Stages of Marlin's Journey
1. Ordinary World
The hero's normal world before
the story begins.
- Marlin is excited about new home, waiting for
new eggs to hatch.
- Marlin nervously drops his son off with Mr. Ray for Nemo's first day of school.
2. Call to Adventure
The hero is presented with a
problem, challenge or
adventure to undertake.
- Nemo adventure’s out to the “Butt” to proven
that he is brave.
- Problem: Nemo is out in the open ocean and is
caught by
the men in the boat
Challenge:\ Marlin has to rescue him.
3. Refusal of the Call
The hero refuses the
challenge or journey, usually
out of fear.
- Marlin is afraid to go after Nemo because his is
afraid of the open sea.
4. Meeting with the Mentor
The hero meets a mentor to
gain confidence, advice or
training to face the adventure.
- The mentor is Dory who plays the part of a good
sidekick, using her humor to overcome her weakness as a
forgetful character. Through Dory,
Marlin will learn how to not be afraid and to learn to let go
and let Nemo take some risk. He must learn to believe in his son Nemo.
5. Crossing the First Threshold
The hero crosses the gateway
that separates the ordinary
world from the special world.
- Marlin leaves his comfortable safe zone and
swims after Nemo. He continues to follow the boat, even in
the wide open ocean.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
The hero faces tests, meets
allies, confronts enemies &
learn the rules of the Special
World.
- The sharks who says they are friends.
- Crush- Help Marlin travel through the currents
to get to Nemo
- Darla does not know how to treat animals. She
is mean to them.
- Fish in tank befriends Nemo and help
him to escape.
- Pelican: Takes Marlin to Nemo.
- The Whale- The test: Nemo has to let go and
trust.
The lesson learned in the Whale is the lesson
Marlin
needs to apply to Nemo. “Let him go”.
7. Approach
The hero has hit setbacks
during tests & may need to
reorganize his helpers or
rekindle morale with mentor's rally cry. Stakes heightened.
- Marlin believes Nemo is dead. He tells Dory
goodbye and swims away.
- But, Dory rekindles
Marlin’s hope when she finds Nemo.
- Nemo Also has a set back. Does not get out of the fish tank
and has to reorganize.
6. Ordeal
The biggest life or death crisis, the hero faces his greatest
fear & only through “death” can
the hero be “reborn”
experiencing even greater
powers to see the journey to
the end.
- Marlin returns to save Dory form the
jellies.
The jellyfish stings Marlin and almost dies,
but he
survives and recovers and gets help from
Crush to make it
through the currents.
He experiences a rebirth to continue his
journey.
Marlin also is able to witness how crush is able to
let his son go
and take risk when the boy turtles get knocked
out of the Current.
7. Reward
The hero has survived death,
overcome his greatest fear and
now earns the reward he
sought.
- Nemo gets out of the tank and his free in the
ocean. Nemo.
Both Dory and Marlin think he is dead, but
Nemo survives death
(from the hands of Darla) Dory helps
him find his dad,
who returns when he hears Nemo’s cry.
Marlin and Nemo are united.
8. The Road Back
The hero must recommit to
completing the journey & travel
the road back to the Ordinary
World. The dramatic question
is asked again.
- The road-back from the journey, often include
another challenge or test to complete.
Marlins is put to the
test to see if he has learned his lesson.
Dory is caught in a net
and Nemo wants to save her, but Marlin is reluctant to let
Nemo go.
He final realized that he must let Nemo grow up
and take some risk.
He must also have confidence in Nemo
that he can save Dory.
Nemo draws from his lessons in the
tank and uses an idea that
Gil used to break away from the
net.
9. Resurrection
Hero faces most dangerous
meeting with death – this
shows the hero can apply all
the wisdom he's brought back
to the Ordinary World
-Marlin must now apply everything he has
learned
when he thinks that Nemo is dead. Marlin realizes
his mistake.
He apologizes to Nemo for not believe in him.
Marlin learns to let go and believe that all will work out in
the end.
10. Return with Elixir
The hero returns from the
journey with the “elixir”, so
everyone in the world can use
to heal physical or emotional
wounds.
- Marlin brings Nemo back to the ordinary world
and applies the lessons he has learned.
He allows Nemo to
go to school without fear, which allows him to live a happier
life.
The lesson learned is that the challenges of life can be
applied to everyday living in the ordinary world.
PART II
