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A Complete Guide to The Hero’s Journey (or The Monomyth)

Learn how to use the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey to structure plot, develop characters, and write riveting stories that will keep readers engaged!

Before I start this post I would like to acknowledged the tragedy that occurred in my country this past month. George Floyd, an innocent man, was murdered by a police officer while three other officers witnessed that murder and remained silent.

To remain silent, in the face of injustice, violen ce, and murder is to be complicit . I acknowledge that as a white man I have benefited from a centuries old system of privilege and abuse against black people, women, American Indians, immigrants, and many, many more.

This systemic abuse is what lead to the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Treyvon Martin, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice and many more. Too many.

Whether I like it or not I’ve been complicit in this injustice. We can’t afford to be silent anymore. If you’re disturbed by the violence we’ve wit nessed over, and over again please vote this November, hold your local governments accountable, peacefully protest, and listen. Hopefully, together we can bring positive change. And, together, we can heal .

In this post, we’ll go over the stages of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, also known as the Monomyth. We’ll talk about how to use it to structure your story. You’ll also find some guided questions for each section of the Hero’s Journey. These questions are designed to help guide your thinking during the writing process. Finally, we’ll go through an example of the Hero’s Journey from 1997’s Men In Black.  

Down at the bottom, we’ll go over reasons you shouldn’t rely on the Monomyth. And we’ll talk about a few alternatives for you to consider if the Hero’s Journey isn’t right for your story.  

But, before we do all that let’s answer the obvious question- 

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey was first described by Joseph Campbell. Campbell was an American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College. He wrote about the Hero’s Journey in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces . More than a guide, this book was a study on the fundamental structure of myths throughout history. 

Through his study, Campbell identified seventeen stages that make up what he called the Monomyth or Hero’s Journey. We’ll go over these stages in the next section. Here’s how Campbell describes the Monomyth in his book:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” 

Something important to note is that the Monomyth was not conceived as a tool for writers to develop a plot. Rather, Campbell identified it as a narrative pattern that was common in mythology. 

George Lucas used Campbell’s Monomyth to structure his original Star Wars film. Thanks to Star Wars ’ success, filmmakers have adopted the Hero’s Journey as a common plot structure in movies. 

We see it in films like The Matrix , Spider-man , The Lion King , and many more. But, keep in mind, this is not the only way to structure a story. We’ll talk about some alternatives at the end of this post. 

With that out of the way, let’s go over the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey, or Monomyth. We’ll use the original Men In Black film as an example (because why not?). And, we’ll look at some questions to help guide your thinking, as a writer, at each stage. 

Quick note – The original Hero’s Journey is seventeen stages. But, Christopher Vogler, an executive working for Disney, condensed Campbell’s work. Vogler’s version has twelve stages, and it’s the version we’re talking about today. Vogler wrote a guide to use the Monomyth and I’ll link to it at the bottom.)

The 12 Stages of The Hero’s Journey 

The ordinary world .

This is where the hero’s story begins. We meet our hero in a down-to-earth, or humble setting. We establish the hero as an ordinary citizen in this world, not necessarily “special” in any way. 

Think exposition . 

We get to know our hero at this stage of the story. We learn about the hero’s life, struggles, inner or outer demons. This an opportunity for readers to identify with the hero. A good idea since the story will be told from the hero’s perspective. 

Read more about perspective and POV here.

In Men In Black, we meet our hero, James, who will become Agent J, chasing someone down the streets of a large city. The story reveals some important details through the action of the plo t. Let’s go over these details and how they’re shown through action. 

Agent J’s job: He’s a cop. We know this because he’s chasing a criminal. He waves a badge and yells, “NYPD! Stop!” 

The setting: The line “NYPD!” tells us that J is a New York City cop. The chase sequence also culminates on the roof of the Guggenheim Museum. Another clue to the setting. 

J’s Personality: J is a dedicated cop. We know this because of his relentless pursuit of the suspect he’s chasing. J is also brave. He jumps off a bridge onto a moving bus. He also chases a man after witnessing him climb vertically, several stories, up a wall. This is an inhuman feat that would have most people noping out of there. J continues his pursuit, though. 

Guided Questions

• What is your story’s ordinary world setting? 
• How is this ordinary world different from the special world that your hero will enter later in the story? 
• What action in this story will reveal the setting? 
• Describe your hero and their personality. 
• What action in the story will reveal details about your hero? 

The Call of Adventure

The Call of Adventure is an event in the story that forces the hero to take action. The hero will move out of their comfort zone, aka the ordinary world. Does this sound familiar? It should, because, in practice, The Call of Adventure is an Inciting Event. 

Read more about Inciting Events here. 

The Call of Adventure can take many forms. It can mean a literal call like one character asking another to go with them on a journey or to help solve a problem. It can also be an event in the story that forces the character to act. 

The Call of Adventure can include things like the arrival of a new character, a violent act of nature, or a traumatizing event. The Call can also be a series of events like what we see in our example from Men In Black.  

The first Call of Adventure comes from the alien that Agent J chases to the roof of the Guggenheim. Before leaping from the roof, the alien says to J, “Your world’s going to end.” This pique’s the hero’s interest and hints at future conflict. 

The second Call of Adventure comes after Agent K shows up to question J about the alien. K wipes J’s memory after the interaction, but he gives J a card with an address and a time. At this point, J has no idea what’s happened. All he knows is that K has asked him to show up at a specific place the next morning. 

The final and most important Call comes after K has revealed the truth to J while the two sit on a park bench together. Agent K tells J that aliens exist. K reveals that there is a secret organization that controls alien activity on Earth. And the Call- Agent K wants J to come to work for this organization.  

• What event (or events) happen to incite your character to act? 
• How are these events disruptive to your character’s life? 
• What aspects of your story’s special world will be revealed and how? (think action) 
• What other characters will you introduce as part of this special world? 

Refusal of the Call

This is an important stage in the Monomyth. It communicates with the audience the risks that come with Call to Adventure. Every Hero’s Journey should include risks to the main characters and a conflict. This is the stage where your hero contemplates those risks.  They will be tempted to remain in the safety of the ordinary world. 

In Men in Black, the Refusal of the Call is subtle. It consists of a single scene. Agent K offers J membership to the Men In Black. With that comes a life of secret knowledge and adventure. But, J will sever all ties to his former life. No one anywhere will ever know that J existed. Agent K tells J that he has until sunrise to make his decision.

J does not immediately say, “I’m in,” or “When’s our first mission.” Instead, he sits on the park bench all night contemplating his decision. In this scene, the audience understands that this is not an easy choice for him. Again, this is an excellent use of action to demonstrate a plot point. 

It’s also important to note that J only asks K one question before he makes his decision, “is it worth it?” K responds that it is, but only, “if you’re strong enough.” This line of dialogue becomes one of two dramatic questions in the movie. Is J strong enough to be a man in black? 

• What will your character have to sacrifice to answer the call of adventure? 
• What fears does your character have about leaving the ordinary world? 
• What risks or dangers await them in the special world? 

Meeting the Mentor 

At this point in the story, the hero is seeking wisdom after initially refusing the call of adventure. The mentor fulfills this need for your hero. 

The mentor is usually a character who has been to the special world and knows how to navigate it. Mentor’s provides your hero with tools and resources to aid them in their journey. It’s important to note that the mentor doesn’t always have to be a character. The mentor could be a guide, map, or sacred texts. 

If you’ve seen Men In Black then you can guess who acts as J’s mentor. Agent K, who recruited J, steps into the mentor role once J accepts the call to adventure. 

Agent K gives J a tour of the MIB headquarters. He introduces him to key characters and explains to him how the special world of the MIB works. Agent K also gives J his signature weapon, the Noisy Cricket. 

• Who is your hero’s mentor? 
• How will your character find and encounter with their mentor? 
• What tools and resources will your mentor provide? 
• Why/how does your mentor know the special world? 

Crossing the Threshold 

This is the point where your hero finally crosses over from the ordinary world into the special one. At this point, there is no turning back for your hero. 

Your hero may not cross into the special world on their own. Or, they may need a dramatic event that forces them to act.

At this point, you’ll want to establish the dramatic question of your story. This is the question will your reader wants to answer by the end of your story. A dramatic question is what will keep your audience reading. 

Once J decides to commit to the MIB Agent K starts the process of deleting J’s identity. The filmmakers do a great job communicating the drastic nature of J’s decision. This is done through, again, action and an effective voice-over. J’s social security number is deleted, and his fingerprints are burned off. He dons a nondescript black suit, sunglasses, and a sick-ass Hamilton watch . 

This scene is immediately followed by a threatening message sent by aliens called the Arquillians. They tell the MIB they will destroy the Earth unless J and K can deliver a galaxy. The only problem is no one knows what the galaxy is. So, we get our story question. Can J and K find and deliver the MacGuffin before the Earth is destroyed? 

Read more about MacGuffins here.

• What event will push your hero into the special world? 
• Once they enter the special world, what keeps them from turning back?
• What is the dramatic question you will introduce?
• How will your hero’s life change once they’ve entered the special world?

Tests, Allies, Enemies

This is stage is exactly what it sounds like. Once they’ve entered the special world, your hero will be tested. They will learn the rules of this new world. Your hero’s mentor may have to further teach your hero. 

The hero will also begin collecting allies. Characters whose goals align with those of your hero’s. People who will help your hero achieve their goal. These characters may even join your hero on their quest. 

And this is also the point where your hero’s enemy will reveal themselves. Now, you’ve may have hinted at, or even introduced the villain in the earlier stages. But, this is where the audience discovers how much of a threat this villain is to your hero. 

Read more about creating villains here. 

J and K arrive at the city morgue to investigate the body of a slain member of Arquillian royalty. While there, J encounters the villain of the film. He is lured into a standoff with Edgar. Edgar isn’t Edgar. He’s a 10 foot tall, alien cockroach wearing an “Edgar suit.” 

J doesn’t know that yet, though. 

Edgar has also taken a hostage. He threatens the life of Dr. Laurel Weaver who has discovered the truth about aliens living on Earth. Dr. Weaver becomes an ally of J’s as he continues his search for the Arquillian’s galaxy. 

J is faced with a new test as well. Just before he dies, the Arquillian alien tells J that the galaxy is on Orion’s Belt. J must discover the meaning behind this cryptic message if he hopes to save Earth. 

• Who is the villain of your story, and what is their goal?
• Who are your hero’s allies?
• How will your hero meet them? And, How do everyone’s goals align? 
• How will your hero be tested? Through battle? A puzzle? An emotional trauma? 

Approach to the Inmost Cave

The inmost cave is the path towards the central conflict of your story. In this section, your hero is preparing for battle. They may be regrouping with allies, going over important information, or taking a needed rest. This is also a part of the story where you may want to inject some humor. 

The approach is also a moment for your audience to regroup. This is an important aspect of pacing. A fast-paced story can be very exciting for the audience, but at some point, the writer needs to tap the breaks. 

This approach section gives your audience time to process the plot and consider the stakes of your conflict. This is also a good time to introduce a ticking clock, and it’s perfect for character development. 

In Men, In Black the Approach the Inmost Cave involves an interview with a character called Frank the Pug. Frank is a Pug breed of dog. He’s an alien in disguise. 

Frank knows important details about the conflict between the Arquillians and Edgar. This is one of the funnier scenes in an overall funny film. 

Read more about alliteration here… jk. 

Frank also gives J a vital clue to determine the location of the Arquillian’s galaxy. They also discover that the galaxy is an energy source and not an actual galaxy. 

Finally, we have the arrival of the Arquillian battleship come to destroy Earth. They give the MIB a warning. If the galaxy is not returned in one hour the will fire on the planet. So, we have a literal ticking clock. 

• Where and how will your hero slow down and regroup? 
• What information or resources will they need to go into the final battle? 
• How can you introduce some humor or character development into this section? 
• What kind of “ticking clock” will you introduce to increase the stakes of your final act? 

The Ordeal 

The Ordeal is about one thing, and that’s death. Your hero must go through a life-altering challenge. This will be a conflict where the hero faces their greatest fears. 

It’s essential that your audience feels as if the hero is really in danger. Make the audience question whether the hero will make it out alive. But, your story’s stakes may not be life or death, such as in a comedy or romance. 

In that case the death your character experiences will be symbolic. And, your audience will believe that there’s a chance the hero won’t achieve their goal. 

Through the ordeal, your hero will experience death whether that be real or symbolic. With this death, the hero will be reborn with greater powers or insight. Overall, the ordeal should be the point in which your character hits rock bottom. 

The Ordeal in Men In Black comes the moment when J and K confront Edgar at the site of the World’s Fair. In the confrontation with Edgar, K is eaten alive by Edgar. At this moment J is left alone to confront death. The audience is left to wonder if J can defeat Edgar on his own. 

Guided Questions 

• What death will your hero confront? 
• What does “rock bottom” mean for your character? 
• How will your hero be changed on the other side of this death event? 

Reward or Seizing the Sword

At this point in the story, your hero will earn some tangible treasure for all their trouble. This can be a physical treasure. In the context of the monomyth, this is often referred to as the elixir or sword. 

However, the reward can be inwardly focused. Your hero might discover hidden knowledge or insight that helps them vanquish their foe. Or, your hero can find their confidence or some self-actualization. This reward, whatever it is, is the thing that they will take with them. It is what they earn from all their hard-fought struggles. 

Once K is eaten J seems to be on his own with a massive alien cockroach. This is a pretty bad spot for the rookie agent. What’s worse is the Arquillian clock is still ticking. Edgar, the cockroach, is about to escape Earth, with the galaxy, sealing the planet’s fate. 

All seems lost until J claims his reward. In this case, that reward comes in the form of an insight J has about Edgar. Being a giant cockroach, J realizes that Edgar may have a weakness for his Earth-bound counterparts. So, J kicks out a dumpster and starts to smash all the scurrying bugs under his foot. 

J guesses correctly, and Edgar is momentarily distracted by J’s actions. Edgar climbs down from his ship to confront J. Agent K, who is still alive in Edgar’s stomach, can activate a gun, and blow Edgar in two.  J’s reward is the knowledge that he is no longer a rookie, and he is strong enough for this job. J also captures a physical treasure. After Edgar has exploded, J finds the galaxy which Edgar had swallowed earlier in the film. In this scene, both dramatic questions are answered. The MIB can save the world. And, J is strong enough for the MIB.  

• What reward will your hero win?
• A physical treasure, hidden knowledge, inner wisdom, or all of the above? 

The Road Back 

At this point, your hero has had some success in their quest and is close to returning to the ordinary world. Your hero has experienced a change from their time in the special world. This change might make your hero’s return difficult. Similar to when your hero crossed the threshold, your hero may need an event that forces them to return. 

The road back must be a dramatic turning point that heightens stakes and changes the direction of your story. This event will also re-establish the dramatic question of your story. This act may present a final challenge for your hero before they can return home. 

In Men In Black, the road backstage gets a little tricky. The film establishes that when J crosses the threshold he is not able to go back to the ordinary world. His entire identity is erased. Having J go back to his life as a detective would also undo his character growth and leave the audience feeling cheated. Luckily, the filmmakers work around this by having K return to the ordinary world rather than J. 

After Edgar is defeated, K tells J that he is retiring from the MIB and that J will step in as K’s replacement. The movie establishes early that agents can retire, but only after having their memory wiped. So, K asks J to wipe his memory so that he can return to a normal life. Once again, J has to grapple with the question of whether he is strong enough for this job. Can he bring himself to wipe K’s memory and lose his mentor forever? Can he fill K’s shoes as an MIB agent? 

• How will your hero have to recommit to their journey? 
• What event will push your hero through their final test? 
• What final test will your hero face before they return to the ordinary world? 

Resurrection 

This is the final act of your story. The hero will have one last glorious encounter with the forces that are set against them. This is the culminating event for your hero. Everything that has happened to your hero has prepared them for this moment. 

This can also be thought of as a rebirth for your hero. A moment when they shed all the things that have held them back throughout the story. The resurrection is when your hero applies all the things they’ve learned through their journey. 

The final moment can be a physical battle, or again, it can be metaphorical. This is also a moment when allies return to lend a last-minute hand. But, as with any ending of a story, you need to make sure your hero is the one who saves the day. 

So, here’s where things start to get a little clumsy. There are a couple of moments that could be a resurrection for our hero J. It could be the moment he faces off with Edgar. This is right before Edgar is killed. But, it’s K that pulls the trigger and kills Edgar. Based on our explanation J needs to be the one who saves the day. Maybe by stalling for time J is the one responsible for saving the day? It’s hard to say what the filmmakers’ intention was here. 

The second moment that could represent a resurrection for J might be when he wipes K’s memory. It is the final dramatic hurdle that J faces before he can become a true Man in Black. But, this moment doesn’t resolve the conflict of the film. 

Notice that the Hero’s Journey framework isn’t always followed to the letter by all storytellers. We’ll get back to this point at the end of the article. 

• What final challenge will your hero face? 
• How will your hero use the skills they’ve used to overcome their last challenge?
• How will your hero’s allies help save the day?  

Return with the Elixir

The ending of your story. Your hero returns to the ordinary world, but this time they carry with them the rewards earned during their journey. They may share these rewards with others who inhabit the ordinary world. But most important, is that you show that your hero has changed for the better. 

The elixir represents whatever your hero gained on their journey. Remember, the elixir can be an actual physical reward like a treasure. But, the elixir can also be a metaphorical prize like knowledge or a feeling of fulfillment.  This is a moment where your hero will return some sort of balance to the ordinary world. 

Be sure to show that the journey has had a permanent effect on your hero. 

In the final scene of the movie, we see that J has taken on a mentor role for Dr. Weaver, an MIB recruit now. He has physically changed- his clothes are more representative of his personality. This physical transformation is meant to show that J has fully embraced his new life and journey. No longer a rookie, J has stepped into his mentor, K’s, role. 

• How will you show that your character has changed from their journey? 
• What reward will they bring back to the ordinary world? 
• In what way will they change the ordinary world when they return? 

Should I Use the Hero’s Journey for My Story? 

This is a question you should ask yourself before embarking on your journey. The Monomyth works well as a framework. This is pretty obvious when you realize how many films have used it as a plotting device. 

But there’s a downside to the popularity of the Monomyth. And that’s that audiences are very familiar with the beats of this kind of story. Sure, they may not be able to describe each of the twelve sections in detail. But, audiences know, intuitively, what is going to happen in these stories. At the very least, audiences, or readers, know how these stories are going to end. 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If your story is exciting, well-paced, and the stakes are high, people aren’t going to mind some predictability. But, if you want to shock your readers- 

(And if you’re interested in how to shock readers with a plot twist, click here. )

this might not be the best story structure. And, despite how popular it is, the hero’s journey ain’t the only game in town when it comes to story structure. And, you can always take artistic liberty with the Hero’s Journey. The fact that audiences are expecting certain beats means you have an opportunity to subvert expectations. 

