Mythic+Journey...+Monomyth

Joseph Campbell has traced heroic quests myths from around the world

and uncovered a common story structure with specific features and stages,

which he calls the Monomyth. It may also be referred to as

the Heroic Quest or the Mythic Journey. How is it that cultures around the world share this same story structure? We have found it so far in ancient Greece, ancient Scandinavia, ancient Mesopotamia, and early American Native cultures. Mythic Journey

PART I Once upon a time …

Call to adventure…

Advice from mentor…

Part II Starting the Journey…

Tests, allies, enemies…

Approach…

Supreme ordeal…

Part III The boon…

Part IV

The Return…

Part V… Application of the Boon…

YOUR TURN NOW!

Claim your myths. If someone else already has picked what you wanted, it's time to choose something else.

Sam -

Cullen -

<span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #008000; display: block; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;">Jack -

<span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #008000; display: block; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;">Kinnley - The Rough-Faced Girl This Native American folktale follows a certain story structure that is in most myths. It is also very similar to our modern day Cinderella because it includes two mean sisters, love, and a lesson that you should never forget. These monomyths have a setup that starts Part I with a Once upon a time. This happens when a girl has two sisters that make her take care of their household fire that eventually, ruins her appearance. People, especially her sisters, came to think of her as the Rough-Faced Girl. Next is the Call to adventure which is when the girl goes to marry the Invisible Being when her sisters had failed to do so. The step after this is the Advice from a mentor. Mentors can range from a wise old person to a talking animal. This specific mentor is the Rough-Faced Girl’s father. He gives more help than advice because he gives her the somewhat nice things that he has to spare. The Mythic Journey starts Part II with Starting the journey. She does this when she heads to the Invisible Beings wigwam. The Rough-Faced Girl is teased along the way but continues. While she travels she sees the Invisible Beings face in the sky. The next step is Test, allies, and enemies. Depending on the story these people, or creatures, could include with them spells, riddles, and so on. This happens in the story when the girl meets the Invisible Being’s sister and she asks her the questions “What’s the Invisible Being’s bow made of?”, and “What’s the runner of his sled made of?” The part after this is the Approach which is when the Rough-Faced Girl answers the sisters’ questions correctly and enters the wigwam. After this is the most important part of Part II, the Supreme ordeal. This takes place when she meets the Invisible Being and he has her bathe in a lake that washes away all her scars! The next step is Part III where the Boon happens, which is the prize the person gains. In this story the Boon is that the Rough-Faced Girl is beautiful again and that she is going to be married to the Invisible Being. Then it is time for The Return which is when the girl returns to the Invisible Being. The final part is the Application of the Boon. This happens when the Invisible Being and the Rough-Faced Girl are married and never separated. This story of the Rough-Faced Girl is a perfect example of a Mythic Journey and shows that in the end, Truth always overcomes lies.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; font-size: 140%; text-align: left;">** ﻿ Kristen - **Odin's Three Quests

Luciana - The Adventures of Theseus  Have you ever noticed that most, if not all the books you read follow a similar path? This path is known as The Mythic Journey, and was thought of by Joseph Cambell. It tells about a heroes adventure while he overcomes tasks to earn or gain something. This structure is universal. We can see it everywhere! It comes up in many different cultures that don't even have contact with each other! To explain the Heroic Quest even further, we can take a story and break it down into the certain steps the Heroic Quest takes. The story we'll use is The Adventures of Theseus. The first step is once upon a time. This measure tells of the begining of a story, such as " Once upon a time, King Aegeus and the princess Aethra had a son named Theseus." After that is the call to adventure. This is when the hero is "invited" to adventure and he/she accepts it. For example," Theseus is now strong enough to lift the stone, and he is going to Athens to see his father now." The last procedure in part one of The Mythic Journey is to recieve advice from a mentor. This is performed when the hero gets hints or help from someone to aid them on their journey. Like in the story," Theseus's grandfather tells him a shortcut to Athens." It is the characters choice of whether or not to listen to his adviser. In part two, the first step is starting the journey. When a person in a book or movie " sets out" or " leaves home" is most likely when he starts his journey. Theseus leaves his home to go to Athens, which is an example of this step. Next step is tests. allies, and enemies. This is when the main person faces difficulties along his journey such as riddles, spells, and so on. It might be anything from a rumbling stomach to fighting a monster. In this story, "Theseus chose to not listen to his grandfather, and so he came upon many troubles along the way. He faced robbers, such as Periphetes, son of Hephaestus, and Procrustes, or the "Strecher"." The next action is the approach. This section is likely to build suspense. For example, " Theseus quietly stepped into the Minotaurs lair to defend himself and his companions. Suddenly, he heard the loud cry of the Minotaur ring out from the many endless hallways." Last but not least in this section, is the supreme ordeal. When the hero has a nearly fatal battle, or a daring rescue, he performs the supreme ordeal. " Theseus kills the Minotaur," is the supreme ordeal in this story. The last few steps of part three, four, and five we'll combine because they are short sections. In part three, the hero gains something called a Boon, an object of reward. The Boon can be anything from a new knowlegde, a different object, a new friend, etc. The Boon is something they earn by completing the task they set out for. In this particular story, there is no Boon. In part four the only step is the return. This could be when the main character comes back home and reunites with his family, or when he comes back to his long lost brother, etc. An example," Theseus gets back to Athens, and is crowned king." The final step is the application of Boon. This is when the hero uses what he gained from part three for good, or maybe for bad. Unfortunatley, there is no Boon in the story, so no application of Boon either. As you can see, the Monomyth (Mythic Journey) is a path that most adventure stories and movies take. It comes in five parts, with ten steps in all. So next time you sit down to read a book, look closely at the framework and see if the book follows the Mythic Journey. <span style="background-color: #c0c0c0; color: #008000; display: block; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;">Jason - Binding Fenrir