Abdurrahman Zeitoun and The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Essay Example

? Abdurrahman Zeitoun and The Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell in his work The Hero with a Thousand Faces has described the journey of a Hero and the different stages through which the Hero has to walk through to emerge victorious in spite of all hurdles. The object of this paper is to depict the journey of a real life hero seen through Campbell’s version of heroic adventure and dilemma. Campbell has put forward three main criteria as features of a Hero’s journey. The actions and adventures of a real life personality, Abdulrahman Zeitoun are assessed on the basis of the criteria mentioned by Campbell. The altruistic deeds of Zeitoun has placed him on the altar of a modern day Hero and can be a guiding light for the young generation to be strong and fearless in all difficult situations. The mythological set up of Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces has expressed the adventures of an emerging Hero. With many mythological examples the book explains how different people can display courage in the face of adversities and achieve the status of a Hero by fulfilling the call of their missions. The journey of the Hero starts when he gets a call for a mission and on basis of the call he steps in a hitherto unknown and supernatural world from the comforts of his ordinary world. In this journey he faces many hurdles which he overcomes with great display of courage and determination. Eventually, he returns to his homeland equipped with all the powers of a superhero and from then on he uses his power for the welfare of his people. There are three different stages of the journey to heroism and they are Departure, Initiation and Return. The journey that one has to make in his life indicates moving forward without any hesitation and. The journey is full of challenges that one has to overtake with sheer integrity and willpower. Only by overcoming the fear of the unknown, one can emerge victorious as a true hero. The mythological journey of the Hero depicted in this book can act as an inspiration for generations to come. (Campbell, xxiv) Campbell depicts in his book the three stages through the story of a mythological character’s journey and his adventures. He uses various appropriate examples from mythology and religious history to describe the journey of his hero. He embarks on the journey when he gets a call from the supernatural and the first stage of the journey begins when he faces Separation from his own ordinary world. (Campbell, 45-53) “A sharpened edge of a razor, hard to traverse, A difficult path is this—poets declare!” – (Campbell, 21) Every man who dares to respond to the call of the unknown knows very well the dangers lurking ahead and he alone has to face them with courage and determination. (Campbell, 21). Initially he refuses to respond to the call but then he is assured of supernatural assistance. This gives him the courage to embark on his journey and face the challenges ahead. The second stage is about the hero’s Initiation to the supernatural world. In his journey to this mystic world he faces many tough challenges and tribulations but every time he overtook them and achieved victory with his extraordinary powers. His bravery won him the good fortune of meeting the Goddess. “At their word, the word which tortures the spirit, The sick woman was turned into a corpse, The corpse was hung from a stake” – (Campbell, 99) The hero of every era at one time or the other in his life has to confront his other self either by being absorbed by it or by absorbing it. Life will throw at him challenges which will require him to let go of his pride and inhibitions and he must surrender himself to the flow to rediscover himself. In this journey the Hero was provoked towards temptations and like any ordinary man he surrendered his will power to such provocations. Still, the Holy Father gave him the chance to atone for his weakness and thus he received the chance to cleanse himself of his sins. Gradually he gets elevated to divine status and he is bestowed with powers of supreme nature. The third and final stage depicts the Return of the hero to his ordinary world leaving behind the mystic world of his heroic journey. His return is marked by a magical flight and thus ends his test of bravery and endurance. Since he holds supernatural powers, he has control over both the worlds of ordinary and ethereal. (Campbell, 54-221) David Eggers, in his book Zeitoun, has written about the real life events of Zietoun family in New Orleans. The protagonist is Abdulrahman Zeitoun who is a Syrian-American. He and his family faced the Hurricane storm called Katrina in 2005. The book describes Zietouns deeds and how his life shaped up after the storm. He passed through difficult times and emerged like a true hero. The experiences of Abdulrahman Zietoun after the Katrina can be viewed through the story of John Campbell’s hero. By applying Campbell’s theory of a Hero’s journey one can see the similar pattern in Zeitoun’s experiences post Katrina. The background of Campbell’s story of Hero’s journey is mythological while Zeitoun’s story is set in the city of New Orleans, USA. The real and the mythology blends with ease as we can see that Zeitoun turns out to be a true Hero in terms of Campbell’s criteria of heroism. The way Zeitoun managed his days through all the crisis he faced is a true characteristic of a Hero. Abdulrehman Zeitoun is originally from Jalbeh, Syria where he was born. In 1988 he settled in the USA as the owner of a painting and contracting business. After getting married to Kathy, he along with his wife opened their own company in New Orleans– Zeitoun Painting Contractors LLC. