The hero with a thousand faces
Originally written by Campbell in the '40s-- in his pre-Bill Moyers days -- and famous as George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars," this book will likewise inspire any writer or reader in its well considered assertion that while all stories have already been told, this is not a bad thing, since the retelling is still necessary. And while our own life's journey must always be ended alone, the travel is undertaken in the company not only of immediate loved ones and primal passion, but of the heroes and heroines -- and myth-cycles -- that have preceded us. (Amazon.com review.)
Stats for nerds
26recommend
75mentions
66people
2007–2026years
41% recommend55% neutral4% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" "Story Structure Architect"
- I first encoutered this story well into adulthood, and could never quite articulate why it struck such a chord in me (and clearly, many others).
Later in life, after becoming familiar with the work of Joseph Campbell (Hero with a Thousand Faces) and Jordan Peterson (c.f. his lectures that unpack Pinnochio, The Lion King and his Biblical series), I began to understand the underlying elements in the story that make it reach so deep into our psyches.
Theme 1: pure love as a purifying crucible. Love as the ultimate goal and the ultimate sacrifice. The boy loves the rabbit, but it goes from being new and shiny to being torn and ragged. But love makes it "real". In that sense it is not a sacrifice, but the achievement of a higher ideal.
Theme 2: rebirth and redemption. The Phoenix story. The rabbit is burnt, shedding everything but its purest essence. The tear symbolizes the remnants of attachments to its past self.
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is an obvious recommendation.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell will ruin fiction for you, from the classic myth up to modern storytelling.
- Suffering through and overcoming challenges on the way to victory/triumph/transformation is as old as the earliest myths, and is often called "The Hero's Journey": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey
If you want to learn more, you might enjoy Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces
- Joseph Campbell was encyclopedic in his education and analysis. Hero With a Thousand Faces persuaded me.
But his thesis is not that all mythology boils down to one simple story. His thesis is more like the website tvtropes: there are recurring identifiable patterns in cultural teaching stories.
- Political instability, the decline of post-war culture, and the ascendency of the Global South is going to define your lifetime if you live long enough. The, "big ideas" are mostly bullshit. Read, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell. You're not Luke Skywalker, Neo, Harry Potter, or Elizabeth Swan. Do what you want and be free. You're not the main character and if you can realize that at some sincere level without killing yourself you'll be capable of everything. You'll be an actual human being. You'll be the breadth of the evening sky.
Related
The hero's journey
2 recommend · 3
The Power of Myth
15 recommend · 20
The masks of God
1 recommend · 3
The Golden Bough
8 recommend · 22
2011–2026
The Thousand and One Nights
3 recommend · 18
The Will of the Many
4 recommend · 6
2008–2026
One Hundred Years of Solitude
38 recommend · 92
