Humans are a very interactive race and each person is part of at least one group, personal or public. Structuralism is the idea that everything that we do and know are determined and classified by structures, and it is used in psychology and literature to analyze the thought processes of people and interpret texts, respectively. It can be used to analyse the movie "The Princess Bride", although detractors may say that the structuralist lens cannot be used effectively, or even at all, to analyse this movie. This film is very popular throughout the world and is said to be among the greatest comedy films and love stories of all time. Though comedy plays a big role in "The Princess Bride" and true love advances the story, the main focus of this film is on the ideals of structuralism and talks specifically about heroes. There are two reasons for this: a pattern, specifically the hero cycle, is followed and is a significant element of the narrative and there are characters that fit a character motif.
Three of the seven basic plots found in Christopher Booking's "The Seven Basic Plots" can be applied to "The Princess Bride" and are prominent throughout the story. The first is called "Rags to Riches", where an ordinary character leaves the world that they know and displays their talents at the end. It is stated by Vizzini that before the events of the film, Fezzik left Greenland thanks to him. He is able to use both his mental strength to motivate Inigo to continue his journey to defeat the six-fingered man and his physical strength to help Westley get into Humperdinck's castle in order to rescue Buttercup. Fezzik was a character who essentially had no future in Greenland, but by the end of the film, he has utilized both his mental and physical strength in order to help other characters accomplish their goals. The second is called "Overcoming the Monster", where a hero must defeat a "monster", which liberates a community.
