Odyssey Hero's Journey

A hero can be really anyone. It could be the King of Ithaca, Odysseus from The Odyssey or it could be an autistic boy, from Swindon, Christopher Boone, out of the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Their journeys seem very different and are different in some ways, but they both contain common threads that make them also very similar. Most of the hero’s stories have a common pattern which is also known as “The Monomyth.” An archetype was created that states that a hero’s journey starts with departure, then the initiation stage, which then goes on to the hero returning. Each stage has smaller parts, such as the “status quo” in the Departure stage. Every part of the story impacts and shapes the hero in some way while their journeying. The stages don’t always happen in the same order and come in different forms, depending on the story, but they are usually always there. As the hero starts to depart, the reader meets the hero’s supernatural aid. The supernatural aid tends to help get the story rolling. Both Christopher and Odysseus get a supernatural aid. Christopher’s supernatural aid is Siobhan, his teacher. Siobhan’s …show more content…
The Monomyth stages can help an audience stay engaged as they encounter them with the hero. They also define a character’s journey as a “Hero’s Journey.” There’s the supernatural aid, met at initiation, who can posses literal, “fictional” powers or just an ability that seems inhuman. Then onto the temptation, in the bulk of the journey, that almost ends it all. Odysseus must say “no” to two compelling offers and Christopher must conquer his natural instincts. Finally the heroic figure makes it to the returning stage, when they become the “Master of Two Worlds.” At this point both Christopher and Odysseus have gained their own powers or abilities and are ready for whatever comes at them