Real and Ficitional Heroes
For the third and final unit of my Humanities Stories class, Heroes, we studied the cycle of the hero throughout literature. In specific, Joseph Cambell created a chart of sorts called a "monomyth", which showed each stage of the hero's journey throughout the story. The monomyth can apply to any given story, as long as it has a protagonist in it. For this Action Project, we had to select a fictional hero and a real-life hero of ours, and find parts of the hero's journey in their stories.
In my case, I chose Izuku Midoryia, from the show My Hero Academia, and S.H. both are people that I look up to, and admire greatly. Both show several parts of the hero's journey throughout their triumphs and failures. Midoryia is a relatable character in that he's around my age, and a bit nerdy. But he's also a hero both because he is literally training to be a hero in his story, but also because he saves and looks out for others without hesitation. I chose S.H. because he is a source of inspiration to me, and I can learn from his struggles and triumphs. Both heroes struggle with finding new sources of inspiration, and realize midway through their journeys that they have to make a change to succeed in the future.
Izuku lives in a world where people with superpowers (known as "Quirks") are the norm. He has dreams of one day becoming a Hero, despite being bullied by his classmates for not having a Quirk. After being the only one to try and save his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo from a villain, All Might, the world's greatest Hero, bestows upon him his own Quirk "One For All", becoming his mentor and father figure. The story follows Izuku's entrance into U.A. High School, a school that cultivates the next generation of superheroes. As Izuku and his new friends try to balance their Hero training with ordinary school activities, they must face new challenges including the League of Villains, an evil organization established by All Might's archenemy, All For One, to destroy all Heroes and take control of society.
Midoriya's call to action is when he sees Bakugou, his childhood friend-turned-bully, being attacked by a villain and decides to help him, despite being powerless. His body moves on its own, knowingly putting him into danger.
Midoryia's supernatural aid comes in the form of All Might, who gives him the chance to inherit his powers. All Might also ends up becoming his main mentor throughout the series.
Midoryia's “crossing the first threshold” stage is probably during the entrance exam, where he uses his newly-obtained powers for the first time, learning that they break his bones very easily, but pack an incredible punch.
Midoryia's road of trials is where he has to figure out ways to use his power to succeed, despite the fact that his own power breaks his bones because of how strong it is. His body hasn’t had time to get used to it yet.
Midoryia's lowest point (apostasis stage) is when he’s told that if he keeps using his power the way he is, his bones will reach a point where they won’t be able to be fixed anymore, rendering him unable to achieve his dream of becoming the world's #1 hero for a short time. Midoriya's ultimate boon is when Gran Torino, a former teacher of All Might, teaches him a new way of using his power. It puts far less physical strain on his body, with the trade off being only being able to use a fraction of his total power.
Midoryia's refusal of return stage is when he starts using this new technique a lot more, not really going back to his previous style of using all his power, because he doesn’t want his bones to be injured and broken more than they already have.
Midoryia's "master of two worlds" stage probably comes from when he has learned to control this new technique he has been taught, and using it alongside his natural intelligence to become quite strong. Not incredibly strong, as there are still those that are stronger than him, but strong nonetheless.
To find out more about his story and find his hero's journey in it, I interviewed S.H. to ask him more about his struggles in life. He gave me a story about his final year in college in England.
S.H.'s call to action is when he reached his final year of a three year Batchelor of Arts Degree. The greatest emphasis was on an exhibition of his studio work. His parents were fully supportive of him, despite the fact that the prospects of making a living with a Visual Arts Degree were quite poor.
S.H.'s road of trials is when he realized midway through his work on his exhibition, with less than two months remaining, that the work was all about technique, and said nothing about him as an artist. He felt that he had "wasted three years of my life on paintings that meant nothing to me." So, he decided to re-do the paintings, risking not completing them to have the possibility of getting a better degree.
S.H.'s lowest point is when he worked around the clock, living a hermit-like existence, to create the new paintings. Friends would drop off supplies and put meals outside his door, concerned for his health. He worked non-stop, with no one allowed into his room to see the works in progress. "It was the most exhilarating period of my life, but at the same time the most anxiety-filled. Without the input of my professors or friends, how was I to know if what I was creating was good work or bad?"
