Separate Journeys, Same Fates
Hello, I am SN and I will be talking about two separate heroes and their journeys. One of the two heroes will be fictional. That means that he/she is not real and is from either a book, movie, tv show, video game, etc. The other hero is real and is someone I know and interviewed for this AP. What do these two heroes have in common? Well, they both follow the steps to Joseph Campbell’s monomyth of a hero’s journey.
First, heroes have to go through separation from their own world, figuratively or literally. Second, they go through a vast majority of tests of any kind to claim the title of ‘hero’. Third, they have to return to their world after achieving the ultimate boon, symbolically or physically. The fictional hero I chose to analyze is Scott Pilgrim from “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”. One of the main reasons I chose him is because he is an awesome comic book character, and “Scott Pilgrim vs the World” is one of my most favorite movies of all time. However, I also chose him because each step he takes in a hero’s journey are easy to identify. The real hero is my dad, Matt Nicklin, and his hero’s journey of how he met my mom. The story is more than what it seems, that is why I chose to interview him. Some things my dad and Scott Pilgrim have in common are that they were both in a band, and they both have interesting stories of how they met their respective girls. I hope you enjoy!
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FICTIONAL HERO: Scott Pilgrim
Scott Pilgrim is a regular guy who dates a high schooler named Knives Chau who everyone knows he is too old for, and is in a band called Sex Bob-omb. Let’s begin with Scott’s “Call to Adventure.” The “Call to Adventure” is the starting point for every hero’s journey. Scott Pilgrim’s “Call to Adventure” begins when he is having dreams of a different girl other than Knives - Ramona Flowers. He, eventually, finds out Ramona is a real person and goes out of his way to meet her, even though he is still dating Knives. During one of his band’s concerts, Scott is attacked by Ramona’s first evil ex-boyfriend who has special powers. Scott wins the fight and Ramona reveals that Scott needs to defeat ALL SEVEN of her evil exes in order to date her.
Ramona Flowers poses as Scott Pilgrim’s “Supernatural Aid” by giving him some backstory on how she fell in love and broke up with each evil ex. Some of the information she reveals about the exes helps Scott defeat them. A “Supernatural Aid” is somebody who helps guide the hero along his/her quest.
The next stage is “Crossing the First Threshold”. “Crossing the First Threshold” is when the hero can’t turn back on his/her journey. In this case, Scott Pilgrim crosses the first threshold when he goes on his first, real date with Ramona. There is no turning back from facing each of her evil exes after this. In the meantime, he still hasn’t let Knives know about Ramona, so he has also crossed the threshold of cheating on his current girlfriend.
After everytime a hero leaves his/her world a “Road of Trials” awaits them. The “Road of Trials” is when a hero faces many challenges along the way. Some might solve a puzzle or kill a monster. Scott Pilgrims “Road of Trials” is when Ramona’s evil exes come after Scott more regularly. One of the exes was in a Battle of the Bands with Scott. After Scott defeated him, Scott received a *1up* (extra life) that comes in handy later. Scott, officially, breaks up with Knives.
During his “Road of Trials”, Scott is tempted to leave his journey. Sometimes, a hero will go through “Temptation” to leave his/her journey for some reason. Scott Pilgrim is tempted to leave his journey when he starts to get tired of all of Ramona’s evil exes coming after him. It gets on his nerves and he breaks up with her, but he still has feelings for her. During their breakup, Ramona’s 7th evil ex, Gideon, asks to get back together with her. She accepts due to how Scott made her feel so guilty. This hurts Scott, mentally. Adding insult to injury, Gideon offers his band a recording contract with a huge deal. Scott refuses to accept the contract, but the rest of the band doesn’t, so Scott leaves the band. Things can’t get much worse for Scott at this point.