You can skip parts of the hero’s journey if they don’t fit your plot. With my example, Men In Black it was difficult to fit the story neatly into the hero’s journey framework. This is because aspects of the movie, like the fact that it’s a buddy comedy, don’t always jive with a hero’s journey. Agent K has an important character arch, and so he ends up killing the villain rather than J. But, K’s arch isn’t at all a hero’s journey. 

The point is, don’t feel locked in by any single structure. Allow yourself some freedom to tell your story. If there’s no purpose to a resurrection stage in your story then skip it! No one is going to deduct your points. 

With that said, here are a few resources on the Hero’s Journey, and some alternate plot structures you’ll want to check out! 

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links

Further Reading on Plot Structure and the Hero’s Journey

If you’d like to learn more about the Hero’s Journey, or Monomyth, why not go straight to the source? The Hero With 1000 Faces is a collection of work written by Joseph Campbell. His version of the hero’s journey has 17 stages. This is less of a writing manual and more of an exploration of the evolution of myth and storytelling through the ages. 

The Seven Basic Plots , by Christopher Booker, is another academic study of storytelling by Christopher Booker. Booker identifies seven basic plots that all stories fit into. They are: 

• Overcoming the Monster
• Rags to Riches
• Voyage and Return

The Snowflake Method is a teaching tool designed by Randy Ingermanson that will take you through a step-by-step process of writing a novel. The Snowflake Method boils down the novel-writing process six-step process. You will start with a single sentence and with each step you build on that sentence until you have a full-fledged novel! If you’re love processes then pick up a copy of this book today.  

In The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Hollywood consultant, Christopher Vogler teaches writers how to use the Hero’s Journey to write riveting stories.

Resources: 

Wikipedia- Joseph Campbell

Wikipedia- Hero With 1000 Faces

Published by John

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6 comments on “A Complete Guide to The Hero’s Journey (or The Monomyth)”

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I don’t understand the use of all those pictures/graphics you threw in as I was reading. They were extremely distracting and seriously detracted from whatever message you were trying to convey.

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What is a Tragic Hero? Examples and How to Write Your Own

by Fija Callaghan

There’s something undeniably cathartic about the tragic hero figure. From ancient Greek performances to contemporary film and everything in between, these complex, emotionally resonant characters have entertained audiences (and taught them valuable lessons) for generations.

So what exactly do we mean by a “tragic hero”, and how do they compare with other archetypal characters? Read on for everything you need to know about how we define the classic tragic hero, with some examples and tips for writing your own.

What is a tragic hero in literature?

Tragic heroes are protagonists who fall from a state of nobility, privilege, or good fortune due to an insurmountable personal weakness. They exhibit enough virtue, compassion, or other traditionally heroic traits to make them relatable and empathetic, but meet a tragic end once their fatal flaw gets the best of them. These heroes act as cautionary tales to the audience.

For example, a tragic hero might be a main character who does everything right, but ultimately loses everything once he chooses ambition over love. Or, like Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet , chooses the thrill and novelty of young love over common sense.

These characters make readers want them to succeed. And yet, we watch as they hurtle to their heartbreaking, inevitable conclusion. Their stories help us understand what happens when we allow our own weaknesses to consume us.

What’s the difference between a tragic hero and an anti-hero?

“Tragic hero” and “anti-hero” are literary terms that sometimes get conflated, but they’re not quite the same thing. You can think of a tragic hero and an anti-hero as reflections of each other: while tragic heroes are basically heroic figures with one toxic, devastating flaw, anti-heroes are figures who lack traditionally heroic qualities but are underpinned by an internal strength.

An anti-hero might be physically weak, unethical, cowardly, or self-serving. In spite of this, they demonstrate the potential for redemption and growth. Tragic heroes warn us that weakness exists even in the most promising of people. Anti-heroes show us that strength can be found even in the most unlikely of places.

Characteristics of the tragic hero

Let’s look at the key character traits that every literary tragic hero needs.

To begin, the tragic hero needs to come from a place of elevated status. They don’t need to be of literal noble birth (although this was often the case in the classic Greek tragedy, as well as in Elizabethan plays, because… don’t we all love to watch posh people behaving badly?); however, they do need to be ranked above the “average person” in some way.

They might be the most popular kid at school, or employee of the month at their job, or a prominent social media influencer, or the beloved eldest child in their family. Whatever their social parameters might be, their journey opens in a place of “This person has their life together.”

Despite the character’s elevated status, they should have enough endearing qualities that the reader wants them to succeed. They might be very kind, or charming, or they tell great stories at parties. Make sure the reader sees the humanity in this character to develop their compassion for them. Without the audience’s sympathy, the hero’s tragic downfall wouldn’t be tragic… it would just be satisfying.

A tragic flaw

Ah, the rotten core of the tragic hero’s downfall: the fatal flaw. This is the character’s one irreconcilable vice which ultimately leads to their undoing. Ambition is a common tragic flaw, but it could also be something like jealousy, insecurity, cowardice, or a desperation to be loved.

These fatal flaws will guide the hero forward, pulling them mercilessly towards their inevitable conclusion.

Like all literary protagonists, the tragic hero needs to want something. Their lives are going pretty great so far, and they would be perfect if they could only attain that one thing . A better title, a bigger house than their annoying neighbor’s, more followers, more respect, the right person to fill that emotional void.

Their pursuit and subsequent obsession for this one thing is what carries the plot of the story and erodes the character’s pristine life into a dumpster fire of regret.

Finally, like all good storytelling, the tragic hero needs conflict . Specifically, internal conflict that has them battling themselves as they hurtle forward along their damaging path. Consider Shakespeare’s Macbeth (whom we’ll look at in more detail below): he doesn’t really want to stab anybody to death, but wouldn’t life just be so much better if he was king? Plus, it’s clearly Lady M who wears the pants in that relationship.

Internal conflict helps elicit sympathy in the reader, because we can see the path the character could have taken. This makes their downfall even more tragic.

Elements of the tragic hero’s journey

The Greek philosopher Aristotle—a dude who knew a thing or two about the foundations of narrative—coined what he called the “pillars of tragedy”: elements that every tragic hero’s journey should have. These terms are useful to know when it comes to understanding the structure of a tragedy (and impressing your friends).

Hamartia is the traditional term for the hero’s fatal flaw or weakness. The word means “to err,” or “to miss the mark.” This is a characteristic or personality trait inherent in the protagonist which, when left unchecked, grows until it takes over the protagonist’s life completely.

Peripeteia means “reversal of fortune.” It’s the moment in a story when things start going downhill— fast . Although the hero hasn’t yet been completely overtaken by their fatal flaw, the reader will have a sense that the main character is starting to lose control of their carefully curated life.

Anagnorisis

Anagnorisis is a word that means “recognition,” and it’s usually the climax of the hero’s tragic arc. It’s when the main character is confronted by the reality of how spectacularly they screwed up, and are forced to acknowledge that they really only have themselves to blame.

Catharsis is a term that refers to the reader or audience’s experience with the tragic hero’s story. It’s the emotional release, or cleansing, that comes from watching the hero’s downfall. This emotional release encourages the reader to reflect on the experience and the relationship they might have to this weakness in their own lives.

Examples of tragic heroes from literature and film

Let’s look at how these traits play out in some popular examples of tragic heroes.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Macbeth (or The Thane, if you’re an actor ) is one of literature’s most famous tragic heroes. He’s basically a decent bloke, except for his relentless ambition. When Macbeth hears a prophecy from a trio of witches promising that he’ll one day be king, he decides to take matters into his own hands (with some encouragement from his steely-eyed wife).

Despite his success, Macbeth doesn’t have the heart of a murderer, and his guilt and grief weigh him down. Once he achieves power, however, he becomes desperate to hold onto it. His increasing ambition and subsequent paranoia ultimately lead to his undoing.

Don Draper from Mad Men

Mad Men is a television series that follows a toxic ad agency in the 1960s, and its suave, polished protagonist Don Draper may be the maddest of all. Early in the show it’s revealed that “Don Draper” is actually a stolen identity, and the man’s entire life is a façade. The fatal flaw of this modern tragic hero is his pride, and through that pride, a need to control everything and everyone around him.

Naturally, this fist-clenching approach to life does more harm than good; it eventually pushes away his friends, family, and professional relationships. By the end of the show’s seven-season run, his actions towards others have led to a nervous breakdown and complete isolation from everyone who used to believe in him.

Oedipus from Oedipus Rex

This iconic Greek tragedy by Sophocles is one of the most formative plays of all time, and we can see echoes of its themes and structure in Shakespeare’s work as well as in contemporary literature. Th title character Oedipus is a respected king who, like Macbeth, is waylaid by a perplexing prophecy: he’s fated to kill his father and marry his mother.

As one would expect, his parents aren’t thrilled with this, so they abandon their baby to the wild elements. Except of course Oedipus does grow up, never knowing who his real parents were, and you can probably imagine how swimmingly that goes.

Oedipus’s fatal flaw is his hubris: he believes himself to be above the constraints of destiny (and, thereby, above the gods). When he learns of the prophecy, he spends the rest of the play trying to outrun his fate—which, because this is ancient Greece, is exactly what sets his fate into motion.

How to write your own tragic hero

Ready to develop your own tragic hero (or tragic heroine)? Here are the essential character-building steps to take as you explore your story.

Develop your hero’s ordinary world

First, you need to develop your tragic hero’s everyday life—specifically, what they have to lose. This means their relationships, accomplishments, social network, and so forth.

Remember, your protagonist should begin from a place of relative nobility to those around them so that the reader has a sense of how far they have to fall. In order for your hero’s arc to be truly tragic, there needs to be a clear and dramatic decline in fortune. Show your reader what your hero is most proud of before you take it all away.

Isolate your hero’s tragic flaw

Your protagonist is probably a reasonably upstanding dude(ette)… except?! What’s the one weakness they’ve never quite been able to overcome? What makes them feel unsatisfied with their current state of being?

Ambition, paranoia, cowardice, casual cruelty, avarice, excessive pride, self righteousness, and internalized prejudice are all potential fatal flaws (or hamartia ) that might prove to be your hero’s undoing.

Determine what they’re fighting for

Once you know what your hero’s tragic flaw is, determine what this flaw is driving them to do and how they’re using it to fill a perceived void. They might be working towards a promotion, a milestone number of Instagram followers, a relationship with the perfect man or woman, authority over their circumstances, or some other benchmark that will make them believe that they’ve “arrived.”

This pursuit of something they believe will make them happy (even though it probably won’t) is what drives the story’s plot, leads to the hero’s suffering, and ultimately brings about their own destruction.

Lead them to a reversal of fortune

That’s the peripeteia , remember? The hero’s quest is steadily gaining ground, until it suddenly skids dramatically off course. It might start with something small going wrong—a miscalculation, a misunderstanding, a bad review, one bad choice—which then snowballs as the tragic hero responds to the event and starts making things a lot worse.

Now, the hero has to scramble to regain the control they once had as the ground starts to crumble beneath their feet.

Watch them crash and burn

The hardest, yet most satisfying, thing about watching the tragic hero’s life collapse is knowing that their fate was sealed almost from the beginning. Once the protagonist proved that they were unable to rise about their fatal flaw, it was only a matter of time before they lost their grip and descended into a hell of their own making.

This is where the catharsis comes in. The reader or listener is able to learn from the hero’s mistakes and reflect on their own weaknesses and strengths.

In literature, tragic heroes make us think

In an age when hope and positivity is more important than ever, does storytelling still have a place for tragedy? Tragic heroes remain resonant and effective because they teach valuable lessons and help give readers (and writers!) an emotional release. With these tips, you can take readers on their own tragic journey—and then safely close the page once it’s over, no Oedipal eye-gouging required.

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Tragic Hero

Tragic Hero Definition

What is a tragic hero? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

A tragic hero is a type of character in a tragedy , and is usually the protagonist . Tragic heroes typically have heroic traits that earn them the sympathy of the audience, but also have flaws or make mistakes that ultimately lead to their own downfall. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , Romeo is a tragic hero. His reckless passion in love, which makes him a compelling character, also leads directly to the tragedy of his death.

Some additional key details about tragic heroes:

• The idea of the tragic hero was first defined by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle based on his study of Greek drama.
• Despite the term "tragic hero," it's sometimes the case that tragic heroes are not really heroes at all in the typical sense—and in a few cases, antagonists may even be described as tragic heroes.

Tragic Hero Pronunciation

Here's how to pronounce tragic hero: tra -jik hee -roh

The Evolution of the Tragic Hero

Tragic heroes are the key ingredient that make tragedies, well, tragic. That said, the idea of the characteristics that make a tragic hero have changed over time.

Aristotle and the Tragic Hero

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to define a "tragic hero." He believed that a good tragedy must evoke feelings of fear and pity in the audience, since he saw these two emotions as being fundamental to the experience of catharsis (the process of releasing strong or pent-up emotions through art). As Aristotle puts it, when the tragic hero meets his demise, "pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves."

Aristotle strictly defined the characteristics that a tragic hero must have in order to evoke these feelings in an audience. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must:

• Be virtuous: In Aristotle's time, this meant that the character should be a noble. It also meant that the character should be both capable and powerful (i.e. "heroic"), and also feel responsible to the rules of honor and morality that guided Greek culture. These traits make the hero attractive and compelling, and gain the audience's sympathy.
• Be flawed: While being heroic, the character must also have a tragic flaw (also called hamartia ) or more generally be subject to human error, and the flaw must lead to the character's downfall. On the one hand, these flaws make the character "relatable," someone with whom the audience can identify. Just as important, the tragic flaw makes the tragedy more powerful because it means that the source of the tragedy is internal to the character, not merely some outside force. In the most successful tragedies, the tragic hero's flaw is not just a characteristic they have in addition to their heroic qualities, but one that emerges from their heroic qualities—for instance, a righteous quest for justice or truth that leads to terrible conclusions, or hubris (the arrogance that often accompanies greatness). In such cases, it is as if the character is fated to destruction by his or her own nature.
• Suffer a reversal of fortune: The character should suffer a terrible reversal of fortune, from good to bad. Such a reversal does not merely mean a loss of money or status. It means that the work should end with the character dead or in immense suffering, and to a degree that outweighs what it seems like the character deserved.

To sum up: Aristotle defined a tragic hero rather strictly as a man of noble birth with heroic qualities whose fortunes change due to a tragic flaw or mistake (often emerging from the character's own heroic qualities) that ultimately brings about the tragic hero's terrible, excessive downfall.

The Modern Tragic Hero

Over time, the definition of a tragic hero has relaxed considerably. It can now include

• Characters of all genders and class backgrounds. Tragic heroes no longer have to be only nobles, or only men.
• Characters who don't fit the conventional definition of a hero. This might mean that a tragic hero could be regular person who lacks typical heroic qualities, or perhaps even a villainous or or semi-villainous person.

Nevertheless, the essence of a tragic hero in modern times maintains two key aspects from Aristotle's day:

• The tragic hero must have the sympathy of the audience.
• The tragic hero must, despite their best efforts or intentions, come to ruin because of some tragic flaw in their own character.

Tragic Hero, Antihero, and Byronic Hero

There are two terms that are often confused with tragic hero: antihero and Byronic hero.

• Antihero : An antihero is a protagonist who lacks many of the conventional qualities associated with heroes, such as courage, honesty, and integrity, but still has the audience's sympathy. An antihero may do the right thing for the wrong reason. Clint Eastwood's character in the western film, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly , is fundamentally selfish. He digs up graves to look for gold and kills anyone who gets in his way, so he's definitely a bad guy. But as an antihero, he's not completely rotten: he also shows a little sympathy for dying soldiers in the bloody war going on around him, and at the end of the film he acts mercifully in choosing not to kill a man who previously tried to kill him. He does a few good things, but only as long as it suits him—so he's a classic antihero.
• Byronic hero : A Byronic hero is a variant of the antihero. Named after the characters in the poetry of Lord Byron, the Byronic hero is usually a man who is an intelligent, emotionally sensitive, introspective, and cynical character. While Byronic heroes tend to be very charismatic, they're deeply flawed individuals, who might do things that are generally thought of as socially unacceptable because they are at odds with mainstream society. A Byronic hero has his own set of beliefs and will not yield for anyone. While it might not be initially apparent, deep down, the Byronic hero is also quite selfish.

According to the modern conception of a tragic hero, both an antihero and a Byronic hero could also be tragic heroes. But in order for a tragic hero to exist, he or she has to be part of a tragedy with a story that ends in death or ruin. Antiheroes and Byronic heroes can exist in all sorts of different genres, however, not just tragedies. An antihero in an action movie—for instance Deadpool, in the first Deadpool movie—is not a tragic hero because his story ends generally happily. But you could argue that Macbeth is a kind of antihero (or at least an initial hero who over time becomes an antihero), and he is very definitely also a tragic hero.

Tragic Hero Examples

Tragic heroes in drama.

The tragic hero originated in ancient Greek theater, and can still be seen in contemporary tragedies. Even though the definition has expanded since Aristotle first defined the archetype, the tragic hero's defining characteristics have remained—for example, eliciting sympathy from the audience, and bringing about their own downfall.

Oedipus as Tragic Hero in Oedipus Rex

The most common tragic flaw (or hamartia ) for a tragic hero to have is hubris , or excessive pride and self-confidence. Sophocles' tragic play Oedipus Rex contains what is perhaps the most well-known example of Aristotle's definition of the tragic hero—and it's also a good example of hubris. The play centers around King Oedipus, who seeks to rid the city he leads of a terrible plague. At the start of the play, Oedipus is told by a prophet that the only way to banish the plague is to punish the man who killed the previous king, Laius. But the same prophet also reports that Oedipus has murdered his own father and married his mother. Oedipus refuses to believe the second half of the prophecy—the part pertaining to him—but nonetheless sets out to find and punish Laius's murderer. Eventually, Oedipus discovers that Laius had been his father, and that he had, in fact, unwittingly killed him years earlier, and that the fateful event had led directly to him marrying his own mother. Consequently, Oedipus learns that he himself is the cause of the plague, and upon realizing all this he gouges his eyes out in misery (his wife/mother also kills herself).

Oedipus has all the important features of a classical tragic hero. Throughout the drama, he tries to do what is right and just, but because of his tragic flaw (hubris) he believes he can avoid the fate given to him by the prophet, and as a result he brings about his own downfall.

Willy Loman as Tragic Hero in Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller wrote his play Death of a Salesman with the intent of creating a tragedy about a man who was not a noble or powerful man, but rather a regular working person, a salesman.

The protagonist of Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, desperately tries to provide for his family and maintain his pride. Willy has high expectations for himself and for his children. He wants the American Dream, which for him means financial prosperity, happiness, and good social standing. Yet as he ages he finds himself having to struggle to hold onto the traveling salesman job at the company to which he has devoted himself for decades. Meanwhile, the prospects for his sons, Biff and Happy, who seemed in high school to have held such promise, have similarly fizzled. Willy cannot let go of his idea of the American Dream nor his connected belief that he must as an American man be a good provider for his family. Ultimately, this leads him to see himself as more valuable dead than alive, and he commits suicide so his family can get the insurance money.

Willy is a modern tragic hero. He's a good person who means well, but he's also deeply flawed, and his obsession with a certain idea of success, as well as his determination to provide for his family, ultimately lead to his tragic death.

Tragic Heroes in Literature

Tragic heroes appear all over important literary works. With time, Aristotle's strict definition for what makes a tragic hero has changed, but the tragic hero's fundamental ability to elicit sympathy from an audience has remained.

Jay Gatsby as Tragic Hero in The Great Gatsby

The protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , is Jay Gatsby, a young and mysterious millionaire who longs to reunite with a woman whom he loved when he was a young man before leaving to fight in World War I. This woman, Daisy, is married, however, to a man named Tom Buchanan from a wealthy old money family. Gatsby organizes his entire life around regaining Daisy: he makes himself rich (through dubious means), he rents a house directly across a bay from hers, he throws lavish parties in the hopes that she will come. The two finally meet again and do begin an affair, but the affair ends in disaster—with Gatsby taking responsibility for driving a car that Daisy was in fact driving when she accidentally hit and killed Tom's mistress (named Myrtle), Daisy abandoning Gatsby and returning to Tom, and Gatsby getting killed by Myrtle's husband.

Gatsby's downfall is his unrelenting pursuit of a certain ideal—the American Dream—and a specific woman who he thinks fits within this dream. His blind determination makes him unable to see both that Daisy doesn't fit the ideal and that the ideal itself is unachievable. As a result he endangers himself to protect someone who likely wouldn't do the same in return. Gatsby is not a conventional hero (it's strongly implied that he made his money through gambling and other underworld activities), but for the most part his intentions are noble: he seeks love and self-fulfillment, and he doesn't intend to hurt anyone. So, Gatsby would be a modernized version of Aristotle's tragic hero—he still elicits the audience's sympathy—even if he is a slightly more flawed version of the archetype.

Javert as Tragic Hero in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

Javert is a police detective, obsessed with law and order, and Les Misérables' primary antagonist. The novel contains various subplots but for the most part follows a character named Jean Valjean, a good and moral person who cannot escape his past as an ex-convict. (He originally goes to prison for stealing a loaf of bread to help feed his sister's seven children.) After Valjean escapes from prison, he changes his name and ends up leading a moral and prosperous life, becoming well-known for the ways in which he helps the poor.

Javert, known for his absolute respect for authority and the law, spends many years trying to find the escaped convict and return him to prison. After Javert's lifelong pursuit leads him to Valjean, though, Valjean ends up saving Javert's life. Javert, in turn, finds himself unable to arrest the man who showed him such mercy, but also cannot give up his devotion to justice and the law. In despair, he commits suicide. In other words: Javert's strength and righteous morality lead him to his destruction.

While Javert fits the model of a tragic hero in many ways, he's an unconventional tragic hero because he's an antagonist rather than the protagonist of the novel (Valjean is the protagonist). One might then argue that Javert is a "tragic figure" or "tragic character" rather than a "tragic hero" because he's not actually the "hero" of the novel at all. He's a useful example, though, because he shows just how flexible the idea of a "tragic hero" can be, and how writers play with those ideas to create new sorts of characters.

Additional Examples of Tragic Heroes

• Macbeth: In Shakespeare's Macbeth , the main character Macbeth allows his (and his wife's) ambition to push him to murder his king in order to fulfill a prophecy and become king himself. Macbeth commits his murder early in the play, and from then on his actions become bloodier and bloodier, and he becomes more a villain than a hero. Nonetheless, he ends in death, with his wife also dead, and fully realizing the emptiness of his life. Macbeth is a tragic hero, but the play is interesting in that his fatal flaw or mistake occurs relatively early in the play, and the rest of the play shows his decline into tragedy even as he initially seems to get what he seeks (the throne).
• Michael Corleone: The main character of the Godfather films, Michael Corleone can be said to experience a tragic arc over the course of the three Godfather movies. Ambition and family loyalty push him to take over his mafia family when he had originally been molded by his father to instead "go clean." Michael's devotion to his family then leads him to murder his enemies, kills his betraying brother, and indirectly leads to the deaths of essentially all of his loved ones. He dies, alone, thinking of his lost loves , a tragic antihero.
• Okonkwo: In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart , Okonkwo is a man of great strength and will, and these heroic traits make him powerful and wealthy in his tribe. But his devotion to always appearing strong and powerful also lead him to alienate his son, break tribal tradition in a way that leads to his exile from the tribe, and to directly confront white missionaries in a way that ultimately leads him to commit suicide. Okonkwo's devotion to strength and power leads to his own destruction.
• Anakin Skywalker: The three prequel Star Wars movies (episodes I, II, and III) can be seen as an attempt to frame Anakin Skywalker into a tragic hero. Anakin is both powerful in the force and a prophesied "chosen one," but his ambition and desire for order and control lead him to abandon and kill fellow Jedi, inadvertently kill his own wife, and to join the dark side of the force and become a kind of enforcer for the Emperor. Anakin, as Darth Vader, is alone and full of such shame and self-hatred that he can see no other option but to continue on his path of evil. This makes him a tragic hero. Having said all that, some would argue that the first three Star Wars movies aren't well written or well acted enough to truly make Anakin a tragic hero (does Anakin really ever have the audience's sympathy given his bratty whininess?), but it's clear that he was meant to be a tragic hero.

What's the Function of a Tragic Hero in Literature?

Above all, tragic heroes put the tragedy in tragedies—it is the tragic hero's downfall that emotionally engages the audience or reader and invokes their pity and fear. Writers therefore use tragic heroes for many of the same reasons they write tragedies—to illustrate a moral conundrum with depth, emotion, and complexity.

Besides this, tragic heroes serve many functions in the stories in which they appear. Their tragic flaws make them more relatable to an audience, especially as compared to a more conventional hero, who might appear too perfect to actually resemble real people or draw an emotional response from the audience. Aristotle believed that by watching a tragic hero's downfall, an audience would become wiser when making choices in their own lives. Furthermore, tragic heroes can illustrate moral ambiguity, since a seemingly desirable trait (such as innocence or ambition) can suddenly become a character's greatest weakness, bringing about grave misfortune or even death.

Other Helpful Tragic Hero Resources

• The Wikipedia Page for Tragic Hero : A helpful overview that mostly focuses on the history of term.
• The Dictionary Definition of Tragic Hero : A brief and basic definition.
• A one-minute, animated explanation of the tragic hero.
• Is Macbeth a Tragic Hero? This video explains what a tragic hero is, using Macbeth as an example .

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What is a Tragic Hero?

Are you preparing to teach the hero’s journey ? As we all know, the journey doesn’t always go as planned. Enter the tragic hero. Consider this your guide to all things tragic heroes, from unpacking the definition, identifying the telltale characteristics, and discussing the significance of tragic heroes in storytelling.

Tragic Hero Definition

A tragic hero is a central character, typically the protagonist, who, despite their noble traits, characteristics, or choices, is ultimately doomed by a fatal flaw or poor judgment. Therefore, rather than saving the day, tragic heroes face an unfortunate fate. This downfall often leads to some sort of tragedy and, in many cases, their own death. (Whomp whomp.)

The key to a tragic hero’s complex (and appealing) characterization lies in the balance between positive and negative traits. Therefore, instead of being viewed as the hated enemy, they often earn sympathy or compassion from the audience as they navigate the consequences of their dooming flaw(s). The result? A compelling character that hooks the audience into the plotline. The tragic hero is a popular archetype found in everything from ancient dramas to classic literature to modern movies—and everything in between.

Tragic Hero Pronunciation

Tragic hero is a phrase comprised of two two-syllable words and is pronounced like:  TRAH-jik HE-roh

What are the Characteristics of a Tragic Hero?

We can thank the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle for the term “tragic hero.” After a deep analysis of Greek drama, he started to notice certain characteristics in successful and emotionally evocative tragedies. These observations became the foundation for the essential elements and characteristics that define this archetype in literature. These traits contribute to the complexity and depth of the character, as well as their ultimate fate.

According the Aristotle, a classic tragic hero possesses the following characteristics:

1. Possess Noble Qualities

Tragic heroes often show signs of literal and figurative nobility. For starters, many come from privileged backgrounds or hold high social status within the story’s world, raising the stakes of their actions throughout the story and underscoring the significance of their downfall. However, it also refers to the admirable traits such as courage or integrity that these characters possess. Ultimately, the possession of noble qualities enriches the character development of the tragic hero while highlighting the complexities of human nature.

2. Have a Tragic Flaw (Hamartia)

This tragic flaw is a personal trait or characteristic that leads to the character’s eventual downfall. The character’s shortcomings and flaws contrast their noble qualities, heightening the dramatic tension throughout the story and underscoring the tragic irony of the hero’s fate. Common examples of Hamartia include hubris (excessive pride), ambition, greed, and jealousy.

3. Suffer a Reversal of Fortune (Peripeteia)

A sudden reversal of fortune reveals a dramatic shift in the character’s circumstances. Often brought about by their own actions or choices, this change marks the beginning of their downfall and descent into tragic territory.

4. Face a Tough Recognition (Anagnorisis)

This is when the tragic hero realizes (or, as Aristotle would say, experiences anagnorisis). This is a crucial turning point in the narrative when the hero gains insight into their situation, finally recognizing the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, this self-awareness is not enough to reverse their tragic fate.

5. Experience a Tragic Outcome

While this outcome doesn’t have to be death (although a common move in tragedies), it does have to feel unfortunate and tragic in some way. However, the extent of the character’s suffering should exceed their mistake, creating a sense of injustice. 

6. Evoke Catharsis in the Audience

Through witnessing the tragic hero’s struggles and ultimate downfall, the audience experiences a profound emotional release called catharsis. These feelings of pity, sadness, fear, or regret trigger the audience to consider the complexities of the human condition.

The Modern Tragic Hero

While Aristotle’s concept of the tragic hero remains influential to this day, modern interpretations of tragic heroes may differ from those that the ancient Greek philosopher studied. For example, while a classic tragic hero boasts characteristics like noble birth and a singular tragic flaw, modern tragic heroes encompass diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

While the essence of the tragic hero is the same (tragic flaw, reversal of fate, tragic outcome, and catharsis), modern dramas reflect contemporary cultural and social issues. This shift offers insights into the complexities of modern life and moral dilemmas relevant to today’s audiences, making the stories more appealing, compelling, and relatable.

What it’s NOT: Tragic Hero vs. Antihero

Many people get confused between tragic heroes and antihero heroes. However, it’s essential to understand the differences between the two as they represent contrasting character archetypes, and each serves a different purpose in a narrative.

Let’s unpack the differences below:

• Tragic Hero: Despite their flaws, tragic heroes possess classic “heroic” qualities, such as courage, honesty, and integrity. Because of these redeeming traits, such characters can draw a sense of empathy from the audience when they experience their downfall and, ultimately, face their tragic outcome. While their downfall is a result of their own actions or decisions, the audience still feels a sense of sorrow or sympathy.
• Anti-Hero: Anti-heroes lack traditional heroic attributes, defying any of the stereotypes and redeemable qualities we think of when we hear “hero.” In fact, antiheroes may even engage in morally questionable or straight-up villainous behavior. While often cynical and showcases instances of poor judgment or disregard for rules, these characters offer a unique perspective as they challenge the status quo. Oftentimes, these characters underscore critiques of societal norms, values, or institutions, leading the audience to face uncomfortable truths and ethical dilemmas—and saving themselves from being classified as villains. 

Neither tragic heroes nor antiheroes fit the mold of a classic hero. However, they both provide valuable insights into human nature and the complexities of moral decision-making. While they may be two different character archetypes, both have a way of captivating an audience, elevating the sense of drama, and inspiring meaningful reflection around ethics, morals, and identity.

Why Do Writers Use Tragic Heroes in Their Stories?

Tragic heroes are what make tragedies so… tragic. But it’s about more than having readers gasp at the dreadful demise of a (somewhat) redeemable character. Authors use tragic heroes to add depth and complexity to their narratives, opening the doors for exploring profound themes and emotions connected to life and the human experience.

They help create that sense that readers find themselves between a rock and a hard place, feeling bad for a character whose demise is of their own doing. Sounds like a recipe for a compelling narrative if you ask me!

Here is a breakdown of some of the ways a tragic hero contributes to a narrative:

• Explores Human Nature: By portraying characters who possess noble qualities but are ultimately flawed, writers can offer nuanced insights into the human condition, fostering empathy and understanding among the audience.
• Increases Emotional Engagement: Through witnessing the hero’s struggles and ultimate demise, audiences experience a profound emotional and psychological impact, fostering a deeper connection to and reflection on the story and its themes.
• Examines Morality and Fate: By confronting ethical dilemmas and facing the consequences of their actions, tragic heroes lead audiences down a path of reflecting on existential themes and considering questions about morality, free will, and fate.
• Adds Depth and Complexity: The inclusion of a tragic hero adds depth and complexity to the narrative, offering layers of meaning and leaving room for multiple interpretations while creating an enriching experience for readers.
• Creates Universal Relevance: Tragic heroes resonate with audiences because they speak to universal truths about the human condition, no matter when the story was written or takes place. 

Tips for Teaching Tragic Heroes 

• Start with Engaging Examples: Introduce students to classic tragic heroes using engaging excerpts or summaries to pique students’ interest and spark engaging classroom discussions about the characteristics of tragic heroes.
• Analyze Character Traits: Encourage students to analyze the traits of tragic heroes, including their noble qualities, fatal flaws, and moments of recognition. Provide opportunities for close reading and textual analysis, guiding students’ analysis.
• Track the Character’s Journey: Help students stay organized while identifying a tragic hero by paying attention to the protagonist’s journey throughout the story. Have them note any significant changes in fortune or circumstances, signifying a transition from success to adversity.
• Incorporate Multimedia Resources: Engage students with examples of tragic heroes by showing film adaptations of classic texts or watching video clips referencing examples from pop culture. Not only will this help pique student interest, but it will also help provide diverse perspectives on tragic heroes, too.
• Promote Critical Thinking: Dive deeper by posing open-ended questions about character motivations and moral dilemmas. Consider exploring ethical dilemmas and moral ambiguities using pre-reading activities , like anticipation guides or a game of Four Corners.
• Foster Empathy and Reflection: Prompt students to consider the emotional experiences of tragic heroes and the impact of their stories on the audience by facilitating discussions about the story’s themes and the power of storytelling on readers’ emotions.

Examples of Tragic Heroes in Literature

1. hamlet as a tragic hero in shakespeare’s hamlet.

Hamlet is a classic tragic hero, as are many of the protagonists in Shakespeare’s tragedies.  As the prince of Denmark, he holds a position of high social standing and has a lot of potential ahead of him. Of course, this makes his tragic downfall all the more… well, tragic. Hamlet’s fatal flaw is his indecisiveness and procrastination.

Rather than seeking vengeance against his father’s murderer (and Hamlet’s uncle), King Claudius, when the opportunity arises, Hamlet gets caught up in internal conflicts and indecision. (Missed opportunity #1.) A handful of unfortunate deaths and indecisions later, Hamlet eventually manages to kill his father’s murderer, but not until he is on the brink of death himself.

2. Jay Gatsby as a Tragic Hero in The Great Gatsby

Even the Great Gatsby himself isn’t immune to a tragic downfall of his own doing. Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero with the flaw of idealism, a trait that gets in his way of achieving true love and happiness. Thanks to Gatsby’s unwavering belief in the possibility of recreating the past, he is blind to the reality before him.

He fails to see Daisy for who she really is and cannot comprehend that the past is in the past—and cannot be resumed in the present despite his “new money” status. His obsessive pursuit of wealth and status, driven by his desire to win Daisy’s love, ultimately leads to his downfall and, ultimately, his death.

3. John Proctor as a Tragic Hero in The Crucible

John Proctor isn’t an evil-spirited man. Did he succumb to lust? Yes. However, his eventual demise all stems from his fatal flaw of pride. John’s pride is no secret throughout the play. He expresses it to his wife, his mistress (Abigail), and his fellow townspeople. His pride gets the best of him when he is reluctant to confess his sin of adultery–even when it could save his life. Instead of confessing his act of adultery, he tries to focus on Abigail’s poor character.

In the end, he values his integrity and his reputation above all else. As a result, he sticks to his commitment to preserve his good name, ultimately leading to his arrest, conviction, and eventual hanging during the Salem witch trials.

More tragic hero examples from classic and popular literature:

• Peter Pan from J. M. Barrie’s Peter and Wendy : Peter Pan is a tragic hero thanks to his refusal to grow up and accept responsibility. His desire to remain young and carefree leads to his loneliness and keeps him from experiencing (and enjoying) life to the fullest.
• Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise : Before becoming Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker was a boy with the fatal flaws of fear and attachment. Unfortunately, he loses sight of what he was once fighting for (love) and turns to the Dark Side.
• Macbeth from Shakespeare’s Macbeth : Macbeth’s fatal flaw of ambition pushes him to kill others to hasten his position as king. Ironically, the decisions he makes to secure his kingship ultimately lead to his death.
• Romeo Montague from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet : Romeo’s impulsivity leads him to let his emotions control his rash decision-making. Ultimately, these sudden and emotionally driven decisions lead to tragic misunderstandings and death, including his own.

Additional Resources for Teaching Tragic Hero

Help students track the tragic hero’s characterization with this downloadable STEAL chart .

Show students this list of “The 10 Most Tragic Heroes in Movie History”

Darth Vader: Villain or Tragic Hero? Have students decide after reading this article .

Unpack the tragic hero archetype with the following videos:

• Dive into “a host of heroes” with this TED-Ed video  
• Explore the allure of tragedies in storytelling
• Help students understand Hamartia with this video full of modern examples

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The hero's journey: a story structure as old as time, the hero's journey offers a powerful framework for creating quest-based stories emphasizing self-transformation..

