SF/Fan I - Week 8 - The Monomyth

Assignment:

Short Answer:

1. Research the Monomyth. Give me 1-2 paragraphs on its meaning, and specifically WHY it is important to understand for us as readers and writers of fantastical literature (horror, science fiction, science fantasy, fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, legends).

The monomyth is a partial template that can be used to add structure to fantastical literature. It can help the writer analyze his own writing for purposes of comparison with other similar writings to his work. It is a flexible in that:

“Very few myths contain all of these stages - some myths contain many of the stages, while others contain only a few; some myths may have as a focus only one of the stages, while other myths may deal with the stages in a somewhat different order.”1

Those areas which the writer can identify as similar to the outline of the monomyth can be compared to make sure his work is unique. They can also give him confidence that he is following a winning formula without copying a known formation of ideas.

“The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” Wikipedia; The Free Encyclopedia.


2. Write 3 paragraphs explicating how you envision applying the structure of the Monomyth to the story-or novel chapter-you will turn in for your Final Assignment, due March 16.

In my Final Assignment, I will turn in the prologue along with the first chapter of a piece which I thought I was going to scrap but am thinking about making it into a novella. Since I will only be turning in the beginning of the story the monomyth can only be starting to unfold.

In my prologue, the protagonist of that scene finds himself in the new world of visiting a cave full of humans who have to resort to cannibalism to survive. He will face the challenge of helping the dying human race survive by using magic to create a process by which he can drain the life force of a dying man and provide it to babies so as to keep the species alive. This is the part where he overcomes his trial. Then when he goes back to his world off-planet, he is set up to return to the planet as a redeeming god for those who choose good over bad and worship him. For those who don’t and choose bad over good, he has the power to keep them out of going to the happy side of the Afterlife when they die. This power of who can and can’t go to the good side of the AfterLife is the boon he returns with to use for the good of mankind.

The part where he uses magic to drain the life force of man to keep the species alive was him using his feminine side to deal with the goddess of the story. He will see the men he saved turn towards worshipping and practicing evil, and he will get disenchanted with the goddess. Changing his magical spell so that only the men who choose good over bad and worship him is where he reaffirms his male side.