Every hero must die in his/her journey, mentally or physically. This is called the “Apostasis” (Death), where the lowest part of any story is. The Apostasis in this story is when Scott becomes miserable without Ramona. He comes to reclaim her as his girlfriend by fighting Gideon at the Chaos Theater, where his band is playing. He doesn’t acknowledge his friends’ feelings when he arrives. Scott fights Gideon, loses, and dies. He awakes in a dreamscape desert. Ramona appears and tells him the backstory of how she got together with Gideon. Scott realized that all he cared about was getting back together with Ramona, and he hadn’t been paying attention to his friends and band. He learns the important lesson of being sensitive to his friends’ feelings.
After a hero dies, he/she is reborn with an “Ultimate Boon”. That “Ultimate Boon” can be anything, it can be symbolic or actual. Scott Pilgrim receives his “Ultimate Boon” when he emerges from the dream and uses the *1up* (extra life) he received from earlier, and relives his fight with Gideon, but with a different approach. When he arrives, again, at the Chaos Theater, he apologizes to his friends and receives the Power of Self Respect which grants him a flaming katana. He fights Gideon with the katana and wins.
Whenever a hero completes their journey, they have the “Freedom to Live”. “Freedom to Live” is when a hero returns to his/her original life, but has no fear of death. Scott Pilgrim earns his “Freedom to Live” when he repairs his relationship with his bandmates and Ramona wants to go away with him to leave the past behind her. Now that Scott has fought all seven of her evil exes, they can be together and focus on themselves and the future. The End.
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REAL HERO: Matt Nicklin
Now that we are done with the fictional hero, let’s get real. I have interviewed someone from real life, my Dad, and talked about his hero’s journey of how he met my Mom.
My Dad’s “Call to Adventure” begins with him and his friends returning to Chicago after a long bike trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Not before long, on June 18, 1996, one of his friends had him come over to his birthday at a bar in Bucktown. At the time, my Dad’s friend was dating one of my Mom’s friends who was at the bar - my mom and dad had both been invited to the party. At a point during the evening, my Mom saw my Dad playing pinball and went over to talk to him, but he completely ignored her because...well...he was playing pinball.
After realizing that a girl had tried talking to him, my Dad reached the stage where he “Crosses the First Threshold”. One of his friends came up to him and said that she worked at JAM Productions, which was something he was really into because he played in a band. He went over to talk with her and they ended up playing Connect Four the rest of the night.
My Dad’s “Road of Trials” began when he had to deal with another guy who liked my Mom. Second, my Dad loses things and he lost my Mom’s number from the night before. He had to call a bunch of people he knew for her number so he could talk to her again. Third, on their first date, my Dad told my Mom that he worked at a bike shop. She told him about the flat tire on her bike. On their first date, my Dad brought her a bike inner-tube and tried to repair the tire. My Mom thought it was sweet.
My Dad struggled with “Temptation” to stop dating my Mom. He didn’t want to stop seeing her, but he was about to leave for an entire year to study to be a Marine Ecologist. My Dad knew it would be hard for them to be apart for so long, because they would both meet new people and have separate experiences.
My Dad reached the “Apostasis” stage when he didn’t get to see my Mom for a whole year. They didn’t have cellphones at the time, so they couldn’t even communicate from far away without scheduling calls or writing letters. The distance made him miserable. It was getting harder and harder for him to be away from her.
After the “Apostasis” stage, he gained his “Ultimate Boon”. His “Ultimate Boon” was realizing he loved my Mom and didn’t want to be away from her anymore. He made the decision to move back to Chicago after his program was over. After living together for a year in Chicago, my Dad decided to ask for her hand in marriage. My Dad met my Mom’s father at a restaurant where she used to waitress. Her Dad said to my Dad, “Matt, I figure you have come here for one of two reasons - you want to marry my daughter, or you want to break up with her and still hangout.” Lol! Of course, he picked the first one.
The next night, they went to the bar where they first met. He had a plan to propose to my Mom by dropping the engagement ring into one of the Connect Four slots so they would have a draw. Unfortunately, the bar said they had lost too many pieces and threw the game away. My Dad didn’t give up! He got down on one knee and proposed to her. Eventually, he reached the “Magic Flight” stage, where a hero must escape with a boon. My Dad escaped with his boon by marrying my Mom and going on a honeymoon. After that, they had the “Freedom to Live” happily ever after. The End.
