I don’t believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.–Joseph Campbell
Joseph Campbell, the wonderful autodidactic and master of myth, was born more than a hundred years ago, but he still continues to teach us today.
It was Campbell who pinpointed the experience of ‘The Hero’s Journey,’ the steps a hero/main character/everyday person must complete to become a different, better individual.
The Hero’s Journey can be broken down into three main parts: The Separation, The Initiation, and The Return.
Each of these categories contains numerous steps the hero must pass through in order to successfully complete the voyage. (Here’s an interesting resource that details this topic …show more content…
I’d go so far as to say these expeditions are the entire point of literature, because without them, what would we have? Whether it’s the raging drama of the fierce and proud Odysseus, or Huck and Jim’s floating toward freedom on a long, dark river, or Dolores Price’s modern-day struggle for independence and self-worth, literature is about the journey.
Campbell would say that life itself is about the journey. Why don’t we see it that way? Why are these rites of passages, these dangerous and glorious trials and triumphs, contained within the covers of a book? As tradition and the quest for adventure fades with each passing year, are we losing ourselves?
In Campbell’s view, each person is a character in their own story, living out the adventure of their life. But how many of us feel any sense of adventure?
Life seems often made of drudgery and routine. Everyone says that we have too much stress in our lives, but I think the problem is that we don’t have enough. There are the million little things that add up and drive us crazy, crushing us beneath the build-up and sending us to ulcers and road rage, but what good does this do us? When was the last time we willingly embarked on the stress of a true journey, one that would force us to change and see the world in a new way, one that would destroy old notions and reveal our deepest desires and darkest
Joseph Campbell, the wonderful autodidactic and master of myth, was born more than a hundred years ago, but he still continues to teach us today.
It was Campbell who pinpointed the experience of ‘The Hero’s Journey,’ the steps a hero/main character/everyday person must complete to become a different, better individual.
The Hero’s Journey can be broken down into three main parts: The Separation, The Initiation, and The Return.
Each of these categories contains numerous steps the hero must pass through in order to successfully complete the voyage. (Here’s an interesting resource that details this topic …show more content…
I’d go so far as to say these expeditions are the entire point of literature, because without them, what would we have? Whether it’s the raging drama of the fierce and proud Odysseus, or Huck and Jim’s floating toward freedom on a long, dark river, or Dolores Price’s modern-day struggle for independence and self-worth, literature is about the journey.
Campbell would say that life itself is about the journey. Why don’t we see it that way? Why are these rites of passages, these dangerous and glorious trials and triumphs, contained within the covers of a book? As tradition and the quest for adventure fades with each passing year, are we losing ourselves?
In Campbell’s view, each person is a character in their own story, living out the adventure of their life. But how many of us feel any sense of adventure?
Life seems often made of drudgery and routine. Everyone says that we have too much stress in our lives, but I think the problem is that we don’t have enough. There are the million little things that add up and drive us crazy, crushing us beneath the build-up and sending us to ulcers and road rage, but what good does this do us? When was the last time we willingly embarked on the stress of a true journey, one that would force us to change and see the world in a new way, one that would destroy old notions and reveal our deepest desires and darkest