“Who can say who is the villain and who is the hero? Probably the dictionary.” - Joss Whedon Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although the line between what makes a hero may become blurred, the basic traits of a hero remain largely the same, as proposed by Joseph Campbell's The Monomyth. This theory proved essential as an ingredient of a great story. I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier can be considered a monomyth due to its depiction of a hero, a shadow, a mentor, and other classic figures in literature. At first glance, Adam Farmer appears to be anything but a hero, with Amy Hertz running the show. However, during his epic journey to find his true identity, he proves that the roles are reversed. At the beginning of his story Adam has no idea that he is really Paul Delmonte in disguise. He's your average student; he is shy, a little awkward, but fiercely cares for those he loves most. When she first discovers that something is wrong in the safe bubble of her life, she refuses to ignore the urge to find the truth. When Adam first discovers a strange sealed envelope in his father's desk drawer, he feels the incessant urge to open it. It is said that the situation was “crazy, it was ridiculous. Everything could be explained easily. But he had to open the envelope. He had to find out. He had to know” (Cormier 64). This kind of curiosity is the mark of heroes, along with Adam's courage in the face of danger. Later, when Adam discovered who he really is, he also realised, «almost guiltily, that a sort of adventure had taken over his life. At school he felt separated from the other kids... but it was a different kind of loneliness, something exclusive, almost sweet” (171-172). This willingness to accept the challenges before him is a trait exhibited in every great hero. Although the circumstances in which Adam found himself are far from favorable, he faces them with maturity, strength and courage. Although Adam is extremely bold when the situation calls for it, he would be nothing without his best friend and girlfriend, Amy Hertz, who "brought brightness and cheerfulness into his life" (68). Even in Adam's darkest days, he manages to find comic relief in the trickster of I Am the Cheese. Amy entertains Adam and herself by performing the Numbers, which are well-planned and elaborate pranks. Some of her best work was when “Amy had cornered Mr. Crandall, a hated teacher, by sending him anonymous love letters, passionate letters obviously from a student. The Amy Hertz: giving the letters a decidedly masculine tone so that poor Mr. Crandall thought he was being stalked by a passionate teenage homosexual” (112). Just like in every hero's journey, Amy serves as Adam's sidekick even in the most turbulent moments, whether he realizes it or not. Adam found the most comfort in his quirks as he ventured on his journey with the rest of the characters of the monomyth. No great hero's journey would be complete without a herald, a mentor, and a guardian of the threshold. Adam discovered several pieces of information before meeting these characters and beginning the majority of his journey. Without David Farmer, Adam's father, to serve as the herald of the story, Adam would have been left in the dark. David was initially reluctant to share the true identity of the Farmer family with his son. Like any father, he wanted to protect his son from his past for as long as possible. Once David realized that Adam knew enough to make him a liability, he knew it was time to tell his son the.