a whole new and find out more about his character.
Campbell’s ideas of myth can also be applied to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series as well. Harry Potter is an infant who was able to strip a very powerful wizard (Voldemort) of his dark powers all because Voldemort tried to kill his family. Through his mother’s love, Harry Potter survived, but with a stronger connection than he wanted to the dark lord. His calling was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Being the hero of the series since before he could even talk and walk, Harry obviously had the supernatural calling of destroying Voldemort. Throughout his teenage years, Harry accepted this calling and had MANY run-ins with Voldemort. I feel like the three sections of the myth all run together in Harry Potter because there are many challenges that kind of live up to the others.
Though the myth idea seems a little less organized in Harry Potter, there are still definite characteristics. Like Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings, Dumbledore was the elderly supernatural assistance and guidance to Harry. In the second book, when Harry was fighting the basilisk, Dumbledore’s phoenix swooped down to help with the Gryffindor sword. The phoenix also used its tears to heal Harry’s arm. Along with Dumbledore, Harry had another small set of mini-heroes that helped him through his journey.
As the series went on and Harry transcended, his conscious became more aware, he lost more and more of his ego, and he started realizing that he might need to sacrifice himself in order to be able to help the magical world and the natural human world. This happened in the fifth book when Harry, his friends, and the Order of the Phoenix started looking for Harry’s prophecy. Harry sacrificed himself on more than one occasion in the series. He realized more about himself along the way and definitely found his true character as the challenges went on. In the end, Voldemort was ruined and Harry and his friends saved both worlds. Harry had seen both worlds, good and bad and was able to save both.
In the Lord of the Rings and in Harry Potter, Joseph Campbell’s thoughts and ideas of mythology can be applied. Both heroes ‘followed their bliss and broke their dragons’. They transcended to better thoughts after going through many challenges and tasks. Both of the characters were able to better the world in the end and able to realize both the supernatural world and the common world. Using the trilogy and the series, it is easy to think of mythology, monomythology, and comparative mythology as a great way to organize the patterns of myths.
Bibliography:
“Joseph Campbell.” Wikipedia. 1 Oct. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Oct. 2008
“Monomyth.” Wikipedia. 1 Oct. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Oct. 2008
“Mythology.” Wikipedia. 1 Oct. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Oct. 2008
The Power of Myth: The Hero’s Adventure. Perf. Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers.
Redone at Keilah Bradley October 07, 2008, at 03:48 PM Keilah Bradley October 01, 2008, at 04:51 PM
