Heroes have been with us since the beginning of time with some becoming more well known than others. Each and every culture seems to have their own type of hero that embodies their ideals, values and beliefs. It is this truth that Joseph Campbell, author of the 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, uses as a foundation to discuss his take on why heroes have had and will always have a place within the human fabric regardless of geographical location, religious affiliation or cultural idiosyncrasies. This thesis will apply Campbell’s monomyth theory to literary classics such as Beowulf, Homer’s The Odyssey and Malamud’s The Natural. These diverse pieces will test Campbell’s theory and will reveal if the Hero’s Journey can withstand the test of not only time but space as well.
","abstract_html":"<p>Heroes have been with us since the beginning of time with some becoming more well known than others. Each and every culture seems to have their own type of hero that embodies their ideals, values and beliefs. It is this truth that Joseph Campbell, author of the 1949 book <em>The Hero with a Thousand Faces</em>, uses as a foundation to discuss his take on why heroes have had and will always have a place within the human fabric regardless of geographical location, religious affiliation or cultural idiosyncrasies. This thesis will apply Campbell’s monomyth theory to literary classics such as <em>Beowulf</em>, Homer’s <em>The Odyssey</em> and Malamud’s <em>The Natural</em>. These diverse pieces will test Campbell’s theory and will reveal if the Hero’s Journey can withstand the test of not only time but space as well. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kealy, Michael"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christopher T. White, Ph.D.","Terri Pantuso, Ed.D.","Rosemary Johnsen, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:24:36Z","subjects":["Comparative Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://opus.govst.edu/theses/16","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christopher T. White, Ph.D.","Terri Pantuso, Ed.D.","Rosemary Johnsen, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kealy, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-06-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Comparative Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://opus.govst.edu/theses/16"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Heroes have been with us since the beginning of time with some becoming more well known than others. Each and every culture seems to have their own type of hero that embodies their ideals, values and beliefs. It is this truth that Joseph Campbell, author of the 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, uses as a foundation to discuss his take on why heroes have had and will always have a place within the human fabric regardless of geographical location, religious affiliation or cultural idiosyncrasies. This thesis will apply Campbell’s monomyth theory to literary classics such as Beowulf, Homer’s The Odyssey and Malamud’s The Natural. These diverse pieces will test Campbell’s theory and will reveal if the Hero’s Journey can withstand the test of not only time but space as well.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Superman's Ancestors - Beowulf, Odysseus and Roy Hobbs: Application and Analysis of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth Theory"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christopher T. White, Ph.D.","Terri Pantuso, Ed.D.","Rosemary Johnsen, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Kealy, Michael"],"dc:date.available":["2014-06-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Heroes have been with us since the beginning of time with some becoming more well known than others. Each and every culture seems to have their own type of hero that embodies their ideals, values and beliefs. It is this truth that Joseph Campbell, author of the 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, uses as a foundation to discuss his take on why heroes have had and will always have a place within the human fabric regardless of geographical location, religious affiliation or cultural idiosyncrasies. This thesis will apply Campbell’s monomyth theory to literary classics such as Beowulf, Homer’s The Odyssey and Malamud’s The Natural. These diverse pieces will test Campbell’s theory and will reveal if the Hero’s Journey can withstand the test of not only time but space as well.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://opus.govst.edu/theses/16"],"dc:subject":["Comparative Literature"],"dc:title":["Superman's Ancestors - Beowulf, Odysseus and Roy Hobbs: Application and Analysis of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth Theory"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:24:36Z"}