Creative Storytelling and the Hero’s Journey to Catharsis: A Case Study of The Lion King
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17552883Keywords:
Creative Storytelling, Hero’s Journey, Emotional Journey, Catharsis, Poetics, “The Lion King”.Abstract
This paper explores the concept of catharsis in Creative Storytelling through the lens of the Emotional Hero’s Journeyand its pedagogical applications. Drawing connections between Aristotle’s Poetics and contemporary narrative theory, it presents catharsis as the culmination of the hero’s emotional and moral transformation. Using Disney’s The Lion King as a case study, it illustrates how emotional challenges, inner conflicts, and processes of self-discovery lead to catharsis. The study highlights the educational potential of storytelling to cultivate empathy, self-reflection, and social-emotional learning, transforming narrative experience into a means of psychological insight and educational enrichment.
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