Many people wonder and try to understand what a hero’s journey is, but fail to comprehend it. A hero’s journey is a journey taken by an individual that overcomes many obstacles. In the Alchemist, Santiago tried to discover his personal journey, and so did Odysseus in The Odyssey when he was away from his home and his family for 10 years. A hero sets off on a personal journey learn more about themselves, what they can endure physically, and the world around them.
A hero learns a lot about themselves in their mental journey. In the Alchemist, a boy named Santiago sets off a journey for treasure, but inadvertently sets off on a personal journey at the same time. A personal journey is a journey taken by someone who learns about themselves and
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how to live their lives. Santiago risked everything in order to better connect with himself. “The closer one gets to receiving his personal journey that becomes the true reason to being in existence” (Coelho 72).
This shows that Santiago starts to understand his personal legend is and starts to set off it. Along the way Santiago received help from many people, which helped him mature and better understand himself. A personal journey is mental and it shows a lot about the hero along the way.
To understand more about themselves physically heroes will go on an extensive journey. In The Cruelest a woman named Kira Salak starts a journey that will have her kayak 600 miles up the Niger River to get to the fabled city of Timbuktu. Salak faces many challenging physical and mental obstacles along the way. Physically, she kayaked 600 miles up a treacherous river, through massive storms and roaring rapids, endured the unforgiving heat of the
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Sahara, She tore a muscle in her right arm, cut her feet on razor sharp rocks, and fell ill with dysentery. “The idea is to paddle nearly 600 miles on the Niger River in a kayak, alone, from the Malian town of Old Ségou to Timbuktu. And now, at the very hour when I have decided to leave, a thunderstorm bursts open the skies, sending down apocalyptic rain, washing away the very ground beneath my feet” (Salak 140). This shows just hard physically demanding and challenging this journey will be for Salak. Mentally, Salak had to do the long journey almost entirely by herself, with only the support of her photographer and the people in tribes she passed by. Salak is a hero for going through the many physical hardships during her jouney. She displayed huge amounts of courage and self-mastery that only very few could have done. “Than the hardship comes, and the hardship is more honest; it tells us that we don’t have enough patience yet, nor humility, nor gratitude.” (Salak 142) This shows that Salak knew the hardships that where going to come and the only way that she to get through it was to become tougher both as a person and physically. The way she was able to get through her extended journey with all of her physical inferences was heroic. Heroes are people who are able to understand and adapt to the world around them.
Odysseus is a hero from Homer’s, The Odyssey. Odysseus was a very intelligent, yet very sly individual. He was a leader of a group of men that he tried to keep alive. During his 10 year voyage, he faced many terrifying difficulties that he could have died from. It is arguable if he was a good leader, but the way that he handled situations and adapted to the world around him makes him heroic. In many situations, Odysseus and his men could have died but due to Odysseus’ ability to adapt to the world around him, they survived. One situation being the men’s’ run in with Polyphemus the Cyclopes. The men were trapped in the cave with the unforgiving beast that had just brutally murdered two of the men. Odysseus thought that if they killed the beast, they would not have been able to move the massive boulder covering the cave and eventually they would have died. .The resourceful Odysseus devised a plan that was successful in getting the Cyclopes to move the stone, and get him and his men out alive and unscathed. Odysseus is an example of a hero because he is able to think and adapt to the world around
him. A hero is someone who goes on a journey to learn more about themselves mentally, what they can do physically, and how they can learn and adapt to the world around them. Understanding a hero’s journey is a tough thing that many people try to do and are often unsuccessful at it. Heroes are people who are mentally mature and determined, physically strong, and resourceful.
Odysseus, during his long journey, exhibited many heroic qualities including bravery, strength, and determination. He was determined to return to his family after hs journey, and he bravely fought to stay alive during the cyclope situation, as well as other situations, and showed strength by being able to battle the cyclopes in self-defense. However, Odysseus was also obnoxiously arrogant about his victory and was actually very selfish throughout his entire story; he almost did not leave his town to help with the war because he did not want to leave to protect his family. Although Odysseus exemplified heroic qualities, this does not make him a true hero.
In conclusion, Santiago’s journey had different stages that got him closer to achieving his personal legend. Overall the Hero’s Journey of santiago was about him going through challenges and for him to trust in his heart. This can also be compared someone when wanting to accomplish something but then you would think you won’t be able to accomplish it. Clearly, he has been able to complete his journey through stages which had also got him closer to the end every time he has accomplished one of the stages, so the stages are also there so when passing a stage you will be able to keep going without any
There are numerous heroes throughout “The Odyssey,” but none of them are as significant as Odysseus. “The Odyssey” is a narrative poem written by Homer (around 800 and 600 BCE) to show the numerous adventures and experiences Odysseus goes through. Throughout the Odyssey, Odysseus a prominent Greek epic hero is on a quest to return back to his home in Ithaca; to his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Just like real life, not all heroes are picture-perfect; they all have imperfections. In this case, Odysseus is sometimes insolent, and discourteous; but he is still considered an epic hero because of the many heroic qualities he endures. Odysseus proves himself to be an outstanding hero in various ways such as showing loyalty, intelligence, bravery, strength, and courage which are all some of the most momentous qualities found in a hero. If a true hero can prove they are a true hero, makes them a true hero.
