Step 1: The Call To Adventure
October 29, 2009In class awhile back we were taught Joseph Cambell’s ” The Hero’s Journey.” For most stories, and or movies most plots follows the sixteen steps for a character to qualify as a hero. Some people wouldn’t consider Alice a hero, but I am starting to see the connection between her story and Joseph Cambell’s explanation.
The first step we learned is the ‘call to adventure.’ A character is invited by something (phone call, knock on the door etc) to begin their adventure. In this case, Alice begins her adventure when “suddenly a pink rabbit with white eyes ran close by her.” At first Alice didn’t think much about a rabbit talking when he said ” Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!” What really caught her eye was when the rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat- pocket.” She had never seen this before so it caught her eye and she began to chase after the rabbit. Alice never knew what she was getting into when she entered the rabbit hole. Alice thought this would just be fun because of her curiosity, even though she doesnt know what it will get her into later.
Like most hero’s that follow these steps in stories, when the adventure begins from that invitation, everything is going to change. They may know it, or they may not… but it will change their lives. You can compare this to any “hero”… or just any average human like Alice. Harry Potter got his call when the owls kept sending messages their his mailbox, chimney, and all over the house. Spiderman’s call to adventure was started while on a class trip and he got bitten by a spider. The next day he realized what had happened, and his journey began while he took advantage and started saving people.
If you look and study Cambell’s “The Hero’s Journey” you will come to find that any story can fit into this category. I think of heros as someone who saves people, but what his steps show me is that any simple person can be named a hero.
So is Alice really a hero?
Christian Long
Katherine H.
Melissa H
Rivu D.
Alex E.
Sylvia A.
She is a hero, a hero to the Victorian Period, that is.
She’s a child, a girl nonetheless, and she begins her journey so she can take part in the Queen’s garden. She has to mature in order to do so and after many encounters and much wisdom x madness provided to her, she finally manages to grow up, to enter the garden, and to take her place in that ‘pack of cards’.
I found your analysis very fruitful, though I still see Alice as a Campbell hero. She might not have all the traits presented in the book, but the most important ones are there, and she grows up along the story, and by the end of the book, her own sister acknowledges that.
Yes, I believe that Alice is a hero, even though she is missing certain elements of the hero’s journey. I don’t believe you need every single element for someone to be a hero… I believe that a hero is just someone who goes on a journey, whether it’s willingly or not, and grows and changes through all the new experiences they go through.
Interesting topic.
I think the most important characteristic of the hero’s journey is change. The hero of the story must change.
So, does Alice change during her journey?
Keep in mind, being on a hero’s journey doesn’t always mean you get qualified as a HERO with heroic qualities.
To Melissa’s question, I think that Alice isn’t necessarily on a “Hero’s Journey”, because I don’t think that there is a true point to what she is after. Or, for example, there is no ‘Supernatural Aid’. Yes, the rabbit is her ‘Call to Adventure’, but other than that her story sort of lacks the true points to become a Hero’s Journey.
To Mr. Kern, I don’t think every call to adventure results with heroism. Yes, many stories have the call to adventure, but heroes maybe be overlooked or just not come out of the story whatsoever. I don’t think that Alice is a heroine in any way, shape or form since she lacks many of the characteristics of a hero. She doesn’t have anything to gain out of this “dream” of hers.
Do you think Alice realizes she may be on the journey to become a hero? Can you have a call to adventure without becoming a hero in the end? In other words does every call to adventure result in a heroism or does it sometimes just result in a fun journey?