The Voyage of the Hero

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The Voyage of the Hero
Archetypes and the Hero
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Archetypes

• Are constantly repeating characters or energies
  which occur in the dreams of all people and the
  myths of cultures
• Reflect aspects of the human mind
• Our personalities divide themselves into these
  characters to play out the drama of our lives

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Archetypal Characters

• Hero
• Mentor
• Threshold Guardian
• Herald
• Shapeshifter
• Shadow
• Trickster

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The Purpose of the Hero

• Gives the audience a window into the story
• Has qualities that we all can recognize in
  ourselves. We all desire
• To be loved and understood
• To succeed
• To survive
• To be free
• To get revenge
• To fight wrongs
• To seek self-expression

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Functions of the Hero

• Growth-overcome obstacles and achieve goals
  (usually dynamic)
• Action-in control of his or her own fate
• Sacrifice-the true mark of the hero
• Death-at least a threat of death
• Flaws-weakness, imperfections, quirks, and vices
  (humanize the character)
• Other characters can act as heroes at times.

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Hero Universal Motivations

• Revenge
• Anger
• Lust
• Competition
• Territoriality
• Patriotism
• Idealism
• Cynicism
• Despair

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Varieties of the Hero

• Willing-active, gung-ho, committed, brave,
  self-motivated
• Unwilling-full of doubts or hesitations, passive,
  needs to be motivated by outside forces.
• Anti-Heroes-may be an outlaw or a villian from
  the point of view of society
• Group-Oriented-face a choice about whether or not
  to return to their ordinary world
• Loners-estranged from society
• Tragic-dies as a result of his or her flaw
• Catalyst-not dynamic (bring transformation to
  others instead)
• Hybrid-become a shapeshifter, mentor, or even a
  shadow

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Mentor

• Usually a positive figure who aids or trains the
  hero
• Wise Old Man or Wise Old Woman
• Expressed all characters who teach and protect
  heroes and give them gifts
• Comes from Homers The Odyssey
• Often speak in the voice of a god or are inspired
  by divine wisdom

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Mentor Psychological Function

• Represent the Self-the god within us
• Higher-Self-the wiser, nobler, more godlike part
  of us
• A Conscience to guide us on the road of life
• Closely related to the image of the parent
• Many heroes seek out mentors because their own
  parents are inadequate role models

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Mentor Dramatic Functions

• Teaching
• Gift-Giving
• Inventors
• The Heros Conscience
• Motivation
• Planting
• Dark Mentors

• Fallen Mentors
• Continuing Mentors
• Multiple Mentors
• Comic Mentors
• Flexibility
• Inner Mentors
• Placement

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Threshold Guardians

• Obstacles on the road to adventure
• Powerful guardians at the threshold placed to
  keep the unworthy from entering
• Present a menacing face to the hero, but if
  properly understood, they can be overcome,
  bypassed, or even turned into allies
• Block the hero before the adventure even gets
  going

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Threshold Guardians

• Not the main villain or antagonist
• Lieutenants of the villain
• Lesser thugs or mercenaries hired to guard access
  to the chiefs headquarters
• May be placed there to test the heros
  willingness and skill
• Mentors
• The Secret Door

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Threshold Guardians

• May represent the ordinary obstacles we face
  every day in life
• Bad weather
• Bad luck
• Prejudice
• Oppression
• Hostile people

• Stand for our internal demons
• -The neurosis
• -Emotional Scars
• -Vices
• -Dependencies
• -Self-Limitations

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Threshold Guardians

• Dramatic Functions Testing
• Must solve a puzzle or pass a test
• Learn how to deal with obstacles
• -Turn around and run
• -Attack the opponent head-on
• -Use craft or deceit to get by
• -Bribe or appease the guard
• -Make an Ally out of a presumed Enemy

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• The energy of the Threshold Guardian may not be
  embodied as a character but may be found as a
  prop, architectural feature, animal, or force of
  nature that blocks and test the hero.
• Learning how to deal with Threshold Guardians is
  one of the major tests of the Heros Journey.
• Christopher Vogler

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Herald

• Usually issues challenges and announces the
  coming of significant change
• Delivers the Call to Adventure (usually)
• Positive, negative, or neutral figures
• Psychological Function Call for Change
• Dream
• Figure
• Real Person
• New Idea
• Encounter

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• Whether it is an inner call, an external
  development, or a character bringing news of
  change, the energy of the Herald is needed in
  almost every story.
• Christopher Vogler

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Shapeshifter

• Primary characteristic is that they change from
  the heros point of view
• Dazzle and confuse the hero rather than try to
  kill him or her
• Psychological Function To express two different
  energies
• Animus-name for the male element in the female
  unconscious
• Anima-name for the female element in the male
  unconscious

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Shapeshifter

• Dramatic Function Bringing doubt and suspense
  into a story
• Femme Fatale-woman as temptress or destroyer
• Homme Fatale-man as a tempter or a destroyer
• Mask of the Shapeshifter-may be another character

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Shadow

• Represents the energy of the dark side, the
  unexpressed, unrealized, or reject aspects of
  something
• Suppressed monsters of the inner world
• Things we dont like about ourselves
• Shelters positive qualities that are in hiding or
  that we have rejected for some reason.

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Shadow Psychological Function

• Represents the power of repressed feelings
• Stands for Psychosis that not only hampers us but
  threatens to destroy us
• May be a shady part of ourselves
• In Dreams
• Monsters
• Demons
• Devils
• Evil Aliens
• Vampires
• Other Fearsome Enemies

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Shadow Dramatic Function

• To challenge the hero and give her a worthy
  opponent
• Create conflict and bring out the best in a hero
• Typically one character, but may be a mask worn
  by many other characters-even the hero

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Trickster

• Embodies the energies of mischief and desire for
  change
• Natural Enemies of the status quo
• Psychological Function
• Cut big egos
• Point out folly and hypocrisy
• Bring about healthy change and transformation
• Dramatic Function Comic Relief

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Trickster Heroes

• Catalyst characters who affect the lives of
  others but are unchanged themselves
• Charlie Chaplin
• Marx Brothers
• Daffy Duck

• -Tweety Bird
• -Daffy Duck
• -Woody Woodpecker
• -Bugs Bunny

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Minor Archetypes

• The wolf
• The hunter
• The good mother
• The wicked Stepmother
• The fairy godmother
• The witch
• The prince or princess

• The greedy innkeeper
• The eternal boy
• Good Cop/Bad Cop
• Tough but Fair Sergeant