Paper 1 - A Hero’s Journey PDF

Preview

Summary

This essay explores the first novel in the Harry Potter series and compares it to The Hero's Journey...

Description

Kennedy Smith CHL 137 - Paper One Due: Monday October 3 Prompt #2 - A Hero’s Journey It is easy to love the hero in any classic hero tale. They all follow the same algorithm. One can see The Hero’s Journey reflected in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, specifically in the character Harry Potter. There are some very obvious points in Rowling’s book that follows the direct path, like starting in an ordinary, even unhappy, world. The entire first portion of the book talks about how mistreated Harry is. It isn’t until there is a call to adventure that the first divergence from the classic Hero’s Journey takes place. The small changes that J.K. Rowling makes in the Hero’s Journey makes him such a great character to root for. One phase that is clear to select for an example on how J.K. Rowling veered from the traditional Hero’s Journey was in phase one where the hero refuses the call. While Harry did not blatantly refuse the call, the Dursleys did. Harry wanted to read the letters, the call to adventure, that he was receiving, but Mr. Dursley was stealing all of the letters and making it as impossible as possible for the mail to be delivered. This makes Harry more dynamic because he never refused the call in The Sorcerer’s Stone. He was consistently adamant about doing everything he is offered and seizing every opportunity, like joining a Quidditch team when he didn’t even know what Quidditch was, going into the trap door, and accomplishing each challenge under the door. He could have ran or just said no at any of these times, but he took on every challenge that he faced with tenacity. Another moment that shows Harry’s uniqueness to The Hero’s Journey is his mentor selection. Harry grows a quick and easy attachment to Hagrid. At first glance, this seems obvious. However, when you look at Hagrid as a character, he should not be the first choice for a mentor. Sure, he has a good heart, but when you look at his accomplishments, all you can find is a good heart and personality. He was kicked out of Hogwarts and is now “just” a groundskeeper. Harry finds someone he can emotionally attach himself to for this mentorship, which is not seen quite as often. Usually in The Hero’s Journey, a mentor is someone that the hero aspires to be like- someone older and wiser that is doing something that the main character also wants to do. Even though these differences that Rowling makes make Harry Potter so unique are important, so are the traditional stances she took when it came to The Hero’s Journey and his character development. We still need that aspect that makes him relatable to all of those other characters that went on this journey that we fell in love with.

Works Cited Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Toronto: Scholastic, 1998. Print....