S.H.'s ultimate boon is when after completing his still-wet oil paintings, they were sent off to where the exhibition would be mounted. He was awarded a 2:1 (the degrees go in order from highest to lowest; 1:1, 2:1, 2:2, and 3), a higher degree than he could have dreamed of two months earlier. He later applied and was offered a scholarship to be able to study for a Masters Degree in the US.
In my case, I chose Izuku Midoryia, from the show My Hero Academia, and S.H. both are people that I look up to, and admire greatly. Both show several parts of the hero's journey throughout their triumphs and failures. Midoryia is a relatable character in that he's around my age, and a bit nerdy. But he's also a hero both because he is literally training to be a hero in his story, but also because he saves and looks out for others without hesitation. I chose S.H. because he is a source of inspiration to me, and I can learn from his struggles and triumphs. Both heroes struggle with finding new sources of inspiration, and realize midway through their journeys that they have to make a change to succeed in the future.
Midoryia's supernatural aid comes in the form of All Might, who gives him the chance to inherit his powers. All Might also ends up becoming his main mentor throughout the series.
Midoryia's “crossing the first threshold” stage is probably during the entrance exam, where he uses his newly-obtained powers for the first time, learning that they break his bones very easily, but pack an incredible punch.
Midoryia's road of trials is where he has to figure out ways to use his power to succeed, despite the fact that his own power breaks his bones because of how strong it is. His body hasn’t had time to get used to it yet.
Midoryia's lowest point (apostasis stage) is when he’s told that if he keeps using his power the way he is, his bones will reach a point where they won’t be able to be fixed anymore, rendering him unable to achieve his dream of becoming the world's #1 hero for a short time. Midoriya's ultimate boon is when Gran Torino, a former teacher of All Might, teaches him a new way of using his power. It puts far less physical strain on his body, with the trade off being only being able to use a fraction of his total power.
Midoryia's refusal of return stage is when he starts using this new technique a lot more, not really going back to his previous style of using all his power, because he doesn’t want his bones to be injured and broken more than they already have.
Midoryia's "master of two worlds" stage probably comes from when he has learned to control this new technique he has been taught, and using it alongside his natural intelligence to become quite strong. Not incredibly strong, as there are still those that are stronger than him, but strong nonetheless.
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| WH, Midoryia's Story, 2018. The top left represents the call to action, the top right represents the road of trials, the bottom left represents the ultimate boon, and the bottom right represents apostasis. |
To find out more about his story and find his hero's journey in it, I interviewed S.H. to ask him more about his struggles in life. He gave me a story about his final year in college in England.
S.H.'s call to action is when he reached his final year of a three year Batchelor of Arts Degree. The greatest emphasis was on an exhibition of his studio work. His parents were fully supportive of him, despite the fact that the prospects of making a living with a Visual Arts Degree were quite poor.
S.H.'s road of trials is when he realized midway through his work on his exhibition, with less than two months remaining, that the work was all about technique, and said nothing about him as an artist. He felt that he had "wasted three years of my life on paintings that meant nothing to me." So, he decided to re-do the paintings, risking not completing them to have the possibility of getting a better degree.
S.H.'s lowest point is when he worked around the clock, living a hermit-like existence, to create the new paintings. Friends would drop off supplies and put meals outside his door, concerned for his health. He worked non-stop, with no one allowed into his room to see the works in progress. "It was the most exhilarating period of my life, but at the same time the most anxiety-filled. Without the input of my professors or friends, how was I to know if what I was creating was good work or bad?"
S.H.'s ultimate boon is when after completing his still-wet oil paintings, they were sent off to where the exhibition would be mounted. He was awarded a 2:1 (the degrees go in order from highest to lowest; 1:1, 2:1, 2:2, and 3), a higher degree than he could have dreamed of two months earlier. He later applied and was offered a scholarship to be able to study for a Masters Degree in the US.
 |
| WH, S.H.'s Story, 2018. The top left represents the call to action, the top right represents apostasis, the bottom left represents the ultimate boon, and the bottom right represents mastery of two worlds. |
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