From Zero to Hero. The Hero's Journey as Presented in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Book Series

This essay aims to explore and explain the phenomenon of the Hero’s Journey and the various archetypes known in folklore, and show the ways in which the Harry Potter series conforms to both subjects. The Hero’s Journey is introduced, as well as two prominent authorities on the subject, Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler. The stages of the Hero‘s Journey are discussed in the order in which they have been put forth by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer‘s Journey. More attention is devoted to the Return stage of the journey than the other stages, as it provides an interesting basis for further analysis in connection with the Harry Potter series. It offers up the chance to look at Harry’s various returns from the world of magic, both in terms of each individual book as well as looking at the series as a whole. The topic then turns to the Jungian archetypes which are often used as analytical tools in folkloristics, and showing how they too are represented in the Harry Potter series. The archetypes are the building blocks from which all character creation stems, and it is no different with this series. A detailed analysis of the Hero archetype is presented, as it is important to understand the Hero’s motivations. The issue at hand is how each stage is represented in the Harry Potter series and what effects they have on the story. It is a valid argument to say that the Harry Potter series conforms to the Hero’s Journey structure, since what the plot boils down to is a young boy’s quest to regain what has been taken from him, a family