Hero’s Journey Archetypes

introduction• Before venturing into King Arthur’s tales, we’ll

stop to study The Hero’s Journey.• Joseph Campbell studied thousands of myths and

stories from all cultures to find what, if anything, made them alike.

• What he found was this: all fulfilling stories/books/movies follow The Hero’s Journey.

• Today we’ll cover the archetypes, which are the characters of the stories. Tomorrow, we’ll cover the events of every journey.

warning• What you are about to learn may ruin your

ability to enjoy movies, television, even books for a time because you will be thinking about how they fit the archetypes and the Hero’s Journey.

• If this happens to you, my apologies.

First…a Video!• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=yZxs_jGN7Pg&list=HL1378782599&feature=mh_lolz

hero• The protagonist of the

story

• They should act, sacrifice, and ultimately grow over the course of a story

• Early heroes often are “faultless,” like Beowulf, but most modern-day heroes have flaws, such as Batman, Harry Potter or Katniss.

Untraditional heroes• Anti-hero: Heroes who

don’t fit the traditional hero mold. Outlaws, criminals, and rebels fall into this category. Consider Scarface, Bonnie and Clyde, Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven.

• Group oriented heroes: An entire group can occasionally be a hero, such as in the movie The Breakfast Club. Together, they all grow and learn, and none have a “starring” role.

• Loner heroes: These are especially common in westerns. Men living on their own but are forced back to society to complete a mission.

• Catalyst heroes: While heroes usually change the most of all characters, a catalyst hero doesn’t. Instead, he/she causes change in others. Ferris Bueller and Captain Jack Sparrow are catalyst heroes.

HERALD• The herald announces the

call to adventure to the hero.

• Often, this character must motivate the hero to take action.

• Heralds can also play other archetypes in a story, such as a mentor.

• Heralds don’t have to be human. They can also be inanimate objects, such as Harry Potter’s letter.

Herald examplesThe Hunger

Games The Reaping

Juno Positive pregnancy test

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris’s phone call to Cameron

The Godfather The Godfather is shot

Beowulf Beowulf hears stories of Grendel

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU THINK OF?

WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES NOW!

mentor• Mentors teach, coach, and

give gifts to the hero.

• A hero may have more than one mentor during a story.

• Mentors don’t have to be fully “good people.” Mentors, like heroes, can have faults and their own agendas.

• Usually mentors appear at the beginning of a story, but they can reappear at any time.

• Some heroes, such as superheroes or heroes in westerns, don’t have a human mentor. They have an inner mentor—a code of honor, a belief system, or moral set of rules that they follow.

MENTOR examplesThe Hunger

Games Haymitch

Juno Her father and stepmom

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris (he’s a catalyst hero, a

mentor to Cameron)

Harry Potter Dumbledore

Star Wars Yoda

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU THINK OF?

WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES NOW!

Threshold guardian• Threshold guardians are

obstacles that the hero must overcome.

• They are not the key villains. They are smaller villains, minor characters, who stand in the hero’s way.

• They serve as tests for the heroes.

Threshold guardian examples

The Hunger Games The other tributes

Juno Ultrasound Tech

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off His parents

Harry Potter Snape

Beowulf The watcher; the sea monsters

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU THINK OF?

WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES NOW!

TRICKSTER• Tricksters provide comic

relief, laughter, to a story.

• Tricksters may also be mischievous.

TRICKSTER EXAMPLESHappy Gilmore Caddie

The Lion King Timon and Pumbaa

Looney Toons Bugs Bunny, Road Runner

Juno Juno & her familyFerris Bueller’s

Day Off Ferris Bueller

Shapeshifter• A shapeshifter is a

character who is not what they appear to be.

• At first, they may appear to be “bad,” then they save the day. Or they may appear to be “helpful,” but they’re secretly working against the hero.

Shapeshifter examplesThe Hunger

Games Peeta

The Lion King Scar

The Beauty and the Beast The Beast

Juno Mark Loring

Beowulf Unferth

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU THINK OF?

WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES NOW!

shadow• The shadow is the dark

side, the nemesis, the ultimate enemy of the hero.

• All the lessons the hero learns in a story builds up to fighting the shadow.

• The hero must overcome his/her greatest fault to beat the shadow.

Shadow examplesThe Hunger

GamesThe Capitol/Pres.

SnowThe Lion King Scar

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The Principal & Cameron’s father

Harry Potter Voldemort

Beowulf The Dragon

WHAT EXAMPLES CAN YOU THINK OF?

WRITE THEM IN YOUR NOTES NOW!

Wrapping it up…• These characters are

present in every story if you look for them.

• Remember that characters can be more than one archetype. A mentor can be a shadow. A hero can be a mentor. A herald can be a threshold guardian.

• What makes great stories are the unlimited combinations!