Christian Callaghan - The God of Thunder Was a Hero According to Campbell

     While reading pages 49-251 of Hero with a Thousand Faces I was very intrigued with how structured a hero's journey is. Many of our hero's whether they be mystical or nonfictional most of the follow the same path of which consists of the call to adventure, the trials and transformations and the return. Not only does this structure help make for a good story but it is a relatively simplistic way to designate heroes from non-heroes. The one individual that kept popping up in my mind was Thor (The God of Thunder) and his very "heroic" journey throughout his life. 

The first of these structures again is the call to adventure: In the case of Thor his call to adventure was more a forced departure which still has the same characteristics of the call to adventure. He is placed into the unknown with no help and no way of getting back to his home which is a highlight of the fact that he needs to fix his character before returning to Asgard. He left a familiar world and was made to discover himself and how he previously conducted himself in the royal blood line of his kingdom. He first disagrees with the thought process of his father which is similar to Campbells idea of a reluctant hero but eventually understand the process which I will be getting into later.

Next, the trials and transformations: Stemming off of what I said earlier, Thor initially did not like being on a world in which his power was stripped from him and having no idea how to function in this new reality. However, through meeting individuals such as Jane Foster he brings to develop a humanity and with that, he becomes more of a humble being and this allows him to eventually return home. The true rising action of this film is seen when Thor is unable to retrieve his hammer "Mjolnir" which is what he thought gave him his power. However, toward the end of the film he decides to make a humane sacrifice of himself which is when he realizes that his true power comes from within. 

Finally, the return: He eventually returns to his home of Asgard with not only a newfound humane spirit but also a strive to be a better warrior, son and lover. In later films we can continue to see the self-sacrifice of Thor showing that he truly has grown within himself and that his transformation is ever growing but he is a better being than he has ever been. He serves a higher purpose and truly embodies what it means to be a hero in the eyes of Cambell and those who love the Almighty Thor. 

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