The Hero's Journey In Star Wars: A New Hope

Improved Essays
Campbell remarked Lucas to have perfectly integrated the cycle to Star Wars’ plot. This is not surprising at all, due to the fact that Lucas drew inspiration from the template Campbell created for his film, Star Wars. Table 1 presented below compares the stages of the Hero’s Journey to the events that occurred in the movie, A New Hope.
*(Christopher Vogler’s condensed version of the Hero’s Journey has been used in this paper to view this theory from a more general perspective in contrast to Campbell’s seventeen stages
Table 1: Comparison of the Stages of the Hero’s Journey to the events of Star Wars: A New Hope (Adapted from (Vogler, 2007))
Hero’s Journey Star Wars: A New Hope
Ordinary World Luke lives an uneventful yet safe life farming in
…show more content…
A New Hope’s plot exactly matches all the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey. Moreover, the archetypes or the embodiments of the characters common in every myth that Campbell explains in his theory are also present in the movie. There is a hero (Luke Skywalker), a mentor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), an ally (Han Solo), a herald (R2-D2), a trickster (Chewbacca), a guardian (Uncle Owen), a shapeshifter (Han Solo), and a shadow (Darth Vader) with their respective on-screen equivalents. The mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, has an important role in the growth of the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, to teach him in the ways of the Force. Luke was taught who the Jedi were, and what they could do. One of the iconic skills of the Jedi is the ability to wield a lightsaber. This was a Jedi’s weapon, one that he should not let go of. He should feel and not think, and feel the Force within him to enable him to be nimble in combat. Learning this served as Luke’s first steps into becoming a Jedi Knight. Faced with many challenges and trials in the film, Luke came to overcome them by learning the skills needed to become a Jedi. Pushing him onwards to the road of success was also the envied boon—that envied prize out-of-his-reach in the form of the lovely Princess

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Joseph Campbell, in his book chapter “The Self as Hero,” argues how all heroes go through similar, if not the same, stages on the way to complete their journey. He supports his claim by citing evidence from classic literary tales like “The Princess and the Frog” and “When the Two Came to their Father” and appealing to pathos and logos. Campbell’s purpose is to educate readers on how most hero stories follow the same path and can influence and be influenced by the public, who can learn from the hero 's journey. The author writes in an academic tone for his audience, the readers of “The Self as Hero” and for people who enjoy the arts, heroism, and thrilling stories. In this essay, I will be comparing 3 stories different stories about heroes,…

    • 1912 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On their way to Alderon, Obi-Wan tells Luke about his father’s time as a Jedi. Luke loved hearing about his father and is inspired to be a great Jedi warrior like his father. While Luke is practicing using a lightsaber, he listens to Obi-Wan share his knowledge of the force and how Luke can use the force for good. The advice that Luke is given regarding the force benefits Luke later in the movie when he is working to defeat the Death Star. Without the information about Luke’s father and the force, Luke would not have be capable of saving Princess Leia and destroying the Death…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For this exam I have chosen to talk about hero. When you think of a hero, you think of someone that saves and protects the city and the ones he cares about from evil. Well, in an alcoholic family a hero is somewhat the same but not as much as your typical hero. A hero in an alcoholic family usually plays the role of the oldest child. They are successful inside the family circle and also being successful outside of it too.…

    • 1357 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Hero's Journey

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The term “hero” has been around since the late fourteenth century; however, the term is of an uncertain origin (Etymology, paragraph 2). Based upon controversial etymology beliefs, Webster’s Dictionary defines a ‘hero’ as an individual that is admired for his or her great acts or fine qualities. According to Joseph Campbell, the author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, an individual must go through the cycle of the hero 's journey. The life of a real life hero is reflected by the epic literary example “The Hero’s Journey” that is exhibited in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces; therefore, a hero in today’s world must undergo the same twelve stages that are listed in “The Hero’s Journey.” The hero’s journey is known for telling…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In literature, similarities between characters and themes in separate works can commonly be seen. People refer to these commonalities as archetypes. Joseph Campbell created a step by step path that mapped the path of nearly all hero archetypes. Guy Montag’s experience, in Fahrenheit 451, corresponds with the stages of the hero’s journey. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury uses these classic character progressions in order to further the plot and depict how censorship can destroy a society.…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Star Wars IV: A New Hope, Luke follows the hero's journey by establishing allies, learning from a wise mentor, and overcoming the supreme ordeal. In the hero’s journey, the hero establishes many alliances, or associations formed for mutual benefit to help them reach their goal(s).…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Hero's Journey

