Jhoel
Peguero
ENG 101/103
Neo’s Journey to Heroism
A hero
is someone who is chosen to protect mankind from danger. Neo in the movie “The Matrix” is a perfect example of
being a hero. Joseph Campbell’s theory “Hero Journey” talks about how a hero
goes through these stages called the twelve stages to a hero’s journey. Each
stage has an act that Neo goes through on his path of becoming the savoir. The chapters
that Joseph Campbell mentions from his book “The hero with a thousand faces”. Here are some of the stages that
Neo goes through, 1) Departure, 2) The call to Adventure,3) Supernatural Aid, 4)
The crossing of the first threshold. 5) Test, allies, and enemies, 6) Approach
to the most Inmost cave, 7) seizing the sword and reward and, 8) Departure of
the hero. These’s acts are Neo’s guide of becoming a hero through the Matrix.
So with Joseph Campbell’s theory Neo is the hero.
The
first stage of Neo’s journey is “The Ordinary World”. Before Neo starts his
journey, he first lived in a world where he thought was reality. He had a
regular job, just like everyone else. He was also a hacker that went by the
name of Neo. He knew something was up because; he was able to see on to another
world through his computer. He also felt like someone was trying to contact
him.
The
second stage is “The Call of the Adventure”; it’s when the hero has to make
a drastic change. In this stage Neo realizes that the world that he’s living
isn’t the world that he thinks he knows. Neo receives a call from a mysterious
person and informs him that a group of agents were coming after him. The
mysterious man goes by the name of Morpheus. Morpheus:“Yes. I've been
looking for you, Neo. I don't know if you're ready to see what I want to show
you, but unfortunately you and I have run out of time. They're coming for you,
Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do” Neo:“Who's coming for me?” That conversation between the two
triggers Neo into a position that he’s never encountered. And that’s what most
hero’s face when the encounter something unusual. Another strange encounter
that Neo had faced was the two choices he had to make. Morpheus gave Neo two
options and they were the red pill and the blue pill. If Neo chose the blue
pill then he would wake up and believe what he wants to believe. If he took the
red pill then he would know the truth. He took the red pill and thus his
journey began. 
The third stage is Supernatural
Aid. “For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter of the
hero-journey is with a protective figure”(57). Basically its saying that Neo
took the red pill so now he has to expect things that he usually isn’t familiar
with. Neo:“Morpheus,
what's happened to me? What is this place?” Neo is unaware of what’s going on, and
thus does not want to realize that he’s living in reality. Morpheaus:“What is real. How do you define
real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you
can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your
brain”. Morpheus the protective figure explains to new about the new world that
he is living in. Neo not accepting the truth tries to deny it. Neo:“Take this thing off me. Take
this thing..”. Trinity:“Listen to me...”. Neo:“Don't
touch me. Stay away from me. I don't want it. I don't believe it. I don't
believe it.” This shows Neo not accepting of what
he’s seeing. But later on Neo accepts it and trains with Morpheus. Morpheus
aids Neo of his journey by giving him advice and being his mentor. Morpheus:“How
did I beat you?.” Neo:“Your
too fast.” Morpheus:“Do you believe that my
being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? You
think that's air you're breathing now?... Again.” With the conversation between the two,
Morpheus’s role as being a mentor, tries to give Neo the confidence and not
doubt his ability.
The
fourth stage is “The crossing of the first Threshold.” “With the
personifications of his destiny to guide and aids him, the hero goes forward in
his adventure until he comes to the threshold guardian at the entrance to the
zone of magnified power.”(64) In this stage Neo explore more about his destiny
of becoming the hero. He goes to a woman called the Oracle, who can give him
the answer. As he waits for her, he learns something about himself and the
matrix. Spoon boy:“Do
not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead only try to realize the
truth.” Neo:“What
truth?” Spoon
boy:“There is no spoon.” That gave Neo an idea of what he could
really be as a hero. He meets the Oracle and she told him what he wanted to
hear from her. Oracale:“You're
going to have to make a choice. In the one hand you'll have Morpheus' life and
in the other hand you'll have your own. One of you is going to die. Which one
will be up to you. I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. You have a good soul, and I
hate giving good people bad news. Oh, don't worry about it. As soon as you step
outside that door, you'll start feeling better. You'll remember you don't
believe in any of this fate crap. You're in control of your own life, remember?
Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel
right as rain.”
This was the last thing the oracle had told Neo about. 
The
fifth stage is test, allies and enemies. In this stage Neo learns about how
his allies and who are his enemies are. He’s also is going to take some test. One test that Neo took was that long jump he had to do. He
didn’t make it and he said Neo:“I thought
it wasn't real.” That showed some confusion but then an
idea of how the Matrix works. We all know that one of Neo’s enemies were the
agents. But a secret enemy of his was a crew member by the name of Cypher. Cypher
was very jealous of Neo because Trinity was in love with Neo and not with him. Cypher:“I don't remember you
bringing me dinner. There is something about him, isn't there?” Which shows his jealousy towards Neo. Cypher
later on betrays them by telling the agents that Morpheus knew how to get out
of the matrix. We also know that Neo’s allies are Morpheus, Trinity and Tank.
These guys are reasons why Neo is the Hero that he is. 
The sixth stage is called “Approach to the most Inmost cave”
which is when Neo has realize that he has to face danger. Neo:
“The
Oracle. She told me this would happen. She told me that I would have to make a
choice” Which tells us that the Oracle told Neo what
he wanted to hear and that was to make a choice. He did want to control his
destiny so now he has the chance to do so. Morpheus was captured Neo took
action with Trinity to save him. It was suicide, but that rescue mission was
also a way for Neo to be able to unlock his true potential. Trinity:“You moved
like they do. I've never seen anyone move that fast.” Which is example of Neo’s
hidden potential. Something he never knew he had nor can do. He saves Morpheus,
but is encounter with agent Smith and has no choice but to fight him. Since he
threw everything at him and nothing has hurt him, Neo decides to run from him.
The
seventh stage is called “Seizing the sword and reward.” In this stage Neo is facing
death due from the beating from the agents. But is rewarded since he thought he
might have lost his treasure which was trinity. Trinity:“Neo, I'm not
afraid anymore. The Oracle told me that I would fall in love, and that man, the
man who I loved would be the one. And so you see, you can't be dead. You can't
be, because I love you. You hear me? I love you.... Now get up.” That
calling from Trinity is what triggered Neo to be resurrected and to have God
like powers. Morpheus:“He is The One.” That statement made my Morpheus proved
that Neo finally has become a hero.
The
final stage is called “Departure” in this stage/chapter it talks about
Neo’s story ending after he had won the battle. Neo:“I
know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're
afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come
here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's
going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone and then I'm going to show
these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world
without you, a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries,
a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave
to you.” This was Neo’s final message and like
all good hero’s he wants to save everyone from the prison of lies that there
living.
In conclusion these were the stages that Neo
had to go through to become a Hero. He has faced many challenges but at the end
of the day was able to overcome it. 
Works Cited
Campbell,
Joseph. The Hero’s Journey. Google Web. May 2012
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Pantheron.
Books. 2008. Print.
The
Matrix. Larry Wachoswki 1999.Warne Bros. Picture May 2012. Dvd
Screenplays for You." Screenplays
for You - Free Movie Scripts and Screenplays. May 2012
Wachowski, Larry, and Wachowski
Andy. "The Matrix (1999) Movie Script –
