Beowulf Hero's Journey Essay

Why is Star War such a global phenomenon? What about Matrix, Lord of the Ring? The key to their success is the structure of the story: they all applied Hero’s Journey, introduced by Joseph Campbell in 1949. The sense of this structure actually existed long before Joseph Campbell. Stories like Beowulf were the ancestors with such bloodline. Though the structure evolved differently as time pasts, the essence of it never vanishes. Genuinely, a Hero’s Journey contains three main sections: departure, redemption, and return. The referenced TED talk is pretty interesting: it gives a close analysis over stories from contemporary people in relation to their own journeys to help the audience narrow the concept of the structure down to a more acceptable scale. For the “departure”, Guy Raz introduced sailor Ellen MacArthur. Her journey started when she sailed the first time, where she felt surrounded by freedom. She then saved every change she had in her childhood to buy a small boat in which she sailed off solo around Britain in the age of 18. And after four years, she began her new journey of non-stop solo sail around the earth. In connection to Beowulf, the “departure” probably revealed itself when Beowulf slaughters the sea beast to prove his own
It was in prison where he got time to read books he could take hold of. It was in cell where he was ultimately inspired by his cellmates, when he realized that his life is stuck when people outside live for purposes. Because of this experience, he devoted himself in helping people from jail look for opportunities in their future. He found his calling. For Beowulf, there is not really such a “redemption” element. There is no obvious downfall in his journey where he seriously reflects on himself. But he manages to understand his life purpose – to kill monsters for life - gradually during his slaughters against all sorts of