The Monomyth - Video Game: Storytelling - page 30

time could have actually been the Hero. Grey hair, beards, and robes are
the classic physical attributes of a Mentor, though as with every archetype,
modern versions can take many forms.
Mentor functions and roles include:
Teaching : This is the baseline of a Mentor character—offering important
advice, knowledge, skills, and training the Hero will need to successfully
resolve the main conflict and the many sub-conflicts along the way.
Sometimes a negative Mentor will offer bad advice, give poor informa-
tion, or otherwise demonstrate to the Hero what she should not believe,
do, or be. Despite their poor information, these Mentors can also be very
helpful to the Hero, in their own way.
Gift Giving : In addition to information, a Mentor often bestows powerful
gifts to the Hero to aid her in her quest. Again, this might sound mythical
in tone, conjuring up images of magic swords and invisibility helmets—but
instead think of modern-day equivalents such as a lightsaber, a combat
training download for use in the Matrix, or any high-tech spy gadget Q has
ever grudgingly entrusted to James Bond.
Motivation and Conscience : Mentor figures often provide not only the
means for the Hero to resolve the main conflict, but the motivation to do
so in the first place. As we'll cover later, some Heroes are less than enthu-
siastic about taking on the story's quest, and need a bit of convincing—up
to and including a good kick in the pants! Mentors sometimes serve as a
reluctant Hero's conscience, trying to convince her to do the right thing.
There is often a single character in a story who best embodies the
Mentor qualities. However, because it's a teaching role and conveying in-
formation is a frequent and necessary occurrence in fiction, it's very com-
mon to see multiple characters acting as Mentors over the course of a
story.
Mentor-like characters don't usually have very long lifespans, and they
often perish or are gravely wounded well before the story is complete.
This is another means by which the Hero's growth can be forced and
demonstrated: at some point the Hero must persevere without relying on
a parent-type figure to guide or support her. In other words, she has to
grow up.
In Star Wars , Obi-Wan Kenobi is the character most closely associated
with the Mentor archetype. Han Solo serves as a negative Mentor, offering
opinions and advice to Luke that are ultimately rejected by the young
Hero.