User:Julie.mihye

'''THE ARCHETYPAL HERO MYTH AND ITS RELATION TO DRAGONKEEPER '''

What is the Hero Archetype?

Shrek the ogre, Harry Potter, Ping the orphan slave girl and Spiderman. These characters appear completely different at first glance however they all commonly possess the essential characteristics to form the hero ‘archetype’. Furthermore, they all face the same sort of tough challenges on their hero journeys. This journey is defined as the ‘monomyth’, a term invented by an anthropologist Joseph Campbell in 1949. Interestingly, this study has revealed that hero stories follow the same structure from the beginning to the very end, also referred to as the 17 Stages of Monomyth. For instance, the hero always begins with the first stage, The Call to Adventure. The hero starts off in a mundane situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call, to head off into the unknown. Therefore, though superficially distinctive, all the different types of heroes whether big, small, furry, green or superhuman possess the same gold hearts and walk the same well-beaten path.

Ping, the Unknown Hero

An example of an archetypal hero is Ping; an unnamed Chinese slave girl, from the best-selling novel Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson. It is universally accepted that a hero archetype is made up of the following characteristics – though they begin in comparatively inferior circumstances they all possess the courage to rise above these circumstances. Here, Ping is an uneducated girl of a young age (ten) with no parents. Furthermore, Ping is not white nor a male in a society where being a woman is definitely considered inferior and weaker yet these characteristics themselves follow the traditional hero archetype. Despite being an orphan slave girl, Ping eventually saves the day because of a superhuman inner strength and courage qualifying her into the hero archetype category.Secondly, Ping’s journey fits the monomyth of a hero. This can be demonstrated by drawing parallels between Ping and Harry Potter’s hero journeys, beginning from their origins. The possible difference, if any, is that Ping seems to lack the confidence and courage or willingness, at least initially, to undergo a metamorphosis (one of the stages called ‘the belly of the whale’ from the 17 Stages of Monomyth). She is enslaved by a horrible Imperial Dragon Keeper in Han Dynasty and accidentally hears from the Palace that the Imperial Dragon will be killed. As a result, she has no other choice than to save the dragon; she agrees to go on a quest with her dragon friend, Long Danzi and her pet rat, Hua. This sort of situation can also be found in the novel Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, where Harry takes Hagrid’s hand to go to Hogwarts after living under the cruel treatment of his aunt and uncle. Differently from Ping, Harry preferred to go to Hogwarts as it was an exciting wizarding school and a much better alternative. Ping is hesitant to accomplish the given tasks during her quest because of fear of the unknown that lies ahead. Whereas Harry’s choice is much more black and white, he must either do or die. Though their choices seem different, both are brave. Ping is brave simply from choosing to face her destiny. Whilst Harry has no choice but to be brave. He still demonstrates courage throughout his journey, culminating in great battles with the most powerful wizard of all, the evil Voldemort.

Do Heroes Follow the Same Path?

Yes. All heroes undertake the 17 Stages of Monomyth, and the final outcome is usually in favour of the hero, described as the ‘happy ending.’ However, this does not necessarily mean that all stories is a copy of one and another, as the characters are diverse and sometimes their characteristics can also be distinct, just like Ping and Harry.

Reference Lists:

•	Stephen F. (2011). Hero. Retrieved August 18, 2011.from http://tatsbox.com/hero/ •	Karmie Astrology. (2011). The Archetypal Hero. Retrieved August 17, 2011. from                         http://www.thegreenduck.com/ka/rek_hero.shtml •	Values. (2011). Getting Started. Retrieved August 24, 2011. from http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/rel/values/book.php?catrelid=1484 •	Wikipedia. (2011). Monomyth. Retrieved August 24, 2011. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth