HERO'S JOURNEY CHART Be sure to read and review Lectures I, II, and III in before doing this assignment.

You may use the form below or write an essay to answer these questions.

This assignment involves analyzing a film in basic archetypal terms. Choose a film which you have seen recently or with which you are very familiar and discuss its archetypal characteristics. (It's a good idea to select a film which you think has such characteristics in the first place, of course! And it doesn't have to exhibit all of them.) The film you choose does not need to be a typical "hero" film; almost any film can be appropriate! You do not have to compose an essay for this assignment but should answer as many questions as possible as fully as possible. Feel free to copy this form along with the questions.

Movie: Terminator 2 -- Judgment Day

SEPARATION

Call to Adventure: How does the hero character receive the call to adventure?

The hero (heroine) in this case is Sarah Connor, although there are many questions in this list that could and would pertain to the Terminator as well. The "call" comes in the form of when Sarah is busted out of the insane asylum by John Connor (her son) and the Terminator.

Refusal of the Call: Does the character accept the call immediately?

Yes ... the director of the Terminator saving Sarah is to take her away to safety. They do this initially but Sarah breaks away from the group to stop the Skynet timeline by assassinating the main scientist behind what leads to Skynet and Judgment Day (the nuclear holocaust cited at the beginning of the movie)

Answering the Call: What motivates the character to accept the call?

She has a dream about the nuclear holocaust caused by Skynet. She wakes up and remembers and realizes that she has etched "No Fate" in the picnic table she is sitting on. This inspires her to decide that she can stop the timeline by killing the scientist, named Dyson ... and she takes off on her own to do so.

DIVINE or SUPERNATURAL AID and OBSTACLES

Guide/Mentor: Is there a specific character who helps the hero understand the situation or provides special tools, training, or information? Who and what?

Yes ... the Terminator. He guides and bargains with John Connor initially (although the Terminator technically has to do what he is told by John) and then he guides Sarah and John together after the breakout. His last advice is that he has to destroy himself to fully eliminate the Skynet timeline.

Talisman: Is there a particular item having special significance to the hero?

The cyborgs in general ... the good and the bad. The Terminator in the second movie, for examples helps Sara Connor. However, she is terrified in the second one upon seeing him in the asylum because one just like that Terminator tried to kill her in the first one.

Companions: Who accompanies the hero on this journey? How does this companionship progress and help?

The Terminator and John

Crossing the Threshold: At what point does the hero leave the familiar world and move into a new, unfamiliar circumstance?

After the Terminator is lowered into the lava pit, presumably ending the Skynet timeline. As such, a new timeline has been created.

Threshold Guardians: Are there characters that try to prevent the hero from crossing over into the new territory or circumstance? How do they test the hero?

The T-1000 ... the enemy Terminator sent to kill John.

Initiation/Road of Trials: What specific challenges does the hero face?

Breaking Sarah out of the asylum, getting to Cyberdyne to destroy the work in progress and then getting away from the T-1000 ... who follows them the entire time. The movie ends with the destruction of the T-1000, the Terminator parts that Cyberdyne had (from the first movie) and then the good Terminator.

Brother Battle: Does the hero battle physically or mentally with a relative or close friend?

Sarah and John absolutely butt heads at several points throughout the movie.

Meeting with the Goddess: Does the hero meet a character with special power or beauty?

Not beauty ... but both the good and bad terminators have varying amounts of supreme power and ability as compared to humans.

Abduction: Is the character or someone close to the character kidnapped?

In a sense ... Sarah herself is in the insane asylum because of her recitation of what happened in the first movie. It really happened but the authorities think...

She is housed (and abused) in that asylum until John and the Terminator free her.
Night or Sea Journey: Where and when does the hero travel?

They travel south and away from the city initially but then travel back

Dragon Battle: Does the hero battle some kind of monster, real or metaphoric, physical or not? Does the hero have to face some kind of inner demon?

The "monster" in this movie is clearly the T-1000, although the "good" terminator is also emblematic of what is being destroyed.

Ritual Death or Dismemberment: Is the hero injured or thought to be dead, or does the hero mistakenly believe someone close to him is dead? Does the hero lose a limb or the use of some body part, literally or metaphorically?

While Sarah is merely injured along the way, the Terminator is seemingly vanquished near the end of the film but is able to recover and take out the T-1000. The good Terminator does lose one of his arms at the elbow during the sequence.

Sacred Marriage: Does the hero have a special emotional bond (it could literally be a marriage)? Atonement ("at one" with) or John and Sarah are the obvious ones here ... son and mother.

Recognition by the Father: Is the hero reunited with the father, father figure, or metaphoric or archetypal father? (Archetypally, the father represents business or material success.)

One could point to the Terminator and Dyson on this one ... the man who started the path to the Terminator and the Terminator himself. The scene after the assassination of Dyson by Sarah when the Terminator peels off his arm to clearly show he is not human lays things bare to Dyson. Dyson is very much the father or patriarch of the Terminator models ... both the T-800 (the good Terminator) and the T-1000 (the bad one)

The Belly of the Whale: When does the hero must confront the darkest evil or deepest fears?

The best example is the "No Fate" sequence mentioned earlier. They eventually take another path to meet the same end ... but Sarah's motives were in the right place ... one life to save billions.

Apotheosis/Deification: Is there a point in the story when the hero is idolized and/or idealized? Ultimate Boon/Magic Elixir: Does the hero find some solution to the problem? This might be a magic key, a potion, or an answer or a lesson, for example.

Yes ... when John first comes across the Terminator and he instructs him to rough up the guys that are ridiculing him. Things almost get very bad when the Terminator is about to take a gun and shoot them ... but John is quite smug about the outcome up to that point and is clearly in awe of the Terminator and what he can do.

THE RETURN

Refusal of the Return: Does the hero initially refuse to return to the homeland or place where the quest began? Does the hero disbelieve that a return is even possible?

As noted earlier, there is initially the fleeing from the city but Sarah knows that this will not stop Dyson. Also as noted above, she shifts gears when she remembers what will happen if Dyson is not stopped.

Magic Flight/Pursuit: Is there some point (usually toward the end) when the hero is being chased or is trying to escape something, perhaps with the boon?

The sequence from where the Cyberdyne building is destroyed to the final scene near the molten lava pit is absolutely the magic flight where the trio is being chased by the T-1000.

Rescue from Without: Is there a point in the film when all seems hopeless, and then suddenly and unexpectedly, the hero is rescued?

Yes. As mentioned earlier, it seems the T-800 is vanquished as he loses his arm and is impaled by a steel rod by the T-1000. However, he switches to alternate power and ends up saving the Connors.

Crossing the Return Threshold: Is there some point when the hero clearly returns "home"?

When returning to deal with Dyson, Sarah was clearly doing that.

Master of Two Worlds: Does it appear that the hero has conquered life in both the familiar and unfamiliar worlds?

Indeed. There is what she knew she could do (stop Dyson) but she is still unsure of what will happen. Regardless, she will generally know how to react based on what happens next ... if anything.

Freedom to Live: Since the hero typically begins the quest to resolve a problem, does it appear the problem is at last solved so that all can live freely?

For the most part. One HUGE loose end in all of this is that the father of John is actually a guy named a Reese ...…