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A Hero's Journey In 'Narnia'

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A Hero's Journey In 'Narnia'
A Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell was an American writer and mythologist, best known for his book “The Hero With a Thousand Faces”. In this book, Campbell elucidates how characters in every story follow the same simple path, known as “the heroic monomyth”. In the novel and movie “Narnia”, by C.S. Lewis, the basic structure of a hero's journey is presented clearly.
The ordinary world is presented when the Pevensie children are still in London. Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter live in London around the time of World War II. They are forced to evacuate, and are sent to live with Professor Kirke. The professor is never seen and the children are told to never disturb him when he is working. One day when the children are playing hide and seek on
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When Lucy, Edmund, Susan,and Peter overthrow the White Witch and her army, they face their biggest test. In the story C.S. Lewis accentuates the fact that this is the most important battle when she says “All shall be done, but it may be harder than you think”(goodreads). They are able to free Narnia from the evil that had taken over and they are rewarded with something special. Lucy is crowned queen and gets a throne. In Narnia,“Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia”(goodreads), says Lewis. In addition, all of the siblings are rewarded with the right to go back and forth between the two worlds At that time, they begin their journey back home. Before they return to the ordinary world, they receive an honorable reward.. On their journey home, the children ride horses back to the woods located in front of the wardrobe and easily find their way to the ordinary world. After they arrive back to London, they become the “masters of two worlds”. They have grown stronger mentally and physically, saved the lives of many individuals and helped restore Narnia to make it the place it was in the past. Even though they returned to their ordinary lives in London they are still able to return to Narnia anytime they want, which is how they are able to rule both lands.
The basic path that most stories follow, known as “the monomyth”, is followed very closely by the author, C.S.Lewis. The story also shows many of the different archetypes that Joseph Campbell believe exist. In Narnia the heroes get called away from the ordinary world, enter the unknown with the help of supernatural aid and defeat the witch, or supreme ordeal, with the gift of a reward and the power to rule two separate

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