What are the literary elements of an epic journey?
I think the general model for an epic journey goes like this: hero is isolated, possibly an orphan, s/he discovers or is initiated into a new world or given a task to complete, s/he has some sort of important tie to the quest which s/he discovers during the course of the quest, s/he confronts an evil force and defeats it, either s/he grows old in relative anonymity and peace OR s/he fights one last battle in his or her old age and dies gloriously. Think Beowulf or the story of King Arthur. For a more modern version of the epic journey, think Star Wars 4, 5, and 6.
