Joseph Campbell, a scholar in the field of comparative mythology, came up with the archetypal hero's journey that occurs in many myths from around the world going back thousands of years. This journey has a common structure, or monomyth in Campbell's words, that involves an ordinary person, often experiencing some stress, embarking on a journey after hearing a call to adventure. Campbell has identified several steps along this journey, including at first the hero's unwillingness to go on the adventure, the hero's meeting with a mentor, and the hero's entry into a new world in which he or she deals with enemies and confronts an ordeal in which he or she faces death. The hero then receives a reward, such as a treasure, for the going through the ordeal and wants to return home with the treasure, often to be tested when he or she is on the brink of reaching home. Finally, the hero is at home with a treasure that has the capacity to transform the world, much as the hero has been transformed by his or her adventures.
Harry Potter fits into the hero's archetype because he comes from an ordinary world of "Muggles" until he realizes that he has wizard-like qualities. He goes to a new world, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he is mentored by Albus Dumbledore, a wizard. Embarking on the hero's journey, which also involves parts of the typical adolescent journey of dealing with friendships, teachers, tests, romance, and stress, Harry must repeatedly confront Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who killed his parents. He also must acquire the necessary skills to defeat his tormentors, often dealing with fraudulent or otherwise annoying teachers. Through many ordeals and the discovery of his past, he comes to terms with the ordeal that he must face--the killing of Lord Voldemort (which he finally achieves in the last book in the series). He can then go on to lead a normal married life and have children, having endured and triumphed in the hero's journey.
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