Watership Down Heroic Epic Essay

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

The archetype of the Hero’s Journey holds a prevalent pattern in the works of “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, “A & P” by John Updike, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. These works all follow the 17 stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth which are separated in three stages; separation, initiation, and return. The main characters have different characterizations; however, they all follow the basic structure of the Hero’s journey archetype. There are many similarities and differences between the stages that are shown through many context clues and literary devices in each work. The Hero’s Journey archetype expressed in these literary works follow a similar and direct narrative pattern.

The second stage in the Hero Journey is the most visible—the trials that must be

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life

Archetypes are defined as “a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.” (“Archetype”) The short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien is about the internal struggle and the journey he faces after he is drafted to serve the army. The classical hero’s journey archetype is similar to Tim O’Brien’s journey in his short story, “On the Rainy River,” with the exception of the arc length and depth of transformation.

Homer’s The Odyssey tells the story of young Telemachus with the task of finding his father, Odysseus while also finding himself. As the hero of this journey, Telemachus develops into a noble, brave, and strong man, through complications inflicted by others’ mental endurance. By overcoming these obstacles Telemachus develops into the universally known stereotypical hero. However, the same cannot be said for the heroes of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. At the end of their journeys, Jewel and Alice become different kinds of heroes; instead of becoming a stereotypical plucky adventurer, they each develop different traits to benefit themselves along their journey.

The “hero’s journey”, coined by Joseph Campbell, is a pattern in the plot structure of literature, myths, and oral tradition in which the hero is consistently faced with similar obstacles and achieves many of the same goals. The first part of the hero’s journey is “The Call.” The hero is usually living a very comfortable and easy life, unaware of the journey ahead. The hero is then faced with a situation or dilemma which eventually causes them to seek change. The hero, at this point, tends to refuse the call to adventure in fear of the unknown. Once the hero has been given the strength to push past the unknown, they have entered the threshold. The hero will experience many challenges and temptations where the hero is tested, eventually reaching “The Abyss,” the most difficult challenge. The hero is then transformed by these trials and returns home to every-day life and begins to contribute to their society. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist, Janie, experiences the hero’s journey first-hand through overcoming obstacles and transforming herself. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the heroine Janie overcomes many obstacles and is therefore transformed into a self reliant woman.

One central idea of Watership Down is that Hazel succeeds as a leader by valuing his comrades’ abilities, showing respect and kindness towards them and considering everyone’s opinions. Bigwig has strength and instincts that Hazel knows will be beneficial on the rabbits’ long journey. As Bigwig returns from his exploration of the opposite bank of a stream, Hazel says “’I’m glad he’s with us. He’s the fellow to find out all we need to know”(35 Adams). Hazel’s believes that Bigwig bears a marvelous tenacity and strength which is proven true when Bigwig makes it back across the stream with news of a loose dog. Not only does Hazel show gratitude and courtesy to his old friends, but also newcomers. Bigwig gives Blackavar

Even in the middle ages of literature, a story such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight had many aspects of Joseph Campbell’s view of the hero’s journey. In the story of our character Sir Gawain accepts a “Call to adventure” (Campbell 45) and goes on a quest that will go through many of the archetypes. Likewise, there lies one character, The Green Knight, that can be many of the archetypal characters in the cycle of the hero’s journey. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight dramatically demonstrates how a single character can play many archetypal roles.

In most modern movies, fantasy novels, and stories, the main character goes through a journey. In fact, we even see this journey so often, that we may not even recognize it. What may be familiar to you is the way the main character progresses through the story, and by looking at the Lightning Thief we can see that it embodies the archetypal pattern of “The Hero’s journey”. The Hero’s journey makes up the basic structure for most mythological or fantasy stories and it retains certain elements essential to the makings of a good story. This pattern has been recognized by many, notably by Stuart Voytilla who in the Excepts from Myth and Movies says “All stories consist of common structural elements of Stages found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams and movies” effectively making up the Hero’s journey.

Stories, movies, comic books, and legends alike generally follow a similar storyline: The Hero’s Journey. The patterns of The Hero’s Journey, an underlying structure revealed by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, have been used for centuries to depict extraordinary characters through stories and myths. Throughout his or her journey, the hero goes through three main stages: The Departure, The Initiation, and The Return. Both the epic Beowulf and the comic book-based movie Spider-Man follow this archetypal journey.

Heroes are the people who demonstrate qualities of courage or outstanding achievements and are recognized for their influence in the society. Heroic characters are defined similarly in literatures as well. In the two literatures, Sundiata An Epic of Old Mali and The Odyssey, the main characters shape the plot the stories by their heroic abilities. The literatures also tend to illustrate how heroic qualities were perceived and portrayed in societies. Both characters come from different part of the world yet their plots are similar to each other. The protagonist from two literatures is on a quest to go home and to claim their ancestors’ throne, which is righteously theirs.

In the 1951 movie of Alice in Wonderland Alice is faced with lots of tasks that directly relate to the hero's journey. When Alice is crossing the first threshold it is shown in the movie by her falling down the rabbit hole. When Alice is falling down the rabbit hole she is unknowingly crossing the threshold into wonderland. Crossing the threshold in the hero's journey is the point of no return when the hero can no longer turn around and must be committed to their quest or journey. Alice crosses the threshold is slightly different way than other stories because she does not yet know what her journey is and she crosses the point of no return with no knowledge of what she is about to experience. When Alice crosses

However, since the hero is part of society, the journey is also one of personal development. On a more psychological level, one could suggest that the hero’s quest is symbolic of all personal conflict. Conflict begins when a problem arises that must be dealt with. Most people, at first, refuse to come to terms with whatever this problem may be, and attempt to ignore it. With enough mental determination and/or aid from an outside source, however, one can bring themselves to cross the first threshold, and begin their journey into the heart of the problem. For example, victims of rape or other types of abuse must face what is haunting them in order for it to be exorcised properly.

hero's journey is not solely “applicable to fiction but also to the journeys that everyone goes