The Secret to Understanding Literature

There's a secret to understanding literature. Most literature, that is, and I'm guessing all literature you will encounter in English class, and that's what we're concerned about here anyway.

A short aside here: Tim and I went to see The Grey a while ago. It was a gruesome and very unsatisfying movie. Spoiler alert: everyone dies, including the hero. If you're ever in a plane crash in remote Alaska, hope that you die in the crash. It would be a blessing. I digress.

It didn't take much thought to realize why the movie was unsatisfying. It didn't follow the hero's journey. The very best literature throughout all time, the classics, the stories we tell for generations, include the elements of the hero's journey.

The hero's journey is not a formula. The elements don't have to appear in a certain order. It's possible for the villain to be the anti-hero. In fact, the most creative stories turn the elements of the hero's journey on their head and surprise us. But the elements are there.

If you want to improve your grade in your English, literature, and writing classes, the secret is to understand the hero's journey:

• Intro
• The Archetypes
• The Ordinary World
• Call to Adventure
• Refusal of the Call
• Meeting with the Mentor
• Crossing the First Threshold
• Tests, Allies, Enemies
• Approach to the Inmost Cave
• The Ordeal
• The Reward (Seizing the Sword)
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with the Elixir

How does understanding the hero's journey help you with your reading and writing? Read what others have to say.