Table of Contents

Holding out for a hero to take your story to the next level? 

The Hero’s Journey might be just what you’ve been looking for. Created by Joseph Campbell, this narrative framework packs mythic storytelling into a series of steps across three acts, each representing a crucial phase in a character's transformative journey.

Challenge . Growth . Triumph .

Whether you're penning a novel, screenplay, or video game, The Hero’s Journey is a tried-and-tested blueprint for crafting epic stories that transcend time and culture. Let’s explore the steps together and kickstart your next masterpiece.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a famous template for storytelling, mapping a hero's adventurous quest through trials and tribulations to ultimate transformation. 

What are the Origins of the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey was invented by Campbell in his seminal 1949 work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces , where he introduces the concept of the "monomyth."

A comparative mythologist by trade, Campbell studied myths from cultures around the world and identified a common pattern in their narratives. He proposed that all mythic narratives are variations of a single, universal story, structured around a hero's adventure, trials, and eventual triumph.

His work unveiled the archetypal hero’s path as a mirror to humanity’s commonly shared experiences and aspirations. It was subsequently named one of the All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books by TIME in 2011.

How are the Hero’s and Heroine’s Journeys Different? 

While both the Hero's and Heroine's Journeys share the theme of transformation, they diverge in their focus and execution.

The Hero’s Journey, as outlined by Campbell, emphasizes external challenges and a quest for physical or metaphorical treasures. In contrast, Murdock's Heroine’s Journey, explores internal landscapes, focusing on personal reconciliation, emotional growth, and the path to self-actualization.

In short, heroes seek to conquer the world, while heroines seek to transform their own lives; but…

Twelve Steps of the Hero’s Journey

So influential was Campbell’s monomyth theory that it's been used as the basis for some of the largest franchises of our generation: The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter ...and George Lucas even cited it as a direct influence on Star Wars .

There are, in fact, several variations of the Hero's Journey, which we discuss further below. But for this breakdown, we'll use the twelve-step version outlined by Christopher Vogler in his book, The Writer's Journey (seemingly now out of print, unfortunately).

You probably already know the above stories pretty well so we’ll unpack the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey using Ben Gates’ journey in National Treasure as a case study—because what is more heroic than saving the Declaration of Independence from a bunch of goons?

Ye be warned: Spoilers ahead!

Act One: Departure

Step 1. the ordinary world.

The journey begins with the status quo—business as usual. We meet the hero and are introduced to the Known World they live in. In other words, this is your exposition, the starting stuff that establishes the story to come.

National Treasure begins in media res (preceded only by a short prologue), where we are given key information that introduces us to Ben Gates' world, who he is (a historian from a notorious family), what he does (treasure hunts), and why he's doing it (restoring his family's name).

With the help of his main ally, Riley, and a crew of other treasure hunters backed by a wealthy patron, he finds an 18th-century American ship in the Canadian Arctic, the Charlotte . Here, they find a ship-shaped pipe that presents a new riddle and later doubles as a key—for now, it's just another clue in the search for the lost treasure of the Templars, one that leads them to the Declaration of Independence.

Step 2. The Call to Adventure

The inciting incident takes place and the hero is called to act upon it. While they're still firmly in the Known World, the story kicks off and leaves the hero feeling out of balance. In other words, they are placed at a crossroads.

Ian (the wealthy patron of the Charlotte operation) steals the pipe from Ben and Riley and leaves them stranded. This is a key moment: Ian becomes the villain, Ben has now sufficiently lost his funding for this expedition, and if he decides to pursue the chase, he'll be up against extreme odds.

Step 3. Refusal of the Call

The hero hesitates and instead refuses their call to action. Following the call would mean making a conscious decision to break away from the status quo. Ahead lies danger, risk, and the unknown; but here and now, the hero is still in the safety and comfort of what they know.

Ben debates continuing the hunt for the Templar treasure. Before taking any action, he decides to try and warn the authorities: the FBI, Homeland Security, and the staff of the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence is housed and monitored. Nobody will listen to him, and his family's notoriety doesn't help matters.

Step 4. Meeting the Mentor

The protagonist receives knowledge or motivation from a powerful or influential figure. This is a tactical move on the hero's part—remember that it was only the previous step in which they debated whether or not to jump headfirst into the unknown. By Meeting the Mentor, they can gain new information or insight, and better equip themselves for the journey they might to embark on.

Abigail, an archivist at the National Archives, brushes Ben and Riley off as being crazy, but Ben uses the interaction to his advantage in other ways—to seek out information about how the Declaration of Independence is stored and cared for, as well as what (and more importantly, who) else he might be up against in his own attempt to steal it.

In a key scene, we see him contemplate the entire operation while standing over the glass-encased Declaration of Independence. Finally, he firmly decides to pursue the treasure and stop Ian, uttering the famous line, "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence."

Act Two: Initiation

Step 5. crossing the threshold.

The hero leaves the Known World to face the Unknown World. They are fully committed to the journey, with no way to turn back now. There may be a confrontation of some sort, and the stakes will be raised.

Ben and Riley infiltrate the National Archives during a gala and successfully steal the Declaration of Independence. But wait—it's not so easy. While stealing the Declaration of Independence, Abigail suspects something is up and Ben faces off against Ian.

Then, when trying to escape the building, Ben exits through the gift shop, where an attendant spots the document peeking out of his jacket. He is forced to pay for it, feigning that it's a replica—and because he doesn't have enough cash, he has to use his credit card, so there goes keeping his identity anonymous.

The game is afoot.

Step 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

The hero explores the Unknown World. Now that they have firmly crossed the threshold from the Known World, the hero will face new challenges and possibly meet new enemies. They'll have to call upon their allies, new and old, in order to keep moving forward.

Abigail reluctantly joins the team under the agreement that she'll help handle the Declaration of Independence, given her background in document archiving and restoration. Ben and co. seek the aid of Ben's father, Patrick Gates, whom Ben has a strained relationship with thanks to years of failed treasure hunting that has created a rift between grandfather, father, and son. Finally, they travel around Philadelphia deciphering clues while avoiding both Ian and the FBI.

Step 7. Approach the Innermost Cave

The hero nears the goal of their quest, the reason they crossed the threshold in the first place. Here, they could be making plans, having new revelations, or gaining new skills. To put it in other familiar terms, this step would mark the moment just before the story's climax.

Ben uncovers a pivotal clue—or rather, he finds an essential item—a pair of bifocals with interchangeable lenses made by Benjamin Franklin. It is revealed that by switching through the various lenses, different messages will be revealed on the back of the Declaration of Independence. He's forced to split from Abigail and Riley, but Ben has never been closer to the treasure.

Step 8. The Ordeal

The hero faces a dire situation that changes how they view the world. All threads of the story come together at this pinnacle, the central crisis from which the hero will emerge unscathed or otherwise. The stakes will be at their absolute highest here.

Vogler details that in this stage, the hero will experience a "death," though it need not be literal. In your story, this could signify the end of something and the beginning of another, which could itself be figurative or literal. For example, a certain relationship could come to an end, or it could mean someone "stuck in their ways" opens up to a new perspective.

In National Treasure , The FBI captures Ben and Ian makes off with the Declaration of Independence—all hope feels lost. To add to it, Ian reveals that he's kidnapped Ben's father and threatens to take further action if Ben doesn't help solve the final clues and lead Ian to the treasure.

Ben escapes the FBI with Ian's help, reunites with Abigail and Riley, and leads everyone to an underground structure built below Trinity Church in New York City. Here, they manage to split from Ian once more, sending him on a goose chase to Boston with a false clue, and proceed further into the underground structure.

Though they haven't found the treasure just yet, being this far into the hunt proves to Ben's father, Patrick, that it's real enough. The two men share an emotional moment that validates what their family has been trying to do for generations.

Step 9. Reward

This is it, the moment the hero has been waiting for. They've survived "death," weathered the crisis of The Ordeal, and earned the Reward for which they went on this journey.

Now, free of Ian's clutches and with some light clue-solving, Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Patrick keep progressing through the underground structure and eventually find the Templar's treasure—it's real and more massive than they could have imagined. Everyone revels in their discovery while simultaneously looking for a way back out.

Act Three: Return

Step 10. the road back.

It's time for the journey to head towards its conclusion. The hero begins their return to the Known World and may face unexpected challenges. Whatever happens, the "why" remains paramount here (i.e. why the hero ultimately chose to embark on their journey).

This step marks a final turning point where they'll have to take action or make a decision to keep moving forward and be "reborn" back into the Known World.

Act Three of National Treasure is admittedly quite short. After finding the treasure, Ben and co. emerge from underground to face the FBI once more. Not much of a road to travel back here so much as a tunnel to scale in a crypt.

Step 11. Resurrection

The hero faces their ultimate challenge and emerges victorious, but forever changed. This step often requires a sacrifice of some sort, and having stepped into the role of The Hero™, they must answer to this.

Ben is given an ultimatum— somebody has to go to jail (on account of the whole stealing-the-Declaration-of-Independence thing). But, Ben also found a treasure worth millions of dollars and that has great value to several nations around the world, so that counts for something.

Ultimately, Ben sells Ian out, makes a deal to exonerate his friends and family, and willingly hands the treasure over to the authorities. Remember: he wanted to find the treasure, but his "why" was to restore the Gates family name, so he won regardless.

Step 12. Return With the Elixir

Finally, the hero returns home as a new version of themself, the elixir is shared amongst the people, and the journey is completed full circle.

The elixir, like many other elements of the hero's journey, can be literal or figurative. It can be a tangible thing, such as an actual elixir meant for some specific purpose, or it could be represented by an abstract concept such as hope, wisdom, or love.

Vogler notes that if the Hero's Journey results in a tragedy, the elixir can instead have an effect external to the story—meaning that it could be something meant to affect the audience and/or increase their awareness of the world.

In the final scene of National Treasure , we see Ben and Abigail walking the grounds of a massive estate. Riley pulls up in a fancy sports car and comments on how they could have gotten more money. They all chat about attending a museum exhibit in Cairo (Egypt).

In one scene, we're given a lot of closure: Ben and co. received a hefty payout for finding the treasure, Ben and Abigail are a couple now, and the treasure was rightfully spread to those it benefitted most—in this case, countries who were able to reunite with significant pieces of their history. Everyone's happy, none of them went to jail despite the serious crimes committed, and they're all a whole lot wealthier. Oh, Hollywood.

Variations of the Hero's Journey

Plot structure is important, but you don't need to follow it exactly; and, in fact, your story probably won't. Your version of the Hero's Journey might require more or fewer steps, or you might simply go off the beaten path for a few steps—and that's okay!

What follows are three additional versions of the Hero's Journey, which you may be more familiar with than Vogler's version presented above.

Dan Harmon's Story Circle (or, The Eight-Step Hero's Journey)

Screenwriter Dan Harmon has riffed on the Hero's Journey by creating a more compact version, the Story Circle —and it works especially well for shorter-format stories such as television episodes, which happens to be what Harmon writes.

The Story Circle comprises eight simple steps with a heavy emphasis on the hero's character arc:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort...
• But they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation...
• And adapt to it by facing trials.
• They get what they want...
• But they pay a heavy price for it.
• They return to their familiar situation...
• Having changed.

You may have noticed, but there is a sort of rhythm here. The eight steps work well in four pairs, simplifying the core of the Hero's Journey even further:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort, but they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation and have to adapt via new trials.
• They get what they want, but they pay a price for it.
• They return to their zone of comfort, forever changed.

If you're writing shorter fiction, such as a short story or novella, definitely check out the Story Circle. It's the Hero's Journey minus all the extraneous bells & whistles.

Ten-Step Hero's Journey

The ten-step Hero's Journey is similar to the twelve-step version we presented above. It includes most of the same steps except for Refusal of the Call and Meeting the Mentor, arguing that these steps aren't as essential to include; and, it moves Crossing the Threshold to the end of Act One and Reward to the end of Act Two.

• The Ordinary World
• The Call to Adventure
• Crossing the Threshold
• Tests, Allies, Enemies
• Approach the Innermost Cave
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with Elixir

We've previously written about the ten-step hero's journey in a series of essays separated by act: Act One (with a prologue), Act Two , and Act Three .

Twelve-Step Hero's Journey: Version Two

Again, the second version of the twelve-step hero's journey is very similar to the one above, save for a few changes, including in which story act certain steps appear.

This version skips The Ordinary World exposition and starts right at The Call to Adventure; then, the story ends with two new steps in place of Return With Elixir: The Return and The Freedom to Live.

• The Refusal of the Call
• Meeting the Mentor
• Test, Allies, Enemies
• Approaching the Innermost Cave
• The Resurrection
• The Return*
• The Freedom to Live*

In the final act of this version, there is more of a focus on an internal transformation for the hero. They experience a metamorphosis on their journey back to the Known World, return home changed, and go on to live a new life, uninhibited.

Seventeen-Step Hero's Journey

Finally, the granddaddy of heroic journeys: the seventeen-step Hero's Journey. This version includes a slew of extra steps your hero might face out in the expanse.

• Refusal of the Call
• Supernatural Aid (aka Meeting the Mentor)
• Belly of the Whale*: This added stage marks the hero's immediate descent into danger once they've crossed the threshold.
• Road of Trials (...with Allies, Tests, and Enemies)
• Meeting with the Goddess/God*: In this stage, the hero meets with a new advisor or powerful figure, who equips them with the knowledge or insight needed to keep progressing forward.
• Woman as Temptress (or simply, Temptation)*: Here, the hero is tempted, against their better judgment, to question themselves and their reason for being on the journey. They may feel insecure about something specific or have an exposed weakness that momentarily holds them back.
• Atonement with the Father (or, Catharthis)*: The hero faces their Temptation and moves beyond it, shedding free from all that holds them back.
• Apotheosis (aka The Ordeal)
• The Ultimate Boon (aka the Reward)
• Refusal of the Return*: The hero wonders if they even want to go back to their old life now that they've been forever changed.
• The Magic Flight*: Having decided to return to the Known World, the hero needs to actually find a way back.
• Rescue From Without*: Allies may come to the hero's rescue, helping them escape this bold, new world and return home.
• Crossing of the Return Threshold (aka The Return)
• Master of Two Worlds*: Very closely resembling The Resurrection stage in other variations, this stage signifies that the hero is quite literally a master of two worlds—The Known World and the Unknown World—having conquered each.
• Freedom to Live

Again, we skip the Ordinary World opening here. Additionally, Acts Two and Three look pretty different from what we've seen so far, although, the bones of the Hero's Journey structure remain.

The Eight Hero’s Journey Archetypes

The Hero is, understandably, the cornerstone of the Hero’s Journey, but they’re just one of eight key archetypes that make up this narrative framework.

In The Writer's Journey , Vogler outlined seven of these archetypes, only excluding the Ally, which we've included below. Here’s a breakdown of all eight with examples: 

1. The Hero

As outlined, the Hero is the protagonist who embarks on a transformative quest or journey. The challenges they overcome represent universal human struggles and triumphs. 

Vogler assigned a "primary function" to each archetype—helpful for establishing their role in a story. The Hero's primary function is "to service and sacrifice."

Example: Neo from The Matrix , who evolves from a regular individual into the prophesied savior of humanity.

2. The Mentor

A wise guide offering knowledge, tools, and advice, Mentors help the Hero navigate the journey and discover their potential. Their primary function is "to guide."

Example: Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid imparts not only martial arts skills but invaluable life lessons to Daniel.

3. The Ally

Companions who support the Hero, Allies provide assistance, friendship, and moral support throughout the journey. They may also become a friends-to-lovers romantic partner. 

Not included in Vogler's list is the Ally, though we'd argue they are essential nonetheless. Let's say their primary function is "to aid and support."

Example: Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings , a loyal friend and steadfast supporter of Frodo.

4. The Herald

The Herald acts as a catalyst to initiate the Hero's Journey, often presenting a challenge or calling the hero to adventure. Their primary function is "to warn or challenge."

Example: Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games , whose selection at the Reaping sets Katniss’s journey into motion.

5. The Trickster

A character who brings humor and unpredictability, challenges conventions, and offers alternative perspectives or solutions. Their primary function is "to disrupt."

Example: Loki from Norse mythology exemplifies the trickster, with his cunning and chaotic influence.

6. The Shapeshifter

Ambiguous figures whose allegiance and intentions are uncertain. They may be a friend one moment and a foe the next. Their primary function is "to question and deceive."

Example: Catwoman from the Batman universe often blurs the line between ally and adversary, slinking between both roles with glee.

7. The Guardian

Protectors of important thresholds, Guardians challenge or test the Hero, serving as obstacles to overcome or lessons to be learned. Their primary function is "to test."

Example: The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail literally bellows “None shall pass!”—a quintessential ( but not very effective ) Guardian.

8. The Shadow

Represents the Hero's inner conflict or an antagonist, often embodying the darker aspects of the hero or their opposition. Their primary function is "to destroy."

Example: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender; initially an adversary, his journey parallels the Hero’s path of transformation.

While your story does not have to use all of the archetypes, they can help you develop your characters and visualize how they interact with one another—especially the Hero.

For example, take your hero and place them in the center of a blank worksheet, then write down your other major characters in a circle around them and determine who best fits into which archetype. Who challenges your hero? Who tricks them? Who guides them? And so on...

Stories that Use the Hero’s Journey

Not a fan of saving the Declaration of Independence? Check out these alternative examples of the Hero’s Journey to get inspired: 

• Epic of Gilgamesh : An ancient Mesopotamian epic poem thought to be one of the earliest examples of the Hero’s Journey (and one of the oldest recorded stories).
• The Lion King (1994): Simba's exile and return depict a tale of growth, responsibility, and reclaiming his rightful place as king.
• The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo: Santiago's quest for treasure transforms into a journey of self-discovery and personal enlightenment.
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman: A young girl's adventure in a parallel world teaches her about courage, family, and appreciating her own reality.
• Kung Fu Panda (2008): Po's transformation from a clumsy panda to a skilled warrior perfectly exemplifies the Hero's Journey. Skadoosh!

The Hero's Journey is so generalized that it's ubiquitous. You can plop the plot of just about any quest-style narrative into its framework and say that the story follows the Hero's Journey. Try it out for yourself as an exercise in getting familiar with the method.

Will the Hero's Journey Work For You?

As renowned as it is, the Hero's Journey works best for the kinds of tales that inspired it: mythic stories.

Writers of speculative fiction may gravitate towards this method over others, especially those writing epic fantasy and science fiction (big, bold fantasy quests and grand space operas come to mind).

The stories we tell today are vast and varied, and they stretch far beyond the dealings of deities, saving kingdoms, or acquiring some fabled "elixir." While that may have worked for Gilgamesh a few thousand years ago, it's not always representative of our lived experiences here and now.

