Analysis Of The Hero's Journey By Joseph Campbell

According to Joseph Campbell, an American mythological researcher, in his famous book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell researched common patterns between hero myths and people’s personal stories from around the world. Heroes in Campbell’s novel undergoes twelve steps known as “The Hero’s Journey”. “The Hero’s Journey” is a structure derived from The Hero with a Thousand Faces that outlines the basic structure that all heroes follow. For example, a person has to get a call to adventure, meet mentors, and gain a reward in order to be defined as a hero. As stated by Campbell, all heroes are considered different in the ordinary world in which they live in and possesses a characteristic that makes them feel out of place in their ordinary

After Makina crosses the threshold, she arrives in the Gran Chilango. She meets Chucho, a man sent to help her cross the river. Immediately, Makina and Chucho are caught by a rancher. As Chucho wrestles with the rancher, police trucks surround them and Chucho tells Makina to run away. Makina portrays heroic qualities because even though Chucho was telling her to run, Makina was not used to it, “He must be asking for help. Makina wasn’t used to having people say Run away” (49). This obstacle in her adventure highlights Makina’s heroicness because in her life, she was accustomed to helping people that she was confused when Chucho told her to save herself among a random crossfire. As Makina continues to journey through America, she encounters an army camp after meeting with her brother. A policeman catches her and orders her to get in line with the rest of the immigrants. The policeman notices a man holding a poetry book and orders him to write. Makina, being the brave and courageous person she is, takes the book from the man and begins to “write with determination...without stopping to think which word was better than which other or how the message was turning out” (99). This letter is the start of Makina’s ordeal. In this short, powerful letter, Makina vigorously conveys her feelings about the prejudices that lie within America. Makina mocks American’s tendency to view immigrants as social

After all of Makina’s experiences, she finally receives an award. Accompanied by Chucho, Makina reveals that she doesn’t understand where she is. Chucho leads Makina to a small door that leads to another unknown place. After encountering others waiting in silence with no noise other than “the sound of running water, the energetic running of subterranean rivers”, Makina receives documents that give her a new identity to live by. Makina receives a new name, numbers, and birthplace. Makina whispers to herself, “They’ve skinned me” (106). Makina realizes that she now has to live by the identity she is given. They have skinned Makina of her previous identity and replaced it with a new one. Others may view the notion of “skinning” and Makina being stripped of her identity negatively but this is the reward that Makina receives at the end of her journey. Makina is given a new life in which she can start over and leave the past behind. Makina will be able to reinvent herself and begin again. This connects with “The Hero’s Journey” because this is the end of Makina’s journey. In “The Hero’s Journey”, the reward is the achievement or the change that has taken place. Makina achieves finding her brother and undergoes a change in identity. At the end, Makina finally understands where her destiny lies and is ready to advance towards