The Archetypal Pattern Of Joseph Campbell English Literature Essay

Campbell had gained a love for mythology after his father had taken him to the American museum of Natural History in New York. Here he developed an interest in Native American mythology. This influenced Campbell to explore the theory of myth and it’s similarities between cultures further. Campbell would later travel to Europe with his family and while there study much about the Lost Generation which was a period of great innovation in the practice of thinking. This is when Campbell discovered an interest in the philosophies and works of James Joyce. Campbell would also be influenced in psychological thinking by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud on this trip as well. Jung’s had more influence on Campbell mostly due to his views of the human psychological mind. It was from Jung’s style of interpreting dreams that Campbell derived his very symbolic style of mythological interpretation.

Campbell wrote “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” while at Sarah Lawrence college teaching about mythology. The book itself was founded on the aspects of the introductory class he was teaching at the time. It was his goal to bolster the recognition of the similarities and diminish the focus on the differences of mythology from different cultures and time periods. Campbell’s book brought a new life to the study of comparative mythology and the fact that it is human tendency to create stories that fit into an archetype but are set apart by their motifs, settings, and characters. Campbell’s summation and simplification of mythology and his creation of the archetype has assisted many authors with their works while in production. George Lucas has even credited and thanked Campbell for creating the monomyth. Lucas said this in an interview when asked about how Campbell had influenced him: “It was very eerie because in reading [The Hero with a Thousand Faces] I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classic motifs…so I modified my next draft according to what I’d been learning about classical motifs and made it a little bit more consistent” (Lucas, .

“Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.” (Campbell). All stories that follow the monomyth are not the same by any means. The monomyth is simply a reoccurring pattern that Campbell was able to identify in a myriad of ancient myths from many different cultures. Campbell’s archetype is to be utilized by an author in the way a cookie cutter is utilized by a baker. The resulting product is usually the same shape, but it’s the characteristics that determine what it truly is. Numerous stories have been based off of Campbell’s famous archetype since the release of “The Hero with a thousand Faces” with even more followed the pattern before that, but that doesn’t mean they are all the same story. The hero of each work may encounter the same stages along their quest in each story, but it is the way they approach these stages that truly shapes their destiny and determines the type of hero they are. It’s for the same reason that the story “follows” the monomyth and is not the monomyth itself. This is why the author can choose to skip stages of the monomyth and still have their work considered to be based off of it.

Campbell’s decoding of mythology is truly a great contribution to the world of writing and comprehending literature. Campbell’s unorthodox views of psychology and philosophy due to finding inspiration in some of the most eccentric people of their respective practices gave Campbell a truly special mind capable of writing such an inspirational and groundbreaking theory as monomyth. Campbell’s archetype has also done amazing things for the study of comparative mythology in recent society, sparking an interest like no other. It can rightly be said that without Campbell’s contribution of his archetype and his studies of mythology we would certainly be in lack of some of the most influential literature of recent modern history.

Campbell’s archetype consists of 3 stages; The Departure, The Initiation, and The Return. In the departure the hero starts his journey and begins to grow. The hero is jarred from their comfort zone and soon realizes the quest they have before them. Near the end of the initiation The hero begins to realize the qualities that make them heroic and gain a sort of confidence. The Initiation phase is where the hero is continues to grow into destined to be. Heroes will usually be confronted by many trials and challenges, both testing the hero’s integrity and his strength. The hero, after coming to terms some of his past actions, is transformed in the hero of their destiny. The main focus of the hero’s quest is also revealed, but for one reason or another the hero cannot utilize it properly. This is where the Return phase begins. The hero gains the power to claim his prize and is recognized as a hero in this stage. The hero demonstrates reluctance to return to his original comfort zone, sometimes even needing to be prodded or rescued by his comrades. When the hero return home, he gains the ability to travel between the two worlds he has created, the world in which he is a hero and his original comfort zone.

The Departure phase commences with the call to adventure. The call to adventure can be any number of things, whether it be a war encroaching on the heroes current domain requiring him to move and find new refuge or the hero realizing that they are filled with extreme hunger and that they need to obtain food. In Blizzard’s Warcraft III the call to adventure takes place when the Hero, Thrall the Son of Durotan, is sleeping. He dreams of a vast army of his people charging towards their sworn enemy, the humans. Thrall’s troops are about to engage in battle when fire begins to rain from the sky. Out of the fire emerges flaming colossi, which destroy both armies and begin to ravage the land which Thrall holds dear. Thrall’s dream is then directed towards a crow, which shape shifts into a mysterious prophet who tells Thrall that a great threat to his people, the Burning Legion, has returned to the world of Azeroth. The prophet advises Thrall to take his people out of the Eastern Kingdoms to the western shores of Kalimdor, where they will be able to live safely. Thrall awakes in terror, only to notice a crow perched on his window. As the crow flies away, Thrall hears a faint voice saying “Seek me out”.

Following the call to adventure is the refusal to call. This is the phase of the departure in which the hero is unable to carry out his quest. The refusal to call could be because of the hero’s reluctance to leave his comfort zone, because of another person not letting the hero leave, or the hero not possessing something he needs in order to leave. The refusal to call could also be created by a variety of other causes. In Thrall’s case the refusal to call is due to multiple problems. Thrall has sought out the Prophet, and has found trust enough in him that he has rallied his troops in preparation for the trip across the sea to Kalimdor. After sending word of the orc’s plans to vacate the Eastern Kingdoms to his brother Grom Hellscream, leader of the Warsong clan, Thrall is left to ponder how he is to take his men over the great sea in lack of ships. After a week the Warsong clan has not shown up at Thrall’s encampment. Thrall consults his orcish scouts who believe that the nearby human camp has intercepted and captured the Warsong clan. Thrall now has to engage the humans to save the Warsong in addition to finding some ships in order to take his men to Kalimdor.

The third phase of the departure is the hero’s crossing of the first threshold. This is where the hero begins to make decisions and take control of their own heroic destiny. This stage could be represented by anything that entails the hero leaving his comfort zone on his own accord. In Thrall’s case it was his choice to search the human encampment for the Warsong. Thrall rallied his best warriors, led by himself, and stormed the human’s base. After the slaughter of many human troops the orc party arrived at the prison of the town, finding none other than Grom and the Warsong clan locked inside. The orcs destroyed all of the cells holding their brethren captive. United, the orcs nearly leveled what was left of the human encampment.

The final phase of the departure stage is called the belly of the whale. This stage represents the hero making the final choice to completely depart from his comfort zone. It also shows the hero’s acceptance of their journey and the changes that will ensue in them. At this point in Thralls quest the orcs had finished destroying the Humans base. Thrall and Grom patrolled the area and found a large fleet of human ships. Thrall made the decision that the orcs would abandon their life in the Eastern Kingdoms and find new refuge in Kalimdor. With that, all of the orc people boarded Thrall’s new fleet and began their journey across the great sea and through the whirling maelstrom.

Another large part of the departure stage is the implementation of helpers and guides. These are supernatural aids set in place to help guide the hero along his quest path and to ensure that he can overcome any difficulty he may find. A helper would be a person that grants knowledge to the hero, as well as some power that the hero has access too. A guide is similar to the helper, besides the fact that the knowledge would directly effect the direction the hero should take in his quest. Thrall meets both a helper and guide in his adventure. The guide is obviously the prophet Thrall sees in his dream and confronts in real life. Without the prophet’s warning to Thrall the orcs would be damned to a death by the hand of the burning legion. Thrall’s helper is a bit less obviously his shamanistic powers. They grant him the ability to protect himself and his warriors, though they also keep his mind clear and thoughtful. Without his Shaman’s wisdom Thrall would have never had any faith in the Prophet. Additionally, without the power to cast spells like Chain lightning and Far sight Thrall would have never been able to destroy the human’s Encampment without his men suffering many casualties.

