The Myth Of Sisyphus Character Analysis

The Human Soul and It’s Capabilities
In a multitude of tales written across time, both true and fiction, there lies an antagonist and a protagonist. Often times, it transpires that the protagonist pushes through whichever obstacles the malevolent antagonist decides to throw their way over the course of the story. Now, that simple baseline, the baseline of multitudinous stories, aims to demonstrate that the human soul pushes on. No matter what someone may encounter, sooner or later they’ll move past it, and their soul will prove stronger in spite of it. In order to corroborate my theory, I’m going to share some specific findings from stories including the “The Myth of Sisyphus”, Matthew 26 and 27 of the bible, and lastly, “The Crisis”.

In a Greek Myth originating sometime substantially before Christ, in the work of Albert Camus, we learn of a man named Sisyphus.

The tale doesn’t start off well, Sisyphus and his brother Salmoneus fight for their father’s throne, and when Salmoneus wins, Sisyphus is exiled. This left Sisyphus to harbor some deep family hatred. Yearning for power Sisyphus crosses the gods, and Zeus punishes him thusly, for he was condemned to the arduous task of ceaselessly rolling a rock up a mountain where the stone was to fall back every time he was close to reaching the top. However, each time he is near the top “he is superior to his fate” and “He is stronger than his rock.”. Even though he is doomed to eternal failure, Sisyphus didn’t view it as such. Every time he moved that stone an inch further up that mountain, he felt it was a slap in the face to the gods. A “Ha! I’ve made it this far!” moment. For “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”. Though Sisyphus is not a real man, I still believe this to be a great example of human perseverance. After all, sometimes all you need is a little

optimism.
If you happen to be struggling in your conquest for optimism, you need do little more than turn to the Bible. Full of many great stories of miracles, hope, faith, and human perseverance, the Bible is the prime example for proof of the human soul’s knack for forbearance. A great example is found in chapters 26 and 27 of the book of Matthew, where the stories center around the betrayal of Jesus by his disciples, and primarily Judas. It only took 30 pieces of silver for a “devoted” Judas to surrender Jesus leading to his crucifixion. During this time all twelve of his disciples stumble, denying him as their lord and savior, God’s son. However, Jesus accepts this, as “all of this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled”. More importantly, Jesus exemplifies the strength of the human soul as he is beaten, belittled, and ultimately crucified. Jesus could have easily given up and proven his being the son of God, as it is said, “Or do you think I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?”. However, he remained strong and obedient, fulfilling the scriptures as intended, proving beyond doubt that the human soul is designed to fight on.
The last most recent story is told through the eyes of Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War, where speaks of his personal accounts in serving with Washington’s army “during the retreat across the Jersies”. Throughout the course of those times, Paine had to endure considerably harsh conditions where space was cramped, food was scarce, and supplies were limited. Also during this time, since the revolution was going on, there were many riots, unfair taxes, excessive brutality from the redcoats, and ,constant invasions of English armies. Despite the iniquities, Paine remained optimistic, and you can see this when he says “I thank God, that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear.” Paine's positivity and patriotism played a key role in the Revolutionary War, if it weren't for Paine’s ardent writing the colonists wouldn’t have remained as strong as they did through the war, and they might not have won.
The commonality between these stories is simple, the human soul does indeed push on. In “The Myth of Sisyphus” Sisyphus was portrayed as a man who decided to remain triumphant in spirit even though he was condemned to eternal failure by the gods, Jesus endured the pain of our sins and his disciples betrayals even though he didn’t have to, and finally, Thomas Paine remained vigilant, and boosted the spirits of his fellow colonists through the ever so trying times of the revolutionary war. Thus, the human soul does indeed push on.