The Hero's Journey - Fantasy Tropes and the Chosen One
Let's talk about the hero's journey that is such a big factor in fantasy action adventure novels. In The Wheel of Time series we see Rand, the son of a farmer, get whisked from his home and family and set on a journey to defeat the Dark One and reset the wheel of time. Or from the Star Wars film, A New Hope, where Luke Skywalker meets Obi Wan Kenobi and begins his adventure to save the empire from itself. Frodo, in The Lord of the Rings, must leave his humble beginnings to destroy the one ring that rules them all and save the world.
The hero's journey normally takes a farm boy or a boy from a small village in the back of nowhere and sets them on a life plan to grow into the person who can defeat the all powerful lord, god, king, or villain. And that's the crux of the matter. The farm boy must grow as a person. They normally can't even handle a sword when they begin, and they must now defeat the master of all swords. They must learn about their own abilities, usually helped with a little magic, and learn to adapt to the politics of man.
They start from a position of innocence and must learn the ways of the world. The author must make a believable transition from a humble beginning where the soon to be hero must turn away from his belief in Santa Claus (or whatever fantasy legend he believes) and gain knowledge of the bigger world. How can a boy expect to be a king when they still believe all things are black and white? They can't manage a kingdom and the vagaries of the political intrigues of the court if they don't understand the ramifications of their decisions.
Does the Hero have to be a Boy?
The early fantasy action adventure stories like Lord of the Rings had boys as the hero, but the role isn't only for boys. The latest Star Wars movies have a female lead, Rey, as the heroine from humble beginnings takes a route to the big leagues. But don't forget one of the greatest fantasy movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz, sees Dorothy take on the mighty and powerful wizard and the evil witch to help her friends and return to her homeland. So, don't think this role is only for boys. Girls can take on the mantle of action and adventure and succeed.
The Call to Adventure
So, we have this lowly farmworker, working the fields and living his life, but something must jettison him to the big time. There has to be an inciting incident or a call to adventure. Something has to occur to take our happy farm boy out of his mindset that life is good and he wants nothing more than what his father had. Rand from the Wheel of Time didn't start out dreaming of fighting against the evil twelve to build up to defeating the father of evil himself.
No, he was thinking about his girlfriend, Egwene, and hoping to dance with her at the village festival. But then something happens. In this story, a witch from Tar Valon comes into the village and sets the locals to talking about her presence there. She rouses the idea of adventure in the boys of the village, and they think of the bigger world around them. Then the inciting incident occurs. The beasts of evil enter the village and destroy houses and kill the people of the village. Rand and his friends must do something and, with encouragement from their soon to be mentor, they leave their families to save their families. And the fantasy adventure begins.
Mentor Figures
Every good fantasy novel has a trope about mentor figures. We learn about the bigger world (think world building) from the mentor. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? Where should our soon to be hero go to learn more about their bigger role in this story? Luke had Obi Wan Kenobi to teach him how to use the force. Rand had Moraine from Tar Valon, who he kept pushing away, and also Lan the swordsman, to teach him how to fight with a proper weapon. Frodo got some help from Gandalf, but also learned a thing or two from the elves, dwarves, and others on where to go and how to get there.
The mentors don't normally last too long in the hero's life. They create a foundation of knowledge and teach the character enough about their skills so they don't get killed right away, but just as the character understands the broader world they must master, someone kills or removes the mentor from the hero's side. This leaves our hero at a disadvantage against the all-powerful force they must defeat to save the world. He's going to have to learn some things on his own and we can expect him to make some mistakes along the way.
The Hero must Overcome Obstacles.
Any good story is about how the character handles conflict. After completing a little world-building, the author must now have the hero learn things the hard way. Our character must trust the bad guy only to learn that he shouldn't trust the bad guy. In fact, he must learn who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
Arrogance always comes as the hero learns the ropes of his skills. They will say to themselves, "I can defeat anyone at anytime. Oh wait, maybe I can't." They end up in situations that they believe they can control, but come to find out they aren't as smart as they thought they were. Their skills are formidable, but there are people out there who have greater skills.
The Reluctant Hero
All their problems aren't external. They go through internal conflicts as they want to throw off the yoke of their destiny. Our hero wants to go back and hide out in the little village where they were born. They aren't "the one." The mentor got them confused with someone else. They want out of this contract with fate.
