We begin the Hero’s Journey with the hero in what is called the “Ordinary World.” Think like Kansas from the Wizard of Oz, The Shire from Lord of the Rings, or The Dursley’s from Harry Potter. We are in a place that is pleasing and comfortable but for our hero this place is unfulfilling or boring. One key part we learn about our hero in this place is that he/she has either one or both parents removed from their life. Dorthy is living with Uncle Henry and Auntie Anne. Harry Potter is an orphan. Almost every Disney character has a parent missing from the Ordinary World of the hero. In the ordinary world the hero might have some common job that leaves the hero wanting more.
All of a sudden something changes. For Harry he started getting letters from owls. Dorothy decided to run away from home. Frodo found a ring. This is Step 2 The Call to Adventure. Another old guy movie reference but this is the “If you Build it He will Come” moment. An interruption in the hero’s ordinary life happens. Can you think of a time when your “Ordinary World” was interrupted with a call to action? Maybe the school announced a talent show, or Someone asked you for a favor randomly. A call to adventure could also be the hero witnessing some kind of injustice. We will take a look at this situation in more detail on the next step
So Imagine you're back in the normal world school setting. You see an upper class man picking on a smaller freshman. Here it is your call to action. Will you confront the bully and be a hero or will you refuse the call. Step 3 of the Journey is the Refusal of the Call. Don’t think that the refusal has to be only the hero saying no. There could be an external factor that is holding the Hero back from answering the call. For example Mr. Dursley is the one that keeps Harry from receiving his Owl letter to Hogwarts. The hero could actually answer the call to adventure but not have the right equipment or skills to answer it properly. Think of Steve Rodgers before he becomes Captain America. He hears the call to adventure and tries time after time to answer but is rejected because of his size. The big takeaway from the Refusal of the Call is there are consequences for the hero. In Spiderman, Peter Parker refuses to stop a robber that stole from someone that ripped Peter off. By not stopping that Robber, Peter’s Uncle Ben is killed. The Dursley’s are always getting hurt in some way by refusing to let Harry go back to school.