First, heroes have to go through separation from their own world, figuratively or literally. Second, they go through a vast majority of tests of any kind to claim the title of ‘hero’. Third, they have to return to their world after achieving the ultimate boon, symbolically or physically. The fictional hero I chose to analyze is Scott Pilgrim from “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”. One of the main reasons I chose him is because he is an awesome comic book character, and “Scott Pilgrim vs the World” is one of my most favorite movies of all time. However, I also chose him because each step he takes in a hero’s journey are easy to identify. The real hero is my dad, Matt Nicklin, and his hero’s journey of how he met my mom. The story is more than what it seems, that is why I chose to interview him. Some things my dad and Scott Pilgrim have in common are that they were both in a band, and they both have interesting stories of how they met their respective girls. I hope you enjoy!
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FICTIONAL HERO: Scott Pilgrim
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| “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 12 Aug. 2010, www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/. |
Scott Pilgrim is a regular guy who dates a high schooler named Knives Chau who everyone knows he is too old for, and is in a band called Sex Bob-omb. Let’s begin with Scott’s “Call to Adventure.” The “Call to Adventure” is the starting point for every hero’s journey. Scott Pilgrim’s “Call to Adventure” begins when he is having dreams of a different girl other than Knives - Ramona Flowers. He, eventually, finds out Ramona is a real person and goes out of his way to meet her, even though he is still dating Knives. During one of his band’s concerts, Scott is attacked by Ramona’s first evil ex-boyfriend who has special powers. Scott wins the fight and Ramona reveals that Scott needs to defeat ALL SEVEN of her evil exes in order to date her.
Ramona Flowers poses as Scott Pilgrim’s “Supernatural Aid” by giving him some backstory on how she fell in love and broke up with each evil ex. Some of the information she reveals about the exes helps Scott defeat them. A “Supernatural Aid” is somebody who helps guide the hero along his/her quest.
The next stage is “Crossing the First Threshold”. “Crossing the First Threshold” is when the hero can’t turn back on his/her journey. In this case, Scott Pilgrim crosses the first threshold when he goes on his first, real date with Ramona. There is no turning back from facing each of her evil exes after this. In the meantime, he still hasn’t let Knives know about Ramona, so he has also crossed the threshold of cheating on his current girlfriend.
After everytime a hero leaves his/her world a “Road of Trials” awaits them. The “Road of Trials” is when a hero faces many challenges along the way. Some might solve a puzzle or kill a monster. Scott Pilgrims “Road of Trials” is when Ramona’s evil exes come after Scott more regularly. One of the exes was in a Battle of the Bands with Scott. After Scott defeated him, Scott received a *1up* (extra life) that comes in handy later. Scott, officially, breaks up with Knives.
During his “Road of Trials”, Scott is tempted to leave his journey. Sometimes, a hero will go through “Temptation” to leave his/her journey for some reason. Scott Pilgrim is tempted to leave his journey when he starts to get tired of all of Ramona’s evil exes coming after him. It gets on his nerves and he breaks up with her, but he still has feelings for her. During their breakup, Ramona’s 7th evil ex, Gideon, asks to get back together with her. She accepts due to how Scott made her feel so guilty. This hurts Scott, mentally. Adding insult to injury, Gideon offers his band a recording contract with a huge deal. Scott refuses to accept the contract, but the rest of the band doesn’t, so Scott leaves the band. Things can’t get much worse for Scott at this point.
Every hero must die in his/her journey, mentally or physically. This is called the “Apostasis” (Death), where the lowest part of any story is. The Apostasis in this story is when Scott becomes miserable without Ramona. He comes to reclaim her as his girlfriend by fighting Gideon at the Chaos Theater, where his band is playing. He doesn’t acknowledge his friends’ feelings when he arrives. Scott fights Gideon, loses, and dies. He awakes in a dreamscape desert. Ramona appears and tells him the backstory of how she got together with Gideon. Scott realized that all he cared about was getting back together with Ramona, and he hadn’t been paying attention to his friends and band. He learns the important lesson of being sensitive to his friends’ feelings.
