Hero's Journey: A Review

["Jungle Book" source]

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion.  As I did my recent review a couple of weeks ago, I realized it's been years since I talked about the importance of the hero's journey in writing.  Early Disney movie makers had never heard of the hero's journey, so their stories tended to meander a bit, sing a bunch of songs, throw in some humor, and hope for the best. For the most part, people still loved their movies.  However, to the modern mind, they seem to be lacking.  A lot of people remember "Jungle Book" and "Aristocats" and the like fondly, but if you watch, say, the modern live action "Jungle Book," you'll see a striking difference.  That difference between a meandering narrative without clear purpose or plot and a tightly-written story people look at as brilliant and meaningful is often the hero's journey.  

["Star Wars" source]

Many decades ago, Joseph Campbell studied classic tales and songs of heroism like Greek myths, fairy tales, sagas, and found the commonality he laid out as the hero's journey.  It's hard to find any writer, especially writer of adventure stories whether on movies or in books, who has not studied the hero's journey since it has become such a staple in Disney/Pixar movies and elsewhere in Hollywood.  Lucas even had Campbell on the set of Star Wars: New Hope to make sure he got the format right.  

[Harry Potter source]

The hero's journey starts in the character's normal world.  Think Luke Skywalker, Jane Eyre, Harry Potter with their respective oppressive aunts and uncles.  They're at home, and things are as they have always been.  He/she receives a call to adventure like Harry's or Jane's call to go school or Luke's invitation to train with Obi Wan, which they often refuse.  They often some kind of supernatural aid such as Obi Wan or the Hogswarts professors.  They, then, accept the call and step past the threshold into the underworld and go into school/training/whatever.  Their mentors/trainers (the Obi Wans/Ms. Temples/Professor Dumbledores of their respective worlds) help them through challenges and temptations in the underworld until they reach a place of abyss/death/rebirth and revelation (think Harry Potter's death/train station scene, though it takes several forms).  He/she is transformed, undergoes some kind of atonement, and becomes the master of both worlds.  He then returns home with a "gift of the goddess," a gift he/she gained from the supernatural.  This is the basic hero's journey, though this same journey takes countless forms.  

[source]

There's also a variant specifically for heroines, called the heroine's journey.  It essentially follows many of the same pathways but involves a separation from the masculine, a journey that involves sorting out the feminine identity from masculine expectations and roles, reconnecting with the feminine, and then the reintegration back into the masculine world having undergone a healing transformation into one's true self.  Here is a discussion in some depth on the subject and its importance.  

This is just a quick thumbnail sketch of what the hero's journey involves.  If you haven't made a study of it and its beats, I highly recommend all writers do so.  Readers (at least subconsciously) walk into an adventure story expecting it.  If you'd like to know more, The Story Grid is a great place to start.  I highly recommend studying up and learning what the hero's/heroine's journey can do for your stories.