The Hero's Journey is a twelve step story structure first identified by Campbell (1993) and modified by Vogler (2007, 8 - 9).
I propose a 'four part' structure which splits the act 2 of a three act structure down the middle (act two always has a turning point in its centre). I will then integrate this with the Hero's Journey:
Part One:
Ordinary World
Bronzite says: "This is where the Hero's exists before his present story begins, oblivious of the adventures to come. It's his safe place. His everyday life where we learn crucial details about our Hero, his true nature, capabilities and outlook on life. This anchors the Hero as a human, just like you and me, and makes it easier for us to identify with him and hence later, empathize with his plight."
In Star Wars: A New Hope (SW) these are the scenes showing Luke, the moisture farmer;s boy on Tattoine. In 1917 this is the scene showing the hero sitting with his back against a tree against a pastoral landscape.
Call To Adventure
This is a challenge which will shake the hero out of his rut. In SW this is the message delivered by R2D2. In 1917 there is an order.
Refusal Of The Call
Fear and self-doubt prompt the hero to decline the challenge. This is the response of the 'normal person' so the reader should identify with the hero; we all have fears and self-doubts. The refusal of the call may have consequences, making the quest more difficult than it would otherwise have been.
Meeting The Mentor
In SW Luke meets ObiWan Kenobe. The mentor gives the hero something which will help in the adventure: a gift, a skill, advice or just self-confidence. This meeting prompts the hero to being the quest.
Entr'Acte 1: Crossing the Threshold:
This is the first turning point. Marks (2009, 323) describes it as “awakening”.
This is a key moment of liminality. So many stories have a threshold. It is the Mos Eisley spaceport in SW, the crossing of No Man's Land in 1917, the wardrobe in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (LWW) (Lewis 1980) leading to the magical world of Narnia, the whirlwind in The Wizard of Oz (Baum 1994) which transports Dorothy to Oz, the rabbit hole in The Adventures of Alice (Carroll 1992) taking Alice to Wonderland, the time machine in The Time Machine (Wells 2005), the Tardis in the television science fiction series Doctor Who, n Doctor Who. The hero experiences some sort of initiation, they begin to be transformed.
Booker (2005, 105 - 106) subdivides this liminal stage into three substages: “puzzling and unfamiliar ... frustration, difficulty and oppression ... nightmare.”
Part Two
Tests, Allies, Enemies
The adventure proper starts as the hero encounters a set of challenges and tests. He may recruit assistants (this is where Luke hires Han Solo and Chewbacca in SW, in LWW Lucy meets Mr Tumnus) but he needs to learn whether and to what extent they can be trusted. He may meet enemies; Luke and pals are pursued by Storm Troopers in SW, Edmund meets the white witch in LWW. Each test is a test of his character, so we learn more and more about the hero.
Marks (2009, 323) describes this is the "push to breaking point"
Approach To The Inmost Cave
This may be a real place or metaphorical. It is a short respite. The scale of the challenge is made clear. Doubts and fears resurface; the hero may reconsider his options and gather up his strength.
In SW Luke finds out about the Death Star, a seemingly impossible challenge.
The approach to the inmost cave ends with a moment of enlightenment (Marks 2009, 323)
Part Three:
Ordeal
Again, this can be physical or internal. The hero faces his greatest fears and deadliest enemies. In order to survive he has to draw on all that he has learned on the journey so far. This is the ultimate moment: the hero will fail and all his hopes will be destroyed but at the last moment he will snatch triumph from the jaws of defeat.
In SW this is the rescue of Princess Leia. But there is sacrifice: ObiWan is killed by Darth Vader.
Marks (2009, 323) suggests that the Ordeal involves a "death experience"
Reward (Seizing The Sword)
"After defeating the enemy, surviving death and finally overcoming his greatest personal challenge, the Hero is ultimately transformed into a new state, emerging from battle as a stronger person and often with a prize." (Bronzite)
The Reward can be physical (a treasure) but it is often something spiritual such as knowledge or understanding.
In SW Luke's reward is to be enrolled as a fighter pilot in the rebel fleet,
Entr'Acte 2: The Road Back
The hero goes back across the threshold into the 'real' world. However, there will still be a further challenge, one that will be tackled by the new hero, the one who has grown as a result of all the experiences he has had. This may mean that he has to "choose between his own personal objective and that of a Higher Cause" (Bronzite).
Part Four:
Resurrection
The final encounter with his enemy who has now penetrated the real world. Failure will therefore have consequences, causing suffering to his real-world friends and neighbours.
In SW, ObiWan is resurrected (in Luke's memory) and Luke learns to trust the Force which enables him to destroy the Death Star.
Return With The Elixir
The Elixir may be a treasure or it may be something internal. The hero has grown as a result of his experiences.
References:
Bronzite = Dan Bronzite undated "The Hero's Journey - Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth" in Movie Outline available at http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html accessed 9th Feb 2021)
Fortune et al 2014 = FORTUNE, T., ENNALS, P. and KENNEDY-JONES, M., 2014. "The Hero's Journey: Uncovering threshold barriers, dispositions and practices among occupational therapy students" in C. O'MAHONY, A. BUCHANAN, M. O'ROURKE and B. HIGGS, eds. In: Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, 28-29 June 2012 2014, NAIRTL, pp. 56-61.
