The Hero's Journey

The Hero's Journey

1. By Emilio Ángel Gallón – 10ºA

   • 6. Crisis
     • The main crisis in the story is when the two Interplan agents threatened Quail in his conapt, but he suddenly remembered his assassin abilities and escaped from danger, risking his own life.

2. Status Quo

   • Douglas Quail is a dull, insignificant clerk, who was even mistreated by his own wife. "Miserable little salaried employee" (pg. 2). His life was uneventful, yet he had big dreams.

3. 1. Call to adventure

   • His constant dreams and yearning about going to Mars are the ones that incited Quail to venture.

4. 2. Assistance

   • The first moment in which Quail received assistance was when he saw the REKAL, Incorporated ad on the streets, but in a broader perspective, McClane and the Interplan psychiatrist both served Quail as helpers in his hero's journey.

5. 3. Departure

   • Quail departed his ordinary world when he had the first procedure at REKAL, Incorporated to acquire false memories from a trip to Mars.

6. 4. Trails & challenges

   • One of the main obstacles that Quail presented in his hero's journey was the confusion after receiving the false memories procedure at REKAL, Inc., because he wasn't certain about which memories were real and which were not, between recently implanted ones and his own long-forgotten experiences as an Interplan agent.

7. 5. Approach

   • Just before his main crisis, Quail starts to gradually remember details about his real suppressed memories, details that allowed him to outsmart the two agents who had visited him in his conapt.

8. 7. Treasure

   • The treasure Quail obtains for overcoming the main crisis is being able to peacefully negotiate with the Interplan about posibilities to subdue the prohibited knowledge he had, without necessarily killing him.

9. 8. Result

   • The result of these actions is that Quail survives with the condition of eliminating his knowledge about the Interplans corruption, agreement which he accepts.

10. 9. Return

    • The return of Quail form the "special world" to the "ordinary" one happens when he receives the procedure form the Interplan psychiatrist to implant a "false memory" of his most desired dream, which had actually happened before he had his memories suppressed.

11. 11. Resolution

    • Implicitly, the resolution of Quail's hero's journey is granting him a new social power to expose the Interplan's corrupt system, without being threatened to be killed, or else humanity will suffer an alien invasion.

12. 10. New life

    • Quail's life has a dramatic transformation because the meaning of his own existence gained a new significance, making him the most importante person on Terra even without moving a single finger.