Hero’s Journey essay
Medium Assessment
You are to write a literary essay on your pre-chosen hero’s journey story from the summer list. The length of this essay
must be between 700 – 1000 words.
The question is: Many stories follow the archetype of the hero’s journey, discuss your hero’s journey and how he/she
follows 3 aspects of the archetype hero’s journey to illuminate a theme present within the novel. .
The first thing that YOU MUST DO IS CHOOSE a theme that exists within the novel and then what three aspects of
the hero’s journey you will focus on to support this theme. Keep in mind that all three should not come from the first
few chapter of the novel. Your 3 aspects of the hero’s journey should show an understanding of the novel as a whole
and the progression of your hero and the theme. Everyone in the class can have different aspects of the hero’s journey
that they focused on in their essay. You should have one trial they must overcome.
The Hero’s Journey
 The Call
 Refusal of the Call
 Magical talisman/supernatural aid
 Mentor/Guide
 Companion(s)
 Road of trials
 The Temptation
 Abyss/Nadir
 Success/Redemption/Atonement
 The return home
NEXT CHOOSE A WAY IN WHICH YOU WILL APPROACH THIS QUESTION: 1) Define your argument/thesis
statement, and 2) Find and organize into supporting paragraphs the evidence which will support your argument.
POSSIBLE WAYS TO APPROACH THIS QUESTION:
1.
For example you could focus on the protagonist and discuss his call/refusing the call, the second trial he/she
faces and his/her redemption and how these aspects help illuminate a specific theme present in the novel.
2.
You could choose to focus on the magical talisman and how it drives the character in to his/her quest, the
temptations he/she faces and his/her final ordeal (Abyss/Nadir) and how these aspects help illuminate a
specific theme present in the novel.
3.
You could choose a theme you believe present in the novel and discuss how it is illuminated through the use
of the 1st obstacle, the Abyss/Nadir and the final Atonement.
4.
You could focus on three aspects of the hero’s journey (The mentor/magical talisman, the 1st obstacle, and the
final ordeal) and discuss how they help shape, change the protagonist in order to finish the final ordeal or find
redemption. This too must relate to an overarching theme present in the novel.
Whichever you choose, you should plan your response carefully, considering what you are going to say in each
paragraph. You must back up your ideas with specific quotations or examples from the text.
You cannot use any outside sources for this essay. All the ideas must be your own or ones we discussed in class!
Your essay must use quotes and in-text citations (you will be shown how to use them) to support your ideas according
to MLA formatting.
You will be graded using the English 1 essay writing rubric