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 hates him and wants to send him to hell, according to the teachings of Christians. It is an ongoing topic throughout part 2 of the book.

8. Ordeal, Death, Rebirth

Chandler and Honesty discuss a great deal of the religious problem of evil and the problems of Christians not living up to their claims of following the teachings of Jesus. At this point, Chandler was unsure what to think of Jesus, God, or the Bible. Yet, at the same time, Honesty questions Chandler about all of these things to get him thinking and talking about what he believes and is basing his life on.

9. The Reward

By the time part 3 of the book begins, much time has passed since the previous conversations in parts 1 and 2. Chandler tells Honesty that he is no longer Chandler but, from then on, is known as Chastity White Rose. Chastity chose the name because of her "Vow of Chastity." It is clear by this time that Chastity is nothing like the depressed and atheistic Chandler that she used to be. Now, she is pretty spiritual. Many themes are discussed, such as the concept of eternal life, the golden rule, and the reasons Chastity wanted to tell others her story.

10. The Road Back

In part 3, chapter 9, Chastity and Honesty talk about the path of the true soul and a prophecy mentioned years ago. Through this talk, Chastity realizes that she believes in the soul and eternal life, although she is still eternally confused about what it means.

11. The Resurrection

In part 3, chapter 10, Chastity's entire concept of reality is obliterated with the questions Honesty asks. Chastity doesn't understand Honesty but trusts it because this horse does not lie. Everything it said is true so far, so Chastity assumes Honesty knows what it talks about. Honesty tells Chastity that her existence is not a mistake and that she belongs here.

12. Return with Elixir

After the discussion in part 3, chapter 11, Chastity returns to the human world. At this point, Chastity remembers certain things Honesty said near the end. The last Bible verse it spoke of was "Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.". Only then did Chastity remember the many ancient legends of the unicorns. They only appear to the pure in heart. Chastity figured out who the unicorn was but still knew she would always have unanswered questions. But she knew one thing. There is at least one unicorn in the world, and as long as it lives in her dreams, she will find her answers in time.

Conclusion

Although it was not my intention when I wrote the book, the Hero's Journey can be found in any story if you look hard enough, the steps of the journey are as ancient and universal as the belief in unicorns.

Source

Klebs, C. I. (2021). Chandler's Honesty: The Truth About a Child's Past, told straight from the Horse's Mouth (J. L. Klebs, Ed.). Kindle Direct Publishing. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T4DGJL1