Activities and information about Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces"

3.  What are the common aspects of all
superhero stories?
 Hint: Stories about childhood difficulties,
 a physical ailment or weakness, etc..
 List at least 4 characteristics that all
superheroes have in common

4.  Joseph Campbell, a philosopher, wrote a book in
which he described common aspects of all stories
about heroes. His book, The Hero with A Thousand
Faces, inspired George Lucas to write and direct
Star Wars.

5.  There are 17 aspects that depict the life of the
Hero.
 Here are the first five:
 The first set is called the
 Departure: This is the beginning of Hero’s
Journey

6. 1.The Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is the point in a person's life
when they are first given notice that everything is
going to change, whether they know it or not.
a. Think about the Superhero you have chosen.
What was his/her first ‘call to adventure’?

7. 2. Refusal of the Call
Often when the call is given, the future hero
refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of
duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of
inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work
to hold the person in his or her current
circumstances.
a. When did your superhero have his/her ‘refusal
of the call’?

8. 3. Supernatural Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest,
consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and
magical helper appears, or becomes known.
a. What ‘supernatural aid’ does your superhero
receive?

9. 4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses
into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits
of his or her world and venturing into an unknown
and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are
not known.
a. When did your superhero first do his/her heroic
deed? When did they first meet the challenge?

10.  5. The Belly of the Whale (from the story of Jonah
and the Whale)
The belly of the whale represents the final
separation from the hero's known world and self. It
is sometimes described as the person's lowest
point, but it is actually the point when the person is
between or transitioning between worlds and their
new identity. It is the beginning a re-birth..
 a. When did your superhero hit his/her lowest
point? When did he/she finally accept his/her new
identity?

11.  He must go on a journey and learn some
important things which he/or she must bring
back and share with society… He or She
becomes a moral guide…

12.  How do the characters in Star Wars fit the five
aspects of the Hero’s Journey?

14. B Inititiation
1. The Road of Trials
The road of trials is a series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo
to begin the transformation. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which
often occur in threes.
2. A Higher Love
The point in the adventure when the person experiences a love that has the power
and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love.
3. Temptation
At one level, this step is about those temptations that may lead the hero to abandon
or stray from his or her quest, This can take the form of a physical or material
temptations of life that distracts the hero from his/her spiritual journey.
4. Forgiveness and reconciliation
This is the center point of the journey. When the hero returns to his/her spiritual
journey and accepts the will of God or the gods. This often leads to the hero’s
symbolic death. . For the transformation to take place, the person as he or she has
been must be "killed" so that the new self can come into being. Sometime this killing
is literal, and the earthly journey for that character is either over or moves into a
different realm.
5. Apotheosis
To apotheosize is to deify. When someone dies a physical death, or dies to the self to
live in spirit, he or she moves beyond the pairs of opposites to a state of divine
knowledge, love, compassion and bliss. This step is a period of rest, peace and
fulfillment before the hero begins the return.
6. Fulfillment of the Quest
This the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the

15.  Challenges heroes must overcome:
 External:
Natural: storms, terrain, animals, etc…
Man-made: Wars, disputes with friends and family
 Internal:
Fear: doubt, anxiety, lack of faith
Pride: Hubris, placing one’s self at the center, placing
one’s self higher than the spiritual realm and all others in the
society
 Spiritual: (This can be both external and internal):
Relationship to the gods (or God)
Encounters with evil: This often takes the form of
monsters and villains and various physical and material
temptations.
Which of these challenges have been present in the life of the
hero you have chosen?

16. A. Return
1. Refusal of the Return
So why, when all has been achieved, and we have conversed with the gods.
Why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes?
2. The Magic Flight
Sometimes the hero must escape with the treasure that the gods have been
jealously guarding. It can be just as adventurous and dangerous returning
from the journey as it was to go on it.
3. Rescue from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistants to set out on the quest, often
times he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring them back to
everyday life, especially if the person has been wounded or weakened by the
experience.

17. 4. The Return
The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, and then
figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually
extremely difficult.
5. Freedom to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to
live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating
the future nor regretting the past.
Think of the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’… What happens to the Hobbits upon their
return? How have they changed and what new wisdom do they share with the
Shire?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMdXhfO-Wk

18.  Begin reading the first book of The Odyssey.
 Start research project on Greek mythology: