I will be discussing the film ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ (2006) with its main character, Harold Crick, as a hero and the circumstances of his life and its parallelism to the monomyth theorized by Joseph Campbell. There will be a summary of the film then it will be followed by the events in the film and the stages of the monomyth.
Brief Summary of ‘Stranger than Fiction’
Harold Crick is an IRS agent. A taxman that lives a routinized, monotonous, and solitary life. He has a habit of counting things like the steps he makes, the times he brushes his teeth, minutes and seconds of his daily commute. Much of his regimented life is dependent on the time he spends on things based on his wristwatch. One day his life changed when he heard a voice narrating his life. The voice is extraordinarily accurate and narrates what he does and what he thinks. At first, he tries to ignore the voice until the voice mentions his imminent death. Knowing that he was not crazy, he ended up seeking the help of a literature professor. The professor agrees to help him by investigating if he is in a tragedy or comedy if he holds his own fate or if it is an inevitable part of a plot. Then, as certain events happened, they concluded that Harold could not change his fate. Knowing that his death is near, Harold decides to break free from his normal life. He learned to play the guitar just as he always wanted to. He also begins to court Ana, a baker whom he is auditing, who does not like him, but Harold likes her very much.
In reality, the voice that Harold was hearing was actually a real writer, a novelist named Karen Eiffel writing Harold’s story. Karen is being pressured by the publisher about this unfinished novel. Karen, who has already writing the novel for 10 years, is in fact struggling with the ending of the novel; she does not know how to kill Harold Crick. Like all of her novels, the main character in the story ends up dying. Harold then later discovered this fact about Karen and he was determined to find her. He does not want to die because of his newfound happiness. The idea of Harold’s death has come to Karen and she finishes her novel, but it has not yet been typed. Harold found her and Karen before she finished the novel. Now, Karen, knowing that Harold is real, is torn between finishing the novel and Harold’s fate. Harold reads the novel and bravely accepts his fate because there is only one way it can end according to him. The day of his death came. In the bus station where Harold is, a boy on a bike falls on the path of a bus. Harold saved him and in turn, was hit by the bus. Harold survived. Karen changed the ending because she said that he was the type of man that you want to be kept alive.
The Hero’s Journey of Harold Crick
Myths may have been inspired by the activities of the human body and mind. And the recurring and constant symbolisms across the world are not manufactured as Campbell suggests (3). His theory of myth is based on many aspects of psychoanalysis of Freud, Jung, and their followers. The human psyche has a significant space in the symbolism and imagery of the hero, the hero’s journey, and the deeds surrounding the hero. This film is a great example of exploring the stages of myth in a modern narrative where the struggles and victories of a hero are the struggles and victories of the human psyche in a modern society.
I. The Call to Adventure
Harold Crick is not a primordial hero. His story can be considered a modern journey therefore his origins are not the same as a typical classical hero. He is neither a god nor a demi-god. He is not a king or his lineage is not even royal. His birth is not auspicious or there was a fabulous circumstance, or a magical item bestowed on him. In fact, he is as ordinary as everyone else. He is depicted in the film as someone who is eccentric and is very good with numbers. He works in a government agency – the tax agency – he is typical, a cliche of a working-class man. But this is a perfect beginning for our hero-in-the-making. Campbell states: “It has always been the prime function of mythology and rite to supply the symbols that carry the human spirit forward, in counteraction to those constant human fantasies that tend to tie it back” (10). He is the actual symbol of humanity in modern culture. But he is a version of a man that we do not want to be. A man who is unenthusiastic and reluctant, a man chained to his work, a slave of the banality of life.
But his adventure will begin on an ordinary day just like any other ordinary day. He heard a voice in his head narrating how common his life is. His routine is broken, and this is a chance for change. An unknown voice is a common device in many stories to signify the beginning of an adventure. The voice or his hearing of the voice can be considered as his ‘call to adventure’ or the moment when the hero is being lured or summoned to leave his state of comfort and cross the unknown zone.
2. Refusal of the Call
The voice in his head distracts Harold from his routine. He had become uneasy and absentminded at work. He started to think that he might be crazy. This should be a turning point in a story. There is a change in his life. This should be a motivation for him to deviate from his repetitive routine. He asked his friend Dave if he heard the voice describing how he slid the folder and thought it sounded like it was the ocean. Dave is confused and puzzled because, of course, Dave does not hear the voice. Dave is concerned about Harold that when they were given work, Dave chose to work on auditing the security trader and gave Harold a less complicated audit – a baker. The baker that he audits is Ana Pascal. She is an anarchist who refused to pay her taxes in full which is why she is being audited. Harold was mesmerized by Ana, but she hated him being an agent of the government. At this time, Harold just ignored the narrator.