If you decide to give the Hero's Journey a go, we encourage you to make it your own! The pieces of your plot don't have to neatly fit into the structure, but you can certainly make a strong start on mapping out your story.

Hero's Journey Campfire Template

The Timeline Module in Campfire offers a versatile canvas to plot out each basic component of your story while featuring nested "notebooks."

Simply double-click on each event card in your timeline to open up a canvas specific to that card. This allows you to look at your plot at the highest level, while also adding as much detail for each plot element as needed!

If you're just hearing about Campfire for the first time, it's free to sign up—forever! Let's plot the most epic of hero's journeys 👇

Lessons From the Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey offers a powerful framework for creating stories centered around growth, adventure, and transformation.

If you want to develop compelling characters, spin out engaging plots, and write books that express themes of valor and courage, consider The Hero’s Journey your blueprint. So stop holding out for a hero, and start writing!

Does your story mirror the Hero's Journey? Let us know in the comments below.

Character Development Tips - How to Create an Impressionable Tragic Hero

Writing a passionate, pivotal, yet painful tragic hero is a handful. There are lines you have to tread very carefully in this character development. Here's a guide to get you started!

Shruthi Nair

Read more posts by this author.

From your classics; Sophocles's Oedipus or Shakespeare's Hamlet, to your modern-day Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby or Bill Finger's Batman. Tragic heroes have populated many impressionable stories that we have read and loved. These admirable, yet ill-fated protagonists are memorable for multiple reasons such as their virtuous demeanor, courage, and the wrenching and untimely circumstances that they get buried deep in before we witness their ruin.

Instead of gratifying us with happy endings, these stories and characters have pulled at our heartstrings for both good and bad reasons, I would say.

Photo by Javier García on Unsplash

The character development process for tragic heroes can be well, tragically daunting, for writers of all calibers. Their multiple tortured layers serve different purposes in your writing, and the need to evoke and tease different emotions from your readers at different points in their journeys would need some time and a lot of brain-juice to flesh out. How do you go about defining and layering such complex characters from start to end?

Read on to pick up some tips and guides as to how you can go about developing these pivotal characters.

What is a Tragic Hero?

Tragic heroes are your courageous, virtuous, literary personas, often protagonists, who are laced with a fatal flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. A crucial error in judgement or decision-making and an unavoidable ill-fated ending characterize a tragic hero's character arc and guide the happenings in a storyline.

Tragic heroes are painted in a flawed light. They are imperfect, and thus relatable to readers and audiences. They are characteristically put through a surmountable amount of suffering and conflict that marks their drastic downfall in terms of their character arc. They experiences a change in fortune, from good to bad, and this downfall can start at any point in their journey. This downfall often comes about because of a pivotal decision that they have to make and their subsequent error in judgement with regards to that decision. What's more tragic than lionheart, warrior-type, hero that makes a error in judgement that causes their ruin?

Tragic heroes, however fortunate or good-willed they are, have an impending doom that they cannot escape and can do little about. This fate can be of emotional, mental or physical turmoil.

Photo by Caleb Lumingkit on Unsplash

How to develop your Tragic Hero

1. choose your hero archetype and give them admirable qualities..

Firstly, make sure that your tragic hero has a distinguishable, characteristic admirable quality, or a combination of some. Some traits you could consider include selflessness, courage, integrity, formidable moral and ethical footing, and physical and mental strength.

2. Develop one or more of these admirable traits as a ‘fatal flaw’.

Next, lace them with an acute flaw that clashes or challenges their formidable qualities. This could even be one of their admirable qualities taken to the extreme or the other end of the spectrum. This ultimately draws your tragic hero to make decisions or choices that lead to their misfortune.

Make this even more tragic, or even pathetic if I may say, is that it comes from an internal conflict instead of being driven by external forces or other characters in your story.

3. Organically build the fatal flaw alongside your tragic hero's journey.

Plot the development or intensity of your tragic hero's flaw alongside and concurrent to their journey in your story. Outlining this flaw to manifest because of something intrinsic to your character is the first step to making it organic and believable. If it is a haywire decision that is made out of the blue and completely out of line in terms of your hero's personality, this may come off a little stark. But if it is built up in a manner that seems highly probable when it comes to him or her, your audience or readers can feed off this tension and feel empathy.

4. Build a stark reversal of fortune.

At the crux of your story, write in a peaking reversal of fortune or circumstance for your tragic hero. This should result in the utmost height of your character's conflict and possible regret. Readers and audience witnessing this heart-wrenching downfall of a tragic hero should feel fear and despair. This build up and dissatisfaction is guaranteed to keep them at the edge of their seats and turning pages.

5. Regret and realization.

Cut the would deeper. Witnessing and experience the gravity of one's choices is one thing, and knowing that you are the sole reason for your own and possibly other people's misery is even more devastating. Your tragic hero circling these thoughts and bringing your readers through this as well will make their fall from grace even more tragic. Anger and disappointment aside, if your readers sympathize with the hero and believe that their suffering outweighs the pivotal mistake they've made, the injustice lingers longer.

Here's a quick summary of what traditionally makes up a tragic hero :

1) Righteous : A tragic hero is traditionally virtuous and principled. They usually hail from a fortunate or high-standing background, making them compelling and aspirational. This implies that they are well put together and of sound decision-making skills. 2) Tortured and suffering : Tragic heroes experience agonizing bad luck or consequences of a choice they make or unavoidable circumstances. This could be external, or an internal conscience conflict that they are weighed down by. 3) Regrettably flawed : They are laced with a shortcoming or flaw that ultimately leads to the fatal destruction of their character. 4) Heightened audience response : The tragic hero's ill-fate paired with the integrally good-natured person that they typically draws empathy, sympathy and fear from audiences and readers. 5) Death or ill-fate : More often than not, tragic heroes meet death as an ultimate consequence, or a fate that is of close or similar gravity.

Photo by Gabriel Bassino on Unsplash

Guiding Questions for the Character Development of a Tragic Hero

If you are having trouble with the character development process of your tragic hero, consider these guiding questions to get started :

• To what degree does this character suffer?
• Is this suffering or torture deserving, warranted, or unfair?
• Was their doom pre-determined?
• What defines this character as virtuous, principled, or righteous?
• What traits are exemplary of their principle?
• What is their fatal and defining flaw and how does it clash with their "hero" status?
• How did they error in judgement?
• How would you define the perimeters of their physical, emotional, mental or spiritual suffering?

Tragic heroes, as literary devices and vehicles of a story, are used to stir feelings of pity, fear, or anguish in readers through the surfacing of their flaws and their subsequent ill-fortuned consequences.

The array of emotions readers are made to feel while travelling alongside a tragic hero is vastly different from other sorts of heroes or protagonists, given the crash that both readers and tragic hero experience. We hope these tips and guiding questions aid you in kick-starting the character development process for your next story or novel.

Happy writing!

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Last updated on Jul 25, 2022

Freytag’s Pyramid: Understand the Shape of Tragic Drama

Freytag’s pyramid is a dramatic structure introduced by German 19th-century writer Gustav Freytag. The pyramid, also known as "Freytag’s triangle", is a straightforward way of organizing a tragic narrative into a beginning, middle, and ending, and is comprised of five distinct parts; introduction, rise, climax, return, and catastrophe.

Read on to discover the acts that make up Freytag’s pyramid, and pay close attention as we apply each to Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman . You’ll be a Freytag expert in no time. 

What is Freytag’s Pyramid?

Freytag was interested in classical Greek tragedy and Shakespearean drama, and devised his pyramid by observing their structural patterns.

Make no mistake: Freytag’s pyramid is not a one-size-fits-all structure. It identifies story elements that are common to classical and Shakespearean tragedies, including a revelation or plot twist that changes everything — resulting in catastrophe for the hero. As a result, the pyramid is less applicable to non-tragic narratives in which the protagonist usually wins out in some way, or when writing more upbeat genres like comedy.

Like the hero’s journey , the three-act structure , and newer models like Dan Harmon’s story circle , Freytag’s five-act framework is simply one of many approaches that writers can use to create a complete and satisfying story for readers.

A note before we dive in: despite the fact that the pyramid was originally based on drama, Freytag’s ideas are ultimately about storytelling, so they can also apply to both fiction and non-fiction writing — books, plays, TV, film, novels, memoirs, and short stories alike.

Want to know what kind of characters populate Freytag's Pyramid? Check out our post on tragic heroes to find out.

The 5 stages of Freytag’s pyramid

Though you may encounter explanations of the pyramid that identify 7 elements, Freytag’s original narrative arc only refers to 5 key acts:

• Introduction. Establish the characters and stakes.
• Rise, or rising action. Things seem to be on the up.
• Climax. The world is turned upside-down.
• Return, or fall. We’re heading for tragedy.
• Catastrophe. The inevitable becomes true.

Let’s break down what each of Freytag’s acts entails, from hopeful beginnings, to fraught middle, to a tragic ending. To demonstrate how every act applies to an actual story, we’ve followed them with a Death of a Salesman example. If you aren’t familiar with this classic play, consider this your spoiler warning (and your trigger warning for mention of suicide)!

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1: Introduction

This beginning act is designed to orient the reader and set the story in motion. It asks and answers the question “where am I?” followed by “what is happening?”. As the reader (or audience), you are brought into a new environment — so the first act needs to establish the circumstances in which the characters find themselves, and introduce readers to the world and the way htings are normally.

Some writers subdivide the first act into the ‘exposition’ and the ‘inciting incident’; these correspond to the first and second questions above.

The exposition provides information about the characters and the relationships between them, the setting of the story , and provides any backstory required to understand the stakes of the plot. Think the introductory scenes of Macbeth , where we are introduced to the key players in the aftermath of a great military victory, and learn about their relationships to one another.

The inciting incident is the first point of deviation from the norm — an event, discovery, or new idea that triggers change. Returning to Macbeth, this would be when the witches share their prophecy with Macbeth, setting him off on a new course of action.

Example: Meet Willy Loman 

The play begins on an evening in 1949 when aged salesman Willy Loman returns to his Brooklyn home. In a conversation with Linda, his wife, it emerges that his once-promising career is failing. Their adult sons, Happy and Biff, are asleep, and the audience witnesses their parents’ anxieties about Biff’s unstable lifestyle.

The inciting incident arrives when Linda suggests that Willy speaks to his boss about his difficulties, to secure a local job that won’t require him to drive far anymore.

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2. Rise, or rising action

The second act of Freytag’s pyramid is an in-between period of rising tension and escalating plot complexity. The events kickstarted by the inciting incident now pick up momentum, as Act 2 reveals what’s at stake for the characters while offering a false promise of hope: a light at the end of the tunnel. The stakes, tension, and hope manifest as suspense , anxiety, or character development .

In Antigone, the rising action is the period where tragic heroine Antigone struggles to secure an honorable burial for her brother, against her uncle’s wishes. Despite hope her sister may help, she is ultimately unwilling, and Antigone’s desperation grows.

If we visualize the introduction as the moment the snowball takes form, the rise is the real snowball effect: the growing, spiraling acceleration towards a climax.

Example: Biff and Happy’s growing concerns

Several minor scenes make up the rising action part of the play, but briefly:

• Biff and Happy discuss their restless disillusionment with their present lives and their father’s increasingly irresponsible night driving.
• Biff and Happy decry their father’s helplessness to their mother, but she defends him, explaining their financial hardships and confessing that Willy has attempted suicide.

In the tragedy model, the climax isn’t the big confrontation at the end — Frodo at Mt Doom, Superman facing off against Lex Luther — but a point of no return. It’s like reaching the top of a rollercoaster — the illusion of control is lost as gravity takes over. It’s a turning point, and it changes everything.

Sometimes, the climax is a highly dramatic event, like Medea killing her children. Other times, it takes the form of an inner realization, like a new awareness of one’s cowardice and a resulting determination to face one’s fears. Afterward, the plot continues to progress, but it does so in light of the climax and its revelations.

In tragedy, the climax is the point where the plot begins to unravel, with everything now taking a turn for the worse.

Example: Willy reaches breaking point

With the knowledge that Willy has suicidal thoughts, the audience understands that, should the family’s bad luck continue, Willy will be tempted by the idea of a life insurance payout rescuing his family.

Tension reaches a new peak when Willy asks his young boss for a job in New York. The boss refuses and fires him, leaving Willy betrayed and angry. From this point onward, the plot spirals out of the characters’ control, leading them downward on their way to catastrophe.

4. Return, or fall

Once the protagonist crosses the point of no return, the plot speeds forward with a growing sense of inevitability. This is tragedy, so the audience always feels a sense of imminent disaster. In the return phase, also known as the reversal, we are presented with moments of tension as in Act 2, but this time tension hits harder, because of everything that has preceded it.

Theatrical director Ivo van Hove, discussing his production of Miller’s A View From the Bridge , used a description that perfectly captured the audience’s transfixed and helpless state in Act 4: “It's as if you see two cars, and they are driving towards each other, and you know what will happen.” In other words, Act 4 is when the inevitability of tragedy becomes all too clear, and the tension becomes unbearable.

Example: The truth revealed

Like Act 2, the return or fall phase of Freytag’s pyramid consists of several scenes of tension. One takes place when the Lomans go out for dinner: Willy confesses that he’s lost his job, and Biff — who has failed to secure a deal his father was optimistic about — tries to relate this news in a painless way. A flashback reveals young Biff discovering his father’s affair, casting their difficult relationship in a new, tragic light. Finally, Biff and Willy clash in a furious argument over Biff’s professional failure.

5 : Catastrophe

Catastrophe takes place when the character is finally brought to their lowest point. Like the climax, catastrophe may take many forms: a character could die, be financially ruined, or lose everyone’s respect. Everything the character has feared from Act 1 comes true. Think Oedipus’ blinding, or Lennie’s death in Of Mice and Men. Whatever the catastrophe is, it’s a forceful conclusion to the build-up of tension, the moment everything comes crashing down.

Though Freytag’s original analysis didn’t discuss denouements , people sometimes treat these as the seventh element of his pyramid. A denouement brings resolution, settling all remaining questions and tidying up loose elements of the narrative. It can also suggest how the story moves onward after tragedy.

Example: The Lomans get the money, but at what cost?

Catastrophe hits Death of a Salesman when Willy intentionally kills himself in a car wreck, allowing his family to claim a $20,000 insurance payout. His death does not come as a surprise, but it still hits hard, forcefully shattering his family’s chances of happiness. In a pattern that recurs in tragedies, the Lomans get what they want, but at a great and irreversible cost.

A denouement takes place at the very end of the play, after Willy’s funeral. The audience finds out what his sons plan to do now, and, amidst her grief, Linda provides an unlikely sense of resolution as she utters, “We’re free…” The denouement makes explicit something we may have realized at the moment of catastrophe: that her husband’s tragic arc is also her own; that she will have to live with the consequences of her actions.

When should writers use Freytag’s pyramid?

If you’re wondering why an author would choose to use Freytag as a model, or are an author yourself considering it, here are three instances when you might wish to choose Freytag’s pyramid as a story structure.

To create empathy in the reader

As a linear dramatic structure, Freytag’s pyramid operates subliminally. You aren’t thinking about act breaks and story beats when you read a novel, but you’re under its structure's spell anyway. A narrative that follows this pyramid’s flow guides the reader towards understanding what’s at stake for the characters. 

You wouldn’t appreciate a climax if you didn't understand its impact on the status quo, just as you wouldn’t even recognize rising action if you didn’t know what was new. You need to understand a character's experiences to empathize with them . This pyramid structure maps the story into a pattern all humans are familiar with: desperately wanting something, only to be denied it.

When telling stories that center around human flaws

If the beating heart of your story is the strengths, weaknesses, and internal conflict of your characters, Freytag’s pyramid is a great framework within which to draw out and examine these elements. The pyramid shows every step of our fatally flawed tragic hero’s journey, from the status quo when their flaws are still (just about) under control, to the point of no return when they finally get the better of them, to their ultimate demise. If you’re writing an intense character study, Freytag is a good roadmap.

For downbeat endings that pack a punch

The beauty of a distinct dramatic structure like Freytag’s pyramid is that the framework is designed to make stories satisfying. When done right, following Freytag’s pyramid when writing means readers will understand the purpose of each scene in relation to where it is in the story (e.g. to escalate the stakes, or push the character towards catastrophe). The tragic endings of stories written with Freytag in mind are substantive and impactful — not just sadness for sadness’ sake.

Now that you're a bona fide Freytag expert, check out the rest of the posts in our guide for more insight into the wonderful world of story structure. 

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Tragedy, the Monomyth, and Stories of Creation/Destruction

This week, we are working to lay important intellectual foundations for our class by introducing the classical theories of Aristotle (on the subject of tragedy) and the recent scholarship of Joseph Campbell (on the “monomyth” and the mythical hero).  To more fully comprehend the theories in question and the first mythical stories on the syllabus – myths of creation and flood/apocalypse stories from the ancient world – I want see how you can tie them together in a very specific way.  You have two options for this exploration.  1)  In the first case, you may apply specific ideas from Aristotle’s theories of tragedy to a specific myth (assigned for Wednesday) of your choosing.  I was particularly thinking that it would be interesting to see how the plot of your chosen tale fits certain “tragic” modes (such as leading toward a “catharsis”), or to consider how the characters fit Aristotle’s ideals – especially of the “tragic hero.”  2)  On the other hand, you might work with and through key ideas from Campbell’s influential scholarship.  If, for example, you would like to explore the notion of a “monomyth,” you might compare/contrast the similarities between several of the creation tales.  Alternately, it might be interesting to think about how a given story depicts the stages of the hero’s journey according to Campbell’s terms (i.e. separation, initiation, return).   For this first Blog post of the semester, it’s all about applied critical thinking – and it will be interesting to see what kinds of intellectual connections you can make by utilizing the ideas of Aristotle or Campbell.

