Joseph CampbellThe Hero with a Thousand FacesChristopher VoglerThe Writers Journey

Heroes are introduced in the

1Ordinary World

where they receive the

2Call to Adventure.

They are reluctant at first

or

3Refuse the Call,

but are encouraged by a

4Mentor

to

5Cross the First Threshold

and enter the Special World

where they encounter

6Tests, Allies, and Enemies.

They

7Approach the Inmost Cave,

where they endure the

8Supreme Ordeal.

Death and Rebirthface death, greatest fears;

heroes return changed, transformed; heroes cheat death

with the help the of the Mentors gifts;

there is a movement from Self to Group

hero risks individual life for the sake of the larger

collective life and wins the right to be called hero

9Reward

10The Road Back

(rededicate to the adventure; can

be another crisis that sets the hero

on a new and final road of trials)

11Resurrection,

(climaxlast and most dangerous meeting with death)

and are transformed by the experienceheroes must be

cleansed of the smell of death, but must retain

the lessons of the Ordeal).

12Return with the Elixir,

a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World

or something with the power to heal a wounded land

ARCHETYPES are recurring patterns of human behavior, symbolized by standard types of characters in movies and stories.

HEROES

Central figures in stories. Everyone is the hero of his or her own myth.

SHADOWS

Villains and enemies, perhaps the enemy within. The dark side of the Force, the repressed possibilities of the hero, his or her potential for evil. Can be other kinds of repression, such as repressed grief, anger, frustration or creativity that is dangerous if it doesnt have an outlet.

MENTORS

The heros guide or guiding principles. Yoda, Merlin, a great coach, or teacher.

HERALD

One who brings the Call to Adventure. Could be a person or an event.

THRESHOLD GUARDIANS

The forces that stand in the way at important turning points, including jealous enemies, professional gatekeepers, or your own fears and doubts.

SHAPESHIFTERS

In stories, creatures like vampires or werewolves who change shape. In life, the shapeshifter represents change. The way other people (or our perceptions of them) keep changing. The opposite sex, the way people can be two-faced.

TRICKSTERS

Clowns and mischief-makers, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. Our own mischievous subconscious, urging us to change.

ALLIES

Characters who help the hero through the change. Sidekicks, buddies, girlfriends who advise the hero through the transitions of life.

ENEMIES

Characters who include both the villains or antagonists and who can perform functions of Shadow, Trickster, Threshold Guardian, and sometimes Herald. An enemy is more like a rival who is usually not out to kill the hero, but who is trying to defeat him in a competition.

For in effect this is a study of a simple ordinary man, neither artistic nor noble and heroic (but not without the undeveloped sense of these things) against a high settingin fact (as a critic has perceived ) the tone and style change with the Hobbits development, passing from fairy-tale to the noble and high and relapsing with the return. J. R. R. Tolkien, Letter 131, to Milton Waldman of Collins(c. 1951)

This ain't no place for no hero

This ain't no place for no better man

This ain't no place for no hero

To call "home"

This ain't no place for no hero

This ain't no place for no better man

This ain't no place for no hero

To call "home

What if Im becoming bad?