An anonymous person once said, “If you know the journey beforehand, you’d learn nothing along the way”. Joseph Campbell believed there are three major stages that you go through during a hero’s journey. To start you go through a separation, from your world where you’re used to everything. Next, during this stage, you transition to the new world where you face many challenges. Finally, you return to the world you are used to and then you give a gift.
Whale rider shows us an example of the hero’s journey through its main charter Paikea. Campbell’s first stage is separated from the known world. The next in line to become chief was the first-born male of the tribe. When Pai mother and twin brother dies doing birth the grandfather Koro, took it hard which caused him to be upset with Paikea because she has no heir to be chief. When Pai farther returned home from it was decided that Paikea would return with him back to Australia.
However, on the way to the airport Pai got a sing from a whale that she thought she belongs with her grandparents. This was, in fact, her calling. Stage two is initiation and transformation. The second stage of Pai journey started when she retunes from leaving with her dad. From the first day back, she and her grandfather have become distant. First, he ignores her while he was in a meeting that he didn’t pick her up from school which leads to her being disrespectful to him when he told her to move to the back because she was a female and she disobeyed him and in return, he kicked her out.
While fighting to prove that she was fit to be chief she went through numerous test. For example, her grandfather didn’t want to teach her, so she enlists the help from her uncle to teach her. Then the first-born males of the village that was taught by Koro all failed the final test of returning the test of returning the whale tooth, Pai succeed. Finally, while at her school’s concert she wins a speech contest in which she horns her grandfather who shaped her to become a true leader. These trials help her to become physically and spiritually strong.
Campbell’s third stage is the return to the known world. Koro found a herd of whales that have surfaced on the beach. While the village tries to keep the whales alive by placing water on their backs and pushing them towards the ocean Pai was successful in getting the great whale back in the ocean by riding it. When she was riding the whale disappear from shore, she said that she was not afraid to die which was the allotment sacrifice. Pai disappearance sent her grandmother to the grievance in which she gave Koro the whale tooth that Paikea retrieved. He finally realized that Pai was the chosen one was supposed to be chief all along. Pai was found weeks later and rush to the hospital. Koro asked for forgiveness from the ancestors in front of Pai, later she wakes a new leader and hero.
Although there are three major stages of the hero’s journey, there are many components within those stages which was taken by Paikea. Perseverance is a strength that most don’t have but Pai exhibited well. The person she looked up to most didn’t believe in her. She tried to prove her love and respect to him through a variety of trails to only be accepted only after almost dying. If I was in her position I don’t think that I would have been able to keep going after my role mole. However, life brings different challenges; some might be harder than others, but you must treat each other as a teaching moment.
There Are Three Main Stages On The Hero's Path. (2021, Dec 18). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/there-are-three-main-stages-on-the-hero-s-path/