Over at Fantasy Faction, Aaron Miles explains the concept of “The Hero’s Journey,” a very common structure for stories old and new that have been told all around the world. Joseph Campbell first drew attention to this structure, and Christopher Vogler adapted it for writers. As Aaron explains,

The overall arc is called a journey, even if the protagonist doesn’t actually travel very far. The events listed in the stages can be physical or metaphorical, and subject to interpretation. Not every story will fit the pattern exactly, following the same progression, or even contain all the elements of the formula. An author should not feel bound by this idea, or feel that their story must conform to it, but at the very least they should be aware of the structure, and have a basic understanding of the different elements.

Children of Pride might be read as a kind of “Hero’s Journey.” At least, I had those themes and structural elements in mind while I was writing it. I’d love to see some middle- and high-school essays on the topic, actually. 🙂