Assignment - A Hero's Journey

Harry Dresden

Chicago's Wizard

"Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.

Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.

No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or

Other Entertainment."

http://thespinecracker.blogspot.com/2011/07/nina-talks-dresden.html

If one were to search through the Chicago phonebook and slowly flip through the businesses beginning with 'W,' he or she would discover an advertisement for the service of the only operating wizard detective in the city. At least, that would be true in the fictional world within The Dresden Files, a series created by Jim Butcher. This small quote marks the back of the first book, Storm Front, and offers readers a taste of the sense of humor that is found within the story. Harry Dresden, Wizard P.I., is quite a character from page one of the book. He shows weakness, intelligence, talent, and has a knack for always offering some sarcastic remark to his enemies. Now, his derision is not likely to lead him to forming many lasting friendships, but even so, he shows the characteristics of a hero according to Joseph Campbell's idea of the monomyth.

The series begins with Harry lamenting the fact that business has not brought in much money lately--really, not many people believe in wizards in this day and age and many are wary to offer this seemingly insane man any business--but he seems content enough with his position as a private investigator. A majority of his income comes from a special branch of the Chicago Police Department, the Special Investigations (S.I.), because law enforcement would rather have all crimes tidied up and explained through mundane reasoning. It is special investigations' job to take on the more difficult and bizarre cases in order to come to reasonable conclusions. Karrin Murphy, the head of S.I., has known Harry for years and has come face to face with the supernatural, magical world so she is more open minded than the rest. For this reason, more often than not, she will hire Harry whenever a crime seems to have an unexplainable, paranormal origin.

http://www.comicvine.com/karrin-murphy/29-59478/

This is where the tale truly begins and it also marks step one in the first stage of a protagonist's journey--Departure. Karrin Murphy contacts Harry Dresden about a double murder. It is a grisly scene in a bedroom. A couple, still intwined in an act of love making, are dead. Blood is splattered upon the walls and the floor, but it is no mystery where the crimson liquid came from, for the man and woman both share one very gruesome feature--their chests have a gaping hole in the center where once, surely, a heart beat with life. Harry feels nauseated, but does not pass up the chance to make a joke about sex, much to Murphy's dismay ("Well? Are we dealing with magic here, or aren't we?" "Either that or it was really incredible sex), and leaves the room. He understands that the only way for someone to do this much damage to a person in this particular way, some very dark magic had to have been involved. It disgusts him because magic represents life, not death. To use it to kill another person is a perversion of the art. It is also illegal in the magical community and breaks the first Law of Magic. He refuses to help Murphy further, in turn, refusing a call to adventure.

After leaving the scene, he meets another individual, Johnny Marcone. Marcone is the most well known criminal in the city, but his mafia-esque crimes, ironically, help protect the city by lowering the crime rate of other individuals. The man who was murdered was one of Marcone's so he wants to discover the murderer and wishes to join forces with Dresden. Dresden, however, just wants to make it home before everything begins to spin out of control. Again, he refuses to do much.

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=23469

Head reeling, he begins to investigate one of his own missing person cases. He visits a cabin where a woman's husband owns and uses pizza and a pizza to call up a fairy named Toot. This action is frowned upon because using a creature's true name and capturing it, even if it is a fairy, is considered darker magic depending on the severity of it. Once the fairy leaves, he is soon visited by a character named Morgan, a powerful figure on the White Council of Wizards. 

"Have you ever been approached by a grim-looking man, carrying a naked sword with a blade about ten miles long in his hand, in the middle of the night, beneath the stars on the shores of Lake Michigan? If you have, seek professional help. If you have not, then believe me, it can scare the bajeezes out of you." This marks the entrance of Morgan and it is not until this moment that he agrees to finally become involved in the mystery of the murder Karrin Murphy showed him. He really has no choice in the matter because Morgan holds a grudge against him for the one time that he broke the first law when he was a child. He killed another in self-defense, but Morgan does not completely believe him and tries to blame him for the recent murders. Grudgingly, Harry chooses to investigate the murders and the dark magic 

At home, he converses with a spirit named Bob who lives within a skull on a shelf in the basement lab of Harry's apartment. He explains what recently happened. During the course of the story, Harry returns to Bob a few times for advice and knowledge and Bob is more than willing to help him… for a price. It seems that the knowledgable spirit is a perverted entity and wishes to be paid with either permission to leave the skull (most likely so he could spy on women) or romance novels. 