The second stage of Campbell’s monomyth is the initiation. The initiation begins with the hero commencing in a road of trials. This is the portion of the journey where the hero hones his skill to become more powerful, wise, and worthy not only of the title hero, but also of the ultimate boon. The name road of trials is implemented to signify that this phase is usually lengthy and containing multiple tests of the hero’s true strength. The road of trials for Thrall began on the alien shores of Kalimdor. After passing through the whirling maelstrom in the middle of the great sea he had lost most of his fleet. Naturally he began searching for survivors immediately after landing. Thrall had another goal as well, he was in search of the prophet for further guidance on this new continent. The land also contained new species which Thrall had never seen before. The violent centaur of Kalimdor quickly made themselves enemies of the orcish horde, waging many battles with Thrall’s dwindling number of men. Alliances were made in this new land as well though, as Thrall met a very wise being, Cairne Bloodhoof. Cairne and his people, the Tauren, agreed to help Thrall in search of his people in return for the orcs protection from the savage centaur while the Tauren migrated to the lush, fertile lands of Mulgore. Cairne also informed Thrall that the prophet he was seeking was taking refuge in the Base of mount Hyjal. Thrall and Cairne soon became close friends and powerful allies. Cairne and Thrall began to work their way to the north, where Cairne and Thrall parted ways. Thrall continued traveling north toward Mount Hyjal for a week before finding more orcs. Thrall found Grom and his clan battling humans who had set up towns near the base of Mount Hyjal. Thrall ordered Grom to cease his attacks so that the orcs may peacefully pass by the humans but Grom refused to listen. He recklessly began destroying the towns, resulting in many orc casualties. After the battle was over, Thrall sent Grom to Ashenvale to harvest lumber for the orc expedition. Thrall believed that due to Grom’s uncontrollable bloodlust he was a liability and unfit for battle. Afterwards, Thrall and his men boarded goblin zeppelins to fly to the base of Mount Hyjal.

After the Road of Trials comes the hero’s meeting with the goddess. The goddess represents an tremendous, precious love, often shared between mother and child. This stage reveals the hero’s true love and perfect match within the book. Unfortunately, Thrall never experiences a meeting with any goddess and lacks any love interest entirely.

The initiation is continues with the confronting temptation phase. In this phase our hero is tempted to stray away from his adventure by something that he desires. Some common sources of temptation include a love interest, or the promise of power, wealth, or evil. Thrall himself never confronts temptation within his quest to find the prophet, rather his brother Grom does. After being sent into Ashenvale and harvesting copious amounts of lumber, Grom angers the demigod Cenarius, protector of the forest. Cenarius emerges from the forest to repair the damage the orc have done to his beloved forest. In one motion, the harvested clean fields of Ashenvale became lush green forests again. Cenarius returned to the wood after instructing the Night Elves to destroy the orcs. The constant barrage of Night elf archers from the wood proved to be too much for Grom to handle. Nearly being defeated, a band of troll witchdoctors and orc shamans alerted Grom of a strong presence of other worldly power emanating from a nearby path in the forest. Grom decided to investigate, hoping that it would be the answer to his current predicament. Through the clearing was a still fountain which the orc Shamans identified was the source of the powerful aura they were detecting. Grom resolved to drink deep from the fountain, with hopes of being enriched by it’s magical waters. While many of the Warsong orcs encouraged him to drink, Grom’s Troll witchdoctors advised against it, claiming that the fountain was instilled with voodoo and filled with bad juju. Grom’s thirst for power exceeded his good judgment and despite the witchdoctor’s warnings drank from the fountain, instantly empowering him and the entire Warsong clan though also instilling in them a powerful thirst for blood. With their insatiable hunger for carnage the insane Warsong clan began an awesome slaughter of the Night Elves. Seeking to protect his brethren, Cenarius emerged from the wood once again. This time, however, Grom Murdered the Demigod while ranks of Elves watched in horror from the safety of the wood. With the death of Cenarius the pit lord, Mannoroth, revealed himself to the Warsong. Mannoroth told the Warsong that he now owned them by right as Grom had drank the blood that Mannoroth purposely spilled into the fountain in order to curse the irrational clan of orcs by renewing the century old bloodlust.

