The
Hero's Journey
The Monomyth (or Hero's Journey) is a description of
a cycle pattern found in narratives from different
cultures and eras, theory explored by anthropologist
Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a
Thousand Faces.
Basically there are many stages of the Hero's
Journey (some stories may contain all stages, only a
few or focus on one or two of them).
1. The Hero in the ordinary world, receives a call
to enter a world of powers and supernatural events.
Freddy is the legendary dog waited by
every dog and he must save the Fortune Tree; he
has visions where hundreds of dogs beg for his
help.
2. If the hero accepts the call, he needs to undergo
trials or perform tasks alone or with some help. At
the height of his journey, he has to survive a
challenge, often achieved with help along the way
Freddy is helped by his
faithful friend Dach, a cat named Grace, Don Coro,
B- chan and many others. He almost drowns, is
chased by police dogs, rescues imprisoned dogs, is
attacked by a bear, goes through the Death Forest,
faces a violent sandstorm and at the height of his
journey, has his little body burned by boiling
lava that flows from the dying Fortune Tree.
3. If the hero survives, he won a major trophy,
prize or blessing
Freddy survives and the Fortune
Tree is saved.
4. So, he must decide whether to return to the
ordinary world. If he decides to return, the Hero
faces new challenges on the way back
Freddy returns to Ai
5. If the hero returns home, the award must be used
for the common good
With the heroic act of Freddy,
Humanity and Nature were saved.
* Note: if
you do not want to know what happens in the series,
do not read from here on
THE JOURNEY OF FREDDY, THE LEGENDARY DOG and
Corocorone, the redeemed villain
by Gisele (who watched Fortune Dogs dubbed
in Portuguese)
Freddy's Journey
Don Coro's Journey
Monomyth (Hero's Journey according to Joseph
Campbell)
DEPARTURE
1. The call to adventure
A problem might arise before
the Hero. Alas, Freddy's owner (Ai) begins
to act strangely —
even with her beloved Freddy around, she is unhappy,
and sometimes even forgets the dog; Panther, the
beloved criminal "Papa" (jewel thief) of
Corocorone/Dom Coro (Bulldog), besides being
despising his dog, is wounded by gunfire by the
police; Panther can not seek medical help and he
hides in an abandoned bus. Dom Coro is devastated.
Or the adventure begins with a
single error A dark mist appears and
transforms the hearts of men, disconnecting the
hearts of dogs. Over time, humanity will turn off
completely from all the animals and plants and will
be wiped out. (we can advance the
beginning of Freddy's journey, if we consider that
it began after he enters by mistake on a bus
thinking that Ai was inside it).
The call to adventure usually
happens through a herald and this (human or
animal) is often grim, disgusting or terrifying.
The Herald marks the awakening of the self.
Typical scenarios where it happens are called the
black forest, the big tree, the murmuring
fountain. Freddy
doesn't understand why he was left by Ai tied to a
tree at the park, the Siberian Husky Freezer
appears, gloomy, frightening the little dog saying
that humans are unstable, that his owner abandoned
him, and she shall not return.
Soon after, Freddy has a vision: thousands of dogs
crying out for his help, while the Fortune Tree is
burning. He hears the voice of Ai saying that the
only one who can save the tree is the legendary
Freddy —
Freddy awakens screaming that he is not the
legendary dog.
The hero can even return to
his ordinary life, but a number of indications of
growing strength will make clear that the call can
not be refused. Ai returns for Freddy and
things seem to return to normal, she even takes
Freddy for a picnic in the countryside on a sunny
day.
2. Refusal of the call
Nothing better than meals at
right time ... For fear or indifference, the Hero
can refuse the adventure, not wanting to give up
what he considers important to him, not wanting a
change from his current status quo.
So, the Hero must suffer some
pain in order for him finally accept the call —
or
reject it definitively. During the night,
sleeping with Ai, Freddy has another vision of dogs
begging for his help and again he says that he is
not the legendary puppy.
Only after does Ai appear in the
vision asking Freddy to help,
he promises to become the "real Freddy" to save her.
3.The supernatural aid
The first encounter i with a
protective figure (often an old man or woman) who
provides amulets that will protect against the
forces the hero is about to fight.
The German Shepherd Eiji says Freddy IS the
legendary dog and only he can save the Fortune
Tree. Freddy accepts the job and decides to look
for, along with Dach, the wise old Bernardon, as he
had already said the first time they met that Freddy
would soon have a mission to fulfill.
Don Coro
looks for a wise hermit who lives on a mountain for
advice —
he wants to know how to save his "daddy" Panther.
The wise dog (after being bribed with some dog
treats...) says that the Fortune Tree can fulfill
any kind of wish and that the key to finding it is
with Freddy.
The supernatural helper often
takes the masculine form. In fairy tales may be
some being that inhabits the forest, a magician,
hermit, shepherd, or smith that appears to provide
the amulets and advice that the Hero will need.