Many times, they don't see the hero within themselves. In the Wheel of Time, the three farm boys keep thinking that the chosen one is one of the other members of their group. Rand doesn't think he's the one, he thinks it must be Matt. He doesn't want all this responsibility. As the bad guys ramp up their aggression against the good guys, people die in battles. Rand didn't sign up for the responsibility of watching out for entire populations of villages and kingdoms. He's just trying to stay alive. Doesn't the hero in all the stories of the legends they heard as children walk onto stage confident in his ability to defeat the evil one? Rand is thinking, "I'm not that guy. It must be someone else."
The Prophecy Trope
At some point, the hero learns of the prophecy. He is reluctant to find out about it, but then reads everything he can and finds many points of views from other scholars. Does his life match the prophecy, or is someone just setting him up for their own benefits and gains? If he is the one of revelation, what does it reveal for his next step of the journey?
Harry Potter had an entire story where he is trying to find the prophecy about him so he can determine if he really is the boy wonder Voldemort seeks? Of course, the bad guys are just as interested in the reveal as our hero.
Ethical Dilemmas
Now, when our hero is ready to take action, he has to weigh the impact it will have on "his" people. He can't send his friends out onto the battlefield. What will their parents think of him when he brings back his friend's dead body to his parents? What relationships might he engage in with the opposite sex and what might his childhood girlfriend think of him for turning away from her?
He must learn to deal with the facts of leadership. At some point, our hero will make a decision that will put a friend in danger, turn his back on a friend to make a pact that will prevent a future battle, or condemn a loved acquaintance to death because of laws our hero enacted for the greater good of the kingdom.
Being a leader isn't easy or fun when you're constantly making hard decisions.
The Final Battle and Legacy and Impact
As the story progresses, and this might be over one book or several books in a series, our hero grows to acceptance of his role and future destiny of the final battle against the might and power of the evil one. The hero's skills have grown, and he's learned to wield a sword and to manage the people at his side. The time has come to defeat the antagonist. Is he ready for the final battle?
And yes, every great hero's journey must have an ultimate battle with the antagonist. Frodo against Sauron, Luke against the emperor and Darth Vader, and Rand against the Dark One. Whatever happens will determine the character's legacy and his impact on future generations. Will he enter the book of legends, or will he be the one that succumbs to evil and lets his family live a life of hard work and famine for future generations?
As a reader, we want to know what happens. We want to see the final battle play out. The hero will lose some of the skirmishes, and will probably get injured, maybe even to the point of a fatal injury. But he isn't fighting for himself any longer. He is fighting for his people. Regardless of whether he wins or loses this battle, history will etch his legacy as the one who never stopped fighting.
Lessons Learned
As readers, I think the hero's journey brings us hope. Maybe we can fit into our protagonist's shoes and become a hero ourselves. We learn about bravery, perseverance, and the power of hope. Someday, maybe we're at a meeting at work and something occurs that forces us to take a leadership role in that meeting. The hero stories might run through our mind at that moment and we think, if Rand, the farm boy, can get out of his comfort zone to save his people, then so can we.
These stories help us learn what to do in times of distress and discomfort. What would Luke do at this moment? Well, he might call on the force to help him, and we might not be strong in the force. But you get the idea. We look to stories like this to inspire us in our moments of self-doubt and crises. We come out stronger in the end because these fantasy action adventure stories encase themselves in our memories and the strength we need for the moment is within us.
Recap of the Hero's Journey
The Hero's Journey is many things for readers. A time to immerse ourselves in a fantasy world and get away from our own daily problems. It's a story of adventure that helps us forget our own boring lives. It's motivation to do more and be more in the lives we live. The hero's journey in the fantasy action-adventure genre leads us to a life of adventure we never imagined.
- The Hero on the Farm
- The Call to Adventure
- The Inciting Incident
- Female Protagonists - The Hero isn't always Male
- The Prophecy
- Ethical Dilemmas - It's not all fun and games.
- The Impact of the Final Battle on Future Generations
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Images in this article are from Unsplash thanks to:
Anna Saveleva - woman kneeling with sword
Artim Kniez - Final Battle at Sunrise
Prateek Katyal - You Got This