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A myth is a story that holds some kind of significance in a culture, a story that addresses fundamental and difficult questions that we as human beings ask: who or what am I, where did I come from, why am I here, how should I live, what is the right thing to do, what is the universe, how did it all begin? Myths are stories that are told about great men and great women; about the forces of good and evil; about large and small animals; about natural thing as well creatures like giants, gods and other supernatural beings. The complete study of all these stories theire respective elements is called mythology. Now when people hear the term mythology they automatically think of the Greek version, more specifically their gods such as Zeus the top-god,…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Hero's Journey Summary

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the dream, he saw an angel of the Lord who told him, ‘Joseph! Joseph! Be not afraid to take Mary as your wife because the child she is carrying is the Son of God.’ Joseph immediately got up out of bed and he thought of the dream. He decided to marry Mary.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Realistic and Fictional heroes have portrayed the literary standard of what a hero is supposed to be. Each genre shares great comparison to one another describing the characteristics of a hero. They each share positive characteristics that provide an interpretation of strength and intelligence but also share negative characteristics such as a dwelling past or a sickness that they could not overcome. Even with these great comparisons, realistic and conventional hero's personality and journey towards heroic power differ. The stories of The Odyssey and Jake Olsen provide an example of how heroic stories could differ.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Hero's Journey

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages

    King Arthur and Spiderman are two fictitious characters that are both similar, and dissimilar to each other. In an excerpt from Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he writes about monomyth, which is a twelve step process that is divided into four sections. This represents a continuous cycle that the character in the story must go through in order to complete their journey. King Arthur and Spiderman follow the cycle of the Heroes Journey by events in their lives made parallel to the cycle of the Heroes Journey. King Arthur and Spiderman, although from two different ends of the spectrum, are actually alike, both coming from epic tales of struggles and triumph.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For centuries, stories of brave heroes and heroines who overcome great evils to selflessly protect others have captured the hearts of many. A number of such stories can actually be found to possess parallel structures to each other. The 12 Stages of The Hero’s Journey is a form of structure commonly found in Romance Narratives and was introduced in Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth from his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Campbell shows that many journeys, either literal or metaphorical, follow a similar structure. The hero starts in an ordinary, known world but is called to adventure and passes through into an extraordinary, unknown world where he faces challenges, acquires friends and mentors, and ultimately overcomes a central ordeal.…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The thought of the empire hurting more of his family makes Luke furious. He surrenders to his fear and anger as he feels the need to protect his family. In the end, Luke surrenders to the emperor to save his father. Luke has realized that fighting the emperor and Vader is only giving them what they want. Using his fear and anger is what will turn him to the dark side.…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    But they always proceed with a sense that they are commencing a new life, one that will be forever different because of the road just traveled.” Luke returns to his new home; the rebel base with his friends to celebrate their victory over the empire and the gift he brings back with him to the people of the rebel alliance is the gift of freedom from the tyranny of the empire as well as not suffering…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Luke hates his ordinary world and wants to become a pilot and leave for the academy with the rest of his friends. But his family needs him to stay, and…

    • 1937 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Historically heroes and their tales have been around for centuries and revolved around certain cultures all around the world. The surroundings around these heroes change throughout each story, but the heroes themselves are all the same. The hero usually doesn’t decide to be a hero; he is usually chosen to become one by a great force. They usually all have a same basic plot story as well, they have to go on a journey and make great sacrifices along the way and along they plot of these stories he has to overcome these obstacles. Examples of these great heroes are Odysseus traveling back home after the Trojan War and Joseph ruling the people from Egypt out of a famine.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays