Blog Entry 5: The Monomyth

         Joseph Campbells “The hero’s journey” is a break-down of seventeen steps the hero does in order to complete his quest. I used the monomyth layout on J.K Rowlings “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”. The Harry Potter series are my favorite books to read and thought I could dissect it and see if it fits into the monomyth layout.
      
        Harrys call to adventure begins when he sets off on a quest to defeat Voldemort, the wizard worlds villain. He must find the seven horcruxes. During his quest he has his two friends Ron and Hermione. Hermione is more like the brains of the group. She knows all the spells and always tells harry what he must do. Ron although is always afraid he is always there for Harry and Hermione. The main “super-aid” in the Deathly Hallows I believe to be Harrys old head of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledor. Even though Dumbledor died in the previous book (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) he still found ways to leave Harry and his friends clues and objects that would help them in killing Voldemort. Harry crosses the threshold and enters the journey to find the horcruxes willingly. He knows he is the chosen one and that he is the only one that can kill Voldemort and save the wizard world. Harry knows he might die during this journey but he is willing to do so to save his friends and also to avenge his parents death. The final separation from the known world or “the belly of the whale” would be when harry is wanted all over the wizard world. The “Death Eaters” (Voldemorts followers) are corrupting the ministry and wants Harry captured and presented to Voldemort before Harry or his friends are able to find the Horcruxes and destroy them. Harry Ron and Hermione are on the run and they face danger everyday they are on this quest to save their world. Harry knows he will never be able to go back to his friends or teachers at Hogwarts or else he will put them in danger as well.
                
          In order to find the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort, Harry and his friends cross multiple tests. Usually there are three trials, However, In “The Deathly Hallows” The main quest is finding the seven Horcruxes. The road to each horcrux has its own trial. There are three “Deathly Hallows” which are known to be the most powerful items any witch or wizard can possess. They are; The Elder wand, the most powerful wand anyone can have. “The Resurrection stone”, which can bring anyone back from the dead.  “The Cloak of Invisibility” which is self-explanatory. Finding the Deathly Hallows is Harrys side mission. He has to find them before Voldemort does. If Voldemort has all three Deathly Hallows, he will be unstoppable. In the Monomyth Campbell list “magic fight” under the heroes return. In Harry Potter I believe it should go under the initiation section. Harry spends the whole book keeping things and trying to make sure Voldemort doesn’t get them. Such as the Invisibility cloak that Harrys father left to him.  The seven Horcruxes were hidden by Voldemort so no one can take them and destroy them therefore killing Voldemort in the process. Harrys “Meeting with the Goddess” is more of a feeling than an actual person. I think what gives harry the drive to fight in the Good vs. Bad war is knowing that Voldemort killed his parents and harry would do anything he can to stop him even if it means dying in the process. He also gets his will to fight from the love him receives from his friends and his teachers. They also are willing to die fighting Voldemort. The “goddess” harry finds is actually the love he never had as a child and that keeps him going through the war. The “Ultimate Boon” or the achievement of the quest is knowing that future generations of witches and wizards can go on in peace knowing that Voldemort is finally dead. Harry avenged his parents as he always wanted.
            
          Harrys return into “normal” was an easy transition. He goes on to marry Ginny which is Rons little sister and they have three kids together. It seems easy for Harry to go back into normal life in the wizard world because he never fit in in the muggle world. He definitely has the freedom to live now that Voldemort is dead. He is not scared of death. Harry was never afraid of death even before the war. He really never thought about what might happened to him if he didn’t make it, he thought more about his life after his trials and quests. Now Harry, Ron and Hermione can live in peace and their legacies will live on forever.