Joseph Campbell's monomyth defines a hero as someone who is called to undertake a journey. That journey includes separation from the world, challenges to overcome, and a return to the known world. These steps are shown in Saroo Brierley's journey; is separated from his family at the age of five, must face the challenges that come with moving to a new place and adjusting to his new family, and finally returning home to his biological mother. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe first step in Professor Campbell's model is "separation." “Separation” can refer to many things including, but not limited to, being separated from your home and your regular, daily lifestyle. Saroo's journey begins when he is separated from his biological family. One evening Saroo's elder brother Guddu had announced that he was going to 'Berampur', Saroo decided to go with him. After their arrival, Saroo had told his brother that he couldn't go anywhere else without getting some rest, so Guddu told him not to worry and to take a nap and that he would be back soon, but that he had to be careful of some things. Many hours later, Saroo wakes up to find himself still on the wooden bench at the station and his brother was nowhere to be seen. Saroo decided to try looking for him on different train carriages, and this is where the story begins. He had fallen asleep once again, but this time on the train. When he woke up, his brother was still nowhere to be found, and now he was scared and alone on a fast-moving train. He didn't know how long he spent on the train, but he knew he was lost. He had boarded a couple more trains before ending up in Calcutta (Kolkata). He first spent many weeks alone trying to keep himself alive and safe. He was eventually taken to an orphanage. Little did Saroo know that his journey across the "threshold" would soon begin. The “threshold” is said to be the starting point of the hero's journey. According to Campbell, it is up to the hero to decide whether to leave voluntarily or be pushed. Saroo's journey beyond the threshold begins after he, now six, is adopted by an Australian couple. He was soon taken to meet his new parents in Australia. In his book Saroo says: “I was told that very soon I would be going to Australia to meet my new parents” (105). After arriving in Australia, he had met his new parents, John and Sue Brierley. They spent the night in a hotel and then boarded another plane to Saroo's new home in Hobart, Tasmania. Saroo had to get used to his new life in Tasmania, but they knew it would take time. This move led to the next step in Saroo's journey: challenges. A "challenge" is a goal that a hero must overcome. Overcoming this "challenge" or these "challenges" helps the hero become more mature and helps build his confidence. Saroo's first challenge would be to learn and get used to speaking English. His parents knew he wasn't fluent in English, so they got help from their friends, Saleen and Jacob, who both spoke Hindi, which was Saroo's native language. “They spoke to me in my language, Hindi, asking simple questions and translating instructions and things that Mom and Dad wanted me to know about how we would live our life together” (Brierley 18). It wasn't long before Saroo learned the language, and quite quickly. Another of these "challenges" occurred when his parents decided to adopt a new child, also from India. His new brother,Mantosh, did not pass as easily as Saroo did. He was loud, rebellious and disobedient. He and his brother would argue a lot. They fought over things like toys and this led to them pushing each other. Saroo had quickly realized that his parents had to pay more attention to his brother due to his adjustment difficulties and this started their sibling rivalry. These challenges connect to Campbell's model because Saroo's life had taken a complete turn. He had to face not only the need to change where he lived, but also the language he spoke, the way he behaved and getting used to being with a new, somewhat dysfunctional family. After many years Saroo decided to try to search for his biological family and soon falls into the abyss. The abyss is when the hero reaches the most difficult part of his journey. The “abyss” doesn't have to be a physical barrier, it can also be mental. The hero who conquers this part of their journey would help them reach the final point. Saroo's journey becomes linked to the "abyss" after he begins the search for his biological family. It had been many years since Saroo had been to his hometown and his memories were very vague. His friends had told him about a program called Google Earth, which could show you any place you wanted. Saroo had started his research, but quickly lost hope when he realized that it would be an extremely difficult task that would take him away from his studies, so he chose to leave it. Saroo had finished his studies and returned to Hobart, but soon realized he had lost interest in his career. After a series of tough changes that included his job, his whereabouts and the loss of his relationship, Saroo found himself stuck in a dark place. He was stuck in a rut and didn't know how to get out of it. His parents were worried about him and wondered when he would be a happier man again. With the help of his friend Byron, he had now moved into a spare room in Byron's house and began to take back his life. Saroo had begun the search for his hometown again. Byron did his best to keep Saroo from returning to his depressed state and made sure he went out and wasn't stuck at the computer for days on end. Saroo had eventually met a new girl, Lisa, and they soon began dating. Their relationship had many bumps along the way, especially after Saroo began to obsess over his quest. He would go out with her during the day and as soon as he returned home he would be hunched over his computer for hours on end. This caused tension between them and led to several breakups and make-ups. After many months of this continuous abyss, he made his final return home. The 'return' is the point in the journey where everything returns to normal. The 'return' is not always welcomed with warmth and joy by the hero due to the fear that things may change forever and that adapting to the new life will be difficult. In Saroo's case, the situation couldn't be more opposite. After so many years he had finally found his hometown, Ganesh Talai. His only fear was making a mistake and seeing his hard work go to waste. This fear soon proved to be invalid because he had actually found it. With the support of his family and girlfriend, he traveled to India about eleven months after discovering Ganesh Talai. Saroo had walked around the town where he spent his early life before finding a man who spoke good English. The man understood enough to give Saroo the help to realize his dream of meeting his family. Saroo had shown the man a photo of his family and given him their names. The man told Saroo to wait/.