No Power in Myth

"We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world."

Joeseph Campbell

Campbell speaks of heroes as role models to guide every man through his life. He is stating that the modern human is never alone in his adventure, in his life, because there will always be some hero who has undergone a similar path before. People can look to these heroes and follow their leads, find an example of what to do and not do. There is no such thing as the unknown path because someone has known it. However, men will always find unexpected things. He may expect to kill our antagonist, and find that destroying the foe, in turn, destroys himself. In searching for a monster, he may find the source of faith and his own abilities. Where he means to recover some fantastic prize, he may earn a better one through understanding of himself. Campbell finishes by stating that this process, this hero's journey will bring the hero a sense of peace, similar to the Buddhist concept of Nirvana, where he is one with all things rather than alone as he began his journey.

Campbell makes some valid points, in that we have role models for nearly every general situation, and that all things may take an unexpected turn, however I disagree with his particulars. While a role model may have experienced a similar journey, every story has its individual twists that make it unique in some way. This means that some role model s fit nicely, where in other situations there is no clear path that some past hero took. Situations vary greatly, and what worked for one hero may not work for the new protagonist. The heroes we choose to look up to are also not typically realistic of every day life, so what a celebrity or fictional character does in the course of their adventure may not be at all practical for an every-day person's needs. The implication that the completion of an adventure will bring a sense of peace and 'be[ing] with all the world' is exaggerated. Yes, sometimes the completion of something as large as one of Campbell's adventures is a relief, it is rarely some all-encompassing peace. At best, it is an artificial sweetener to life until the next adventure begins. At worst, the hero loses in his adventure, whether to vices and traps along the way, or the more likely occasion when the end result just wasn't worth the effort. Campbell's ideas come across as dramatized and overly-romantic, a pleasant thought, but not practical in the least. It would be lovely if every 'adventure' we had forced us to confront uncomfortable truths, overcome impossible odds, and gain some brilliant new insight. However, the truth is that we construct elaborate fantasies based on fictional works about characters with whom we identify and we cast ourselves in a role often ill-suited to us. We stumble along and occasionally learn something, but more often than not we continue the same person we were before.

For me, this means a world in which I find my own way. While I have always enjoyed stories, I have never been one to have a particular 'hero' to whom I look for guidance in life. I learn more from interpretation of larger sets of data, gathering from all the people around me rather than taking from a specific case. I could try to fuse together the bits and pieces of stories that fit my situation, or I can run with my instincts and see where my choices take me. I prefer the latter option. I don't see myself as a hero, and I cannot identify an abyss, a monster, or a return in my life. I simply do things and sometimes I am rewarded for them through good grades, a better college application, or other such benefits, and sometimes my efforts are a waste of time. Campbell's fantastical ideas have very little impact on me.