Milton Schorr discusses the power of story to inspire personal growth by breaking down the structure of Disney's The Lion King, through the lens of Dan Harmon's Story Circle. 

Not long ago I presented a talk at the Greenroom Co-working space in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa, on how a story is in fact an ancient technology that helps us understand both the mystery of ourselves, and the mystery of the world around us. I did this by breaking down the structure of the Lion King according to Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, itself based on Joseph Campbell’s Hero Myth. These are theories that I use in all of my work, particularly Addict, my own story of dealing with drug addiction, and living in recovery.

Enjoy the video of the talk below, and a summation of it.

Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell, an influential academic, identified common structures in stories, coining the term "monomyth" or hero myth. His book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, outlines the fundamental narrative arcs that resonate across cultures and time.

The Dan Harmon Story Circle

Dan Harmon, the creator of the TV shows ‘Community’ and ‘Rick And Morty’, simplified Campbell's intricate narrative structure into what is known as The Dan Harmon Story Circle. This model consists of eight key steps that illustrate the protagonist's journey from order to chaos and back again, a journey that is exactly what we as people undergo in our daily lives, as we encounter and resolve issues within ourselves.

Let’s break it down:

1. You: Establish the Protagonist

In The Lion King, we meet young Simba, who lives in an idyllic world as the son of the king. He is safe, loved, and filled with innocence. But just like all of us, his world is about to change.

2. Need: Something Isn’t Right

Simba has a need within him that is at odds with his world around - he is young and curious, and because of that, like any mischievous child, he disobeys his father to explore the elephant graveyard. This need for exploration is crucial, it is a mirror to ourselves. The lesson here is that the things we are responsible for are the ones that will teach us the most, because those events lead us to a reckoning with what is not resolved within. It is only through embracing and dealing with our own faults that we grow, much less so with the faults of others.

3. Go! : Crossing the Threshold

Simba’s actions cause the tragic death of his father, Mufasa, who steps in to save Simba when wildebeest stampede because Simba was in the elephant grave yard. His uncle Scar, secretly the true cause of Mufasa’s death, tells Simba to leave the pride lands forever, as it is his fault that the king died. And so Simba leaves the only world he has ever known, full of shame and guilt. He crosses the threshold, something we must all do if we want to grow. We have to enter the unknown.

4. Search: The Road of Trials

This is a time of discovering the new world, the unknown, and building skills to face bigger trials down the line by facing trials within it. For Simba, his trials are meeting and making friends with Timon and Pumba, who teach him how to deal his own grief - Hakuna Matata, just be happy!

5. Find: Meeting The Goddess

For all of us, deep insight comes when it is most dark, help comes when we need it most. It’s the rock bottom moment and the realisation that comes with it that heralds change. For Simba, now as a full grown lion, he meets Nala again, who tells him about the devastation of the pride and that they need him to return to lead them.

He cannot. He is so full of shame still - his utter darkness. Until Rafiki the shaman monkey finds him, and gives him his essential truth, the as yet unseen insight that transforms. ‘Your father is not dead,’ says Rafiki, ‘he lives on, in you.’ Simba knows it is true, and in that moment he knows he cannot continue to run from his shame. Like all of us, he has no choice but to face it.

6. Take: Meeting Your Maker

In this step we begin to move out of the dark, armed with the treasure of the truth that we discovered there. But there is always a price to pay, the price of growing, the price of change. In order to become something new, we must give up the person we were before. Simba must leave his happy-go-lucky life behind. He must embrace pain and struggle, in order to realise his potential.

7. Return: Bringing It Home

Simba returns and challenges Scar, and discovers that even though he is willing to face what he was running from, he is not yet able to beat it, because he is still unresolved inside. Scar attacks him and is about to kill him, when, in the classic mould of the villain, he can’t resist the temptation to gloat. He tells Simba the truth, that Scar in fact was responsible for Mufasa’s death.

In that moment Simba achieves resolution, the final truth that causes transformation inside. His guilt is dissolved, freeing him to become who he truly is - an Alpha lion, the King.

His self-doubt is removed and therefore he defeats Scar easily. And this is the great lesson that stories teach us - that the true battle is inside, and when the internal is healed, the outer follows suit.

8. Change: Master of Two Worlds

Finally at peace, Simba reaches the stage of full development. Now married to Nala they present their new cub to the pride. Simba has come full circle, he has become the wise king his father was because he has conquered both the demons within and without. He has is now master of two worlds, the light and the dark, an individual that has accepted and taken responsibility for who they are, faced their fears, and so taken their rightful place in the world.

The Journey of Change

The essence of storytelling is found in change, contrast. Our lives are filled with transformations that shape who we are. In The Lion King, Simba's journey reflects the importance of confronting one’s inner world to achieve growth. Each step in the Story Circle illustrates how internal conflicts manifest in external challenges, ultimately leading to resolution.

Conclusion

Writing stories is my passion because it allows me to unravel the complexities of life and character. I encourage everyone to reflect on their own narratives and how they relate to the stories we encounter.

All of my work is geared towards this goal. My novel Strange Fish is an attempt to understand a breakup I experienced. A Man Of The Road is a quest to explain the freedom of hitchhiking - a hobby of mine that has taken me around the world - a freedom that is essentially found through the acceptance of one’s own mortality.

Happy writing, and reading.

Please leave your comment below.

Further Reading: Understanding Drug Addiction Through 'Addict'