Since he investigates on his own, Murphy begins to act like a cop and places Harry on her list of suspects. He refuses to involve her in his investigation because he knows that it is dangerous. This makes him alienated. No one is left to believe him or help. He is an outcast and the White Council fears that he may go rogue. Karrin thinks that he is a criminal. His cat, Mister, could not care less. Only Susan, a woman he knows, seems to show some interest in him, but she is a hungry journalist looking for a story.

These many events follow the guidelines of a character's journey. Harry Dresden is called to his adventure by Murphy, Marcone, and even Morgan. He refuses the call because he is afraid that dark magic will turn the White Council's attention toward him. He receives supernatural aid from Bob. Rather than relaxing in his home or his office, he is forced to cross the threshold and now investigate for the police, his client, and himself. Due to his actions, it may be said that he finds himself in the "belly of the whale" because he is truly alone on his journey.

http://www.stellarfour.com/2011/07/urban-fantasy-nerd-crush-harry-dresden.html

The second stage of a hero's journey is "Initiation." Fearful of spoiling too much of the plot, I shall summarize some of these points by offering main ideas without going as far in depth as I previously had when explaining the departure stage. During his journey, Harry Dresden must face many challenges. He is attacked by demons, arrested by the police, and must face off giant scorpions. During this time, he is also pursued by Morgan, who is still determined to frame him for these murders so that he may execute him for his crimes.

Near the beginning of his journey, Harry meets with a vampiress, a beautiful, but twisted woman with an ugly secret. She may wear the guise of a goddess, but beneath her human resides her true self--a flabby, leathery, bat-like creature. He visits her for information since she has many girls who act as prostitutes (it would seem that the woman who was murdered was not the murdered man's innocent lover). The meeting ends badly and he must eventually flee. 

Another woman remains in Harry's life, acting as a temptation. Susan Rodriguez is a beautiful, witty woman. She flirts with him in order to get information. It seems that at this point in time, there may be some sparks of romance between both characters, but it is difficult to tell from the few interactions that they have with one another. It seems as if Susan constantly fishes for a story about magic to publish. Not even a demon attack can stop her curiosity.

Morgan constantly pursues Harry, but he does have a gentler side. He acts based upon his moral code. Murder is wrong, murder by magic is worse, and to allow a wizard who broke the First Law of Magic to live is unforgivable. There are instances when he seems to be a father figure. He is not evil, but he is an obstacle. In the end, he shows his true colors. Whether he is good or bad, I shall not say.

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/the-singing-mercenaries/adventure-log

As expected, Harry solves the mystery and is able to clear his name, at least this time. I feel that this is not much of a spoiler since it is planned for this series to have twenty-three books, thirteen of which are currently released. 

In the end of his first journey, simply called the "Return," Harry, battered and bruised, returns to his life. He is more than happy to have cleared his name and wishes to return to business (if only it were more booming…). Before he is able to reach this state, he experiences many dangers. If not for an unexpected character, he may not have survived. There is one fear within him, the fear of dark magic. He states that he can feel its tug and knows that he has the potential for it, seeing as how he killed one person in the past. The adventure has affected him and this sensation will carry Harry through the next several books.

I believe that I listed the events that happened in the book in chronological order, but if I accidentally switched two events around, I apologize. I read the first twelve books in less than a month around half a year ago so many of the plot lines run together in my head. Storm Front has its moments, but the series truly begins to pick up its pace in book three, Grave Peril, and then after book nine, the plot grows even more amazing. Jim Butcher grows as a writer through his series and Harry has many adventures. Now that I think about it, all of the books have the traits that Joseph Campbell talks about in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Some elements grow more obvious, such as a goddess character (Mab, the fairy queen, is not introduced until book four). The last book, Ghost Story, left off on a cliffhanger so I eagerly await the release of the next book, Cold Days. Sadly, however, at this time the release date is unknown. Harry's next adventure may be on hold for another year yet.

http://geekgirlsmash.tumblr.com/post/6154707180/thegeek531-oneeyedjuliet-my-summer-readings

For more information on The Dresden Files: Jim Butcher's Website