The Hero s Journey By Joseph Campbell - 1538 Words

Two books can seem completely different from each other when judged by characteristics such as genre, plot, and theme. However, if people were to look at the books together and as a whole, they might notice one striking similarity between the two. That striking similarity is known as the hero’s journey. First observed and documented by Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a concept in which heroes, or people who commit actions for the greater good, follow a three-step cycle known as departure, fulfillment, and return. At the first stage of the hero’s journey, the hero receives a call to an adventure that takes him from the comforts of his home. Next, at the most important stage of the hero’s journey, the hero begins to experience life†¦show more content†¦Unlike several of the other characters in The Joy Luck Club, Lindo Jong embodies the hero’s journey as first shown by the completion of the first stage: departure. Lindo begins her journ ey at the age of two when the village matchmaker arranges for her to be married to Huang Tyan-yu. Despite her lack of consent, Lindo recognizes and states that â€Å"even if I had known I was getting a bad husband, I had no choice, now or later† (Tan 51). Lindo grows up in the countryside of China, where all power over decisions is given to the parents. Should she face difficult hardships later on in her life, she does not have the authority to better her situation. Lindo’s weakness--which is her natural obedience to her mother in order to prevent her from â€Å"losing face†--in combination with her lack of choice in any matter will inevitably leads to trouble as she receives her call to adventure. Speaking of call to adventure, although Lindo began her journey ten years ago, she has yet to cross the threshold into her heroic venture. A natural disaster, however, changes that. At the age of twelve, her life completely changes when a flood â€Å"destroyed all th e wheat [Lindo’s] family had planted that year and made the land useless for years to come† (Tan 53). Due to the flood,