Joseph

Campbells
Journey of the
Hero
The Call to
Adventure

Star Wars:
Episode IV
A New Hope

Lord of the Rings:

Fellowship of the Ring

The Matrix

Harry Potter and the

Sorcerers Stone

The Wizard of Oz

Help me, Obi-wan Kenobi,

youre my only hope.
Princess Leias hologram

Frodo has inherited the

Ring of Power.
Gandalf knocks again
and gives him the task
of taking it to
Rivendell.
Frodo does not want to
leave the hobbit hole
and suggests Gandalf
find an elf for the job.

Neos computer tells

him to Follow the
white rabbit.

Owls bring letter of

acceptance to Hogwarts to
the orphaned Harry at his
aunt and uncles house

Threatening to leave
the car that will
deliver him to
Morpheus just
because Switch wants
Neo to lift his shirt.
Morpheus offers Neo
the red pill or the blue
pill.

Harrys uncle does not

want to let him go Harry
tells Hagrid "I think you
must have made a mistake.
I don't think I can be a
wizard." (47)
Hagrid assists Harry in
learning who he is and
how to prepare for the
wizard world.

Ms. Gulchs threats

against Toto galvanize
Dorothy, but all the
adults in her life refuse
to listen to her call for
help.
After Toto escapes
Gulch, Dorothy runs
away, but is persuaded
to return home, only to
be swept up by the
tornado.
Toto provides the aid
Dorothy needs to stay
focused on her journey.

Waking up in a goofilled pod

SeveralPlatform 9 , the
door to Diagon Alley

Getting swallowed
into the steel belly of
the Nebuchadnezzar

Harry enters Hogwarts for

the first time and is sorted
(the journey a-cross the
dark lake, going into the
cave, and the cathedral-like
architecture of Hogwarts
works very well on a
symbolic level for this
step).

Refusal of the
Call

Luke must stay and help his

uncle with the harvest until
his aunt and uncle are killed,
then he cannot refuse the
call.

Supernatural Aid

Crazy Old Ben (Obi-wan

Kenobi) rescues Luke from
sandpeople

Crossing the First

Threshold

Escaping Tatooine Mos

Eisely (the saloon) Luke
meets Han Solo.

The Belly of the

Whale

The trash compactor

Gandalf, the supernatural aid, doe not

arrive by the starting
date for the journey so
Frodo leaves with Sam,
Merry, and Fatty.
Frodo and the Hobbits
leave the Shire on their
journey to Rivendell.
They want to cross the
river but must avoid the
Black Riders so they go
through the Old Forest.
The Fellowship
narrowly escape the
Watcher in the Water
and braves the long
dark of Moria.

Standing in the threshold

of the house as the
tornado hits and ending
up in Munchkinland
killing the first threshold
guardianthe Wicked
Witch of the East
The tornado

Star Wars:
Episode IV A New
Hope

Lord of the Rings:

Fellowship of the Ring

The Matrix

Harry Potter and the

Sorcerers Stone

The Wizard of Oz

Lukes efforts to save

Leia

Frodo has to deal with the

Power of the Ring. The
journey to Mordor

Dumbledore gives Harry

the Invisibility Cloak to
help him with the trials.
The guards of the
Sorcerers Stone.

Literally, a roadthe
yellow brick road where
Dorothy encounters her
companions but also trials.

The Meeting
with the
Goddess

Luke meets Princess

Leia

Frodo meets Galadriel

Training aboard the

Nebuchadnezzar [Martial
arts matches with
Morpheus, jump program,
Agent-training program,
etc.]
Advice from Spoon Child

Temptress

The Dark Side

The ring continues to wear

on Frodo to the point
where he feels the constant
need to put it on.

The Oracle telling Neo that

he is not the One

Dorothy's goddess is the

Good Witch of the North
but she disappears almost
immediately but she is
connected to Dorothy
through the sil-ver shoes.
The Wicked Witch of the
West is the temptress
trying to lure Dorothy
away so she can use evil to
kill goodness.

