When a man's name is synonymous with greed and misery, most readers would not associate him with the shining image of a hero. The hero's journey is a classic literary model in which a character goes on an adventure, faces challenges, and comes across as a changed person. It was first used in Greco-Roman times in Homer's Odyssey, but has endured over the years to be used in countless forms of fiction. A Christmas Carol details the events of one night in which Ebeneezer Scrooge goes from an immensely unpleasant old miser to a generous and joyful friend to many. Putting individual steps aside, a hero's journey is set in both a normal world and a special world, as Scrooge has London and the time world with spirits. This is the first of many instances where Dickens' timeless antihero aligns with the more popular method of creating an iconic fictional figure. As a result of his complete transformation, Charles Dickens portrays Scrooge as an archetype of the hero's journey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The beginning of the story represents Scrooge's departure, the first step in a hero's journey. Scrooge begins his path to heroism from his first interaction with the ghost of Jacob Marley: "I am here tonight to warn you that you still have a chance and a hope of escaping my fate" (Dickens). The beginning of every hero's journey is normality, the status quo. However, they will eventually be interrupted by supernatural help, which will call them to action. For Scrooge, this comes in the form of the ghost of Marley, who warns him to change his ways, and the three incoming spirits. Then Scrooge's reaction to Marley's warning: “'You don't believe in me,' observed the Ghost. "I do not know." said Scrooge... "Why do you doubt your senses?" “For,” said Scrooge, “one little thing touches them” (Dickens). Scrooge, following the next step of the path, rejects the call to action. When Jacob Marley first approaches him, Scrooge is unreceptive and wishes to have nothing to do with spirits. With this exposition, Scrooge continues the journey, throughout the first pentagram. Scrooge's journey through time with the three spirits contains its own trials, most of a hero's journey. In his literary criticism, Marc Goldstein analyzes the lessons Scrooge learns during the trials: “Christmas Past represents memory, especially repressed memory. When the second spirit leaves, Scrooge realizes that he has excluded the human race because he… was excluded from it as a child… Bob becomes the symbol of a world that Scrooge can enter if he allows himself to do so” ( Goldstein ). The many challenges Scrooge faces on his ghost journey and the subsequent lessons he learns come into play later in the story, but in the present they follow the structure of the hero's journey. His final test occurs at the end of the third visit: “…read on the neglected grave stone his name, Ebenezer Scrooge… 'No, Spirit! Oh no, no” (Dickens)! Here marks the lowest point in Scrooge's circle, often called a revelation, test, or crisis. He even follows the literal criteria of death and rebirth by seeing his own grave. The reader, at this moment, feels the culmination of Scrooge's emotional swings including shock and anguish. Throughout the section of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge stays true to the circle, facing his obstacles in the special world. Scrooge's return to London is very reminiscent of a classic hero on a standard hero's journey. Demonstrate the main step of a return in a great proclamation: “I will honor Christmas in my.