In my class today we learned about the hero’s journey.We had also read today a myth called Thunder helper and I will be using this book as an example of the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey consists of 8 steps which you see below.

Hero’s Journey Steps

  1. Normal person/character starts at the beginning of the story
  2. Our character goes on a journey alone
  3. The character faces danger
  4. He/she makes a hard or important decision
  5. The decision results in a gift or skill or “thing” being received by the character.
  6. The character continues on their journey and faces a challenge that can change the course of the journey.
  7. The character accepts the challenge and faces a test.
  8. The character wins the challenge, returns home, and is a hero.

 

This myth called Thunder Boy has perfect examples of the Hero’s Journey. The creek boy is a normal person in Thunder helper. The boy and his uncles go on a hunting trip and they all split up. The creek boy decides to fish. The boy meets Tie-Snake and Thunder in in the river. The Indian boy makes a choice whether to help Tie-Snake (the evil deceiver) or thunder. The creek Indian boy decides to kill Tie-Snake and gets strength, wisdom, bravery in return for helping thunder. The character accepts the challenge. The village faces a threat and the boy asks to face the enemy alone. The creek boy was victorious and was celebrated as a hero named Menawa meaning “great warrior”.