Excellent essay! I especially liked your analysis of the Harry Potter books. Lydia Fish October 16, 2008, at 09:32 AM
Joseph Campbell, the man who described Monomyth (the hero’s journey) alongside his contemporaries, believed that heroes conveyed the universal truths about an individual’s self-discovery and self-actualization, one’s role in society and how the two are related. He spent most of his time studying this Monomyth using various characteristics of the hero exhibited in many heroic tales from different cultures. According to Campbell, there are three basic traits of the hero. The hero has a calling into the world of the supernatural, overcomes many endeavors in the new world and returns to his old world with a sense of a new enlightenment about himself and his world.
Looking at these traits of the hero, certain characters in the J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series can be considered to have accomplished the Monomyth. In the Lord of Rings, Sam Gamgee’s call to adventure happens through him eavesdropping on Gandalf and Frodo as they discussed the issue of the ring. Since he possessed valuable information about the ring, Sam was asked to join Fordo in his journey to Rivendell. In this way, Campbell considers the call of the hero to action to be a result of his own volition. In the course of the journey, Sam has to cross the threshold which is the point where crosses the point which indicates longest distance from home that he has travelled. After crossing this threshold, Sam and his friends encounters their first set of trials which was
After this stage of initiation, Sam tries to refuse the call once the ring has be taken to the Rivendell but stays faithful to the end of the journey because of a promise he made to the herald (Gandalf, who announced the call). Once Sam accepts to go on the journey with Frodo for him to destroy the ring, Gandalf becomes the supernatural aid who offers them directions and advice about the journey to be undertaken. This stage fulfills the departure trait of heroic tales.
The second element that can be applied to The Lord the of Rings and Harry Potter is that of the hero’s companions. The classic companion to the hero is the mentor figure, seen within the wise wizard, Gandalf the Grey and Dumbledore. Examining The Lord of the Rings, in the first book, The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf comes to Frodo in order to be a guide and mentor. Later, as Gandalf the White, he lends his services to Pippin, carrying him to safety after he has attracted the eye of Sauron by looking into the Palantir. In Harry Potter, Dumbledore serves as a grandfatherly figure to the growing Harry, who has no one else to turn to who could possibly understand what turmoil he is experiencing. Dumbledore is not only wise with his years, but also extraordinarily powerful, and constantly serves as a guide to help Harry discover the true power within himself. This is a figure that appears in almost every myth involving a grand journey, and always to provide the same kind of aid, that which is more wisdom than physical strength.
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. Trudy Antwi October 01, 2008, at 11:56 PM
