In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, Joseph Campbell's concept of the monomyth is used to develop Lily's journey from familial lack of recognition and worthlessness to a new life of true meaning and appreciation. Joseph Campbell argues that all stories are essentially the same because of their relationship to the monomyth. During this journey, the hero goes through three critical phases, which include departure, initiation, and return. They have to overcome barriers and may move away from danger, but in the end they will gain the freedom to live. In addition to applying monomyth theory to works of fiction, Campbell also used the idea of ​​archetypes created by Carl Jung. He used them to discover the deeper meanings behind myth and religion. More importantly, these archetypes are present in novels to express the collective unconscious and form a significant part 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 In each monomyth, the hero must first leave his home to embark on an empowering journey. This first step is known as departure. In Kidd's novel, Lily follows many of the same steps of departure described by Joseph Campbell. Lily's first action on the journey is when she is called to adventure. After T. Ray brings Lily home from prison, she is sent to her room; they engage in an argument regarding Lily's mother. T. Ray laughs: "'The woman could have cared less about you.' Lily says, 'It's not true, it's not'” (Kidd 39). After this indignant comment from T. Ray, Lily feels completely empty inside. Throughout her young life, Lily has lacked a strong maternal archetype he is now realizing that he must embark on some kind of journey to re-establish this archetype in his collective unconscious. Many heroes are also given the help of something beyond their world, a kind of paranormal support Another step along the road to leaving involves the assistance of supernatural help. As Lily sits in her room after T. Ray scolds her, she hears a voice in her head. Lily thinks, “I heard a voice say, Lily Melissa Owens, your can is open. Within seconds I knew exactly what I had to do: leave” (Kidd 41). who is given the justification to leave her home and do better for herself. Later in the novel, August describes the sound Lily hears in her mind as Mary's voice. Throughout the novel, Lily applies this voice within herself as a guide that leads her down the path of her unconscious. Now that Lily has decided to leave T. Ray, she must take her first steps away from home. Campbell refers to this phase of departure as crossing the first threshold. Lily crosses this line after gathering all her belongings and writing a letter to T. Ray. Lily's letter reads: “'Dear T. Ray, Don't bother looking for me. Lily. PS People who tell lies like you should rot in hell'” (Kidd 42). Lily has truly passed the point of no return; now she must disappear because after T. Ray finds this letter, she knows he will punish her severely. He has no alternative but to continue his journey away from home. Campbell defines the hero's first challenge as "the belly of the whale." This experience will test the hero's will and provide him with the ideals necessary to continue. Lily faces her first major test after deciding she must free Rosaleen. Lily goes to the hospital whereRosaleen has been brought and calls a nurse to the colored section of the hospital pretending to be the jailer's wife. Lily states, “'Mr. Gaston wants you to send the policeman we have there back to the station. Tell him the preacher is going to sign some papers, and Mr. Gaston can't be here because he had to leave just now'” (Kidd 48). With the policeman gone, Lily and Rosaleen manage to escape. Telling such a lie was a difficult test for Lily because she has to defy the law to help Rosaleen escape. This evidence proves that Lily is competent and has the willpower she needs to complete her adventure. At this point in the novel, Lily has completed the leaving phase. The situations that Lily has to overcome in the stages of departure show how Lily is following Campbell's theory of the monomyth. There is a significant amount of evidence that the monomyth initiation phase exists in The Secret Life of Bees. Lily begins the road of trials when she begins the journey to August's house. During this trip, Lily begins her terrible habit of lying. Lily tells a lie to a salesman she meets, right before finding out where her mother received the photo of the black Mary. “'I don't think I've ever seen you before,' he said. «I'm not from around here. I'm visiting my grandmother'” (Kidd 62). Lily started going out of her normal routine by telling lies, which she would never do at her home with T. Ray because she knew it was morally wrong and immoral. Shortly after reaching August's house, Lily has her encounter with the goddess, or god in this case. This character has another role in Campbell's monomyth. Lily is immediately fascinated by Zachary's appearance and behavior. Lily thought, “At my school they made fun of black people's lips and noses. I myself had laughed at these jokes, hoping to fit in. Now I wished I could write a letter to my school to read at the opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we had all been” (Kidd 116). Zachary is Lily's god in the story, because she constantly finds him amazing and adorable. To Lily, Zach is flawless; in a way he is a substitute father figure, because he possesses all the positive and honest qualities that T. Ray lacks as a father. Once Lily realizes that Zach has all these qualities that she has never admired in a male before, Zach becomes her god. Lily not only has Zach distracting her from the task at hand, but she also has a voice inside her that is a temptation, leading her away from the true path. In Lily's case, the real path is to ascertain the truth about her mother. Lily wants so badly to reveal the truth to August about who she is and why she came, but something is increasing her resistance. August says, “You know, don't you, that we need to have a nice chat. And this time it's not about me. About you" (Kidd 152). "'I suppose,' I replied. 'What now?' finally eliminated this distracting voice, Lily discovers who her mother was, why she knew August and why she left. “T.Ray told me she came back for her things. But she would come back for me too wanted to bring me here, to Tiburon, from August” (254). Lily gets atonement with her mother here and forgives her when she realizes that her mother loved her after all she also realizes here that her mother didn't leave her, but was actually planning to take Lily into a new and better life with her Lily had someone who truly loved her and,..