The Hero’s
Journey
The Steps of the Hero’s Journey
pattern as outlined by Joseph
Campbell
Stage One: The Departure
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The Call to Adventure
The Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
Crossing the First Threshold
Entering the Belly of the Whale
The Call to Adventure
Luke Skywalker finds the
hologram of Princess Leia.
Harry Potter receives letters
inviting him to Hogwarts.
Dorothy is told to find a
place where she won’t
get into any trouble. She
sings about going over
the rainbow.
The Refusal of the Call
Jonah runs
away after God
told him to go to
Nineveh.
Harry’s Uncle Vernon refuses
to let Harry read his letters.
Bilbo Baggins informs Gandalf
that he doesn’t want to go on any
adventures.
Supernatural Aid
Hagrid arrives to find out why
Harry hasn’t answered his letters.
Dorothy meets a
“Fortune Teller” who
insists that she go home
to her family.
God sends a
storm as
punishment
against the ship
in which Jonah
is attempting to
escape.
Crossing the First Threshold
Marty McFly gets the Delorean up to 88 mph
and travels back in time.
Percy Jackson enters Camp HalfBlood, but his mother cannot cross
the threshold.
Indiana Jones picks up the trail
where his father was last seen and
breaks through the floor to find the
tomb of Sir Richard.
Entering the Belly of the Whale
Jonah is swallowed by a
large fish and must repent
before being released.
A young Indiana Jones falls into
a boxcar filled with snakes,
which forces him to move
forward in an attempt to escape.
Dorothy
finds herself
in the Land
of Oz and
must go to
the Emerald
City to find a
way home.
Stage Two: The Initiation
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The Road of Trials
Meeting with the God/Goddess
Facing the Tempter
Companions on the Journey
Atonement with the Father
The Apotheosis
Receiving the Ultimate Boon
The Road of Trials
Hercules must
complete
twelve labors
to atone for
the sin of
killing his
family.
Dorothy must travel the Yellow
Brick Road to the Emerald City.
Greg Mortenson and his crew of workers
from the village of Korphe in Pakistan
must carry the lumber to build their
school when the trucks are unable to get
through with the supplies.
Meeting the God/Goddess
Luke
Skywalker
learns the
wisdom of the
Jedi from
Yoda.
Korphe village chief Haji Ali teaches
Greg Mortenson about the life of the
Pakistani and helps him to
assimilate.
Harry Potter relies on Dumbledore to
guide him through his trials at Hogwarts.
Facing the Tempter
Luke
Skywalker
must resist
Darth
Vader’s
frequent
attempts
to lure him
to The
Dark Side.
Marty McFly constantly runs into his
nemesis, Biff Tanner, throughout his
travels through time.
The Wicked Witch of
the West tries to foil
Dorothy’s attempts
to get home.
Companions on the Journey
The Lion, the
Tin Man, and
the Scarecrow
all sought the
same things
that Dorothy
needed to find
in herself.
Luke Skywalker could count of
Chewbacca and Han Solo to get
him out of a jam.
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley traveled
the same road as Harry Potter throughout
their time at Hogwarts.
Atonement with the Father
Harry is able
to see his
parents and
make peace
with his past
through the
Mirror of
Erised.
Indiana Jones realizes that he
might lose his father forever and
does what he needs to do in order
to save him.
Dorothy finally admits how badly she
wishes to be back home with her family.
Apotheosis
Harry must defeat Voldemort in
each of the adventure novels.
Greg Mortenson’s completed Korphe
school.
The Grail Knight tells Indiana Jones that
he must “choose wisely” in order to claim
the Holy Grail and save his father.
Receiving the Ultimate Boon
Arthur
draws
Excalibur
from the
stone and
becomes
King of all
England.
In “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull”,
Indy learns that he has a son only after
the two have survived several adventures.
After rising
to the Green
Knight’s
challenge,
Gawain is
permitted to
keep the
magical
Green
Girdle.
Stage Three: The Return
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The Refusal of the Return
The Magic Flight
Help From Without
Crossing the Return Threshold
The Master of Two Worlds
Freedom to Live
The Refusal of the Return
Harry hates having to return to the
Dursleys at the end of each school year.
Even after Indiana warns Elsa Schneider
that the Grail cannot cross the Great
Seal, she decides to try to take it anyway.
Dorothy hesitates when she says good-bye to
the Scarecrow, telling him that she will miss
him most of all.
The Magic Flight
Neo “jacks
in” to the
Matrix to
fight the
agents.
Luke Skywalker escapes the Death
Star in the Millennium Falcon.
Dorothy attempts to ride in the balloon
with the “Wizard” of Oz, but when she
jumps out to catch a runaway Toto, the
balloon leaves without her.
Help From Without
Henry Jones, Sr. tells Indy to let the
Grail go in order to save his son.
Glinda
returns to
tell
Dorothy
how to use
her ruby
slippers.
Luke Skywalker hears Obi
Wan Kenobi's encouragement
in his head: “Use the Force,
Luke!” as he tries to escape
the Death Star.
Crossing the Return Threshold
Dorothy
clicks her
heels
together
three times
and says,
“There’s no
place like
home…”
When the clock tower is struck by
lightning, Doc Brown sends 1.21
gigawatts of electricity into the flux
capacitor, sending Marty back to the
future.
The Goonies escape from the Pirate
Cave minutes before the wall
collapses, freeing the long-hidden
pirate ship.
The Master of Two Worlds
Luke
Skywalker
and Han
Solo are
rewarded at
the Yavin
Ceremony
Dorothy wakes up and remembers
that all of her friends and family
were part of her dream
Bilbo Baggins writes his memoires of his
adventure and entitles them “There, and
Back Again”
Freedom to Live
Jack Sparrow and Will
Turner survive to continue
their adventures
Harry Potter continues
his education at
Hogwarts School of
Magic
Peter Parker turns away
from MJ in order to
protect her from
Spiderman’s enemies
as he continues to fight
crime