THE PORTRAYAL OF THORN BATHU AS A HERO IN JOE ABERCROMBIE’S HALF THE WORLD

This research discusses about the role of Thorn Bathu as character in the novel Half the world by Joe Abercrombie which is believed to have the characteristics of a hero. Applying the theory of Hero's Journey that was developed by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the writer finds that Thorn Bathu is worth mentioned as a hero in the novel because she undergo almost all of the three stages to become a hero as proposed by Campbell. The writer takes Campbell’s model to show that women can play the role of the Hero just as well as men. The model itself is not the definitive be all end all as many would like to assume, rather it is a helpful guideline in creating a plot and journey for the characters.