Bella Caracappa: Is the Hero’s Journey over done?

 We see at least an aspect of the hero's journey in almost every piece of fiction we know, both in the past and today. Be it from Homer's Iliad to J.K Rowling's Harry Potter. The hero's journey is a formula for fiction writing that has persisted even before writing became popular through oral storytelling. But, what makes this formula so fascinating, despite how much it has been used? 

No story is ever the same, and although it might follow a similar structure to another, aspects are always different and make it unique. This attracts audiences, as though oftentimes predictable, the unique characters, complex world-building, and events are often new and exciting without making them skeptical of it as it follows something they are familiar with. The formula is also very flexible, allowing for a sense of creativity while giving audiences a way to bond with the story through its familiarity with its structure despite how the author put on their sense of flair.  I believe that the Hero’s Journey is a bit overdone, but it is the author's creativity and writing that make these stories so fun to read over and over again. 


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