The fourth phase of the initiation phase is the hero’s seeking of atonement. In this phase, the hero comes to terms with past actions and seek penance for what they have done. This is the confrontation of the being that holds the most power in the hero’s life. All preceding stages have been setting up for this stage, and all of the stages after reflect how the seeking atonement stage was carried out. It becomes apparent at this stage in the game’s lore that there have been two heroes all along, Thrall and Grom, both of which need to seek atonement. Thrall was required to seek atonement with his long time enemies, the humans, while Grom needed to seek atonement from his orc people for irrationally cursing them with the bloodlust. After reuniting with Cairne and traveling through the tunnels in the base of Mount Hyjal, Thrall found the Prophet along with an extremely powerful human mage, Jaina Proudmoore. After Thrall and Jaina began to quarrel the Prophet interrupted them, informing each the two that He had brought them both to Kalimdor because they need to stand up to the burning legion together. Thrall needed to seek atonement for all of the trouble he had caused for the humans, one of the greatest threats to the orcs, and agree to a truce with Jaina. Thrall, in collaboration with both Jaina and Cairne formulate a plan to destroy the burning legion and banish them from the world of Azeroth once and for all. The team would also have to lift the curse of bloodlust from Grom and the Warsong orcs. With the three behemoth races teamed up together, they began preparing for the final assault on the burning legion. In this assault Thrall was able to capture his cursed brother in a soul gem provided by Jaina and transport him to a haven where Jaina with the help of powerful elf priests and orc shamans were able to purge Grom of his bloodlust. Almost immediately after being rescued from his blood maddened state Grom realized what he had done to the orc people. He was in deep regret over his actions, but Thrall had no sympathy. He told Grom that he had been an irrational idiot, and that he needed to prepare for battle. The two then set out to destroy Mannoroth and free the orcs from the bloodlust.

The apotheosis is the stage where the hero undergoes a transformation into their destined form. This is when the hero owns up to their responsibilities and takes full control over their heroic duties. In this stage Thrall and Grom hunt down Mannoroth and corner him in a canyon. Mannoroth brags of how he is undefeatable by the puny orcs and how their fate is forever sealed as his sole property. Thrall, enraged beyond belief at Mannoroth’s audacity in saying this lets out a terrifying war cry. With that, Thrall proceeded to channel all of his power into his weapon, the Doomhammer, and swing it at Mannoroth in hopes of destroying the foul beast. Though Thrall’s attempt was valorous, he was only able to scar one of Mannoroth’s wings. The pit lord half sarcastically congratulated Thrall for his impressive feat before attacking Thrall and knocking him unconscious. As Grom watched Mannoroth walk over to his friend, he was filled with power. Grom would not let Thrall die due to a mistake of his own. Grom gripped his axe, Gorehowl, and prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for his people. Catching Mannoroth off guard, he was able to slice open the pit lord’s chest at the cost of being hit by Mannoroth and thrown across the valley. Grom was seriously hurt when Thrall limped over to him. As Grom lay dying he told Thrall that due to Mannoroth’s death he was finally free of the accursed bloodlust. Thrall responded, telling Grom that he had not only freed himself but in his sacrifice he had saved Thrall and freed all of the Warsong orcs. Grom was finally transformed into a righteous hero, one who is remembered famously throughout orc history. Thrall, seeing his dear friend’s death and taking his sacrifice to heart, had been sobered. Thrall promised to lead all of the orc clans together with valor, courage, and acumen.

The ultimate boon is presented with the closing of the initiation phase. The ultimate boon is the hero’s ultimate goal in sight, or the prize he set out for finally being within reach. problem is that at this stage the hero is unable to properly utilize their because they still have something to accomplish while they see their journey to the very end. The ultimate boon for Thrall is the freedom of his people on land they can call their own. Thrall is granted his boon after the death of Grom because his people were now on his in right and did not have to suffer from violent tendencies and impaired judgment. Though the lifting of the bloodlust was extremely important to Thrall, he still required something more before he could appreciate his boon. Thrall needed to find land in which he and his orc brothers could live and prosper without worry of constant attacks from humans or undead. This would be achieved by defeating the undead at Mount Hyjal and removing the Burning legion from Kalimdor.

