Why is Harry Potter a definitive hero in the classic archetypes of the "Hero's Journey" as described by Joseph Campbell?

Joseph Campbell, a scholar in the field of comparative mythology, came up with the archetypal hero's journey that occurs in many myths from around the world going back thousands of years. This journey has a common structure, or monomyth in Campbell's words, that involves an ordinary person, often experiencing some stress, embarking on a journey after hearing a call to adventure. Campbell has identified several steps along this journey, including at first the hero's unwillingness...

Joseph Campbell, a scholar in the field of comparative mythology, came up with the archetypal hero's journey that occurs in many myths from around the world going back thousands of years. This journey has a common structure, or monomyth in Campbell's words, that involves an ordinary person, often experiencing some stress, embarking on a journey after hearing a call to adventure. Campbell has identified several steps along this journey, including at first the hero's unwillingness to go on the adventure, the hero's meeting with a mentor, and the hero's entry into a new world in which he or she deals with enemies and confronts an ordeal in which he or she faces death. The hero then receives a reward, such as a treasure, for the going through the ordeal and wants to return home with the treasure, often to be tested when he or she is on the brink of reaching home. Finally, the hero is at home with a treasure that has the capacity to transform the world, much as the hero has been transformed by his or her adventures. 

Harry Potter fits into the hero's archetype because he comes from an ordinary world of "Muggles" until he realizes that he has wizard-like qualities. He goes to a new world, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he is mentored by Albus Dumbledore, a wizard. Embarking on the hero's journey, which also involves parts of the typical adolescent journey of dealing with friendships, teachers, tests, romance, and stress, Harry must repeatedly confront Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who killed his parents. He also must acquire the necessary skills to defeat his tormentors, often dealing with fraudulent or otherwise annoying teachers. Through many ordeals and the discovery of his past, he comes to terms with the ordeal that he must face--the killing of Lord Voldemort (which he finally achieves in the last book in the series). He can then go on to lead a normal married life and have children, having endured and triumphed in the hero's journey.

Why does Bud attack the hornet's nest?

In Chapter 3, the Amoses make Bud sleep in the shed because they believe Bud was beating on their son in the bedroom. While Bud is lying down in the dark shed, he notices something hanging from the ceiling. Bud believes that there is a vampire bat hanging upside down. Bud is terrified of vampire bats and he picks up a gray rake, then stands on a woodpile.He takes a gigantic swing at what...

In Chapter 3, the Amoses make Bud sleep in the shed because they believe Bud was beating on their son in the bedroom. While Bud is lying down in the dark shed, he notices something hanging from the ceiling. Bud believes that there is a vampire bat hanging upside down. Bud is terrified of vampire bats and he picks up a gray rake, then stands on a woodpile. He takes a gigantic swing at what he thinks is a bat, and ends up hitting a hornet's nest. Bud says that it sounded like a buzz saw was turned on in the shed and he gets stung multiple times by the hornets. Bud mistook the hornet's nest for a hanging vampire bat and ended up unleashing the fury of six hundred angry hornets. Bud is forced to jump on the woodpile and bust out the window in order to escape from the shed.

Compare and contrast society's expectations of women in "The Leap" by James Dickey and "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy.

Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" is aggressive in its critique of the expectations places on girls and women in modern society. The poem's title indicates the extremely narrow confines of what is considered the best way for a woman to be – exactly like a Barbie doll. The girlchild of the poem cannot hope to live up to that, though, and is cut down to her most objectionable physical features: "Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs" (ln 11). She also has another set of characteristics she must subscribe to in order to be at least acceptable in the eyes of society:

"She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
exercise, diet, smile and wheedle" (ln 12-14).

Living in such a confusing span of behaviors and attitudes is exhausting, though. In the end, the only way for the girlchild to live up to society's expectations is to cut off her nose and legs. She's dead, but "everyone" comments on how pretty she looks in the casket. 

The only person who seems to be on the girlchild's side is the narrator, who notes, 

"She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity" (ln 7-9).

The narrator has basically just listed all the qualities that no one in society cares about girls having. Even though intelligence and strength will serve the girlchild better in facing the hardships of life than a cute nose, these are not what society appreciates, so they remain unused by the girlchild. 

