The Hero's Journey In The Lovely Bones

The movie The Lovely Bones follows the initiation pattern of the hero’s journey from separation to return, but alters some of the elements to form a modern adaptation of the traditional storyline. Susie Salmon goes through the separation phase, journeys through the liminal zone, brings an ultimate boon back to humanity, and dies, but does not reintegrate into society for the rest of her life and return as a hero. Her atonement is split between her family and Mr. Harvey, though Susie moves on instead of seeing through the death of Mr. Harvey. Additionally, Susie does not meet with an actual sex goddess, but taking revenge on Mr. Harvey acts as a substitute for the sex goddess in certain ways. The separation stage of the story begins when Mr. Harvey murders Susie on December 6, 1973. The

This refusal of the call shows that Susie is still a child and not mentally prepared for death, nor does she want to believe that a kind neighbor is the one who killed her. At first, Susie seems to be thriving in the In Between, the world that her little brother, Buckley, dubs as “the arc of blue between heaven and earth”. However, she’s still torn between the urges she had while living and the call of the lighthouse that will show her the truth and allow her to move on. Eventually, supernatural aid kickstarts Susie’s development and want to leave the In Between to move on peacefully. The call of the lighthouse signifies the supernatural aid that Susie needs to start her journey to heaven. Without the supernatural aid, the hero would never start their journey, and in Susie’s case, never leave the In Between. The call turns out to be the voices of the dead and lead her to a safe, in which the audience finds out her body is kept, but for Susie, a flower from Mr. Harvey’s front lawn is stored. She crosses the threshold into the liminal zone and passes the first test