Timed Writing

In Campbell’s hero’s journey, there are three main steps that include 5-6 main features. The first is the Departure, which incorporates the call to adventure, refusal of the call, supernatural aid, crossing of the first threshold, and the belly of the whale. The premise of this section is the initial leaving process of the journey. The second main step is the Initiation. The initiation incorporates the road of trials, meeting with the goddess, woman as temptress, atonement with the father, apotheosis, and the ultimate boon. The initiation represents the bulk of the journey, it contains the hardest tests the hero will go through and is usually the reason the journey was started. The final step is the return, which includes refusal of return, the magic flight, rescue from without, the crossing of the return threshold, master of the two worlds and freedom to life. This final step demonstrates the hero gaining a sense of peace about his journey. He is able to juggle both worlds and live in peace, learning in many ways about his journey and his decision to return to the normal world.

My favorite reading from this class was Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, mostly just because I really enjoy reading Hemingway. This story incorporates all the elements of Campbell’s hero’s journey. The departure is the least evident section in this work, but can be identified with the refusal of the call. The refusal of the call in this piece is the reluctance to obtain the abortion. The initiation is identified with the road of trials mainly, which is all the conversation they’re having, specifically when the man says “It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig. It’s not really an operation at all,” which represents not only a path of decisions, but also the atonement with the father. The return is when they get back onto the train, and although the story ends without them doing so, it is implied that they do.

Another reading that exhibits Campbell’s hero’s journey is The Shadow of the Wind. The departure starts when the boy finds the book. The book represents the call to adventure, because it makes the boy want to read more of the author’s work and thus starts of his quest. The crossing of the first threshold is evident when the boy gets pretentious Barcelo to take him somewhat seriously and invites him to his bookstore. The road of trials represents the measures taken to achieve not only the invite to the bookstore, but the measures taken to attain respect from Barcelo. The meeting with the goddess is when the boy meets Clara, Barcelo’s blind niece. She represents the woman as temptress as well, since she has the information the boy wants. The atonement with the father takes place a few times in the first chapter, as the boy and the father are part of a team. The return is not clearly defined in the boy’s story, but rather in the story of Monsieur Roquefort. His return is the passing on of knowledge to Clara and her sister. His refusal is demonstrated in the way he refuses to give up searching for the writer and for other books written by Carax. He seemingly never fully achieves mastering both worlds or freedom.

My journey for Project 3 started off with the departure, which was leaving class and starting my paper. The call to adventure could be seen as the introduction of the assignment as it was then that I realized I would have to create this project. The crossing of the first threshold for my project would be when I found my sources that I would write letters to. As for the Initiation, I started with the road of trials, which was sending out letters to the various organizations. This was a trial because it was hard to find contact information. The Ultimate boon relates to this timed write, because it is the final aspect of my project that needs to be completed. The return has not yet occurred in this project, it will be the final grade. I see the refusal of return as my refusal to give up in this class. I’m trying to re-write anything I can for that A. In order to achieve that A, I need a rescue from without, from the professor. Only then will I have freedom to live, which in my life translates to freedom to transfer to USF.