Summary Of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth Theory

Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer,and lecturer, created a theory called the Monomyth; “The hero is the same, but the costume changes,” is the idea he used to create this. The Monomyth, also known as the cycle of the Hero’s Journey, essentially states that the storyline remains the constant and follows the same 11 stages. An example of the Monomyth theory is Matt Alacran’s journey in House of the Scorpion, in which he goes through all the stages of the Hero’s Journey, including “Birth” and “Home”. “Birth”, the first stage in the cycle, explains that the hero has some kind of supernatural or unusual birth. Matt’s birth was nothing if not unusual, for he “was not born; he was harvested.” (Farmer). He was regenerated from El Patron’s cells, then placed into a cow to be birthed. El Patron had even used his aggrandized power to make sure that Matt’s brain was not destroyed. Matt’s birth was the epitome of unusual and therefore represents Campbell’s description of “Birth” perfectly. …show more content…
Campbell describes “Tests” as a series of often violent conflicts through which the hero is declared victorious. Each test proves the strength -- whether mental or physical-- of the hero. Throughout the book Matt experienced conflicts that define him as a hero and test his ability to survive. One of his earlier conflicts was against El Patron when it was time for Matt to be harvested for organs. Matt came out victorious with the aid of this Helper, Celia. This was a defining moment because no one had ever defied El Patron like Matt and Celia just had. A later conflict was Matt versus the Keepers. The keepers had been maintaining an unfair rule over the Lost Boys until Matt had shown up and disturbed that balance. He had sparked a rebellion and came out triumphant when the Keepers had been arrested for drug smuggling and Matt had escaped the Plankton Factory with Chacho, Fidelito, and