24 thoughts on “ Tragedy, the Monomyth, and Stories of Creation/Destruction ”

Exploring Joseph Campbell’s Key Ideas

I am going to explore the step in The Hero’s Journey, in which the tragic hero encounters his “Supernatural aid.” Before I get into the specifics, the three major steps in The Hero’s Journey are the separation, the initiation, and the return. These steps make the journey interesting, entertaining, and are a chance for the hero in the story to grow. I like to think of these three steps in very general terms, as the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Specifically, I would like to focus on the hero’s encounter with their supernatural aid, which typically occurs in the separation part of the story. The first question that comes to mind is, what exactly the meaning of “supernatural” is? The supernatural aid in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling is Hagrid, who can be considered as a supernatural figure. Hagrid is technically supernatural because he is introduced as a man who is half human, and half giant, but can their be a supernatural aid who is just human? In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell describes a supernatural helper, as “In fairy lore it may be some little fellow of the wood, some wizard, hermit, shepherd, or smith, who appears, to supply the amulets and advice that the hero will require.” (66.2) Campbell explains a supernatural mentor as sometimes being a wizard, hermit, or fellow of the woods. My question is, can there be a supernatural aid that is not necessarily, “supernatural?” After researching this question, I found that there are many examples of supernatural helpers that do not necessarily fit into the category of “above the laws of nature.” For example, in the movie, The Amazing Spiderman, Uncle Ben is Peter Parker’s supernatural aid. Uncle Ben is not a supernatural wizard or fairy, he is a human, but he is still considered Peter Parker’s mentor. As I was exploring Joseph Campbell’s steps in the Hero’s Journey, I found that supernatural aids do not always have to be “supernatural,” they can simply be wiser or older figures in a character’s life.

Works Cited

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library, 2008.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Mentor in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Sep. 2017.

Joseph Campbell’s theory of a “monomyth”, meaning that all stories follow the same basic pattern was at first seen as absurd when he first introduced it to the public. It was especially taken wrong when the monomyth was applied to religion, which clearly rubbed some people wrong. However, when you examine myths with this idea in mind, it is very interesting to see how true it is. One type of myth that nearly all ancient groups have is a creation story. It is very easy to see the monomyth in these stories. Many creation stores, regardless of where in the world they were generated, begin with some form of order emerging from Chaos. In some stories Chaos is seen as an actually living thing, while in other stories, such as China’s story of a giant egg, it is seen as a mixture of two things, Yin and Yang. Next, the world has to be created, and this usually happens with some relation to water. This could be a flood, as it is in Chinese mythology, or it could be that water is a mother figure and the land is her son, which is common in many mythologies. During this process, a High God is usually created, and he creates other gods, which end up having a war in Heaven. A classic example of this is Greek Mythology, where Zeus and his siblings find themselves fighting their father and his Titans. From this there comes the emergence of a king god, in the case of Greek mythology that would be Zeus. This god, along with other gods, depending on the mythology, teaches people lessons on how to survive in their newly created world. One way to visualize this is looking at religion as myth, which some may agree with and some may not. If you look at it this way, the story of Adam and Eve is a classic example of humans learning what they can and cannot do in their new world. Another common theme in creation stories from around the world is that there are usually opposites involved. An obvious example of this is Yin and Yang, the idea that there must be opposites for the world to live in harmony. However, as many ancient mythologies relate to each other in their ideas of a creation story, they also relate to the monomyth in their beliefs on the way the world will end. Most stories involve an apocalyptic situation, often involving a horrific flood or other natural disaster. A common theme of evil prevailing over good is seen in many mythologies, a great example of the monomyth. Often there will be a time of judgement, involving the God interacting with the people to determine their futures’. In all of these stories of creation and destruction, the many common themes are easy to point out. These stories, from all over the world, somehow relate to one another, and are practically the same, but with different names and ideas. They are like one story, the monomyth. It makes you wonder how the stories could be so similar, if many of these ancient peoples could have never interacted with one another. This makes the idea of the monomyth extremely interesting.

Aristotle and Genesis

When applying the concepts of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy to a particular creation myth, one can directly see a parallel to Adam and Eve being tragic heroes in the story of Genesis. As God’s holy creation, they are seen to be blessed and good, pure in a sense, without sin. Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is so that it focuses on one particular serious event, in this case it is the Original Sin of Disobedience created by Adam and Eve which in turn results from their fall from grace and ultimate expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Likewise, the whole creation story of Genesis is unified, it follows one whole pattern. God begins by creating Heaven and Earth and all the creatures to inhabit it, and on the last day he creates man to be the Supreme steward from clay, soon after he creates woman to be his partner. Since they are human, they are not perfect, therefore they have one particular hamartia about them, in this case it is gullibility and disobedience. Eve lets the Serpent trick her into eating the forbidden fruit that God told her not to touch, soon after she convinces Adam to do the same thing. Since they have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge they themselves go from ignorance to knowledge and realize that they are naked, so they go to try and hide themselves from God. This part of the story can most likely be attributed to being a catharsis as one can relate to the amount of fear that is going through Adam and Eve’s body for they know that they have sinned against their creator and there will most certainly be a horrible punishment. When God discovers what has happened and even more so that Adam and Eve lied to him about it. He inflicts a great punishment upon them which one could most definitely say was not deserved. God takes away their immortality, he says they will have to work by the sweat of their brow to survive and childbirth for women will be long and painful, and finally Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden. The story itself goes from a completely warm, good, benevolent state in the beginning to one of despair and damnation in the end, a complete peripity of plot. Humans to this day see their life as being just like Adam and Eve in that they are not perfect, they are just like Adam and Eve because they are descendants of the same sinners, Genesis is the complete mimesis of ordinary human life because it is the model from which humans came from, the exact blueprint for modern human behavior. Sources: The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments ; Translated out of the Original Tongues and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised. American Bible Society, 1986.

A Superhero’s Journey Many superheroes follow the the outline developed by the Hero’s Journey, to an extent. Most heroes never get the ending, or return, outlined in Campbell’s work. The closest a comic book superhero gets to going through the full “Hero’s Journey” is actually what happens before the normal person actually becomes a “Superhero.” In this I will specifically be focusing on Bruce Wayne’s long journey to become the Batman and how it more closely follows the Hero’s Journey than his actual adventures as Batman. Bruce Wayne starts off as a happy young boy with his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, in Gotham City. One day, when Bruce is ten years old, he and his parents go to a movie where his parents are shot and killed in an alleyway. This event is Bruce’s call to action. This event directly leads to Batman’s crusade on crime in his city. At first this led to Bruce giving up and going into a depression until some words from his butler, Alfred, led to Bruce’s re-invigoration. I would also consider Alfred to be the “Supernatural Aid” of Bruce. Although he is not supernatural, similar to what Austyn has pointed out above with Uncle Ben, he is Bruce’s wise mentor. Bruce finally was prepared to do what he has to do to save his city, but he is still only 10 years old and pretty weak. Over the next 10-15 years Bruce trains his mind and body, travelling the world and learning new ways of fighting, meeting new teachers, and overcoming many challenges on his journey until he is finally able to return to Gotham City. Finalizing the journey outlined by Campbell, Bruce has become a changed man and is now ready to become, The Batman. Although his journey as Batman is just beginning, his true “Hero’s Journey” as Bruce Wayne has been completed.

Joseph Campbell is most famous for his work “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. In this piece, Campbell explains that there are several basic stages that almost every hero goes through on their journey. Campbell calls this “the Monomyth”. There are 3 main stages of this journey- separation, initiation, and the return home. These three stages are what make the Hero’s Journey so interesting. For this blog post, I will be addressing the stage in The Hero’s Journey where the tragic hero is met with temptation. This stage of the journey usually takes place in the initiation section. The hero is usually so preoccupied with some kind of selfish pleasure, that they stray from the journey they are meant to fulfill. In older pieces, temptation was depicted as a beautiful woman, tempting a man (our tragic hero) to stray from or even abandoned his quest. This occasionally would lead to the tragic hero’s death if he was to give into the temptation. A well-known example of this kind of temptation is in Homer’s “The Odyssey”. As Odysseus and his men approach the island of Sirens, Odysseus has his men plug their ears with wax, so they cannot be swayed by the Sirens’ song. However, Odysseus himself hears the song and begs his men to untie him, so that he may join the Sirens. If his men had let him go, Odysseus’ journey would have ended quite differently. However, the modern-day view of temptation varies. The temptation a hero may face on their journey may not be a person, but an object, or creature instead. In “Lord of the Rings”, Frodo faces temptation from the Ring all throughout the movie and novel. It constantly reminds him of all the power he could have if he was to wear it. This is a similar situation to the infamous Infinity Gauntlet in marvel comics. Power is a temptation that most find hard to resist. In the classic Disney film, “Aladdin” temptation makes itself known in the form of magic. Once Aladdin realizes he has been giving three wishes, he is tempted several times to make wishes, even though he knows he may need them later on. A final example of temptation in modern-day movies and novels is the temptation of money. Villains, or the “bad guys”, of the story may try and bribe the hero to keep a secret or to complete a certain task. If the hero were to accept the bribe, they would stray from their journey

I chose to explore the key ideas of Joseph Campbell by examining the use of monomyth in a story such as The Hunger Games. It is know that the three most prominent steps of The Hero’s Journey are separation, initiation, and return. In this case, you will find all three steps in this story. Katniss Everdeen’s Call to Adventure occurred when her sister, Prim was drawn as District 12’s participant in the annual Hunger Games. Katniss is infuriated and can’t bear to lose her sister, so she decides to take Prim’s place and volunteer as tribute. Shortly after, Katniss is taken away from her family and friends which leads to the first step: separation. Within time, Katniss leads to the next step: initiation. Katniss goes through initiation when she is sent to the arena where she must not only survive, but keep Peeta, her fellow District 12 tribute alive. The final step of her initiation is when she gains sponsors as she’s fighting in the arena. As she gains these sponsors, she realizes that she is becoming a hero. They have faith in her and are rooting for her to win the games. In the return stage, Peeta and Katniss both survive which is more than anticipated since there can only be one winner of the games. The reason for this is due to Katniss which makes her even more of a hero. They both get to return back to District 12 and live a life full of luxury or so they think? It turns out that they have actually insinuated an issue that is more than they can control, which leads to a sequel of The Hunger Games. Overall, I found it really interested to know that you don’t have to be supernatural to be a hero. There wasn’t a time in The Hunger Games when Katniss had a higher advantage over others based off a supernatural gift. She’s simply a person who was naturally gifted with intelligence, strength, and compassion. That’s what made her a hero.

Joseph Campbell defined a layout for hero stories of separation, initiation, and return. Campbell’s point was that, essentially, all stories are really the same with just twists of details. This cyclic pattern can be seen in nearly any tale if looked for and specifically in works like The Hobbit, Harry Potter, and Moana. A step by step comparison of Campbell’s main “sections” of the Hero’s Journey shows just how similar these stories are, despite their apparent differences, as “monomyths”. Starting with the first step of separation, a very neat division can be seen where the main character crosses the threshold into the unknown. Bilbo Baggins leaves his familiar shire with a troupe of dwarves and a wizard headed for enchanted forests, dragons, and war. Harry Potter quite literally finds himself in another world of wizards, mystery, and danger. Moana sails beyond the reef which hasn’t been crossed in generations by her people to find a demigod and save the world. Each and every one of these characters are flung from their comfort zones into new realities where there is no going back and they must make new allies and enemies. The next phase of the journey is initiation where the heroes face fantastic danger and hardship. Just looking at a few of Bilbo’s myriad adventures shows that he outsmarts Gollum in a game of riddles, outwits elves to save his friends, and steals from a dragon to stop a war. Poor Bilbo had quite the introduction to being a hero, yet he was not the only one. Harry Potter is forced to fight for his friends and his life against the evil wizard Voldemort and hunts him down through a series of clues and hard won knowledge. Moana finds herself shipwrecked, running around in the realm of monsters, and fighting a lava monster all while learning how to become a voyager. These trials not only initiate the main characters into their new lives as heroes, but help them grow as people, changing them forever for their inevitable return. The return is a trip of reluctance and necessity where each character revisits their old world and merges it with who they have become. Bilbo returns well travelled, wizened of the world, rich, a professional burglar, and with a healthy streak of mischief concerning his ring of power. No longer a secluded hobbit, Bilbo remains connected with his friends and keeps up with the world around him now aware of the bigger events at play. With summer break upon him, Harry Potter returns home to find himself given a little more respect from his adoptive family and a newfound confidence thanks to his knowledge that he is a wizard and will always have a place where he belongs in the world of magic. Meanwhile, Moana sails back successfully having saved her island and gained the abilities of a seasoned, courageous voyager. Her tribe behind her, Moana finally steps into her role as chief and leads them off to explore the ocean and the islands that fill it. Now that each story has been broken down into Campbell’s key phases, the cycle of the Hero’s Journey can be seen clearly in all of them. It is almost like they are the same stories. The term “monomyth” does not seem to be so mythical after all once Campbell’s cycle is unveiled.

Tragic Heroes in Children’s Books

Everyone, no matter who they are, has at some point in their lives come into contact with a story that focuses on what Aristotle described as a tragic hero. However, that “contact” might have happened earlier than you had originally thought. But, what classifies a character as a tragic hero? To Aristotle, a tragic hero is, “a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction,”(1) and over all the character should posses certain traits and follow structural plot points such as:

-Noble birth -Hamartia/ Tragic Flaw -Peripeteia/ Downfall by Hamartia -Epiphany/ Realization -Catharsis/ Pity

One character in children’s literature that best fits this description would be The Giving Tree from Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Following down the outlined path, many lines can be drawn connecting the apple tree with symbolism of nobility and virtue. The apple tree has particularly bold symbolic value in Celtic culture, as it “concerns many admirable qualities such as purity, integrity, completeness and generosity”(2). Being associated with characteristics, especially that of integrity which is a synonym for nobility, really helps to highlight the innate nobility that our main character naturally posses. Next is hamartia and peripeteia, which are two traits that are more easily identifiable in the story itself. If you are not familiar with The Giving Tree, it is about an apple tree a boy throughout numerous stages in their lives. As a child, the boy enjoys playing with the tree, climbing her trunk, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. However, as the boy grows older, he spends less time with the tree and tends to visit her only when he wants material items. The tree, in a way, longs for the days when he was a child, repeatedly asking, “Come, Boy, come and climb up my trunk and swing from my branches and eat apples and play in my shade and be happy,” to which the boy repeatedly refuses. In an effort to make him happy, the tree gives away parts of herself, which he can transform into the material items he desires, and at the end, she is nothing but a stump. The tree’s unconditional love for the boy is her hamartia, and her stump state at the end of the book is her peripeteia. Not even that it’s unconditional love, it’s more that the tree loves the boy more than itself, and again her giving nature literally whittles her down to almost nothing. While rereading this story, I almost thought that the tree didn’t have an epiphany or realization to what her actions had done to her, but it turns out she does towards the end when the boy comes to visit her one last time. The apple tree goes on to say, “I wish that I could give you something….but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry….” She has a realization that she gave all of her away to the boy, and even in this moment apologizes to him for not having anything left to give due to again her unconditional love. The catharsis, or our release of strong emotions, then comes from the realization that not only does the tree still have something to offer to the boy, but also that it is not something material, he only desires a place to sit and rest in his old age. While this story may not fit the description to a complete tee, I would still argue the fact that the character of the apple tree fits into Aristotle’s description of a Tragic hero. The Giving Tree flows through the bulleted stages that most tragic heroes follow very closely and aligns with them in some way shape or form. While the ending is more of a happy one, that doesn’t dismiss this story’s inherent sense of tragedy. It’s not that our characters aren’t in a tragic state at the end of the story, but more that they’ve come to terms with it, and ultimately are okay with it.

Sources: 1. https://www.bisd303.org/cms/lib3/WA01001636/Centricity/Domain/593/10th%20english%20Fall/C%20-%20The%20Tragic%20Play/Antigone.Medea/Definition%20of%20Tragic%20Hero.pdf 2. https://www.sunsigns.org/celtic-apple-tree-symbolism-meaning/

Aristotle’s Theory of Tragedies Applied to Oedipus Rex

Ancient philosopher, Aristotle, broke down the plot of a tragedy into three simple parts: reversal, recognition, and suffering. In addition to these three parts, he insisted that every tragedy accomplishes a catharsis. He also defined the “tragic hero” of a great tragedy as a decent man who experiences great misfortune. These concepts can easily be applied to the play, Oedipus Rex. When the city of Thebes is struck by a plague, they turn to their king, Oedipus. He consults the prophet, Tiresias and is told that the cause for the plague is the murder of Oedipus’s predecessor and his wife’s former husband, King Laius. He then tells Oedipus that not only is he the murderer, but he is Laius’s son and he is married to his mother. This point in the story reveals not only the tragic flaw of the tragic hero, but also the reversal of fortune. Oedipus killed his father and has married and procreated with his mother. Although he is in complete denial of this, the audience knows the truth and the initial build of emotions begins that will later lead to the catharsis. The recognition stage of the plot comes soon after when Oedipus discovers he is adopted. This part of the story progression is essential because the tragic hero must discover his or her tragic flaw. The catharsis takes place when the more than deserved suffering occurs as Oedipus blinds himself when he discovers his wife, who is also his mother, had hung herself in grief.

An American mythologist and writer named Joseph Campbell believed every hero goes through three main steps in their journey. The steps include separation, initiation, and return while obtaining some supernatural influence in the beginning of their journeys. However, these steps do not always end the way imagined by the readers. This is preeminently seen in the Creation myth from India, Manu. In the beginning, it starts with separation. This is where an event happens that ultimately makes the protagonist embark on a life-changing journey. While examining the Creation Myth this is seen early on when Manu, an average man, had left for his daily trip of hand washing. Once there he had been approached by a fish (supernatural assistance). This fish urged him for a favor and in return he offered Manu’s life. The fish warned of a flood that would eliminate every creature. After this, the fish had given Manu strict instructions on what he had to do if he wanted to survive the flood. It is important to note the fish is a key detail in correlating Campbell’s ideas, because he insists supernatural aid appears in every myth. Following the three-step plan after separation comes initiation. Initiation is illustrated through the main character having to prove himself by facing his fear, or completing a task. For Manu, the task had been to keep the talking fish in a jar until he could no longer fit, then release it back into the ocean. Upon release, Manu was supposed to obtain a boat and wait for this talking fish. This and only this, would save Manu’s life from the flood destined to come. While this holds true one could also argue the fact that Manu had been doing these tasks to evade his own fears which would have been death. Once the initiation had been completed and the task was completed the last stage in the Hero’s Journey begins, return. Return is conveyed when the Protagonist/hero of the story returns to his once mediocre life. However, the life he is returning to is forever changed by his prior excursion, whether it be physically or mentally. After Manu followed all the supernatural fish’s orders, he resided on his boat. The Earth had been flooded and as he said the fish eventually rescued Manu. Differently from other hero’s journeys, when Manu was finished with his he wasn’t met with a grateful, happy town; rather, he was left the last person alive on Earth. Overall, even though some of the stages are a bit skewed from the original concepts, the Indian creation story does closely follow Campbell’s ideas on hero’s journeys in myths.

The theory of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth is one that i believe is most accurate. Campbell has many steps in his Monomyth theory, but he divided them into three main parts. Separation, initiation, and return make up most of the hero’s story, but many smaller steps follow. One example seen in almost all stories and myths is the role of a woman temptress. The temptation will often take a beautiful female form and can come as good or bad. For example in Star Wars, Princess Leia is a innocent example to Luke of a women temptress. The importance of a temptress is the influence they bring and the possibilities he/she brings. This also can go back in time of the creation period when Eve is said to represent temptation and what the importance of a temptress is. There are many steps in Campbells theory, but temptation is something that humans have been dealing with for ages.

Joseph Campbell is Talks about the three main stages of a hero’s journey in his book “The hero with a thousand faces.” These three stages are Separation, initiation, and return, it’s what almost all hero’s go through during their journey. These stages can be represented in the movie “The Lion King”. In the movie, “The Lion King” Simba goes through separation at a young age. In the beginning of the movie Simba loses his father so that is separation from him. Another way he is separated id from his uncle. They always kept him separated cause his uncle who was named scar was no good. Scar was the one who technically killed Simba’s dad Mufasa. He pushes him off the ledge instead of trying to save him. He also loses separation from his mother because he ends up in the Jungle alone and that’s when the initiation comes in. While he is in the jungle alone he meets some new animals who later become his friends. They Timon and Pumbaa. They give him the confidence that he had deep down inside and never showed. They raised him to be the best he could be. Through the years with them Simba become a strong and confident Lion. The initiation Comes in during the middle of movie when he goes to the pool with Rafiki. Rafiki tells him to look deeper because when he first looks in the pool he saw his reflection. The second time around he saw his father to show who he could be. Then he sees a vision of what he can be and what it looks like if he doesn’t step up like he supposed to. He then realizes what he must do, He must take up responsibilities to set the kingdom start. That leads to the return home. When he come back its not looking so good that’s from his abandonment. At the end, he takes care of his responsibilities and the kingdom returns to its normal state. That’s how he becomes the hero.

Multiple of Aristotle’s ideas of the tragic hero fit the God Vishnu in the story The end of The Kali Age. The Hindu God Vishnu can be described as a tragic hero and more specifically a “great man”. An Ohio University article on Aristotle’s Tragic terms defines a great man as a man who is neither a paragon of virtue and justice nor undergoes the change to misfortune through any real badness or wickedness but because of some mistake. In many stories from India, there was believed to have an Apocalypse at the end of each age, which would create a new one after. During the fourth age, most commonly known as The Kali Age, an apocalypse occurs and Vishnu is able to experience it. Vishnu is defined as a great man because he doesn’t change due to malaise or evil but had to change due to an unfortunate event. Vishnu had to absorb the world while the apocalypse occurred so a new age could start, but he had to be birthed again.

Sources 1. http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/aristotletragedy.html 2. https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/courses/80771.201780/Creation%20%26%20Destruction%20Myths%281%29.pdf

Aristotle’s “tragic hero” ideal can be identified in numerous Greek myths that represent true loss. One such example of this tragic hero is found in India: The End of The Kali Age. Vishnu, the preserver god, has the sole responsibility of protecting the earth and recycling it when he deems necessary. While some may praise him as a “god” I choose to side with Aristotle’s ideology. Aristotle stated that the hero is “neither a villain nor a model of perfection but is basically good and decent.”.Although Vishnu is an idol, I feel as though he is not a hero but rather good and decent as he is simply fulfilling his one “purpose”. As Vishnu “recycles” the earth, the sun is responsible for nourishing earth and its inhabitants by giving it the essentials to thrive. All the same, you rarely see anyone praising the sun for rising up every morning and setting every night because the sun is simply fulfilling its sole “purpose”. Therefore I feel as though Vishnu should not be praised as he is simply good and decent.

Sources: 1) http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/aristotletragedy.html 2) https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/courses/80771.201780/Creation%20%26%20Destruction%20Myths%281%29.pdf

Campbell’s Influential Scholarship: Joseph Campbell, a renound mythological researcher developed stages of a hero’s journey that seem to apply to most (if not all) hero-quests. For instance, in the story of Manu, an Indian myth, the protagonist, Manu, is called away from his ordinary world/everyday life when “It” warns him about a great flood coming. This represents the beginning steps of the “hero’s journey”, “the ordinary world” and “the call to adventure”, as explained by Campbell. As the “The Hero’s Journey” document states, “usually there is a discovery, some event [the flood], or some danger that starts them on the heroic path” (1). The next prescribed step in the hero’s journey is “refusal of the quest”, which is basically that if the hero denies the quest, there will be misfortune but if they accept it, it will aid them, which in “Manu” is when Manu decides to listen to the ghasha’s advice to build a ship and enter it a year later when the flood was predicted to come. Since he accepted the “quest”/advice, it brought him fortune and saved his life, which applies to the step of the mono-myth “accepting the call”. Accordingly, Manu entering the ship would also be apart of the step in the mono-myth of “entering the unknown” due to Manu never doing so before and only entering the ship because of the advice he received from ghasha. Along in this, the ghasha is what Campbell would call a “supernatural aid” as well as an “ally/helper” because the fish is who warned Manu as well as pulled him by the rope of the ship to safety. Also, the “talisman” or “special item that assists the heroes on their quest” (3) would be the ship since it is primarily what completed the quest in saving Manu. In actuality, the “supreme ordeal” or “quest/test” Manu faces is taking the boat down to the sea in exactly a year since the warning from ghasha was given. Since he succeeded in doing so, ghasha made sure he made it to safety and “the tension [from the flood is] relieved” (3). This myth of Manu, however, does not precisely fit Campbell’s monomyth because there is no “journey home” necessarily. Basically, Manu’s journey home is just leaving the ship and his “reward” is being the only creature to survive the vast flood because of the aid from ghasha. On top of this, the myth does not entail if Manu was going to restore his world, so the last “stage” of Campbell’s monomyth does not exactly apply there. All in all, India’s myth of Manu follows the basic stages and common structure seen in a majority of myths/stories, which Campbell called the “monomyth”. Though the myth does not follow the monomyth step by step, it does embody the same elements Joseph Campbell discovered to be seen in most myths. Works cited: https://blackboard.stockton.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1249629-dt-content-rid-4968337_1/xid-4968337_1 & http://mythologyteacher.com/documents/TheHeroJourney.pdf

The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of actions that is found in many stories. Popularized by Joseph Campbell, this template for storytelling is also known as monomyth. Campbell summarized his theory in three large steps; separation, initiation, and return. Now, these aren’t the only steps, but they can be considered the largest pieces in the plot. Separation is the first main piece that can be explained by being the start of the hero’s journey, where they are called into adventure and set out with supernatural assistance. For Dorthy of The Wizard of Oz, she is called into action by the twister that swept her away from Kansas. She must start her journey to return home, with the assistance of the ruby red slippers. Initiation is the next step, where the hero is faced with the main ‘meat’ of the story. This is where they experience trials and tribulations that cause them to emerge as a hero. For Dorthy this was recruiting and helping the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Cowardly Lion, along with defeating the Wicked Witch of the West. In the final step, return, the hero crosses back into the threshold of reality. For Dorthy this was clicking her heels back together and awaking to her Aunt, Uncle, and Professor.

Sources: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/852/The-Wizard-of-Oz/full-synopsis.html http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/hero_journey/hero_journey.htm

Joseph Campbell’s 3 main parts of a hero’s journey is able to relate to any great hero from your favorite novel or movie. In the story, the Hunger Games we are shown Campbell’s key ideas from the Hero’s Journey portrayed in this book. In the beginning we are firstly shown the separation as talked about by Campbell of Katniss leaving District 12 as she sacrifices herself in place of her sister Prim. The separation or departure is something mostly all heros go through in the beginning of their journey. Secondly we are shown the initiation part, which in the hunger games would be katniss going through trials and tests to get her ready and prepared for the ultimate test which is the hunger games. In the hunger games we are shown her true strength as she’s able to stay alive and this is when her true character emerges. She is seen as a hero in her districts eyes and they are all rooting for her. Lastly, her return is just like any other true heros. Her district patiently waited her arrival and celebrated her and peeta, the other boy in her district’s, return. Katniss is a great example of Campbell’s 3 main ideas of a heros journey as she portrays to all of his main points.

Joseph Campbell describes the idea of the “monomyth” as the “hero’s journey.” He outlines the patterns in the works he studies into seventeen stages; but for this blog post we will only be talking about the three main stages. The three main stages of separation, initiation and return can be seen in almost all of today’s books, movies and television show. The most concrete of these is the idea of the “superhero.” When I first read Campbell’s theories, the first example that came to mind was Captain America. In my mind, his story encompasses both Campbell’s idea of a monomyth and Aristotle’s ideas of a tragedy. When we first meet Captain America, he was only Steve Rogers. He was the scrawny kid who wanted to serve his country in the war but because of his health issues, he was denied time and time again. This is until he meets he doctor who proposed an experimental treatment that would allow him to be able to fight in the war like he always wanted. This moment shows the “Call to Adventure,” and the “Supernatural Aid.” Next, he goes through the extremely painful process of becoming the super soldier that the doctor was trying to create, only after becoming the exact thing that the army desired, he was told that it was too dangerous to send him out to the front lines, instead he became a show to sell bonds and boost moral for the soldiers. His dream of serving his country was crushed and he was forced to become a dancing monkey for the masses to “do his part.” These serve as “Crossing the First Threshold.” And, as Aristotle suggested, makes the audience feel pity for him and they want him to reach his goals and succeed. But then, the story shifts, and he hears that a group of soldiers were captured and the army didn’t want to risk losing more soldiers to save those few. Among them was his ally Bucky Barnes. So, he risks it all to save his friend and the other soldier. This kicks off his initiation where his travels around Europe “kicking Nazi butt” with his best friend and the Howling Commandos. Here, the “Road of Trials” is shown. But, then, things take a turn for the worst and Bucky falls to his death. Here, as Aristotle describes, Steve changes from an almost completely good man to one who now shows his fatal flaw, how much he cares. At this point he doesn’t care about the people who get in his way, if the people he cares about are safe. At the end of the movie, he reaches that point where his fatal flaw becomes, literally, fatal. He flies a plane full of nuclear bombs heading for New York into the arctic. He says to his love interest, Peggy Carter, “Right now I’m in the middle of nowhere. If I wait any longer a lot of people are gonna die. Peggy, this is my choice.” It is at this point the audience weeps for the tragic hero who dies for the sake of the lives of others and the loss of what could have been. This was his “Refusal of the Return.” The last few scenes of the movie are when he is found almost 70 years later, alive, still frozen in the ice. This is both the “Return” and that moment of catharsis for the audience. From here his story continues to go through the Hero’s Journey throughout the other movies from the franchise. This film encompasses, in the most classic sense, both the ideas of Joseph Campbell and Aristotle.

Campbell describes that the process of a hero’s journey consisted of three parts. The parts starts with separation, thennitiation, and lastly the return. For a better understanding of this process, I would like to used the story of Harry Potter as an example. In the beginning, Harry Potter was stuck living underneath a tiny cupboard with his aunt and uncle, who would abuse him every chance they get. He then received a letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry asking him to attend. His aunt and uncles was against him going there and he himself did not believe that he could become a wizard. However, a man visited him soon after and brought him to a place called Diagon Alley, where Harry became fascinated to learn the tricks of magic. Hagrid, who guided him through the task of becoming a wizard soon became someone who Harry can depend on. This is where the separation ends and would slide into the initiation. At Hogwart, Harry found out that his parents was killed by Lord Voldemort. He want so much to avenge his parents’ death but he knows he’s too weak to do that alone so he made friends with Ron and Hermione to help him with the quest along the way. Their first quest is to protect the Philosopher’s Stone from Professor Snape. However, something with wrong during the quest and Harry ended up facing Professor Quirrel, who Voldemort has been hosting on, alone. Harry knows he is still not strong enough to fight Voldemort by himself and Voldemort strong power made Harry passed out and brought him to the verge of death. This would be where the initiation ends and the return begin. As result of the encountered, Harry did not died but was brought to the school hospital. He later discovered that he was protected by his parents’ love that was able to save him from Voldemort wrath. Although, Harry may not defeated Voldemort but he knows that by being alive, he would have another chance of meeting Voldemort again in the near future.

I agree with the the connections you made between Campbell’s explanation of a monomyth and the story of Harry Potter completely, but it also made connections with Aristotle’s tragic hero theory. Could Harry Potter be considered a tragic hero? Although he has a happy ending, he endured a lot of suffering and his journey brought him a lot of losses. Would Dobby, Dumbledore, Sirius Black, or Fred Weasley be considered tragic heroes? They all met tragic ends and their downfall was helping Harry Potter.

A monomyth or the hero’s journey is a template of tales that involves a hero who goes on an adventure (separation), and wins a victory during a crisis (initiation), and then comes home transformed (return). Joseph Campbell viewed monomyths as stories all followed by the same basic pattern and plot. Campbell describes 17 stages of the monomyth, but not all monomyths necessarily contain the 17 stages, whereas most are summed into three sections. The first section of the story is separation/departure which is about the separation of the hero from their normal world. For example, in the movie “Finding Nemo,” Nemo is caught by men in a boat and Marlin must embark on a journey across the ocean to get him back. The initiation is the main part of the story. Through daring and battle, the true character emerges. In Finding Nemo, Marlin and Dory come across Bruce who is a shark tempted to eat them, then they get caught in “the belly of the whale,” where it turns out the whale helps them in their journey. Overall, they are able to overcome their risky encounters. After their initiation, the hero returns in triumph to deserved recognition, just like Nemo, Marlin, and Dory safely returned home to their reef after their journey. Although, Finding Nemo is a popular movie, it’s story line still closely follows Joseph Campbells ideas on a hero’s journey.

Native North American Myth: Star Woman and Earth Divers is a creation myth that originated from the Onondagan tribe that explains how the Earth came to be. The myth follows a woman known as, “Star Woman,” who has a child. This child can be considered a tragic hero, but for this to make sense we must view the beings being forced to live on Earth, rather than in the sky as a tragedy. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero possesses a flaw, peripeteia (a disruption of fortune due to the hero’s poor judgement,) experiences anagnorisis (a recognition of one’s error or flaw,) and lastly the hero’s fate involves an excessive amount of suffering.

The flaw of the Star Women as a whole seems to be that when they give birth their husbands die. After the daughter of the Star Woman is married and has a baby her husband falls ill. I inferred from the reading that since her husband did not die that he throws his wife and child from the sky in order to avoid death. This is the event that disrupts the life of the Star Woman’s child. A factor from the myth that differs with Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero is that the Star Woman never recognizes any flaws or mistakes she might possess or might have made. Failing to recognize that birth leads to death she allows her daughter to give birth. Her daughter is murdered by one of her son’s and brings evil into the world. The Star Woman suffers through the loss of her father, the betrayal of her husband, the death of her daughter, and with now being introduced to evil.

Joseph Campbell identifies the Monomyth as a kind of template for many heroic tales in which a main character follows a series of steps to become a “hero”. It goes like so: A hero in an ordinary world is presented with some type of call to adventure in which he or she may or may not initially refuse. They then meet a mentor through whom (or on their own) they then choose to accept this call to adventure. In doing so the main character crosses to the “special world” and steps away from reality. They face tests which they should pass with relative ease, then will face a type of ultimate fear. One of two things can happen; either they pass this test, or die and are resurrected somehow. Then after this, the main character or hero will return to his initial society improved or changed for the better one way or another. This idea can be broken down into three larger steps which are separation, initiation and return. According to Campbell, you can apply this sequence of events known as “The Hero’s Journey” to almost any hero tale. When thinking of this, I tried to draw parallels to stories i already know, and one of my favorite childhood books came to mind; Percy Jackson: Lightning Thief. Percy was initially called into action when he finds out his father is poseidon and that he is in trouble. He must retrieve an item for his father, and so he sets out on his mission. In this call to action, he initially refuses, until he meets a mentor named Chiron which guides him in the direction of heroism. Within the first 3 chapters of the book, the first stage of the hero’s journey is accomplished. Percy faces initiation throughout the main part of the story, where he fights many types of monsters and demons. He faces a lot of smaller tasks, and pass them although they were rough. Then in the end he must face the ultimate task, a greater challenge than all; He ends up fighting Hades and although he doesn’t defeat him per say, he ends up victorious. Percy then is on a mountain full of gods, and his reward is the appreciation of all of the gods; they call kneel to him. He is a hero. He begins his return and makes quite the journey back home. He has to face a gatekeeper in order to pass the threshold from the special world back into the ordinary world. Once he makes it back into the ordinary world, he is a different person. Percy understands many things he did not understand before and sees the world in a completely different light. Aside from just this story, it’s quite interesting to use Campbell’s theories to draw comparisons with different stories and realize just how accurate it is. Joseph Campbell’s theory of monomyth holds true through just about any hero tale.

In this post, I would like to compare Aristotle’s Characteristics for a tragic hero with a character from game of thrones. Aristotle lays down a set of characteristics that nearly every tragic hero must follow. The character must suffer, must be doomed, be noble, and his story should arouse fear and empathy. One such character that meets all the criteria for as tragic hero in George RR Martins Book Series A Song Of Ice And Fire is Rob Stark. Rob Stark is the son of his recently deceased father who was killed in a treacherous act by an evil king. Outraged by this Rob being the noble man that he is takes up arms against the king. This action highlights robs inherent goodness, as he does the right thing and stands up for his family, it also shows how rob suffers much more than he deserves, the Stark family (which Rob belongs to) had never wronged the king or anyone in his service. Over the next year Rob shows his intelligence and prowess for leadership by wining every battle he is in. Sadly, these victories are not enough, leading into another characteristic rob meets. Rob is doomed from the start. Not only does everyone doubt his ability to lead due to his young age, they fear his political inexperience will lead him to tearing apart his hold on the kingdom he fights for. In the end is it not Robs Pride that kills him but a mixture of his Vices and Virtues. It is Robs lust and honor that kills him. Robs mother pledged to marry rob to the daughter of a lord they needed the service of to help win Robs war. Rob however, falls in love with another girl and does the “noble” thing and marries her. This offends the king that Rob had been promised to this leads into another matching characteristic. Rob Stark Now sees his faults and learns that it is not just important to win on the battlefield but also to win over the men under you. Rob trying to recover from this folly arranges to marry his uncle to the girl and a grand marriage is planned. When Rob attends this wedding he is betrayed by the lord he once betrayed and is killed in the process along with all his men and his mother. This microcosm of storytelling that takes place in the entire series show a perfect example of a tragic hero according to Aristotle’s Guidelines of Such a hero.

