Essays on Joseph Campbell

Introduction

Campbell states that there are twelve stages of the heroes journey they are; The ordinary world - something occurs in the heroes life that causes stress. The approach - the hero and allies prepare for the challenge. The call to adventure - something occurs within the heart of the hero that starts them on their journey to leadership. The ordeal - the hero confronts, death, fears, anxieties, where something is learned (Campbell). Refusal of the call - the hero now aware of his / her call, feels anxiety about it, unprepared, unworthy etc. The reward - the hero fights ...

Introduction

Part 1: A Summary about the Movie, Pans Labyrinth Pans Labyrinth is a Mexican-Spanish dark fantasy movie that is attributed to Guillermo Del Toro as the author and director. The movie was released in 2006 before being distributed and produced by Esperanto Films. The plotline is written against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War or during the early Francoist period. The story revolves around an intertwining of the real and the mythical world in which the protagonist, Ofelia interacts with a faun creature in a huge abandoned labyrinth. In the story, Princess Moanna, daughter of the king of the ...

Heroism, which can be always observed in an American movie, depicts persons going beyond their powers, capabilities, and commands to achieve greatness on behalf a community, tribe, or group. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a real person who suffered through hurricane Katrina in many ways. Despite the suffering, he travels the city of New Orleans in his own canoe to rescue people and animals. As fate would have it sometimes, Zeitoun gets arrested and tortured without charges, representation, and a phone call, all because he was suspected as a terrorist. Through his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell narrates the psychological developments in ...

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the great tragedies of English literature, featuring ambitious characters undone by their own lust for power, and the struggle between destiny and choice. Like many stories, Macbeth has many elements of the Joseph Campbellian Hero’s Journey, where a character must come from humble beginnings and follow a certain path to his destiny. Furthermore, Macbeth features one of literature’s greatest temptresses – Lady Macbeth – whose own ambition causes Macbeth himself to make the many tragic mistakes he will make over the course of the play. The supernatural also plays a role in Macbeth, as the three ...

Introduction

In his book, Pathway to Bliss, Joseph Campbell talks about the journey that a hero must go through before he or she can be considered to be a true hero. According to Campbell, a hero’s journey is comprised of 12 stages. These stages test the strength, ability and motivation of the hero/heroine and it is only at the final stage that the hero gets rewarded for his struggle and attains ultimate success.

Question 1

In the movie Invictus, the hero is Nelson Mandela. There are several scenes that depict his heroic journey in this movie. Having just been released from, Nelson Mandela faces ...

The Muses of Greek Mythology

Creative people such as artists, writers and musicians often use phrases such as “I need a visit from my muse” or “my muse was the inspiration for this poem (or other work of art).” The idea and concept of the modern day muse comes from ancient mythology. Greece’s most powerful God, Zeus had many children but nine of his daughters, were unique from the others because they were the muses. Each of the nine daughters possessed unique and divine powers and a love of knowledge. Each sister was beautiful in her own way and all of them were very smart ...