> Indeed, even Campbell himself admits in his book that not all stories address all seventeen stages of the “hero’s journey” explicitly, that sometimes certain

> Indeed, even Campbell himself admits in his book that not all stories address all seventeen stages of the “hero’s journey” explicitly, that sometimes certain stages may be expanded, condensed, or skipped entirely, and that not all stories will necessarily address the stages in the same order. > In other words, the “hero’s journey” is essentially just a list of tropes that sometimes appear in some stories from some cultures. This actually poses a huge problem for Campbell’s thesis that the “hero’s journey” is an innate part of the human psyche. For those that want a TLDR, here’s the hero’s journey: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heroesjourney.svg https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heroesjourney.svg It looks as though these might be “part of the human psyche” because they’re commonly lived experiences. Call to Adventure = A challenge Supernatural Aid = Luck Helper / Mentor = Family / Friends Revelation / Transformation = Learning Atonement = Reconciliation / Resolution Return = Success I’m sure there are other ways to interpret it too, but if you generalize the most engaging / exciting aspects of being human, that makes a story most people can relate to.