Monomyth

“For now it appears that the perilous journey was a labor not of attainment but of reattainment, not discovery but rediscovery.” (Campbell, 36) This quote from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, The Hero with a Thousand Faces demonstrates the idea that all heroes are on the same journey with the same goals. It is not a new discovery of abilities, but discovering it when the time is right. In respectively, this applies to human beings as well. Everyone has an inner capability that they haven’t discovered yet, however, when the time is right, it will come out. As it corresponds with the Disney movie, The Lion King, it shows the development of Simba step by step into a hero. As it demonstrates in the film, Simba takes part of Joseph Campbell’s: departure, initiation, and return.

The first step of the hero’s journey from the monomyth is departure, which begins with a call to adventure. This part of the story is when a hero finds out that their life will never be the same. In the Lion King, Simba is learning about the responsibilities he has to take of being king from his father, Mufasa. “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope” (Mufasa). If Mufasa dies, Simba will become his successor and take over all the responsibilities of ruling Pride Land. As Joseph Campbell states in The Call to Adventure, “… destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown “(58). It was Simba’s faith to become Mufasa’s successor. However, Simba was not ready to take over this heavy burden; therefore he chose to ignore it. Mufasa’s brother, Scar wanted power over the land and he plots to kill both Mufasa and Simba in order to take over. Scar failed to murder Simba, but he did succeed in killing Mufasa by letting him fall to his death. At this moment, Scar corrupts Simba’s mind that...