In the entirety of my education having anything to do with
literature, the hero’s journey has always been stressed as crucially important
to storytelling. J.R.R. Tolkien’s work is an exemplary example of this kind of
story, and, especially in light of the recent movies and surrounding culture,
has been incredibly successful in creating an impact on several generations. I
think that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings demonstrates the
heroic journey in a thoughtful and resonating way.
I think that the success of the hero’s journey lies in the
fact that audiences identify with the feelings and experiences involved in
moving through the general “call to adventure, experience unexpected things,
figure everything out” cycle that nearly all stories follow in some way.
Tolkien is able to capitalize on the identifiable elements of The Hobbit by developing the specifics
of the journey in a way that easily resonates with the human experience.
Essentially, Tolkien is able to replicate human
interactions, emotions, and other complexities that represent those that arise throughout our own
lives. The hero’s journey touches base with a broad range of human emotion and
feeling, which means that we are stimulated on a greater level overall, which
surely has some kind of effect on our interaction with the story. Tolkien is
one example of an author that has succeeded tremendously in finding a
harmonious blend of the elements involved with the hero’s journey on a human
level to a legendary level.
I think that for many of my generation, Harry Potter serves
as the modern equivalent to a story that embraces the hero’s journey as a tool
to capture audience attention, and imply profound experiences that help to
define how we as humans operate. I mean, I love Harry Potter. It defined part of my youth. That's pretty powerful.
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