The Matrix and Monomyth Analysis

The Matrix Analysis Using Campbell’s “Monomyth” Scheme
The Campbellian “monomyth” scheme has been used in many movies such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. The Matrix is no exception to this and is an excellent example of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth scheme. The scheme is broken up into three main categories with fifteen total subcategories. I will examine all fifteen and make an analysis of them individually.
The first category of the scheme is the Departure. The first subcategory is The Call to Adventure. Neo is summoned by Trinity through the computer to follow the “white rabbit”. A group of people knocked on Neo’s doorstep asking him to come out with them to a nightclub. He notices the “white rabbit” on the woman’s shoulder and agrees to follow them to the nightclub. Trinity contacted Neo in this club and states she has something to show Neo. He plays it off and doesn’t pay any mind to the conversation but shows that he is interested in what she was talking about. This relates to the first part of the scheme by Trinity is the person that is contacting Neo by informing him of his adventure that he has yet to begin. Thus, she is the call to adventure in a sense. “A blunder—apparently the merest chance—reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces not rightly understood.” The second part of this scheme is the Refusal of the Call. This can be depicted in the movie by when Neo is given the phone by the deliveryman and opens it to find Morpheus, at this point an unknown speaker to Neo. He informs him how to escape capture by the Agents. He follows orders until he reaches the side of the building requiring him to jump to scaffolds. Neo refuses the instructions and is taken into custody by the Agents and is integrated and bugged by three agents. This parallels the scheme by the obvious refusal to take on his adventure and taking the way out with the agents. The third section is “Supernatural Aid”. This comes in two forms...