The final stage of Campbell’s archetype, the return, ironically begins with the refusal of the return phase. In this phase the hero is reluctant to return to their old home, or to complete the circumstances that would enable the hero to return home. The hero could not want to give up their gained heroic status because they feel accomplished or happy with where they are. Thrall’s refusal was because he felt he had unfinished business at Mount Hyjal. Thrall kept his troops at the summit of the mountain to help the Humans and Night Elves fight off the burning legion. In the great battle many casualties occurred but in defending the mountain they were able to defeat Archimonde, the leader of the burning legion, for good. With Archimonde finally gone from the world of Azeroth, the Orcs, Night Elves, and Humans all went their separate ways.

Phase two of the final stage is the rescue from without. Many heroes need somewhat of a push in the right direction after experiencing the refusal of return. This “push” could come in many forms, whether being self supplied or carried by allies of the hero. Some common forms of the rescue from without would be a literal rescue from some sort of prison, bestowing encouragement, or the hero pondering their return themselves. Thrall was left confused after the battle at Hyjal, for he still had no where to take his brethren. Cairne sensed Thrall’s anguish and confusion and decided to help the young war chief. Cairne asked Thrall to guide he and his Tauren people to Mulgore, where Cairne had set up a prosperous and safe village for his people already, and informed Thrall that he and the Orcs were welcome to live in harmony with the Tauren people. In doing so Cairne had a cunning plan. Asking for guidance was merely Cairne gaining an opportunity to guide Thrall himself. Cairne decided told Thrall of a different route they would take to Mulgore, one with unclaimed land. The wise Tauren chief knew that this beautiful landscape would interest the war chief, mediating his problem.

The magic flight takes place almost immediately after the rescue from without. The magic flight is a pivotal event that triggers a speedy return of the hero to their home. The flight could be symbolized by the event, not the actual flight home. In Thrall’s case the magic flight was both literal and figurative. Thrall was prepared to build refuge in Mulgore and live near his friend, and brought with the escort his finest craftsmen, for they would be building their first permanent settlement in Kalimdor. During the escort though, Cairne’s plan proved to work wonderfully. Thrall took comfort in the warm plains of the Barrens. He loved the strength and large amounts of elemental energy he could feel swelling when he stood in the land. Thrall then decided to manifest a large portion of the Barrens in the name of the Orcs and call it Durotar in honor of his Father, Durotan. Cairne bid the young war chief goodbye and left to the plains of Mulgore while Thrall and his craftsmen began to set the foundation of the Orcish capital city. Thrall sent word to his men at Hyjal that the Orcs now had their own land to live and prosper in freely and sent Goblin zeppelins for his men to use to transport themselves and their belongings to Durotar and begin work on the new Capital city.

The next phase of the return is the crossing of the return threshold. This is when the hero completes his goal and is able to finally return home. The hero remains home, recognized as a hero and claims great respect. In Thrall’s case, crossing the threshold was finishing up construction on their city, Orgrimmar, named by Thrall in honor of Orgrim Doomhammer, the Orc war chief that was in power before Thrall. Thrall was extremely proud of his accomplishments and all of his people, for they had seen terrible war and were still brotherly, supportive of each other, and even genial. When Orgrimmar was finished, Thrall was able to finally inhabit his home, confident in his freedom and his people.

At this point in the archetype the hero becomes a master of two worlds. This means that, quite simply, the hero is recognized as a hero within the two worlds he has lived. Thrall has achieved heroic fame unlike any other. Thrall constantly lives at home, ruling over the horde as it’s war chief. He garners a great deal of respect in his position and also holds a very large amount of power over the horde and his Orc people. The other races Thrall fought with also recognize him as a hero. Stories have been told of Thrall’s mighty courage and intellect even in the land of humans. Thrall is truly recognized and respected as a hero.

The last phase in Campbell’s archetype is the hero gaining the freedom to live. This is the hero’s power to go between their home world and the world of adventure by choice. The hero can return to their land of adventure and continue to pillage, discover, or carry out whatever adventures were left to be had or alternatively live a safe and happy life in their home. Thrall most definitely has the freedom to live, as he has fought in countless wars to ensure the safety of his people after founding Orgrimmar and taking his seat on the war chief’s throne. While Thrall is not involved in some sort of adventure he can be found sitting on his throne meditating upon any problems within the horde. The return to adventure is always lingering for Thrall. He is the most powerful Shaman alive and extremely important for the balance of power in Azeroth. The best example of Thrall’s freedom to live comes much later in Thrall’s life, many years after Warcraft III ends. Thrall shows that he is the truly the master of two worlds by temporarily relinquishing his place as war chief of the horde in order to mature his shamanistic powers and return to adventure to repair damage that has befallen Azeroth after the events of the shattering during the return of the fearsome dragon Deathwing.

