Analysis Of The Hero's Journey Of Harry Potter By Joseph Campbell

1078 Words5 Pages

No Doubt That Harry Potter Can Slytherin to Campbell’s Journey of the Hero The professor, author, and mythologist known as Joseph Campbell is known for writing the famous book The Hero with a Thousand Faces which contains the ubiquitous storyline known as the monomyth or the Hero’s Journey. This journey is the basic format of almost all stories or myths and how they follow a similar pattern, no matter when or by whom it was written. According to Christopher Vogler, “the Hero’s Journey is infinitely flexible, capable of endless variation without sacrificing any of its magic, and it will outlive us all,” (20). This author is stating that the infinitely existing, archetypal journey that Campbell discovered can be changed in certain ways to fit the …show more content…

Harry’s mentor is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry does not meet Dumbledore until he arrives at the school, but his help is shown indirectly through the herald, Hagrid, who takes the boy to Diagon Alley and introduces him to the wizarding world. In order for a hero’s journey to be successful, the protagonist must be awarded an amulet or talisman which “can protect a hero from evil, but it doesn’t require any action on the hero’s part” (Henderson 36). In the film, Harry is given a wand that he uses in all his battles throughout the journey and proves to be a very useful tool for him. In addition, Harry is given a cloak of invisibility, which he uses later on in the film to help him enter the restricted section of the library in the middle of the night. Ultimately, the help from the mentor and the use of the amulets help Harry Potter come a tremendously long way and achieve his goal at the end of the