A Heroic Monomyth: A Character Analysis

In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell discovered a basic pattern that can be found in all stories portraying a hero. In his hero’s monomyth, the main character is called to an adventure into a foreign land and the skills obtained during the journey are later tested to defeat their toughest challenge. An example of a heroic monomyth can be illustrated in Marissa Meyer’s fantasy novel, Cinder, because the heroine is called to an adventure that she at first refuses, explores an unfamiliar landscape, the castle, where she learns more about her tragic past, and soon comes face to face with her greatest adversary. The events of Cinder follow a linear story that begins in New Beijing, China. The main character, Linh Cinder, is a young, cyborg mechanic at a local market. “The usual hero adventure begins with someone from whom something has been taken, or who feels there is something lacking in the normal experience available or permitted to the members of society. The person then takes off on a series of adventures beyond the ordinary, either to recover what has been lost or to discover some life-giving elixir. It's usually a cycle, a coming and a returning.” (Campbell)

The monomyth follows a cycle that usually consists of the hero casted away from their ordinary world onto an adventure in a foreign land and after passing through different trials they eventually reach the ultimate challenge and find peace within themselves. The heroine, Cinder, has a dream to escape from her current life style away from her step family and finds herself in a place foreign to her and is guided by Dr. Erland through her journey of self-discovery. Eventually, she comes face to face with her greatest adversary, Queen Levana, and their battle leads to Cinder’s escape to find peace between Earth and