Many study myths by studying the different methods used by each writer. Joseph Campbell, however, instead of contrasting the methods studies how they compare them as being the same. This method of study led to the system named the heros journey. Both authors use it to plan their plots and individuals use it to direct their lives.
Though this system is a story structure, and a plotting element, it is much more than that. It is a great writing tool, but it is also used as a road map for a self-development journey. Though this is realized in the psychological field as a means of self-development, it is also a great way to use the same development principles to portray a protagonist to help them become real to the reader.
One of the steps for this journey is that of departure. The character, or the individual if it is not a story, is called to depart to the unknown. They leave the comfort of their familiar life and venture out, to a great adventure in the case of the story, or to what to a person is somewhat of an adventure because they are not sure of what the future holds.
In a stage where the hero or individual faces the resulting trials and dangers, the initiation stage, the character faces dangers, monsters and other challenges. Their ability to handle catastrophes is challenged. They don't always succeed, but must still continue on in the endeavor, despite what they face.
The hero comes home during the stage appropriately named return. He is no longer the same person, however. The trials he has endured has changed him into a more mature person. He has achieved a goal, and is now a more mature person. This is the ultimate journey, with the growth and maturation desired of the character.
This system can be related to how the drama of a story unfolds. The thesis corresponds to the departure stage. This is the current world for the protagonist. The antithesis is the catastrophes that the character must face, and the antagonist they face. The synthesis stage is at the end, when they character has or has not set out what he wants, but has matured and is attempting to combine the old world he once knew with the one he now faces.
The stages in this process translates into ten steps as Campbell identified. The steps include the ordinary world, the adventure, crossing the first adventure (the point of no return), the trials and foes faced, rescue by a magical mentor, in the dragon's lair, the moment of despair when all seems lost, the ultimate treasure, homeward journey, and the maturity and home at last.
The steps all fit into the three stages. These can both be seen in a person's personal development strategies, too. Characters can get stuck in a particular step, not maturing but becoming static. This often happens with characters that remain the same in a series, such as a TV series. A person's personal development can also become static, with no maturity happening. Several books by various authors have addressed these issues, but the brief outline here guiding the writing of plot can show the whole process briefly.
Though this system is a story structure, and a plotting element, it is much more than that. It is a great writing tool, but it is also used as a road map for a self-development journey. Though this is realized in the psychological field as a means of self-development, it is also a great way to use the same development principles to portray a protagonist to help them become real to the reader.
One of the steps for this journey is that of departure. The character, or the individual if it is not a story, is called to depart to the unknown. They leave the comfort of their familiar life and venture out, to a great adventure in the case of the story, or to what to a person is somewhat of an adventure because they are not sure of what the future holds.
In a stage where the hero or individual faces the resulting trials and dangers, the initiation stage, the character faces dangers, monsters and other challenges. Their ability to handle catastrophes is challenged. They don't always succeed, but must still continue on in the endeavor, despite what they face.
The hero comes home during the stage appropriately named return. He is no longer the same person, however. The trials he has endured has changed him into a more mature person. He has achieved a goal, and is now a more mature person. This is the ultimate journey, with the growth and maturation desired of the character.
This system can be related to how the drama of a story unfolds. The thesis corresponds to the departure stage. This is the current world for the protagonist. The antithesis is the catastrophes that the character must face, and the antagonist they face. The synthesis stage is at the end, when they character has or has not set out what he wants, but has matured and is attempting to combine the old world he once knew with the one he now faces.
The stages in this process translates into ten steps as Campbell identified. The steps include the ordinary world, the adventure, crossing the first adventure (the point of no return), the trials and foes faced, rescue by a magical mentor, in the dragon's lair, the moment of despair when all seems lost, the ultimate treasure, homeward journey, and the maturity and home at last.
The steps all fit into the three stages. These can both be seen in a person's personal development strategies, too. Characters can get stuck in a particular step, not maturing but becoming static. This often happens with characters that remain the same in a series, such as a TV series. A person's personal development can also become static, with no maturity happening. Several books by various authors have addressed these issues, but the brief outline here guiding the writing of plot can show the whole process briefly.
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