Exploring the Hero

Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters undergoing some tragic and epic flaws. These types of characters were called tragic and epic heroes. A tragic hero, unlike an epic hero, usually does not have a happy ending and also does not have to be entirely good nor evil. Whereas with an epic hero, he may have to deal with supernatural beings and is said to often perform courageous, sometimes super human deeds. In most cases of an epic hero, the hero is often either partially divine or at least protected by a God. Alongside with a tragic hero, the character will act according to his or her traits which will lead to his or her downfall and will not be saved when tangled by their misdoings. The seventeen steps in which a hero must undergo are exemplified through Joseph Campbell’s theory of a Hero’s Journey in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Nonetheless, the works of The Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and Beowulf are epitomized with the seventeen steps of a hero’s journey.
The prime example of a hero is deciphered by Campbell into seventeen steps which a hero must endure and also acknowledge the edification that the Hero experienced throughout his or her journey. The first step through the process is called “the call to adventure”, which is a point in a person’s life when he or she notices a change in his or her life is going to occur. The hero will be assigned an objective which he must vanquish. The call to adventure is not always the destination, but the road leading to the destination. The adventure is in the hero’s growth. According to Campbell, “The hero starts off in a mundane situation of normality from which some information is received that acts as a call to head off into the unknown” (Campbell Pg. 8)
Sadly, the second step is the hero’s refusal of the call.   Often when the call is given, the hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, or from any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person...