Elements Of The Heroic Journey In The Film Psycho

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Although the film Psycho is comprised of several elements from the traditional “Heroic Journey” format, it also strays away from this convention with the purpose of bewildering the viewer. One can observe several elements of the Heroic Journey format void of the film, many of which void due to the element of selfishness. At the early stages of the film, Marion Crane can be seen with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis. Loomis states that he is working hard to pay off his father’s debts and concurrently paying alimony to his ex-wife. The implication here is that Loomis is struggling financially. This is significant because it, for the most part, motivates Crane to plunder Tom Cassidy’s cash; an astronomical sum of forty-thousand USD. However, before explaining …show more content…

Essentially, the fact that Loomis is in debt amalgamated with the bitterness that Crane and Lowery share, can serve as explanations for the reason that Crane ran off with the money. From this, one can conclude that Crane lacked any reluctance whatsoever in taking the money. This impetuosity causes Crane great troubles and she eventually meets her demise as a result. From Marion Crane, we shift to an eccentric character, with a slightly odd demeanor; that is Norman Bates. As aforementioned in the previous paragraph, Bates had been suffering from a condition known as split-personality disorder. This condition caused his overbearing mother to assume control of himself, whilst Norman Bates’ personality had been overtaken. At the courthouse, the psychiatrist reveals that Norma Bates had now fully assumed Norman’s physical body. That is, Norman’s personality no longer existed as Norma Bates vicariously existed in his body. At the end, “mother” can be heard saying that she wasn’t responsible for any of the murders carried out and that Norman was the sole