Though the archetype is defined as a pattern that many myths and works from history follow, nearly every work has it’s own originality within the stages. For example, Huck Finn’s call to adventure would not be the same as Thrall’s. Within the three works of Warcraft III, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Secret life of Bees there is a great amount of dissimilarity between how the stages unfold for each hero.

The call to adventure can appear in a myriad of different forms. In “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Huck’s adventure is initiated when he sees his father’s footprint in the mud. Huck then plans to leave town in an attempt to avoid his father. Huck’s adventure at this point is about doing what is best for himself. Lily’s adventure begins in a different way but carries the same message. Lily’s call was a voice, presumed to be her deceased mother, telling her that her jar was open. This is a metaphor that meant Lily’s life was hers to change, she just needed to take action to do it. Lily then left her house and T. Ray in order to pursue what would be in her best interest. Both Huck and Lily are escaping from their homes, in which they are not happy, but also running from a father figure that is violent and demeaning. Thrall’s journey was started in a totally different way. Thrall was notified of his impending quest by a prophet in a dream that told of great danger in the future. This caused Thrall to being an adventure in which he hoped to achieve protection for his people.

A hero’s refusal to call could be due to any number of different things. Lily possesses an inner desire to please, as well as a great fear of her father due to the way she was raised that prevents the continuation of her journey. Huck’s refusal is being trapped in Pap’s cabin, as it disables him from making any progress forward in his adventure. Thrall is in lack of both a way to cross the ocean and his friend Grom. Huck’s refusal relates to Thrall’s as both of their refusal come in the form of circumstances that are out of their control. Lily’s refusal strays from their formula as it is an entirely emotional, and thus somewhat under her control, circumstance that causes her to stay in her comfort zone. Unlike Thrall, both Huck and Lily’s refusals are caused at least in part by father figures.

Each Hero must leave their comfort zone into territory full of uncertainty in order to begin their adventure. This is depicted within monomyth as the crossing of the first threshold. Thrall’s crossing is symbolized by his decision to attack the human encampment nearby to rescue his friend. This is very similar to Lily’s as her crossing was breaking her friend Rosaleen out of jail. Huck’s crossing held no correlation to the other’s as it was simply him escaping to Jackson’s island from Pap’s cabin.

The belly of the whale is the important stage where the hero begins to make important decisions for themselves. The her also realizes their heroic qualities and begins to utilize them within this stage. For Huck the belly of the whale was represented by his decision to apologize to Jim for being mean to him. His apology shows that Huck has a conscience and is not ignorant like much of the white population in the novel. Lily’s belly of the whale is somewhat similar to Huck’s. Lily apologizes to Rosaleen after the two have a falling out. This represent’s Lily’s value of friendship. The two occurrences are really not similar besides the fact that they are both the direct result of apologies. Thrall’s belly of the whale is represented by a totally different occurrence, his decision to seize the alliance ships and begin his travel across the sea. This showcases Thrall’s determination, wisdom, and resourcefulness as a leader. He could have destroyed the ships without a care instead of utilizing them for transport across the great sea. It showcases Thrall’s bravery as the journey across the sea will put his through many perils including an extremely large, swirling maelstrom, but he is ready to face them for the sake of his people.

In all three stories there are supernatural aids present. For Thrall, Huck, and Lily their aids take to the form of a human being that helps them along in their adventure. Huck has his escaped slave friend Jim, Lily has her black maid Rosaleen, and Thrall has the prophet Medivh. Thrall has another supernatural aid that the others are in lack of though. These would be Thrall’s Shamanistic powers that serve as his helper during his quest. Thrall’s powers protect himself and his people along with granting Thrall foresight and wisdom that greatly increases his value as a war chief.

The initiation stage is begun with the road of trials. Each road of trials is essentially the same thing, a string of challenges the hero must accomplish and in doing so develops their heroic power. The challenges themselves separate each hero’s quest into something different though. Thrall’s challenges involved many great battles in order to test the young war chief’s morals and strength. Examples of this would include the decisions regarding whether to spare the lives of humans or not, or whether to help out the Tauren people. These tests are similar to those that Huck was faced with. Huck encountered many situations that tested his morality and consciousness along his road of trials. These would include finding a boat that is sinking with robbers on it, as well as many opportunities to scam or steal from people. Both Huck and Thrall always chose the righteous path when faced with these difficult decisions. Lily’s road of trials involved her coming to terms with what makes her different as well as dealing with the death of her mother. Challenges like assimilating into the foreign rituals at practice within the Boatwright house.

Confronting temptation is a dangerous trial within the initiation. It entails the hero being presented with something extremely desirable to them, with power enough to even throw them from the path of adventure. For Lily the temptation took the form of a phone call. Lily’s emotions had made her revert to her previous state of caring for T. Ray. She was tempted to call him and apologize for running away and tell him that she was in a safe place. Lily eventually found her strength and avoided making the call which would have surely cause much trouble for her and her the Boatwrights. Huck confronted the temptation of settling down to live with the Grangerford family instead of continuing to help Jim to freedom. Thrall himself never had a confrontation with temptation, but Thrall’s partner, Grom, most certainly did. Grom was tempted to drink from a tainted fountain by a promise of the power he needed to defeat the demigod Cenarius. Grom had given into temptation and drank from the fountain. This cursed his people and disabled them from sustaining a lumber camp for Thrall.

Heroes may have an encounter with a goddess that grants them unconditional love, much like that of a mother. Though Thrall never encountered this stage, both Huck and Lily have. Lil’s goddess would have to be August. August treats her better than any parental figure ever has. August is a source of strength for Lily, as August nurtures her and truly loves her. Huck does not meet a person who fits the same role, though there is a spiritual being that does indeed fill in as Huck’s goddess. This being is none other than the Mississippi river. The Mississippi provides everything for Huck that a mother figure would. The river feeds him, entertains him, transports him, and comforts him.

Seeking atonement is the hero’s coming to terms with past actions and seeking exoneration. Huck realized that without his father in his life he would have never been shaped into the person hero he is. His heroic qualities and resourcefulness have all come to be due to the harsh treatment he has received while growing up. He forgives his father for his actions. Huck also seeks atonement from Jim for all of the nasty tricks and horrible things he has done to him. Lily finds atonement within herself. She finally comes to a realization that her mother loves her and that she can never truly please her father. Both Huck and Lily have to seek atonement with father figures or problems that involve their father figures. Thrall is once again without correlation, having to seek atonement with his long time enemies, the humans, so that they may team up to fight the burning legion.

The apotheosis is an integral part of the heroic journey, as it is the transformation of the hero from their previous self into who they are destined to be. For thrall the apotheosis is obviously his rise to power as leader of the orc clans following Grom’s death. Huck’s apotheosis comes when he realizes that he does not want to live a life of trickery and cunning. Lily’s is her forgiveness of herself for killing her mother. There is no cohesion between Huck’s, Thrall’s, or Lily’s apotheoses.

The ultimate boon is the prize the hero has set out on the journey to accomplish. Both Huck and Thrall’s boon is freedom, Thrall for his people and Huck for Jim. Lily’s boon is peace of mind and happiness after coming to terms with the truth and forgiving herself for it.

The refusal of return is very similar to the refusal to call. Both can be caused by the heroes unwillingness to return to their home or by something that prevents them from going home. Huck Finn has no refusal of the return because he has nowhere to return to. Thrall’s refusal is self proclaimed as he refuses to leave his allies behind after they had helped him reach his boon. Lily’s refusal was the refusal to return home with T. Ray because she simply did not want to live with him.

The magic flight is the pivotal event that triggers a speedy return of the hero. Lily is rescued by August because she instigated a confrontation between Lily and her father. This isn’t very comparable to Thrall’s rescue being a simple influence by Cairne as to where he should set up his city. These two instances are hardly comparable besides the fact that their rescue was instigated by other people. Huck never experienced a magic flight.