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• Scriptwriting

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: A Better Screenplay in 17 Steps

• What is a Scene
• What is The Three Act Structure
• What is Story Structure
• What is a Story Beat
• What Is a Plot
• Plot vs Story
• What is a Non-Linear Plot
• What is a Plot Device
• What is Freytag’s Pyramid
• Screenplay Structure Examples
• What is a Story Mountain
• Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey
• What is Save the Cat
• Dan Harmon’s Story Circle
• What is Aristotle’s Poetics
• What is Exposition
• What is an Inciting Incident
• What is Rising Action
• What is the Climax of a Story
• What is the Falling Action
• What is Denouement
• How to Write the First Ten Pages of a Screenplay
• Plot Structure Tools
• The Ultimate Film Beat Sheet
• Secrets to Great Exposition in Screenwriting
• Writing Exposition in Film
• Best Inciting Incident Examples
• Examples of Midpoint In Movies
• Write Your Script For Free

dds are that if you’ve had any interest in writing a script within the past fifty years you’ve heard of the Hero’s Journey. A writer you got drinks with swore by it, a film professor suggested you read about it.  Or you overheard the barista at your local coffee shop talking about how Die Hard is a picture-perfect template for it. But… what is it? I’ll explain all of the Hero’s Journey’s 17 steps and provide examples in the modern canon. Then you can kick writer’s block and get a strong script into the hands of agents and producers.

Watch: The Hero's Journey Explained

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• Call to Action
• Refusal of Call
• Supernatural Aid
• Crossing The Threshold
• Belly of the Whale
• The Road of Trials
• Meeting the Goddess
• Atonement With the Father
• The Ultimate Boon
• Refusal of Return
• Magic Flight
• Rescue from Without
• Crossing the Return Threshold
• Master of Two Worlds
• Freedom to Live

Hero’s Journey Examples

The monomyth featuring three of your favorite franchises!

The hero's journey begins, 1. call to action.

Adventure is calling. Will your hero pick up?

The initial step in the first act of the Hero’s Journey - known as the departure - is the “call to action." The Hero is beckoned to go on a journey. Think Frodo Baggins meeting Gandalf. Or the Owl inviting Harry Potter to Hogwarts. 

If having a tall wizard extend a hand may be a little too on the nose for you, don't worry. This comes in all forms. In   Citizen Kane , the mystery surrounding Charles Foster Kane’s final words is the call to action for the reporter, Jerry Thompson, to get to work.

The Hero Hesitates

2. refusal of call.

Next is the Hero’s “refusal of call.” The Hero initially balks at the idea of leaving their lives. The Shire is beautiful, after all, who wants to embark on a dangerous journey across the world? 

This refusal is typically because of a duty or obligation they have at home. Be it family, or work, it’s something our Hero cares deeply about. But, as pressure mounts, they eventually succumb and decide to leave with the help of “supernatural aid.”

The Hero Receives Assistance

3. supernatural aid.

Once the Hero has committed themselves to embarking on whatever that quest may be (keep in mind, a Hero’s Journey can apply to a modern, emotional story, as well), they receive “supernatural aid.”

Individuals give the Hero information or tools at the start of their journey to help their chances of completing the task. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it definitely wasn’t built alone. Every hero has a set of allies helping them get the job done. From Luke, Han, and Chewie to Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, these teams are iconic and nearly inseparable.

The tools provided come in handy as the Hero begins…

The Hero Commits

4. crossing the threshold.

Now the hero ventures into a new, unfamiliar world where the rules and dangers are unknown. They’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto, and that becomes evidently clear when monkeys start flying. 

This stage often requires a few examples to crystalize the change in environment from familiar to dangerous. The contrast is key to play up how ill-prepared they initially are.

The Hero is Challenged

5. belly of the whale.

Next thing you know, we're in “the belly of the whale.” The first point of real danger in the Hero’s Journey. Taken from the Biblical story of Jonah entering a literal whale’s belly, it’s here that the dangers we’ve been warned about are manifested into tangible characters. Like hungry Orcs with swords.

This is Jonah moments before actually being in the belly of the whale.

Now our Hero must make a decision to continue and, in turn, undergo a personal metamorphosis in the process. 

They will not be the same individual at the end of this tale as they were in the beginning.  This must be made clear while in the belly of the whale, as we enter Initiation, or act two. Which is the longest slice of the Hero’s Journey pie.

This part is filled with the most failure and risk, and ends with the climax. But first, it starts with... 

The Hero is Tested

6. the road of trials.

“Road of trials” is a set of three tests that the Hero must take. Usually they will fail at least one of these tests. This could be a montage. It could also be a series of obstacles leading to a smaller goal in the journey. 

Here is where the Hero learns to use his or her tools and allies while on their way to a...

The Great Advisor

7. meeting the goddess.

At this point in the monomyth, our Hero needs a break to adjust perspective and digest the ways they've changed. It’s here that they meet with an advisor, or a trusted individual, who will help them gain a better insight into the next steps of the journey. Frodo met with Galadriel, an elf who enlightened him with visions of potential futures.

This is Frodo meeting with the goddess

Luke met Leia, and the two formed of a bond of kinship, motivating them to commit more to their cause. This individual doesn’t have to be a woman, but whoever it is our hero will gain something from the wisdom they impart.

But no good deed goes unpunished, and as we reward our Heroes in storytelling, we must also tempt them to failure.

The Hero is Torn

8. temptation.

Much like “road of trials,” “temptation” is a test in the Hero’s Journey. It presents a set of, well… temptations... that our Hero must either overcome or avoid. These temptations pick and pull at the insecurities of the Hero. A microcosm can be found in our own everyday lives with the simple act of getting out of bed.

The temptation to stay in the cozy confines of our comforters (and comfort zones) can be strong and sometimes overwhelming. This must be manifested in our story with some type of a cheap way out. Or an opportunity to throw in the towel. Our Hero must decline and press forward, nobly facing danger.

A Moment of Catharsis

9. atonement with the father.

Once they’ve thrown away their temptations, the Hero enters the “atonement with the father.” This is always an emotional part of the Hero’s Journey. It's a point in the monomyth where our protagonist must confront an aspect of their character from act one that has been slowing them down.

Something that could be fatal to their journey in the coming climactic stages. While this is actuated as a confrontation with a male entity, it doesn’t have to be.

The point here is that the Hero finds within themselves a change from who they were into someone more capable. Harry has to reconcile with the loss of his father figure, Dumbledore. Now take on Voldemort alone, using the lessons he’s learned on the way. Just like Luke...and every other hero ever. This is the emotional climax of the story.

"Tell your sister... you were riiiiiiiiiight..."

Death of the hero, 10. apotheosis.

With a new sense of confidence and clarity we must then make our Hero deal with “apotheosis.” This is the stage of the Hero’s Journey where a greater perspective is achieved. Often embodied by a death of the Hero’s former self; where the old Frodo has died and the new one is born.  

But this is sometimes interpreted as a more “a-ha!” moment — a breakthrough that leads to the narrative’s climax. This, too, can be tied to the death of Dumbledore and Harry’s reconciliation with the loss. This step is usually the final motivator for the Hero, driving the story into...

THe Hero Victorious

11. the ultimate boon.

This monomyth step is the physical climax of the story. This is often considered the MacGuffin of a film — the physical object that drives our Hero’s motivation. But it's a MacGuffin, to use Hitchcock's famous term, because ultimately... it doesn't matter.

In  Pulp Fiction , we never find out what’s in the briefcase, but it’s the briefcase that led them on the wild journey. When we find out what “Rosebud” actually means, it simply forms a lynchpin to help us understand who Charles Foster Kane was. The mission is accomplished and the world can rest easy knowing that it is safe from evil.

The Hero's Journey Home

12. refusal of return.

Upon a successful completion of the Hero’s Journey, and a transformation into a different person, the Hero has a “refusal to return.” The Shire seems so boring now and the last thing Harry wants is to go back to that drawer under the stairs. 

And, oftentimes, the return can be just as dangerous. This is the beginning of the third act of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey (known as the Return) and, while shorter, should still contain conflict. Our next step is an opportunity for that...

The Hero Transported

13. magic flight.

This is the point in the Hero’s Journey where they must get out alive, often requiring the help of individuals they met along the way. Dorothy still has to get back to Kansas, the solution to which may seem like a leap of faith.  

The eagles rescue from without with a magic flight to Frodo and friends

The hero's rescue, 14. rescue from without.

Bringing us to the “rescuers from without” point in the monomyth. Just because Frodo destroyed the one ring to rule them all doesn’t mean he gets a free ride back to the Shire. Remember those giant eagles we met a while back in act two? Well their back just in time!

Homeward Bound

15. crossing the return threshold.

Once the Hero is back home, it’s time to acknowledge their change in character. “Crossing the return threshold” is the stage in the monomyth where the hero has left the chaos of the outer world and return home.

But it's hard to adjust to the old world. Remember that scene where Frodo tried to enjoy a beer back at the shire? Hard to go back to normal when you essentially live with Dark Lord PTSD.

A Triumphant Return

16. master of two worlds.

The hero survived an adventure in the chaos realm, and now survives in the normal order realm. This makes him or her the master of two worlds. Not many people come back and live to tell the tale.  

Frodo and Gandalf wandering off into the sunset post accomplishing their mission

Plus which, throughout the story, they’ve become someone much more capable and resilient than they were in act one. They've learned lessons, and brought what they learned home with them. 

Whatever issues they may have had before embarking on this chaotic tale (often the ones preventing from taking the call to action) now pale in comparison with what they’ve been through.

It’s easier to deal with your annoying cousin, Dudley, after you’ve defeated Voldemort. This, in turn, leads to...

The New Status Quo

17. freedom to live.

In many ways the Hero's Journey is about death and rebirth. The story may manifest as the death of an aspect of character, and the birth of some new way of life. But the metaphor behind any story is one about mortality.

Change is constant. Hero's living through the Hero's Journey are models for us. Models that we can travers the constant change of existence, face our mortality, and continue. In a religious sense, and religions are all part of the monomyth, this is about the eternal spirit. 

Look no farther than the prayer of St. Francis to understand this final step in the Hero's quest. "It is in dying that we are born to eternal life." 

The Hero’s Journey Concludes

Cinematic heroes.

The monomyth is practically ubiquitous in Hollywood. As you’ve read earlier, Harry Potter , Star Wars ,   Lord of the Rings ,  and   Citizen Kane all follow the Hero’s Journey. But, because this concept was built upon the foundations of major mythologies, it's truly a "tale as old as time." 

Because Campbell discovered the Hero's Journey. He didn't make it up. Neither did those older myths. He realized as an anthropologist, that every culture all around the globe had the same story beats in all their myths. 

Sure, some myths, and some movies, use 10 of the 17, or even just 5. But throughout human history, around the world, these story beats keep showing up. In cultures that had nothing to do with one another. 

The Hero's Journey is a concept innate to being human. 

And if remembering these 17 steps may seem a little daunting, fear not. Make sure to check out Dan Harmon's abridged 8-step variation of the Hero's Journey monomyth.  Same structure, just made more digestible.

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle 

Practically speaking, the Hero’s Journey is an excellent tool for structuring an outline in a clear and familiar way. It has the power to make your script much more powerful and emotionally resonant. 

It’s circular, allowing for repeat adventures (which works well if you're learning how to write a TV pilot ) and each aspect drives the hero to the next. From the Goddess, the Hero finds temptation. From reconciling with the father, the Hero is now prepared for the final boon.

Story Circle  •  8 Proven Steps to Better Stories

Using a Hero’s Journey worksheet can help you write a treatment or create a well-structured outline , which is a valuable tool for creating a strong first draft.

By putting in the 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey before building the outline, you can ensure that the writing process will flow smoothly and efficiently. Let us know in the comments how the monomyth has helped you craft a story that escalates with every beat to an exciting climax.  

Up Next: Dan Harmon's Story Circle →

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The Hero’s Journey for Grief: Finding Meaning in a Changed World

By   Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT

Posted: August 22, 2023

In the aftermath of loss, our assumptive world shatters, leaving us to navigate a landscape unrecognizable and fraught with uncertainty. It is through the earnest journey of self-reflection and the courage to rebuild that we may unearth the profound meaning hidden within our grief, forging a path towards more than mere survival, but living more fully and with a deep understanding of ourselves and the nature of love.

The loss of a loved one can send us on an unexpected and painful journey through grief. Here, we may find guidance and structure in a concept known as the Hero's Journey, a framework that has transcended time and culture to become the foundation for many of our most beloved stories.

In this article, I will share how this can help you navigate grief, and offer an example loosely based on my own journey of love, loss, and posttraumatic growth after the death of my stepfather, Tom Clark.

The Hero's Journey: A Universal Narrative

The Hero's Journey, a concept devised by scholar Joseph Campbell, is a narrative pattern found in myths, movies, and literature across different cultures. This universal structure consists of a series of stages that chart the protagonist's transformation through challenges, personal growth, and eventual triumph. From ancient myths like "The Odyssey" to modern blockbusters like "Star Wars," the Hero's Journey has been the backbone of stories that resonate deeply with audiences. Its three main stages are:

• Departure : The protagonist is called to adventure, often resisting before finally embarking on the journey.
• Initiation : A series of trials and personal transformations shape the protagonist, leading to a significant reward or revelation.
• Return : The protagonist returns to the ordinary world, changed and bearing newfound wisdom or abilities.

This pattern's universality can provide a roadmap for those traversing the complex terrain of grief. These themes are so universal that my colleagues and I co-wrote a book called Superhero Grief: The Transformative Power of Loss (Harrington, 2022), illustrating how Marvel and DC characters deal with loss in a way that us human grievers can relate to. In my opinion, we are all superheroes when faced with grief, both strong and vulnerable.

Writing Prompts for The Hero's Journey through Grief

By exploring Emily's story, who lost her father unexpectedly after surgery, we can uncover insights and writing prompts that may guide others through their unique paths of grief. While it can be very effective to write in the first person (I, me, my), I find journaling in an alternative point of view can provide enough space to cultivate more self-compassion for the hero, as well as deeper insights into their actions. For the Hero's Journey, I typically write in the third person (he, she, they). Here I am writing very loosely about myself, using the pseudonym Emily.

• Call to Adventure: Emily's father dies suddenly post-surgery. She inherits his cameras and photographs, the tangible memories of his passion. She also has to empty out the home he is renting, which not only houses his personal items but his business as well. Writing Prompt: Write about the moment the hero's grief journey began. What were the challenges they faced? How did they feel about this event?
• Refusal of the Call: Emily avoids dealing with her father's belongings, especially his cameras, which she wasn't allowed to touch when he was alive. She remembers the complexities of their relationship, loving yet marred by his mental illness. She also felt angry that he didn't take better care of his physical health, and upset that she didn't do more to encourage wellness activities. Writing Prompt: Reflect on the hero's initial resistance or avoidance in facing their grief. What are the complexities that influence their feelings?
• Crossing the Threshold: Emily takes the courageous step of sorting her father's estate, facing memories and unprocessed emotions. Writing Prompt: Journal about the first major step the hero took towards confronting their grief. How did it feel?

Initiation: 

• Trials, Allies, and Enemies: Emily struggles with loneliness and the physical task of managing her father's home. She finds support from friends who understand her complex relationship with her father, and help her with the overwhelming task of organizing and distributing his belongings. Writing Prompt: Identify the hero's supports and challenges in their grief journey. How have they shaped their experience
• Approach to the Inmost Cave: Emily starts exploring her father's photography, connecting with his world and her own pain. Writing Prompt: Explore a connection or activity that deeply resonates with the hero's loss. What emotions does it stir?
• The Ordeal: Emily's visits to her father's grave and the confrontation with his cameras, his mental illness, and their turbulent relationship become her most significant trials. Writing Prompt: Write about the hero's most profound challenge in their grief journey.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword): Emily begins to understand her father's love for photography and sees her growth through her grief. Writing Prompt: Reflect on any personal growth or insights that have emerged for the hero.
• The Road Back: Emily takes up photography, honoring her father and finding a therapeutic outlet. Writing Prompt: Journal about how the hero has incorporated something from their loved one into their healing process.
• Resurrection: Emily's new perspective allows her to engage in activities she loves, transforming her pain into creativity and compassion. Writing Prompt: Describe how the hero's perspectives or activities have transformed.
• Return with the Elixir: Emily becomes a peer support for other grievers, using her father's camera as a tool to help others explore their emotions and find healing. By capturing moments that reflect grief's multifaceted nature, she turns her personal triumph into a communal experience, offering solace and encouragement to those on a similar path. Writing Prompt: Reflect on how the hero's grief journey has changed them and what wisdom they might share with others, including any tools or activities that have become part of their healing process.

The Power of Reviewing Your Story of Love and Loss

Emily's journey, coupled with the understanding of the Hero's Journey as a timeless narrative framework, offers a compelling example of how this structure can be applied to the grieving process. Whether you're navigating the loss of a loved one or seeking to understand the universal patterns of human experience, the Hero's Journey provides a guiding light. By following Emily's story and engaging with the provided prompts, readers may find direction, empathy, and a sense of connection to a narrative that echoes across cultures and generations.

By integrating her father's camera into her new role, Emily's story vividly illustrates how the grief process can lead not only to personal growth but also to the ability to support and uplift others. Her transformation through the Hero's Journey serves as an inspiring example of how pain can turn into purpose, and how a personal object or hobby can evolve into a profound means of connecting and healing. Her path demonstrates the potential for creativity and compassion that resides in each of us, waiting to be discovered and nurtured.

Everyone Is The Hero of Their Own Story

Grief is a journey that we all must face at some point in our lives. Through the lens of the Hero's Journey, we can find a common language and structure that helps us navigate this complex and deeply personal process. By connecting with these universal themes, we can see ourselves not just as mourners but as heroes, capable of strength, resilience, and transformation.

I hope this framework inspires you to revisit your struggles and victories through the eyes of a compassionate narrator, who understands that grief is hard, and you are doing your best. 

If you enjoyed this process, consider joining me in Awaken, my online grief support group where I lead weekly classes that include meditation and journaling to help you be your own hero. 

Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT

About the author

Heather Stang, M.A. is the author of Living with Grief and the guided journal, From Grief To Peace . She is the creator of the Mindfulness & Grief System that is featured in the Handbook of Grief Therapies (2023) and is the founder of Awaken, a mindfulness-based online grief support group . Heather also hosts the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, and offers mindfulness-based grief support online through her organization, the Mindfulness & Grief Institute. She holds a Masters degree in Thanatology (Death, Dying, and Bereavement) from Hood College in Maryland, and is a certified Yoga Therapist. She currently lives in Falling Waters, WV.

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