Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark Hero’s Journey Analysis Essay

Ordinary World In the first opening scene we see is Indiana Jone’s whip in his pocket. Then we see the hat from behind and that is when the die-hard Indiana Jones fans realize that they are witnessing the entrance of a great hero. The ordinary world for Indiana Jones is really not that boring at all. He is constantly hit on by many undergraduates that he teaches in his Archaeology class. A prime example being an extremely attractive undergraduate girl closes her eye lids to display the message â€Å"LOVE YOU.† The Call The call to action in this movie was when the two federal agents came to enlist the help of Indiana Jones to acquire the Ark of the Covenant. Indiana Jones informs them of the history behind the Ark and is informed that the Nazis have found Tanis the last known location of the Ark. Jones informs the federal agents that he is no expert on the subject of Ark myth, but they should be asking Abner Ravenwood. Ravenwood collected many relics of Tanis including the head piece to the Staff of Ra. The head piece is the key to finding the Well of Souls where the Ark is kept. The Refusal Indiana Jones is gung ho about embarking on his quest to find the Ark of the Covenant. Marcus Brody, the head curator of the National Museum tells Jones that is might not be a good idea to go seeking the Ark. Brody expresses his convern when he says, â€Å"Well, I mean that for nearly three thousand years man has been searching for the lost ark. It’s not something to be taken lightly. No one knows its secrets. It’s like nothing you’ve ever gone after before.† Jones tells Brody not to worry, for he does not believe in the supernatural.† Meeting the Mentor This movie has a slight twist in terms of meeting the mentor. The mentor, Abner Ravenwood is mentioned but we never get to meet him, for Jones and he had a falling out many years prior. Jones later meets up with Sollah who guides him through Egypt. Crossing the Threshold In this movie, however, Jones goes to Nepal to go see Marion, Abner Ravenwoods’ daughter, to obtain the head piece to the Staff of Ra. Accomplishing this task is not easy for Jones because a romantic encounter he had with Marion years earlier. Test Allies & Enemies Indiana Jones is greeted quite rudely when he enters through Marion’s door she says, â€Å"Always knew someday you’d come back through my door!† and then proceeds to punch him, â€Å"In the last ten years, I learned to hate you. I was a child. You knew what you were doing.† Jones finds out that his mentor is dead. He gives her money to buy the head piece, and she tells him to come back tomorrow to retrieve it. After Jones leaves the bar, agents from the German Gustapo looking for the head piece. They subdue her and threaten to burn her with a hot poker in order to torture her for information about the whereabouts the head piece. Right as they are about to start the torment Jones comes in and saves her by whipping out the hot poker out of the tormentor’s hands. The hot poker lights the curtains ablaze resulting in the head piece heating up. The head Gustapo officer grabs the medallion and burns his hands in the process. Marion then pays back the favor to Jones by shooting an assailant saving Jones’ life. She looks and turns to Jones and says, â€Å"I’m your god damned partner!† At this point a partnership has been formed and we have Jones’ first major ally in the quest to find the Ark. The Approach * They arrive in Cairo in Egypt, where they meet up with Sollah, and an old colleague of Jone’s. * Rene Belloch is running the archaeological dig in Tannis * The Germans have found the map room that Jones had mentioned before, but cannot find the location to the Well of Souls without the head piece. * Sollah acts as their guide and warns them of the dangers * â€Å"The Ark. If it is there, at Tanis, then it is something that man was not meant to disturb. * Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this earth.† – Sollah * Jones and Marian start to rekindle their relationship * They are attacked by the Nazis and Jones throws Marion in a basket to keep her safe from harm * While hiding in the basket the monkey hops on the top cover of the basket, giving her position away * Indiana Jones seeks out Marion but is unable to find her * He shoots the explosives truck and the truck explodes which leads Jones to believe that Marian is dead * He meets up with Sollah after and they come to the conclusion that they only have one side of the head piece * The Nazis are digging in the wrong place * Sollah and Jones realize they do not have much time, for they must get to the map room around 9:00am when the sun hits the map room * The sun shines through and points them to the location where they must dig * Jones goes to Balloch’s tent and finds Marion * Jones promises to come back for her after he retrieves the Ark * They find the entrance to the Well of Souls when they are ambushed by Belloch and his Nazi cohorts Supreme Ordeal Jones is locked inside with Marion in the Well of Souls. The floor is covered with snakes which makes this even more excruciating for Jones. Snakes are Jones’ worst fear and he despises them with a passion. At this point it seems as if all hope is lost, but Jones and Marion manage to escape the Well of Souls and try to flee the archeological dig site at Tannis. The Reward After a fistfight with a giant Nazi mechanic, blowing up an airplane on the airstrip, and chasing down a fleet of trucks, Jones takes back the Ark before it can be shipped to Berlin. He obtains what he was looking for all along plus he has Marion by his side, which is what he really wanted all along. The Road Back Indiana and Marion leave Cairo to escort the Ark to England on board a steam boat. The next day, their boat is breached by Belloch, and the Nazis, who once again steal the Ark and kidnap Marion. Indiana stows away on their U-boat and follows them to an isolated island where Belloch plans to test the power of the Ark before presenting it to Hitler. Indiana reveals himself and threatens to destroy the Ark with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, but Belloch calls his bluff, knowing Jones cannot bear to eradicate an important historical artifact. The Resurrection Indiana surrenders and is tied to a post with Marion as Belloch performs a ceremonial opening of the Ark, which appears to contain nothing but sand. Belloch’s Nazi cohorts start laughing thinking they had just wasted their time. Suddenly, angels start to emerge from the Ark. Aware of the supernatural danger of looking at the opened Ark, Indiana warns Marion to close her eyes. The apparitions suddenly morph into gruesome creatures of death, and lightning bolts and burst of fire and flame begin flying out of the Ark, killing the Nazi soldiers, while Belloch and the rest of the commanding officers meet their fates as well. Return with Elixir Indiana and Brody ask about the whereabouts of the ark and are informed by the federal agents that the Ark â€Å"is someplace safe† to be studied by â€Å"top men†. The Ark is sealed in a wooden crate and stored in a giant government warehouse in Area 51 filled with countless similar crates.