The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Essay Example

?Hero A Hero is a man of ultimate courage and determination who deliberately endures toils for the well-being of his people and is often hailed as a role model to the world. Sometimes, even the constant endurance of troubles and challenges faced by the individual, to attain an achievement, identifies oneself as a real life hero. On those lines, Joseph Campbell’s defines a hero as, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellowman” (Campbell 23). As per Campbell’s Monomyth, the journey of a hero is confined to a sequence of actions that includes three main stages, namely, - Departure, Initiation and Return. From these sequences, we could get a better idea about the phases that a hero undergoes and how his life would probably get transformed with each phase. Now let’s take a stance to discuss about two real life personalities, Daniel Suelo, the protagonist of the book The Man Who Quit Money and Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the primary character of the book Zeitoun. Could they be considered as a hero, on the schema of Campbell’s Monomyth? Let’s analyze this question further ahead to sort out the possibilities of these two characters to be claimed as a hero. Zeitoun: Dave Eggers, in his book, Zeitoun portrays the life of Abdulrahman Zeitoun as a simple and loving man who lives in New Orleans with his family. However, the arrival of Hurricane Katrina collapses the lives of the people residing in the coastal regions in New Orleans. With his small canoe, Zeitoun aids his neighbors by rescuing them and even their animals, and also make arrangements to provide food, water and other essentials to the needy. Soon after the hurricane, abrupt changes encounter his life. He was fallaciously arrested by the police officials on account of suspicion for withholding possessions. During his incarceration, the torments he faced at the hands of the police were merely intolerable. He was treated inhumanely mainly on the basis of his ethnicity. Finally, he was released after the authorities understood his innocence. When the life of Zeitoun is focused, it conforms well to the Campbell’s notion of a hero. He lives in an ordinary world, with his wife and four children, holding his own business in the New Orleans. The departure phase of his journey is started with the onset of hurricane. He set forth his way crossing the threshold to face various challenges, which included imprisonment and eventually he returned back to his community. At the start, the call for adventure arrives for him in the form of a destructive hurricane that hit the coast. The awakening call for him was the natural calamity which gave him the arousal and pushed him to aid the needy people during the hurricane. It brought out the kindness and the generosity in him, and made him to deliver to his people and help them in the times of need. As a hero, he went forth on his own volition to accomplish the adventure. (Campbell 48). In his initiation stage of journey, he is destined to face various trials that reveal the true character within him. As Campbell states, “The composite hero of the monomyth is a personage of exceptional gifts. Frequently he is honored by his society, frequently unrecognized or disdained” (Campbell 29). These quotes aptly fit to the life of Zeitoun. Being hailed as a rescuer by his community people during the hurricane, soon after, he was imprisoned wrongly by the officials of the state and made to undergo intolerable trials. It was during his incarceration that he has to withstand all his emotional as well as physical temptations in order to endure the suffering. He was detained in a Greyhound bus stand on the suspicion of him being a terrorist, which was primarily due to his ethnicity or religion. During the imprisonment, he was denied medical aids and was even prevented from informing his family about his imprisonment. In spite of all the troubles, he affirmed his faith in god for delivering him. This resembles to Campbell’s words, “He is the hero of the way of thought—single-hearted, courageous, and full of faith that the truth, as he finds it, shall make us free” (Campbell 18). Finally, in the return phase of the journey, he gets down to his ordinary life in Orleans, after being released from the Jail. He arrives back to his own place with an enlightened faith and wisdom saying, “it was a test. Who among us could deny that we were tested?” (Zeitoun 324). The ordeals faced by Zeitoun in his life during and in the aftermath of the hurricane made him a New Orleans hero and his life turned inside out in few months of time. It is no doubt that the trials and tribulations faced by Zeitoun have transformed him for a new breakthrough in his life. But was this a favorable outcome for him as a hero in real life? This would be a question of doubt. Certain “dark turns” in his personal life lead to the divorce from his wife, and in the later days he was even convicted of murdering his wife. It is obvious that his later personal life looks contradictory to his character of a loving man as portrayed in the book. Nevertheless, this makes no sense in denying the contribution that he has offered to the hurricane victims in his region and the tolerance that he faced during the imprisonment on the name of racism that led to wrong incarceration of him and his fellowmen. Daniel Suelo Daniel Suelo, the inspiring character of the book The Man Who Quit Money, marks his identity as a man of great determination, who chooses a vagrant lifestyle away from the materialistic world by pursuing his heart’s desire. It has been 12 years since he left his money and is living a