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Joseph Campbell maps the hero's journey 

By The Conversation, adapted by Newsela staff 

When you tell a story, do you plan it out first so that it will sound good? Do you carefully plot what you

will say, in a certain order? Or does the story seem to tell itself, as if you naturally knew how to tell it?

This is what Joseph Campbell was interested in. Campbell was an American writer who studied people

and myths. As a child, he was inspired by Native American culture. He spent his life comparing myths and

religions from around the world to understand people and why they love stories.

Campbell published many books about his findings. They include "The

Mythic Image" (1974) and "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949).

The Call To Adventure ​Campbell's writing was influenced by many

writers, artists and psychologists. Among them were James Joyce, Pablo
Picasso, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. His work was considered important
in a number of different fields.

In particular, his

book "The Hero

with a Thousand Faces" has inspired many

filmmakers. In this book, Campbell studies

hundreds of fairy tales, folktales and legends.

He finds a common pattern in all of these

stories. Campbell calls this pattern the

“monomyth.” The monomyth is the path a

story usually takes, no matter what society the

story comes from. It is also known as the

“hero’s journey.”

The hero's journey is a way to understand what

happens to the main character in a story. The

journey has three stages, which are separation, initiation and return. It usually includes a symbolic death
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and rebirth of the character. The religious idea of “cleansing” is also important because it shows the

character transforming from old to new.

Campbell summarizes the monomythic character journey like this: A hero leaves the regular world to

enter a region of magic and wonder. There he faces fabulous forces and wins a victory. The hero comes

back from this adventure with the power to help his fellow man.

Within this structure, Campbell says there 17 story stages. They include the Call to Adventure; the Road of

Trials; Magic Flight; and Return. During the journey, the character faces physical and emotional battles.

These struggles help the hero better understand life and his place in the world.

A New Hope For Film

Hollywood filmmaker George Lucas said Campbell's theories influenced his movies. Philosopher John

Shelton Lawrence wrote that Lucas admired Campbell. Lucas felt that movies weren't as mythic as they

were when he was young, Lawrence wrote. Screenwriter Keith Cunningham wrote that Campbell's work

inspired the first blockbuster movies. These were movies with exciting plots based on the hero's journey.

In 1983, Lucas invited Campbell to California to watch his "Star Wars" trilogy. They discussed the

mythical structure of the movies. Their conversation led to the PBS television series, "The Power of Myth"

(1988). In the series, Campbell talks with journalist Bill Moyers. He tells Moyers that humans look for

meaning in stories that will help them move forward in life. For Campbell, the ancient stories of the past

are still important today. This series was eventually published as a book of the same name.

Continues To Inspire

In the early 1990s, writer Christopher Vogler studied Campbell’s work. At the time, Vogler was working in

Hollywood reading screenplays. He saw similarities between the hero’s journey and the screenplays he

was reading. Vogler wrote a book about how Campbell's work was connected to Hollywood movies. The

book is called "The Writer’s Journey." Joseph Campbell died more than 25 years ago, but his work is still

studied today. The next time you tell a story, think about how you're telling it and why. And if you haven’t

read Campbell’s work, try it and see if you think his ideas were right. There's a good chance that your story

is some kind of hero's journey.

Prompt: It can be hard to write a blockbuster movie with an exciting plot. Based on the article,
how does Campbell’s work connect to Hollywood movies? Use specific and relevant textual
evidence as you complete a METAL chart organizing your answer to this prompt.