The Journey Myth Project
			For the past two weeks we have analyzed the teachings of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell.  By examining the codified journey myth in The Hero with a Thousand Faces we have come to realize some important aspects of our history and our society.  The basic premise of this unit is that all myths are interrelated not because they are a retelling of the same story by different societies but that they are different stories, which relate to our collective unconscious ad are therefore archetypal in nature.  The stories are patterned responses to the stimuli around us.  The stories are seemingly the same because our collective unconscious needs to create these patterns or archetypes.  Campbell, as well well know, is deeply indebted to Carl Jung for this aspect of his theory.      In class we have attempted to transpose this theory on to the American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. My thesis from the beginning has been that Huck Finn is a difficult novel, with a problematic ending, which only achieves greatness whe it is aligned with the archetypal journey.  It is a novel that touched the collective unconscious, and one that then becomes a classic.  (Twain called a classic "a book that everyone talks about and nobody reads.") Directions for this paper:      Your essay must examine two of the following works in light of the archetypal journey myth. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and a movie, novel or play of your choice.  You may also want to use Fairy Tales and childhood myths to further accentuate your thesis.  You are asked to use the archetypal pattern discussed in class to examine both works.  This is an important essay and I expect not only an assiduous effort but also an erudite early discussion of Jung, Campbell and the journey of the hero or heroine. Here are a few titles that may help: Films: Field of Dreams The Wizard of Oz Apocalypse Now Rocky Indiana Jones (All three) Star Wars (You may want to incorporate all the films) How to Make an American Quilt The Third Man The Searchers Thelma and Louise Easy Rider The Lion King (Most Disney films are monomyths) Desperately Seeking Susan North by Northwest Finding Nemo The Lord of the Rings Harry Potter The Hours and many others. Novels: The Catcher in the Rye Song of Solomon Heart of Darkness The Joy Luck Club Moby Dick The Power of One Rabbit Run The Magic Bus Undaunted Couraqe The Ladder Years The Secret Life of Bees Life of Pi The Odyssey The Iliad Undaunted Courage Selected Fairy Tales and many others.
		Click here to view the steps of the Mono-myth
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