no-money-life literally. He is neither a recluse nor an insane idler. He lives with his own principles and religious views, secluding him from the capitalist society and selecting a roving style of life, on his own will. He is described as a mythical hero, by the author Mark Sundeen. And does this mark on Daniel make him a real hero? Let’s sort out our speculations on this, by conforming to the Campbell’s Monomyth of a hero. The departure journey of Daniel starts when he deliberately chooses to live as a vagabond in the outskirts of Utah. He is faithful, happy, enlightened as well as inspiring to the world. Campbell states the attribute of a hero as, “He must put aside his pride, his virtue, beauty and life and bow or submit to the absolutely intolerable” (Campbell 89). Daniel did choose this intolerable lifestyle leaving away all his worldly affairs. For Daniel, his call to adventure was gradual realization of the unwanted worldly possessions that tends to hold the mankind in the negative sense. His departure phase started with the awakening call that struck him on seeing the generosity of the impoverished people, whom he met with the Peace Corps in South Africa. In addition to this, few other unpleasant incidents he faced also instilled in him adverse opinions about money and people of the world. “It made Daniel think. The people who had the least were the most willing to share” (Sundeen 44). Daniel is strongly driven by the spiritual thoughts and beliefs in his heart which is the major catalyst for his awakening. Later on, in his initiation phase of journey, he leads a roving lifestyle in the deserts of Utah, leaving his own land. This is described by Campbell as crossing the threshold. He is prone to face all the challenges of life owing to his decision of living in an exile. “The agony of breaking through personal limitations is the agony of spiritual growth” (Campbell 163). So is Daniel. He protests against the capitalist system existing in the contemporary world. His views towards life look past all the monetary exchanges that prevail in the society. His religious views proclaim that being a follower of Jesus, one should willingly give out all the possessions, and learn to give and receive freely, for no reward. He is solely focused on his philosophy of using what is freely given or discarded, as well as what is already present and already running. He adds that our whole society is designed so that you have to have money. Daniel’s life would be less inspiring to the people who prefer to live in a world where money is everything. “World's great heroes as mere human beings who broke past the horizons that limited their fellows and returned such boons as any man with equal faith and courage might have found" (Campbell 274). Referring to the Campbell’s journey of a hero, the Road of Trials is not an easy one for a conqueror. The hero moves into the landscape of ambiguous forms where he must survive a succession of trials. It produces miraculous tests and ordeals for the hero (Campbell 81). Daniel gradually endures all the trials that he faces in his rambling life. He once unknowing ate a poisonous cactus which could have ended his life. This is even considered as a blunder. But as per Campbell’s view, “A blunder- apparently the merest chance – reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood. The blunder may amount to the opening of a destiny.”(Campbell 42) Daniel sticks strongly to his decision even after living a dozen of years as a wanderer. His returning journey of the hero reveals his refusal to return to the normal life and instead choosing the freedom to live as a moneyless drifter. After being enlightened due his spiritual beliefs, he strives to follow his heart looking past all the unnecessary thoughts that hinder his way. He believes everything is delivered eventually by the nature when we need it. This is his religious philosophy that hails his faith. On the way of his journey, he tends to spread his views and thoughts to the people by means of his blogs which he maintains though public libraries. He is indeed provoking thoughtful questions to everyone about the meaning of life and the importance of money in one’s life. Though various controversies are cast over his way of living as a caveman and a moneyless blogger, he stands carefree to the contempt thrown at him. As Sundeen expresses, “The struggle itself toward the eternal present is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Suelo happy” (Sundeen 256). Daniel has chosen this lifestyle as his life’s journey which he happily embraces and moves ahead with enthusiasm and pride. Conclusion: On looking into the lives of both these characters, Daniel and Zeitoun, they are literally ascribed as heroes adhering to Campbell’s schema. It is obvious how simple incidents and decisions of one’s life can change one’s destiny as well as the views of the world on oneself. Zeintoun, a man who was just an ordinary citizen is being hailed as a New Orleans hero due to the generous acts of his and also because of the resilence he showed during the unbearable torments he experienced, owing to his ethnicity in spite of his innocence. In case of Daniel, the deliberate act of one man’s decision in living a life out of capitalist society and his persistent power in achieving his heart’s desire provokes inspiration to the world. Though detained or derided, nothing can ever stop a heroic personality from reaching his destiny or self-achievement. Works Cited Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library, 2008. Sundeen, Mark. The Man Who Quit Money. Riverhead trade, 2012. Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. Vintage. 2010. Read More