Chandler's Honesty
Told through the lens of the Hero's Journey
For this week's school assignment, I will be required to make a video of a story about myself that follows the structure of The Hero's Journey. For now, I will explore whether or not the story in my book, "Chandler's Honesty: The Truth About a Child's Past, told Straight from the Horse's Mouth", matches the Hero's Journey.
Chandler is the Hero because the story is one of Chandler being a depressed 31-year-old man who meets a mentor named Honesty the Unicorn in the dream world of Animal Sanctuary. The journey is entirely of a conversation between Chandler and Honesty about Chandler's deeply rooted emotional problems.
1. Ordinary World
In Part 1, Chapter 0, we learn that Chandler Klebs was not pleased with himself and felt he was not where he wanted to be. He has many fears involving jobs, people who abused him, and people who also hurt other animal species.
2. Call to Adventure
The call to adventure happens when Chandler meets a unicorn in his dream. This dream is strange to Chandler, and the unicorn invites Chandler to discuss facing his greatest fears. The call to adventure and several other stages happen simultaneously in only the first few chapters.
3. Refusal of the Call
Chandler does not want to speak with anyone about the things bothering him. He argues with the unicorn many times and is quite combative. However, the unicorn keeps talking despite Chandler's protests and tells him he must speak with someone about these things.
4. Meeting the Mentor
The unicorn is a very patient and wise mentor and therapist. Honesty always seems to know what to say either to calm Chandler down or, on the contrary, to anger him on purpose to get him to express his emotions. Honesty remains mysterious, but it has a mind separate from Chandler or this conversation would be impossible.
5. Crossing the Threshold
By the time chapter 3 is reached, Honesty finally gets Chandler talking about the very worst time in his life when he felt like a failure and was attempting to cut off his genitals because they reminded him of the abuse and the experience in the Navy. This trauma and the feeling of being a failure led him to the lowest point in his life. This conversation continues for a long time as Chandler gives Honesty a big speech about how evil penises are.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
The biggest test is for Chandler to admit he is lonely even though he insists he should stay that way to protect himself from being hurt. There are a few people Chandler has come to see as decent humans in how they treat him, even though they are non-vegan and still hurt animals. He trusts no one completely and keeps people at a distance but tries to appreciate the good in them.
7. Approach
As tough as the other issues discussed have been, it becomes clear that Chandler's most significant challenge lies in figuring out what he believes about Christianity. He sees it as a great harm because he believes God hate
