The Monomyth or the Hero’s Journey in William Faulkner’s Screenplays: The Last Slaver and Drums Along the Mohawk

Numerous critical works have dealt with the fiction of William Faulkner. However, little research has been done about his significant work for the screen. Most studies that have dealt with Faulkner’s screenplays focus on comparing between the fiction and the screenplays detecting especially how cinematic elements have found their way into the author’s works of literature. Hence, this article explores two of Faulkner’s 1930s screenplays, looking at the narrative structures of the scripts, seeking to find out to what extent they are consistent with the structure of the monomyth, the concept introduced by Joseph Campbell. Moreover, the study depicts the main stages of the monomyth, or the hero’s journey, as it traces the main protagonist’s path from the start of his quest till he reaches the end of his adventure and goes through the main trials he has to experience. By applying Campbell’s theory of the mythological hero’s journey and referring to Carl Jung’s ideas on the process of individuation, the study exhibits the psychological development of the main protagonists through the different phases of the monomyth and presents their final transformation and full growth as a result of the tests they have undertaken throughout the journey.