Monomyth by Joseph Campbell

This post examines in greater detail Joseph Campbell's concept of the monomyth and the hero's journey by analysing the Ramayana story.

Monomyth, or the hero's journey is the similar pattern or structure that found in the universal narratives in different culture when it comes to their mythology.

The definition of Monomyth is , a cyclical journey or quest undertaken by a mythical hero.(Wordnik.com, n.d.)

Image from : http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/the-hero-journey-mythic-structure-of-joseph-campbell-monomyth.html

Campbell describes that there are 17 stages or steps along in this journey. Some of the myths have contain many of the stages while others contain a few. Some myths the may focus on only one of the stages while other myths that may deal with the stages with different order.

Here is the summary of the hero's journey.

In Monomyth, the hero begins in the ordinary world. He then receives a call to enter to action such as to save the world , his family or the peace of the community in which he lives. In this stage, the hero who accepts the task to enter the strange world by overcoming either alone or with assistance. In the most intense versions of the narrative, the hero must survive a severe challenge, often with help. If the hero survives, he may achieve the boon or a great gift. In here, hero who decide to return to the ordinary world, hero will faces challenges while on the return journey. The hero returns successfully , the boon or gift may used to improve the world. (Scriptboutique.co.uk, n.d.)

From there, concept of monomyth and the hero's journey that found in the story of Ramayana. Concept has analyzed into the summary story of Ramayana in below.

Dasharatha , the Kind of Ayodhya decided to passed his throne to his eldest son Rama and retire to the forest. (Ordinary world : In here, the hero is Rama. Rama is the most obedient and well-behaved eldest son of Dasharatha among the three others brother. The King decided to pass him the throne because of his filial. This stage shows the crucial details about the hero, his true nature, capabilities and outlook on life.)

Queen Kaikey, the favorite wife tried to stop the king because she wanted her sons Bharata the second son to inherit. Because of an oath Dasharatha had made to her years before, she got the king to agree to banish Rama for fourteen years and to crown Bharata. Rama was always obedient, he brought Sita his wife and Lakshmana one of the twins brother accompanied to banishment in the forest.

(Call to adventre: Hero receives a call to action which the king set Rama to banish in the forest but actually is the step mother Queen Kaikey. The task for Rama is to save the community into peace. Rama overcoming with assistance who are his wife, Sita and one of the twins brother Lakshmana. )

One day Rama and Lakshmana wounded a rakshasas(demon) princess who tried to secude Rama. The princess returned to her brother Ravana. Ravana was planned to abduct Sita after hearing about her incomparable beauty. He sent one of his demons disguised as a magical golden deer to entice Sita. To please her, Rama and Lakshmana went to hunt the deer down. After they left, Sita were trapped by a holy man and Ravana catched her to his kingdom in Lanka.

(Crossing the threshold & Test, Allies, Enemies: In this case, Hero now begin his adventure. During the journey, hero will face his enemies. Rama and the accompanies face severals obstacles.The challenges will become more and more difficult, from Rama wounded the demon princess to his wife Sita that catches by Ravana. The skills of Rama will be tested in each of the obstacles, from there reader or audience gain a deeper insight into his character.)

Rama and Lakshmana went to seek for Sita. They sought help from Hanuman, the monkey band can fly since his father is the wind. Hanuman flew to Lanka and found Sita was in the grove.He tried to comforted her and told her Rama would come to save her soon. Ravana capture Hanuman and set Hanuman on fire. With his tail burning, Hanuman escaped and hopped around Lanka. He flew back to Rama and told him Sita location. Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army built a causeway from the tip of India to Lanka and crossed over to Lanka. Ravana was get killed by Rama and freed Sita.

(Approach to the inmost cave & Ordeal: In here, Rama seeks for the help from Hanuman to seek for his wife and inform Sita that he is coming to save her. The hero get the actual location and start to approach for his final task, which is saving her wife Sita from the demon Ravana. Hero will somehow need some time to reflect his journey and the treacherous road ahead in order to find the courage to continue. Rama seeks for the helps from Hanuman and the fellow monkeys to enter the world of Lanka.In here, it helps the audience understand the magnitude of the ordeal that awaits the Hero and escalates the tension in anticipation of his ultimate test. During the ordeal, it is the hight-point of the Hero's story and where everything he holds dear is put on the line. This is when Rama is shooting the arrow to Ravana. If Hero's fails, he will either die or life will never be the same again.)

 They returned to Ayodhay and Bharata returned the crown to him.

(Reward & Return with the elixier: After Rama defeating the enemy and save Sita. The reward for Rama is the courage, his fame that spread around the world. He decided to return to his ordinary world. His brother Bharata was admired Rama and he felt diffident and passed back the throne for Rama. The hero's life will clearly never be the same again.)

Reference:

Scriptboutique.co.uk, (n.d.). Story Structure Part 7: Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. [Online] Available at: http://www.scriptboutique.co.uk/news/story-structure-part-7-joseph-campbell%E2%80%99s-monomyth [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].

Wordnik.com, (n.d.). Wordnik. [Online] Available at: https://www.wordnik.com/words/monomyth [Accessed 1 Dec. 2014].