This willed introversion is a classic device in this stage. The hero does not want to cross that threshold to the unknown for various reasons usually for practical and conventional reasons. Campbell states that: “the refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interest. … as though one’s present system of ideals, virtues, goals, and advantages were to be fixed and made secure” (55). Harold does not want to sound crazy or he considers the voice less important that as of that moment, it does not have a great impact on his life or work that is why he ignored that voice in his head.
This hero problem often results in transformations in the hero or his surrounding circumstances. An injury or a miracle is used as a mechanism to push the reluctant hero to accept his destiny.
In Harold’s journey, when he was heading home from work, he then again heard the narrator’s voice saying:
“…his watch suddenly stopped. Thus, Harold’s watch thrust him into the immitigable path of fate. Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.”
Harold was surprised and shocked and he shouted “Why?, when? and how imminent?’. At that point, Harold took the voice seriously and sought the help of a psychiatrist.
3. Supernatural Aid
Supernatural aid can come in many forms. A little old man, a spider woman, or a fairy godmother who offers help or protection to the hero. Harold was diagnosed by the psychiatrist to have Schizophrenia. But, deep inside he knows he is not crazy. He then was advised to seek help from someone who ‘knows literature’. Harold met with Professor Hilbert, a professor of literature. His character is played by a short old man. A typical image of a helper: is an old person, masculine, and a man of knowledge like a wizard who will supply him an item or advice that the hero will require. At first, the professor does not want to help Harold thinking he is crazy. Then Harold mentioned the line ‘little did he know…’. The professor immediately became interested because of that line saying he wrote papers, taught a class, and did seminars on ‘little did he know’. The professor then asked Harold several literature-related questions to rule out what narrative Harold belongs to. He then asked Harold to note certain points in his life if he is in a tragedy or comedy.
4. Crossing the First Threshold
Harold went back to continue to audit Ana. This encounter is not really favorable to Harold. Ana made sure that he would be having a hard time auditing her. There were moments when Harold tried to talk to Ana or help her carry a sack of flour, but she was completely ignoring him. Later that day, Ana baked cooking for Harold as a kind gesture. He refused to take the cookies and offered to pay for it. Ana was offended and he felt really bad. Harold concluded that he is in fact in a tragedy.
Here, Harold is crossing the threshold because his actions have a purpose. He began to leave his state of comfort and sought meaning in his life. A simple examination of good or bad events in his life is a major break from his dull life although he ended up thinking that he is in a tragedy. It may not be a desert, jungle, or sea but for him, these meaningful human interactions especially with Ana are his region of the unknown.
5. The Belly of the Whale
Campbell states the image of the belly of the whale is a symbol of rebirth coming in from a threshold. Instead of conquering the threshold, the hero is swallowed into the unknown and appears to have died – a form of self-annihilation. This is the transit to the rebirth of the hero.
Professor Hilbert asked Harold not to do anything for a day. This is to test if Harold is in control of his fate or if his destiny is already written. Harold must not do anything or act on anything that will make him move the plot. But the plot found him. While he was watching the TV, a large crane tore into his living room and it almost killed him. A large hole in his house was made. It turns out that the demolition team made an error. His house must not be the one demolished. Professor Hilbert then concluded that Harold does not control his life. The professor suggested he forget all of these things and go live his life just as he wanted.
This I think is the belly of the whale in Harold’s journey. This is a turning point where Harold is pulled out of his home and pushed to become a new person. A person that is unafraid of the future. A person who is willing to live his life to the fullest and follow what he wants. He is being transformed into someone very different from what he was.
6. Road of Trials
A hero must now survive ‘difficult tasks’ as he traverses the threshold. This is the phase where the hero will be aided with magical amulets or discover a benign power supporting him on this journey. Harold’s journey to living his life to the fullest has also these tasks.
The ordeal of solitude is one of his tasks. He left his house because it was destroyed and temporarily lived with Dave. For the first time in a long time, Harold is not alone, he has someone to talk to and eat with. He did not count his brush strokes anymore or wore a tie because he was not going to work. He always wanted to learn the guitar but did not have a chance to do it. He then went to a guitar store, bought a guitar and started to learn how to play it.
The narrator describes this experience as:
“With every awkward strum, Harold Crick became stronger in who he was, what he wanted, and why he was alive. … Harold did that which had terrified him before. That which had eluded him Monday through Friday for so many years. That which the unrelenting lyrics of numerous punk-rock songs told him to do: Harold Crick lived his life.”
