I really liked the thought shared in class last week about the Hero’s Journey. It fits well with our readings this week. It was the first time I left class with something that caught my interest and I actually thought about outside of class. You have a hero (Gilgamesh) who starts out in a safe place (inside the walls of Uruk) and journeys out to the wild (the trail to the forest of cedars and the forest itself), overcomes something hard (Humbaba), and returns a different and often better person. Such is the case with Gilgamesh. Before he left the people didn’t really like him. He had done some really bad things and abused his powers as their king. But Enkidu was sent to put Gilgamesh in his place, and when that was accomplished the two became good friends and went on the quest to overcome Humbaba. They fought with Humbaba and walked away victorious with Humbaba’s head and some cedar wood.
We like Heroic tales like this because they bring excitement, suspense, hope, and courage into our lives.
I think we like the heroic journey and often want to go on a journey of our own. I wonder if that’s why people take jobs that are seen as risky or dangerous. Jobs like law enforcement, firefighters, military, rescue divers, tornado chasers, underwater welders, correction officers, and the list could go on and on. Jobs like these offer that heroic journey on a daily basis. They leave the safety of their homes to go out into the world and overcome hard things, returning home safely and often better because of the good things they do.
One of my favorite childhood shows was the Disney version of Robin Hood. (I grew up with 5 brothers) Robin Hood was such a cool guy! He was loved by everyone except those he stole from. He was a Hero to those he helped because he did things for them they could not do for themselves. Robin’s motive and purpose was noble. He robbed the rich to feed the poor. He brought hope and justice back into a land where the leaders were abusing their power and authority. He overcame many challenges, some of them he barely escaped but he was better and more confident in his decision to do the right thing, as he found success.
We like the idea of a heroic journey, we like hearing stories about heroes and their adventures, and I think it’s safe to say that many of us have heroes in our lives. That’s who we are, who we have always been and who we always will be.
I also liked the idea that was shared in class last week about a hero's journey. After class I thought about the many movies that portray the heroic journey, most notable the superhero movies like iron man and batman begins. In batman begins, Bruce Wayne goes to a place by some mountains and trains and becomes a great fighter, he returns back home and he fights crime. Unlike Gilgamesh, batman was not a bad person before he left in his heroic journey, but he came back as a better man like Gilgamesh.
ReplyDeleteThe heroic journey is well-integrated into our lives as it has been for people of all ages. A large portion of stories and especially the popular ones follow the same cycle. I can appreciate the heroic cycle no matter how many times or different spins a story can put into it. What intrigues me most is when the hero is unclear or having stories/tales that break/do not follow this staple of storytelling.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was interesting that you mentioned that the majority of us want to go on a heroic journey. I agree because like you said, it brings more excitement and suspense. I think that the heroic journey is definitely integrated in most of our superheroes' stories.
ReplyDeleteRecently I read that the heroic journey isn't valid to us anymore. Now we look for redemption stories. Most Westerns follow this idea. Instead of leaving the safety to go find adventure, in westerns we frequently get a man who comes in to a flawed utopia with some sort of demon to excise. Through the course of the story he excises the demon and makes the society safe and whole again. Usually he leaves immediately afterward.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I buy that it's usurped the role of the heroic journey, but it is very prevalent in our society now.