In Dickey's poem "The Leap," we still see some of the expectations of society creeping in: the narrator recalls his childhood crush "when she came, / With the hem of her skirt where it should be / For a young lady, into the annual dance" (ln 13-15). Despite some minor comments that hold up a particular societal standard for young women, though, the narrator's respect and admiration for Jane MacNaughton comes from a less ladylike act: her impulsive decision to leap up and touch the end of one of the hanging decorations, to see if she could jump high enough. 

As the narrator thinks back at that middle school dance, he recalls Jane as:

"...thin
And muscular, wide-mouthed, eager to prove
Whatever it proves when you leap
In a new dress, a new womanhood, among the boys" (ln 21-24)

His description of her doesn't exactly fit the expectation of a demure and quietly pretty lady that is the standard convention of beauty. Instead, she is strong and eager, engaged in a act that one typically sees young boys doing, to show off their strength. She is unafraid to demonstrate her athleticism and prove herself strong.

That said, there are still some disturbing cliches about portrayal of women here. First, Jane MacNaughton is viewed from the male gaze: a boy who loved her in grade school. He seems to be glorifying her in a way that one can only do when they don't know someone well – it makes her seem a bit one-dimensional as a character and person. Second, he seems to have a bit of a white knight complex about her. After he learns of her suicide (by another leap, out of a building), he instructs the Jane of his memory to "hold on / To that ring I made for you, Jane--" (ln 50-51), wishing that she could stay safe in his memory, as she was that night at the dance. 

Finally, the fact that Jane went on to kill herself suggests that the carefree ease she appeared to feel at the dance was not something that she could carry into her adult life. Married, with 4 children, she appears to have gotten all a woman would want, according to society. Still, something must have been missing from her life to cause her to commit suicide. Perhaps this too is a recognition that even girls who seem to thrive rejecting societies standards cannot maintain their rebellion. 

Still, the ultimate difference between the narrator's view of Jane MacNaughton and "everyone's" view of the girlchild remains. While the latter is cut down for her deficiencies, the other is lifted up for her strength and carefree love of life.  

What are secrets in Romeo and Juliet?

There are several examples of characters keeping secrets in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. All of the secrets, however, are well known to the audience. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play and while some characters may be unaware of what is really going on, the audience knows the whole story.

In the opening scene, Romeo has a secret which is causing him to be depressed and to spend long stretches of his day walking...

There are several examples of characters keeping secrets in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. All of the secrets, however, are well known to the audience. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony throughout the play and while some characters may be unaware of what is really going on, the audience knows the whole story.

In the opening scene, Romeo has a secret which is causing him to be depressed and to spend long stretches of his day walking alone or in the darkness of his room. Lord Montague asks Benvolio to discover what secret is bothering his son. Romeo eventually confesses to Benvolio that he loves a woman who does not reciprocate that love. He says,

Well in that hit you miss. She’ll not be hit
With Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit,
And, in strong proof of chastity well armed,
From love’s weak childish bow she lives uncharmed.

The main secret in the play, however, is that Romeo and Juliet, offspring of families involved in a bitter feud, are in love and get married at the end of Act II. The only other characters who know of their love until the final scene are the Nurse and Friar Lawrence. Their secret causes chaos, beginning in Act III when Tybalt confronts Romeo. Tybalt does not know Romeo has just married his cousin. Romeo responds to Tybalt, implying there is a secret. He says in Scene 1,

Tybalt, the reason that I have to love thee
Doth much excuse the appertaining rage
To such a greeting. Villain am I none.
Therefore farewell. I see thou knowest me not.

Because of the secret, Mercutio is killed and Romeo kills Tybalt in revenge.

More chaos ensues when Lord Capulet seeks to marry his daughter to the wealthy Count Paris. Because he doesn't know the secret he can't understand Juliet's refusal and berates her and threatens to disown her. Capulet says in Act III, Scene 5,

An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend.
An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets,
For, by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee,
Nor what is mine shall never do thee good.
Trust to ’t; bethink you. I’ll not be forsworn.

Looking for a solution, Juliet seeks advice from the Friar, and the priest gives her a sleeping potion which will allow her to fake her death and avoid marrying Paris. This final secret is even kept from Romeo, who knows nothing of the plan and commits suicide before Juliet awakens in the Capulet tomb. Juliet follows by stabbing herself with a dagger. The play ends in terrible tragedy because of secrets that, if revealed sooner, may have saved the two young lovers' lives.

At the beginning of the story, what natural disaster has occurred? Why does Rolfe Carlé end up at the scene of the disaster?