Crossing the return threshold is the second to last stage. Once again, Huck Finn never experienced this step. Lily also never really crosses the threshold either. Thrall has crossed a very definite threshold in the end of his journey, the threshold being the creation of the city of Orgrimmar, his new home.

Lily and Thrall are both the masters of two worlds by the end of their respective journeys. Lily is respected with both the Daughters of Mary and T. Ray. Thrall is respected with his people, the orcs, as well as the humans and night elves. Huck does not possess two world in which he could be the master of because his call to adventure, Pap, has died.

The final stage of the monomyth is the hero gaining the freedom to live. Thrall and Lily both have the freedom to live. Thrall is able to drift between a life style of being a war chief where he lives in Orgrimmar and is not in danger or and adventurer that lives on the edge constantly in danger. Lily is able to go between the home with T. Ray and the Daughters of Mary. Huck Finn was never granted the freedom to due to his quick departure after Aunt Sally said that she was planning on trying to civilize him.

Joseph Campbell’s archetypal pattern can be cited in many works, both old and new. This is mostly due to the fact that Campbell had written his pattern after studying a good deal of mythology from a wide variety of cultures. With the knowledge he had amassed he was able to explain the themes that reoccur often in stories and explain them with depth. Many authors and filmmakers today follow Campbell’s monomyth with their work intentionally, though a great deal of mythology from the past fit into the pattern as well. The monomyth is easily one of the most utilized patterns in both modern and classic mythology.

Many classic books and stories follow the monomyth. A famous examples being Homer’s epic “The Odyssey”, following the return home of the Greek hero Odysseus after the fall of Troy. Odysseus encounters each of stages of monomyth within the epic. Nearly all of the legends describing the gods from Greek mythology fit into the distinct stages of the archetype. The use of monomyth structure was not restricted to only the Greek, it spanned the mythical writings of many other cultures as well. Adam and Eve’s tale in addition to many of the other stories from the bible also bare a striking similarity to Campbell’s monomyth. A copious amount of modern writings also follow the archetypal pattern. “The Hobbit” by J.R.R Tolkien is a great example of a successful book that is loyal to the monomyth. “The Dark Tower” series written by Stephen King is also a prime example of a series that goes along with the archetypal pattern.

The use of monomyth is not limited to only literary works. Many cinematic masterpieces adhere to the classic monomyth, some of the most notable including Disney’s “The Lion King”, George Lucas’s “Star Wars” series, Steven Speilberg’s “E.T. The Extra Terrestrial” and James Cameron’s “Avatar”. These movies each contain the elements of monomyth and follow a hero on a specific journey, particularly a journey that is very serious that could yield dire consequences if not carried out. The monomyth can portray rather lackadaisical stories as well. “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie”, “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle”, and most of Adam Sandler’s movies including “Eight Crazy Nights”, “Billy Madison” and “The Wedding singer” all portray goofy adventures who embark on silly adventures while still following monomyth.

Quite recently the monomyth has engulfed yet form of story telling, the video game. With the quick evolution of video games one might be unaware of the intricate interesting stories that many games have begun to contain in recent years. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for example follows a young hero, Link, in his quest to save the land in which he lives. Bioshock, the game of the year in 2007, follows the path of a hero who after surviving a plane crash in the ocean finds himself searching for escape from the underwater city of rapture, the society of which has collapsed and who’s citizens who have mutated themselves to a point beyond humanity are now hunting for his life. Grand Theft Auto IV follows the adventure of the unlikely hero Niko Bellic, a Slovakian immigrant to America, as he tries to make a good life for himself unlike the one he had in his home while getting mixed up with criminals and dealing with his past actions in the process. These games along with many others including Halo, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Half Life, F.E.A.R, and Portal follow Campbell’s archetype within their intricate storylines as closely as any movie or book could.

The structure of monomyth has been utilized throughout history enforcing no boundary between races, religions, art forms, or cultures. The fact that the monomyth was in use many years before Campbell analyzed it and gave it a name is truly a testament to it’s legitimacy.