The Hero’s Journey is a basic template utilized by writers everywhere. Joseph Campbell, an American scholar, analyzed an abundance of myths and literature and decided that almost all of them followed a template that has around twelve steps. He would call these steps the Hero’s Journey. The steps to the Hero’s Journey are a hero is born into ordinary circumstances, call to adventure/action, refusal of call, a push to go on the journey, aid by mentor, a crossing of the threshold, the hero is tested, defeat of a villain, possible prize, hero goes home. The Hero’s Journey is more or less the same journey every time. It is a circular pattern used in stories or myths.
We all are heroes of our own story, and it is a quality seen in many movies and books. The hero's journey is about progress and passage. This journey involves a separation from the unknown, known world, and a series of phases the hero must go through . Each stage of the journey must be passed successfully if the person is to become a hero. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir faces a series of trials and goes through obstacles where the concept of his childhood dies.
The Hero’s Journey is an ancient archetype that we find throughout our modern life and also, in the world of literature.Whether metaphorical or real, the journey that a character goes on shows not only the incredible transformation of the hero but it also gives them their life meaning. It is the ultimate human experience and it reflects on every aspect of life. Take Logan, also known as Wolverine, from the X-Men movie as an example. His adventure starts with “The Call,” which is the first step of the Hero’s Journey. This step happens due to the realization of imbalance and injustice that the character has in their life. Logan steps into the first stage of the pattern but is hesitant to start his adventure because he does not know what and
Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not
Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself ” (Moyers 1). The Hero’s Journey consists of three major parts: the separation, the initiation and the return. Throughout a character’s journey, they must complete a physical or spiritual deed. A physical deed involves performing a daunting and courageous act that preserves the well-being of another person. A spiritual deed calls for action that improves another individual’s state of mind. While fulfilling their journey, a hero must undergo a psychological change that involves experiencing a transformation from immaturity into independence and sophistication.Campbell states that these events are what ultimately guides a hero into completing
The first two obstacles that Santiago faces are that his father tells him he can not do something that he wants to do and that he wants to pursue his personal legend, but he does not want to hurt those that he loves. For example, Santiago’s father said, “The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel. Amongst us the only ones who can travel are shepherds.” Everyone is told by their parents and friends that everything we want to do is impossible. Since Santiago did not have money to spend to travel his only choice was then to become a shepherd to fulfill his desire. T...
The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative that appears in novels, storytelling, myth, and religious ritual. It was first identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell in his book A Hero with Thousand Faces. Campbell also discussed this pattern in his interview to Bill Moyers which was later published as a book The Power of Myths. This pattern describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds. Campbell detailed many stages in the Hero’s Journey, but he also summarized the pattern in three fundamental phases: Separation, Ordeal, and Return that all heroes, in spite of their sex, age, culture, or religion, have to overcome in order to reach the goal. Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll, provides a good example of the Hero's Journey. This story describes the adventures of Alice, a young English girl, in Wonderland. Although she lacks some of the stages identified by Campbell, she still possesses many of them that are necessary for a Hero to be considered a Hero.
The majority of those who read The Odyssey consider the protagonist of the story, Odysseus, a hero. On many occasions, however, Odysseus makes decisions beneficial to himself alone. For example, when Odysseus and his men find themselves on Polyphemus's island, Odysseus's actions are self-centered and at the expense of his men. This can be said for most of Odysseus's actions in the story, as his main objective is to reach his home. Having his men by his side when he returns seems a trivial thing to him. Odysseus could be considered a hero, but many of his actions say otherwise. Due to the many unfaithful and self-centered decisions he makes in the story, Odysseus is not a hero.
Odysseus portrays himself as anything but a hero throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus goes through his life believing he is the best. He has no regard for anyone’s feelings but his own, and he believes nothing and no one can harm him, not even the gods. Odysseus feels he is always the leader and no one can tell him otherwise. Odysseus should not be considered a hero because he portrays himself as a selfish man that failed his crew, and is controlled by his hubris.
The main character of the Odyssey, Odysseus the King of Ithaca is given a complex personality to an extent where it is hard to identify whether he is a true hero or not. True heroism is only achieved when a person achieves certain qualities that portray heroism. Odysseus is not a hero based on the standards of merciful, selfless, and gentle because of his actions of sacrificing his men, killing the suitors and being ruthless throughout the Odyssey. Along with many others qualities these three are helpful and necessary in a hero. A hero must be willing to do service for others and put the needs of others safety and protection before his own. Odysseus does not even come close to matching these qualities because he is a person, who only serves of himself, and he sacrifices his allies to achieve his goals and often he takes action ruthlessly.
One well-known example of “The Hero’s Journey” from popular culture is the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling. In the novel, Harry Potter, the main character, is the chosen one and “The Hero’s Journey” applies to his life from the moment he is attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as a baby. Joseph Campbell calls the initial phase of a hero’s development the “Call to Adventure.” The call is the in... ...
With Coelho’s definition of alchemy in mind, I can vaguely define my Personal Legend. Throughout reading The Alchemist, I realized that pursuing one’s Personal Legend is not about the actual treasure at the end, but the spiritual journey to finding oneself. “God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you.” (Coelho, pg. 32) My Personal Legend is to figure out my purpose. I have always been able to act on my Personal Legend. What I am doing in my life right now and all the choices leading up to my future have been a part of me acting on my Personal Legend. My “beginner’s luck” would be all of the choices my parents made for me before I understood enough to make them on my own. My parents