“And of Clay Are We Created” is a story told in the aftermath of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz volcanic eruption in northern Colombia.  The eruption triggered avalanches in the higher reaches of the mountains, and all the falling snow mixed with earthen debris to disastrous effect.  Allende powerfully describes it as

that fateful Wednesday night in November, when a prolonged roar announced the end of the world, and walls of snow broke loose, rolling...

“And of Clay Are We Created” is a story told in the aftermath of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz volcanic eruption in northern Colombia.  The eruption triggered avalanches in the higher reaches of the mountains, and all the falling snow mixed with earthen debris to disastrous effect.  Allende powerfully describes it as

that fateful Wednesday night in November, when a prolonged roar announced the end of the world, and walls of snow broke loose, rolling in an avalanche of clay, stones, and water that descended on the villages and buried them beneath unfathomable meters of telluric vomit.  

So what we’re dealing with here is a volcanic eruption triggering avalanches, which led to devastating mudslides. 

Rolf Carlé ends up at the scene because he is a prominent television news reporter.  This status allows him helicopter access to the remote location of the disaster, and puts him first on the scene when the print journalists are trying to fight the elements to arrive by land.  The narrator says of Carlé:  “For years he had been a familiar figure in newscasts, reporting live at the scene of battles and catastrophes with awesome tenacity.”  He is therefore not only prominent, but also has years of disaster coverage on his resume.  This gives him senior access to the drama unfolding after the disaster – but of course he finds that this particular news story ends up affecting him far more than any he had covered before, in all those years of experience.

In The Canterville Ghost, how are the antics of the ghost amusing as well as pathetic?

While the question of whether or not the Ghost's antics are amusing is in the eye of the beholder, they are clearly designed for comic as well as pathetic effect. In other words, Wilde wants the comedy of his story to lie in more than just the laughs produced by the way the Otis family is oblivious to how they are "supposed" to respond to an English ghost haunting an ancestral home. We know Wilde...

While the question of whether or not the Ghost's antics are amusing is in the eye of the beholder, they are clearly designed for comic as well as pathetic effect. In other words, Wilde wants the comedy of his story to lie in more than just the laughs produced by the way the Otis family is oblivious to how they are "supposed" to respond to an English ghost haunting an ancestral home. We know Wilde is playing for laughs because he is so "over-the-top" in his descriptions of the stereotypical ways the ghost tries to frighten the family. For example, he provides the following long description of the Ghost's attempt to get revenge on the Otis boys:

Then, as their beds were quite close to each other, [the Ghost meant] to stand between them in the form of a green, icy-cold corpse, till they became paralyzed with fear, and finally, to throw off the winding-sheet, and crawl round the room, with white, bleached bones and one rolling eyeball, in the character of "Dumb Daniel, or the Suicide's Skeleton," a rôle in which he had on more than one occasion produced a great effect, and which he considered quite equal to his famous part of "Martin the Maniac, or the Masked Mystery."

This quote is meant to do more than show that the ghost is pathetic in his failure to frighten the Americans. Wilde is quite broadly going for the gag in this parody of what you might find in a "haunted house."

After looking into the pouch given to him by Goodwife Peregrine, why was Crispin disappointed?

In the story, Goodwife Peregrine is Stromford's village hag and is known for her midwifery, magic, and healing skills. She tells Crispin that many are hunting him because the steward has offered twenty shillings to anyone who can kill him.

On the run, Crispin stops by Goodwife Peregrine's house and is given a leather pouch by the old crone. He puts his cross of lead into the bag, eats the bowl of porridge he has...

In the story, Goodwife Peregrine is Stromford's village hag and is known for her midwifery, magic, and healing skills. She tells Crispin that many are hunting him because the steward has offered twenty shillings to anyone who can kill him.

On the run, Crispin stops by Goodwife Peregrine's house and is given a leather pouch by the old crone. He puts his cross of lead into the bag, eats the bowl of porridge he has been given, and takes to the road. Meanwhile, Goodwife Peregrine chants over Crispin's leather pouch and gives him a bag of bread to take on his journey.

Because Goodwife Peregrine had promised Father Quinel that she would provide Crispin with protection for his journey, Crispin likely expected to find something magical or noteworthy in the pouch. So, he is disappointed to find that it only contains three seeds (one each of wheat, barley, and oat). In despair, he throws the seeds away, believing that the seeds will be powerless to protect him against the many dangers he will have to face on his journey.