Marks 2009 = Dara Marks (2009) "Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc" Bloomsbury, London
Schmoop: "Star Wars: A New Hope Hero's Journey" available https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/movie/star-wars-a-new-hope/analysis/heros-journey accessed 9th Feb 2021
Vogler (2007) = Christopher Vogler (2007) "The Writer's Journey" (3rd ed), Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City California
I propose a 'four part' structure which splits the act 2 of a three act structure down the middle (act two always has a turning point in its centre). I will then integrate this with the Hero's Journey:
Part One:
Ordinary World
Bronzite says: "This is where the Hero's exists before his present story begins, oblivious of the adventures to come. It's his safe place. His everyday life where we learn crucial details about our Hero, his true nature, capabilities and outlook on life. This anchors the Hero as a human, just like you and me, and makes it easier for us to identify with him and hence later, empathize with his plight."
In Star Wars: A New Hope (SW) these are the scenes showing Luke, the moisture farmer;s boy on Tattoine. In 1917 this is the scene showing the hero sitting with his back against a tree against a pastoral landscape.
Call To Adventure
This is a challenge which will shake the hero out of his rut. In SW this is the message delivered by R2D2. In 1917 there is an order.
Refusal Of The Call
Fear and self-doubt prompt the hero to decline the challenge. This is the response of the 'normal person' so the reader should identify with the hero; we all have fears and self-doubts. The refusal of the call may have consequences, making the quest more difficult than it would otherwise have been.
Meeting The Mentor
In SW Luke meets ObiWan Kenobe. The mentor gives the hero something which will help in the adventure: a gift, a skill, advice or just self-confidence. This meeting prompts the hero to being the quest.
Entr'Acte 1: Crossing the Threshold:
This is the first turning point. Marks (2009, 323) describes it as “awakening”.
This is a key moment of liminality. So many stories have a threshold. It is the Mos Eisley spaceport in SW, the crossing of No Man's Land in 1917, the wardrobe in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (LWW) (Lewis 1980) leading to the magical world of Narnia, the whirlwind in The Wizard of Oz (Baum 1994) which transports Dorothy to Oz, the rabbit hole in The Adventures of Alice (Carroll 1992) taking Alice to Wonderland, the time machine in The Time Machine (Wells 2005), the Tardis in the television science fiction series Doctor Who, n Doctor Who. The hero experiences some sort of initiation, they begin to be transformed.
Booker (2005, 105 - 106) subdivides this liminal stage into three substages: “puzzling and unfamiliar ... frustration, difficulty and oppression ... nightmare.”
Part Two
Tests, Allies, Enemies
The adventure proper starts as the hero encounters a set of challenges and tests. He may recruit assistants (this is where Luke hires Han Solo and Chewbacca in SW, in LWW Lucy meets Mr Tumnus) but he needs to learn whether and to what extent they can be trusted. He may meet enemies; Luke and pals are pursued by Storm Troopers in SW, Edmund meets the white witch in LWW. Each test is a test of his character, so we learn more and more about the hero.
Marks (2009, 323) describes this is the "push to breaking point"
Approach To The Inmost Cave
This may be a real place or metaphorical. It is a short respite. The scale of the challenge is made clear. Doubts and fears resurface; the hero may reconsider his options and gather up his strength.
In SW Luke finds out about the Death Star, a seemingly impossible challenge.
The approach to the inmost cave ends with a moment of enlightenment (Marks 2009, 323)
Part Three:
Ordeal
Again, this can be physical or internal. The hero faces his greatest fears and deadliest enemies. In order to survive he has to draw on all that he has learned on the journey so far. This is the ultimate moment: the hero will fail and all his hopes will be destroyed but at the last moment he will snatch triumph from the jaws of defeat.
In SW this is the rescue of Princess Leia. But there is sacrifice: ObiWan is killed by Darth Vader.
Marks (2009, 323) suggests that the Ordeal involves a "death experience"
Reward (Seizing The Sword)
"After defeating the enemy, surviving death and finally overcoming his greatest personal challenge, the Hero is ultimately transformed into a new state, emerging from battle as a stronger person and often with a prize." (Bronzite)
The Reward can be physical (a treasure) but it is often something spiritual such as knowledge or understanding.
In SW Luke's reward is to be enrolled as a fighter pilot in the rebel fleet,
Entr'Acte 2: The Road Back
The hero goes back across the threshold into the 'real' world. However, there will still be a further challenge, one that will be tackled by the new hero, the one who has grown as a result of all the experiences he has had. This may mean that he has to "choose between his own personal objective and that of a Higher Cause" (Bronzite).
Part Four:
Resurrection
The final encounter with his enemy who has now penetrated the real world. Failure will therefore have consequences, causing suffering to his real-world friends and neighbours.
In SW, ObiWan is resurrected (in Luke's memory) and Luke learns to trust the Force which enables him to destroy the Death Star.
Return With The Elixir
The Elixir may be a treasure or it may be something internal. The hero has grown as a result of his experiences.
References:
Bronzite = Dan Bronzite undated "The Hero's Journey - Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth" in Movie Outline available at http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html accessed 9th Feb 2021)
Fortune et al 2014 = FORTUNE, T., ENNALS, P. and KENNEDY-JONES, M., 2014. "The Hero's Journey: Uncovering threshold barriers, dispositions and practices among occupational therapy students" in C. O'MAHONY, A. BUCHANAN, M. O'ROURKE and B. HIGGS, eds. In: Fourth Biennial Conference on Threshold Concepts: From personal practice to communities of practice, 28-29 June 2012 2014, NAIRTL, pp. 56-61.
Marks 2009 = Dara Marks (2009) "Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc" Bloomsbury, London
Schmoop: "Star Wars: A New Hope Hero's Journey" available https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/movie/star-wars-a-new-hope/analysis/heros-journey accessed 9th Feb 2021
Vogler (2007) = Christopher Vogler (2007) "The Writer's Journey" (3rd ed), Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City California
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