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, Kathy with the children took shelter in Balton Rouge which was her homeland. Zeiton could not go with his family and he stayed back in New Orleans to take care of their home, work sites and their rental properties. This stage in Zeitoun’s life can be compared with the first stage depicted by Campbell which is Departure or Separation. Campbell’s hero gets separated from his ordinary to embark on a journey to the unknown in the ethereal world. Likewise Abdulrahman Zeitoun has to separate from his wife and kids to stay back in New Orleans not knowing what fate has in store for him by the storm Katrina. As Campbell’s hero starts his journey in the supernatural world, Zeitoun too stayed back to face the consequences of the storm Katrina. From here starts Zeitoun’s trials and tribulation in his journey towards challenging times. This phase of Zeitoun’s life which is embedded in adversities can be compared with Campbell’s Hero’s challenges and provocations in the mystical world. The hurricane Katrina has a disastrous effect on New Orleans and the city got flooded with water upto a few feet. The entire city got submerged and Zeitoun took it upon himself to save the native people. He took all his essential supplies and sailed through the waters in an old canoe. On his way he distributed the supplies to the people who were stranded because of the flood. He took many people to safe places. Many abandoned pets were also rescued by him. He also took care to protect his tenants. All these actions by Zeitoun can be compared by the challenges faced by Campbell’s Hero on his journey. Campbell’s Hero emerged victorious in all situations with his courage and power. Likewise Zeitoun proved himself a worthy hero by his way of handling himself in sure dire situation as the aftermath of Katrina. More difficult times lay ahead for Zeitoun when in September, he along with three of his companions were arrested by a group of local police and National Guards. He was in one of his rental properties when he was arrested and he and his companions were suspected as members of Al-Quaida which is a terrorist group. Zeitoun was suspected of being involved in conspiracies against the nation due to his Syrian origin. He was imprisoned by the guards was put inside a temporary jail. He was made to remain there for three days before transferred to Correctional Center in Louisiana. The police were unable to prove any charges against Zeitoun and his companions, but still he was detained in the Center for twenty days based on mere suspicions. He was not allowed to get in touch with his family although he expressed his desire to notify his wife of his whereabouts. He was worried about his family, but he was not even allowed a phone call. Zeitoun was even accused of stealing from his own house. All these experiences faced by Zeitoun can be correctly compared with the temptations faced by Campbell’s Hero in the second stage which is Initiation. Zeitoun was arrested although nothing could be proved against him. He was even denied the rights of an arrested person by being denied to make a phone call to his wife. All these things created grounds for him to react violently against his arrestors. In spite of this, he practiced restraint and controlled his emotions and did not surrender to his temptations. “Guide us to the straight way; the way of those whom you have blessed, not of those who have deserved anger, nor of those who are astray…” – (Eggers, 25) It is the choice of the Hero to choose the way that will lead to righteousness of spirit so as to earn the blessings of God and not His wrath. Zeitoun was eventually released on a bail of $75,000. He returned to his home after a gap of almost six years. After returning home to his family, he struggled to rebuild his personal life and also his professional life. The third and final stage depicted in Campbell’s book is Return of the Hero in his ordinary world and being equipped with supernatural powers, he used his power for the benefit of his fellow men. Similarly, Zeitoun is spending his life for the welfare of his citizens. He harbors no sour feelings towards the nation although he was falsely charged with terrorism. His experiences as a prisoner did not deter him to work for his citizens. He has already rescued 250 damaged houses, some schools and a museum. Just like the Hero in Campbell’s book, Zeitoun strived to use his past experiences as driving energy to work for his fellow men. (Eggers, 15-70). Zeitoun once said “Look above you, at the stars and moon. How do the stars keep their place in the sky, how does the moon rotate around the earth, the earth around the sun? Who’s navigating?” (Eggers, 97) Zeitoun believed that all human beings on earth are guided by the Almighty without whose guidance our life will go astray. It is the Almighty who gives us the sense of right and wrong. Conclusion Zeitoun can be considered as a true Hero when seen through the stages depicted in Campbell’s book of a hero’s journey. Although the backgrounds are different in the two books, one being mythological and the other being non fiction, but Campbell’s description of Heroism can be applied to Zeitoun who showed true determination and courage in challenging times. References 1. Campbell, Joseph, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, USA: Princeton University Press, 2004 2. Eggers, Dave, Zeitoun, New York: Vintage Books, 2009 Read More