7. The Meeting with the Goddess/Woman as the Temptress
The ultimate adventure of a hero often comes through the marriage of a hero and a goddess image. A goddess archetype is the epitome of beauty and represents all the feminine ideals. This also marks the end of the road of trials. In the film, after learning the guitar scene. Harold was seen rushing to get to Ana. He said he wanted to give him flour (a pun for ‘flower’). He confessed to Ana that he ‘wants’ her. Then Ana later said ‘I think I like you’. Harold was invited by Ana to her home and dined together. Harold found a guitar in her home and played it. Ana was surprised that Harold had this side in him and confessed that she ‘wants’ him too. The reward in this trial is the union of the hero and the goddess. So, in this situation, the woman is not a temptress but a goddess who is a bride for the hero.
8. Atonement with the Father
This stage represents the metaphor of a hero facing the one who holds power over the hero. Usually, this is an image of a father or in some other myths a monster – the archetypal nemesis. The hero must overcome or reconcile with this figure. As Harold experienced great happiness with his new life and new love, he went back to Professor Hilbert and said he was in a comedy.
But in the professor’s office, Harold recognized the voice from the television. Professor Hilbert revealed that she was Karen Eiffel, a famous novelist, and that in all of her novels, the main characters end up dying. Fate has then caught Harold again. He has to look for Karen to stop her from killing him. Karen was a reclusive person; she does not answer fan letters and her last book was 10 years ago. Harold then used his skills and resources from the Internal Revenue Service to trace Karen. He found her phone number and was able to contact her. He met with Karen and asked her not to kill him. But Karen said that the ending is finished but it was not yet typed. Karen, now knowing that Harold is real, is now reluctant to finish the novel or write the death of Harold. Harold somehow prevented his imminent death in the meantime.
9. Apotheosis
Later, Harold lets Professor Hilbert read the novel. The professor said it was a masterpiece and it is absolutely no good unless Harold dies in the end. Harold said: “You’re asking me to knowingly face my death?” The professor said “Yes”. Harold read the novel himself. He then went back to Karen and said he liked it and there was no other way of ending it. He has accepted his death, his fate. I think fate is the monster that he has to overcome or reconcile with. Ultimately, he has reconciled with fate and he freely and bravely accepts his destiny even if it means that he has to leave his new happy, and meaningful life. This is his apotheosis – his achievement of enlightenment and realization.
Then, Karen began typing the ending of the novel. Harold’s destiny is being written. It happened when it was just a normal day for Harold. Harold is supposed to die by saving a boy from being hit by a bus. It turns out that Karen changed his ending. Professor Hilbert then asked Karen why she did not kill him, and she responded:
“Because it’s a book about a man who doesn’t know he’s about to die and then dies. But if the man does know he’s going to die and dies anyway, dies willingly, knowing he could stop it, then I mean, isn’t that the type of man you want to keep alive?”
10. The Ultimate Boon
After all the trials that the hero has undergone, the goal of the journey is achieved. The hero achieves his goals and is reborn as a superior being. In Harold’s journey, he has achieved his goal: changing his mundane life and preventing his death. From that point, he will now be living as a new man with a new outlook on life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Harold is not a classical hero as we see in the ancient myths. But he and his deeds reflect the same archetypes of a hero in the monomyth. He is a representation of the modern hero in the modern type of narrative. The length of the story does not cover the Return phase of the monomyth. The story ends with the symbolic rebirth of the hero and the achievement of his goals. He will not be crossing the second threshold to return to his previous world. If we assume that his previous world is the state of his dull and gray life, then he should not be going back to that world since his goal as a hero is to overcome this and live his life to the fullest.
This is also a testament that a hero is not only measured or defined by the grandeur of tasks to overcome but by the heroic deeds the hero chooses to do. As Campbell reflects on the psychological dimension of myths, he stated that:
“We are all heroes struggling to accomplish our adventure. As human beings, we engage in a series of struggles to develop as individuals and to find our place in society. Beyond that we long for wisdom: we want to understand the universe and the significance of our role in it.”
Fate is Harold’s mighty opponent. Karen is just a vessel to weave the tapestry of Harold’s life. Harold, in the face of imminent death, accepts his destiny. As cliche as it sounds, that bravery was the heroic deed that made him victorious against his mighty opponent.
References
- Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Commemorative Edition, Princeton University Press, 2004.
- “Hero’s Journey.” Wikipedia, 20 Jan. 2021. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hero%27s_journey&oldid=1001644999.
- Monomyth: Hero’s Journey Project | ORIAS. https://orias.berkeley.edu/resources-teachers/monomyth-heros-journey-project.
- “Stranger than Fiction (2006 Film).” Wikipedia, 5 Feb. 2021. Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stranger_than_Fiction_(2006_film)&oldid=1005066945.