Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mythology - Essay Example MYTHOLOGY The world of mythology is interconnected with heroism and supernatural elements. Within this context, the stages of development in a hero’s life (departure, initiation and return), put forth by Joseph Campbell in the work The Hero with A Thousand Faces is noteworthy. One can see that the Godfather films (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III), by Francis Ford Coppola, belong to gangster film genre. The protagonist’s (Michael Corleone) transformation from a young man who hates gangster life to a gangster and later to an elderly individual who seeks redemption is beautifully portrayed by the director. Thesis statement: The portrayal of the character Michael Corleone from The Godfather films by Francis Ford Coppola proves that the same is according to the stages (departure, initiation and return) in the journey of a hero, put forth by Joseph Campbell in the work The Hero with A Thousand Faces (Special references to the films: The Godfat her, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III). The main stages in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with A Thousand Faces According to Joseph Campbell, there is number of stages within the hero’s expedition or journey. All the heroes do not undergo all these stages, but the three stages (say, departure (past life), initiation (adventurous life) and return (return to motherland)) are most important. Seaward (2004), states that â€Å"The template of the hero’s journey involves three distinct stages: (1) the departure, (2) initiation, and (3) the return home† (p. 52). The first stage or departure helps the readers to have deep understanding on the hero’s adventurous life because this stage describes the hero’ adventurous in the past life. Moreover, this stage provides ample importance to the concept of heroism which can be generalized to the broader context of mythology. The second stage or initiation portrays the hero’s travel to the unknown world and adventures. This stage is important because it reflects the hero’s growth and development to a fully fledged hero, who is ready to face dangerous situations without fear. This stage is applicable to most of the conventional heroes because adventure is helpful to portray heroism. The problems faced by the hero during his travel to the unknown world are helpful to maintain the suspense of the whole story. The third and final stage is return, which portrays the hero’s return to his motherland. In this stage, the hero returns with immense power gained from the hardships faced during the journey. This stage is helpful for the hero to establish his victory over the evil. All these stages are again divided into sub-stages, but the essence of the hero’s growth and development is limited to the context of the foretold three stages. Michael Corleone and stages put forth by Joseph Campbell The plots of the three Godfather films revolve around Michael Cor leone, the main character. Campbell (2008), states that â€Å"Many tales isolate and greatly enlarge upon one or two of the typical elements of the full cycle (test motif, flight motif,