The Matrix in relation to the clasical hero's journey

Essay by zachjones4Junior High, 9th gradeA+, November 2004

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In the film "The Matix" the main character Neo is taken on a journey that by all acounts seems to fit the model of the classical "hero's journey" pattern. From his call to adventure by way of Morpheus, to the road of trials that included his meeting with the Oracle, he experienced a very text book style adventure.

The first step of a hero's journey is the departure, which has several underlying topics such as the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, the supernatural aid, the crossing of the first threshold, and the belly of the whale, which means that the character is unsure of his quest.

Neo's call to adventure comes in the form of Morpheus, the philosophical "father figure" that leads Neo on his journey by first contacting him. He tells Neo about the agents coming for him and how to evade them.

Next, Neo refuses the call when he refuses to walk to the next ledge on the outside of the building, therefore being apprehended by the agents and interrogated. His supernatural aid comes in the form of Trinity, who calls him on the phone, picks him up, and sucks a the most literal image of a wire tap or "bug" out of him. Neo officially crosses the threshold and enters the world of the matrix when he chooses to take the red pill from Morpheus. Finally, he has the "belly of the whale" syndrome when everything he has ever known, his logic, is literally ripped apart with his departure from the matrix and into the doomsday-ish world, as Morpheus exposes the lies that are the matix.

The next step in the hero's journey is the road of trials. This step includes the meeting with a goddess, a woman as an...