After a hero dies, he/she is reborn with an “Ultimate Boon”. That “Ultimate Boon” can be anything, it can be symbolic or actual. Scott Pilgrim receives his “Ultimate Boon” when he emerges from the dream and uses the *1up* (extra life) he received from earlier, and relives his fight with Gideon, but with a different approach. When he arrives, again, at the Chaos Theater, he apologizes to his friends and receives the Power of Self Respect which grants him a flaming katana. He fights Gideon with the katana and wins.
Whenever a hero completes their journey, they have the “Freedom to Live”. “Freedom to Live” is when a hero returns to his/her original life, but has no fear of death. Scott Pilgrim earns his “Freedom to Live” when he repairs his relationship with his bandmates and Ramona wants to go away with him to leave the past behind her. Now that Scott has fought all seven of her evil exes, they can be together and focus on themselves and the future. The End.
--------------
REAL HERO: Matt Nicklin
Now that we are done with the fictional hero, let’s get real. I have interviewed someone from real life, my Dad, and talked about his hero’s journey of how he met my Mom.
My Dad’s “Call to Adventure” begins with him and his friends returning to Chicago after a long bike trip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Not before long, on June 18, 1996, one of his friends had him come over to his birthday at a bar in Bucktown. At the time, my Dad’s friend was dating one of my Mom’s friends who was at the bar - my mom and dad had both been invited to the party. At a point during the evening, my Mom saw my Dad playing pinball and went over to talk to him, but he completely ignored her because...well...he was playing pinball.
After realizing that a girl had tried talking to him, my Dad reached the stage where he “Crosses the First Threshold”. One of his friends came up to him and said that she worked at JAM Productions, which was something he was really into because he played in a band. He went over to talk with her and they ended up playing Connect Four the rest of the night.
My Dad’s “Road of Trials” began when he had to deal with another guy who liked my Mom. Second, my Dad loses things and he lost my Mom’s number from the night before. He had to call a bunch of people he knew for her number so he could talk to her again. Third, on their first date, my Dad told my Mom that he worked at a bike shop. She told him about the flat tire on her bike. On their first date, my Dad brought her a bike inner-tube and tried to repair the tire. My Mom thought it was sweet.
My Dad struggled with “Temptation” to stop dating my Mom. He didn’t want to stop seeing her, but he was about to leave for an entire year to study to be a Marine Ecologist. My Dad knew it would be hard for them to be apart for so long, because they would both meet new people and have separate experiences.
My Dad reached the “Apostasis” stage when he didn’t get to see my Mom for a whole year. They didn’t have cellphones at the time, so they couldn’t even communicate from far away without scheduling calls or writing letters. The distance made him miserable. It was getting harder and harder for him to be away from her.
After the “Apostasis” stage, he gained his “Ultimate Boon”. His “Ultimate Boon” was realizing he loved my Mom and didn’t want to be away from her anymore. He made the decision to move back to Chicago after his program was over. After living together for a year in Chicago, my Dad decided to ask for her hand in marriage. My Dad met my Mom’s father at a restaurant where she used to waitress. Her Dad said to my Dad, “Matt, I figure you have come here for one of two reasons - you want to marry my daughter, or you want to break up with her and still hangout.” Lol! Of course, he picked the first one.
The next night, they went to the bar where they first met. He had a plan to propose to my Mom by dropping the engagement ring into one of the Connect Four slots so they would have a draw. Unfortunately, the bar said they had lost too many pieces and threw the game away. My Dad didn’t give up! He got down on one knee and proposed to her. Eventually, he reached the “Magic Flight” stage, where a hero must escape with a boon. My Dad escaped with his boon by marrying my Mom and going on a honeymoon. After that, they had the “Freedom to Live” happily ever after. The End.
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