Atonement with
the Father

Luke hears
internalized voice of
the father figure Obiwan (but the real
atonement occurs in
The Empire Strikes
Back: Luke, I am
your father.
Luke becomes a Jedi

Frodo meets Gandalf again

(the spiritual
father/mentor) and Gandalf
explains he was the one
who flooded the ford.
Frodo goes to a party and
shares stories with Bilbo,
his adoptive father.
Mines of Moria
Frodo realizes that he and
Sam will probably die with
the eruption of Mount
Doom.

Neo rescues Morpheus

Harry sees a photo of his

mother for the first time
in a photo album left for
him be nefarious means.
Hermione functions as a
sister/ goddess for Harry.
The call to the dark arts,
Slytherin, and
Voldemort
When Voldemort tempts
Harry saying "Better
save your own life and
join me." (213)
The Mirror of Erised

Death Star destroyed

Frodo must destroy the

One Ring.

Joseph
Campbells
Journey of the
Hero
The Road of
Trials

Apotheosis

The Ultimate
Boon

I mean, if Neo's the One,

then there'd have to be
some kind of a miracle to
stop me. Right? I mean
how can he be the One if
he's dead?
Neo realizes he is the one.

Harry faces off with

Voldemort. Harry's
"death" is figurative,
symbolized by him
falling unconscious for
three days.
Finding the Sorcerers
Stone

The meeting with the

Wizard who represents the
father figure eventually he
escapes Oz and she
appoints the Scarecrow as
the new Wizard creating
her own father figure.
Dorothy falls asleep in the
poppy fields just before
she enters Oz for her final
transformation.

Finding the secret to

returning home.

Joseph Campbells
Journey of the Hero
Refusal to Return

Star Wars:
Episode IV A New
Hope
Luke wants to stay to
avenge the death of
Obi-wan Kenobi

Magic Flight

Millennium Falcon

Rescue from Without

Han saves Luke from

Darth Vader

Crossing the Return

Threshold

Millennium Falcon
destroys pursuing TIE
fighters
Victory ceremony

Master of Two Worlds

Freedom to Live

Rebellion is victorious
over Empire

Lord of the Rings:

Fellowship of the Ring

The Matrix

Harry Potter and the

Sorcerers Stone

The Wizard of Oz

Frodo wants to return to

Rivendell and then the
Shire but there is no
way out of Mordor.
The Eagles save Frodo
and Sam from the lava.

Neo must confront the

Agents in the train
station.

Stays at Hogwarts rather

than return home at
Christmas

Jacking in

Dumbledore rescues
Harry from the hidden
depths after the battle
with Voldemort.

Frodo is rescued from

Mordor by Gwahir and
the eagles.
Frodo goes to Gondor
where Aragon is made
king.
Frodo has dealt with the
duality of bad and good.
When the Ring loses its
mastery over him, he
can return to normal.
Frodos memory of the
Ring proves too much
for him to live in the
Hobbit so he sails into
Westerness with Bilbo,
Gandalf, and the elves.

Trinity saves Neo from

Agents

The entire story is about

returning home, but
Dorothy almost loses her
chance.
The hot air balloon
which should be able to
transport the Wizard and
Dorothy but fails
Glinda, the Witch of the
South, explains to
Dorothy how to return.
Dorothy wakes up from
her coma to find she has
never left home at all.
She has awakened with a
new understanding of
her own identity.

Neo fights Agent Smith

Neo declares victory

over machines in his
final phone call

Humans victorious over

machines

Dumbledore returns him

for healing to the
hospital wing.
The muggle world and
the wizard world

Harry Potter really does

not achieve Freedom to
Live because his story
continues throughout the
remainder of the series.

Sources:
Lightbulb, Sparky. "Campbell's Hero Cycle and The Matrix, Parts 1-3." Weblog entry. 10 Oct. 2005. God has videotape. 20 June 2007
<http://bleedingeyeballs.com>.

Dorothy realizes that

there is no place like
home.