The Call to Adventure

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell laid out the structure for the monomyth (also known as the Hero’s Journey) — a template that many stories across various cultures and times seem to follow. Many famous movies and books can be mapped to the monomyth — Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Lion King (Hamlet), to name a few.

The monomyth is a series of stages a hero goes through in an adventure. It roughly follows three major sections: departure, initiation, and return, further broken into subsections.

The first section of the first phase, departure, is called The Call to Adventure. The hero starts off in a mundane situation and receives information that acts as a call to head off into the unknown.

• In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker lives a mundane life on his uncle’s Tatooine farm until he discovers Princess Leia’s call for help in R2-D2.

• In Harry Potter, Harry lives in a cupboard under the stairs in his uncle’s house until he discovers he’s a wizard (“you’re a wizard, Harry”) and has been accepted to Hogwarts.

• In The Lion King, Simba lives a carefree life until his father tells him he will inherit the kingdom.

The Call to Adventure is important to study because that’s how most narratives start. It’s a disruption in the equilibrium. And since narratives underpin almost everything (including, and maybe especially, startups), it can be a way of either identifying the start of a story or creating a new one.

So, how does The Call to Adventure start? A few different patterns.

• Invitation from a Mentor or Guide.

• Discovery of a Personal Ability or Artifact.

• Threat or Attack on the Hero or Home.

• A Sudden Change in Circumstances.

• A Quest for Revenge or Justice

• A Dream or Vision

• The Pursuit of Love or Rescue Mission

• Inadvertent Discovery or Mistake

• Destiny or Prophecy

• Personal Desire for Change

• Call to Duty or Responsibility

• Curiosity and Exploration

• Natural Disaster or Phenomenon

• Escape from Captivity or Oppression

• Chosen by a Higher Power