The hero for whom this type of
aid appears is typically the one who answered the
call. Through Freddy, Don Coro learns
about Bernardon, the elder, and goes to him;
impersonating the legendary dog, Coro receives a
Stone that will protect him.
When Freddy and Dach reach Bernardon, Don Coro is
alrady gone, taking with him the Stone intended for
the legendary dog —
and the elderly dog can not repeat the
instructions for how to find the Tree, because he is
very ill.
Freddy and Dach depart again and reach Don Coro's
henchman(dog), Noppe, yanking from him the direction
they should follow.
4. The passage through the first threshold
Following his journey, the Hero must now pass the
ordinary world into the unknown world, and beyond
these limits are the darkness and the danger. The
average person is content to remain within the
limits; the Hero has every right to fear the first
step toward the unexplored. Freddy and Dach
enter the Death Forest, both terrified.
Often, they must be guided and
controlled like children. Dach had already
said to Freddy that he was a spoiled dog: every
time something happens you don't know what to do
and starts whining. Control your emotions. Tummy
in and walk more elegantly!
The folk mythologies are full
of old, ugly women, and dangerous presences. A
voice warns about the mortal dangers of crossing
that forest —
a
stag turns into a handful of bones trying.
The hero must face the
guardian of the threshold. Don Coro, ahead
of Freddy and Dach, is going through the Death
Forest, when he is attacked by a huge bear; he loses
the Stone and falls to the ground, wounded.
Freddy and Dach reach Don Coro and the huge bear,
which presents itself as the Guardian of the Forest.
Freddy faces the Guardian, saying that Don Coro is
his friend, his partner, and always will be, no
matter what. The Bear reaffirms that he will kill
the three of them and strikes again; Coro, having
heard the words of friendship spoken by Freddy,
rises to defend them. Don Coro protects with his own
body Dach and Freddy when the bear attacks. A strong
light illuminates the three of them and the Guardian
turns a pile of bones.
The regions of the unknown
(desert, jungle, deep sea, alien land etc) are
fields for the projection of unconscious contents.
5. The belly of the whale
The idea that the passage of
the magical threshold is a transit into a sphere
of rebirth is symbolized in the worldwide image of
the uterus, or the whale's belly. The hero,
instead of conquering or placate the force, is
thrown into the unknown, giving the impression
that he died.
Freddy, now with the Stone, and Dach follow the path
taught by a friendly wolf pack and end up falling
over a precipice. Have they died? (Dom Coro, before
entering the Forest, also met certain death after
falling off a cliff because of police dogs that were
chasing him).
In fact, the Hero is
transformed, he is reborn, and now is ready
for the challenges ahead.
Freddy and Dach survive the fall and walk along a
desert, a landscape of desolation.
(Dom Coro survives the fall, too, but that is where
the Stone is lost for the first time —
and it ends up in front of Freddy and Dach; badly
wounded, Coro crawls into a dark cave, where he
finds a hot spring. The Stone could heal his wounds;
So Noppe —
who was traveling with Freddy and Dach —
steals it and takes it to his Boss, he heals and
goes to the Forest where he faces the Bear.)
INITIATION
1. The Road of Trials
Having crossed the threshold,
the hero walks in a dreamscape. Freddy and Dach
continue walking with difficulty in that desert
landscape that looks more like a nightmare.
Don Coro, along with Noppe and Kowalski, is going
through the wilderness populated by curiously fluid,
ambiguous forms.
It begins a violent sandstorm; Dach quits.
The Hero is aided, covertly,
by the board, the charms and the secret agents of
the supernatural helper that was known before
penetrating this region.
Ai and some of his friends, Max, Cocco and Ryoma,
appear to Freddy and encourage him to continue his
journey.
2. The meeting with the goddess
3. A woman as temptation
4. In tune with the father
5. Apotheosis
The Hero's ego is
disintegrated in an expansion of his
consciousness, he will take a bigger view of
things, allowing him to come to sacrifice.
Freddy finds the Fortune Tree, but can not reach the
hole where he must place the Stone; in trying, he
burns himself several times in boiling lava that
oozes from the trunk, until help arrives —
Don Coro.
Don Coro, the friend who had betrayed Freddy
stealing the Stone in order to save his beloved
owner, helps the little French Bulldog save the
Fortune Tree (and therefore, nature and humanity),
protecting him with his own body until they reach
the hole, and Freddy can fit the Stone —
thereby sacrificing his own life.
6.The last blessing
The Hero faced death, overcame his
fears and now earns a reward.
The Fortune Tree is saved, the dark mist disappears,
nature and humanity are saved.
RETURN
1. The refusal of the return
The Hero must return with his
trophy, he should start working to bring the
symbols of wisdom back to the human realm, where
the blessing achieved can renewal the community,
the nation, the planet or the ten thousand worlds.
But this responsibility is often refused.
What
Freddy has done has benefited immediately the
planet, and he wants to come home, to the
ordinary world where his beloved Ai is, and
does it without problems.
Sources:
The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
Wikipedia - Portuguese
Wikipedia - English