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Significance Of A Hero's Journey In The Odyssey

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What is a hero’s journey and why is it important? The simple answer, comes from Joseph Campbell’s treatise “The Hero with A Thousand Faces.” Campbell studied stories from all around the world, and he noticed a trend in the stories. Every hero story ever told follows the same mythology, according to Joseph Campbell. One must embody three checkpoints in order to become a hero, these being the Departure, Initiation and the Return. In “The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice,” Although Orpheus heroic actions to venture to the underworld in search of saving Eurydice, fits some parts of Campbell’s notion of a hero. Resulting Orpheus’s sacrifice and unfortunate demise, he is “not a representation of a hero” in …show more content…

Similar to Orpheus famous expedition with Jason on the Argo. The poem captures the moment when we decide that we must listen to our own voices in order to live an authentic life. It addresses the fundamental human experience of leaving behind the old, and entering the new. As you began your expedition, the most difficult trails of all journeys may be to take the risk to let go the surrounding voices and listen to your inner voice, especially when voices of others “shouting their bad advice” (Oliver1), they depend on you to take care of them, misleading you to do otherwise. Instead, you must leave the voices of society behind, “there was a new voice which you slowly recognize as your own, that kept you company” (Oliver 1), and listen to your inner voice to do what you have to do in order to live an authentic …show more content…

“Not one under the spell of his voice could refuse him anything” (Hamilton 1), the face of Pluto and Furies wet with tears and made Hades grant his wish, upon the condition that he would not look back at her as she followed him. Little by little, as he leaves the voices of the underworld behind him and enter into the daylight. Orpheus makes a mistake by looking at Eurydice to soon, “She was gone. She had slipped back into the darkness.” (Hamilton 2) Not allowed to back the second time, Orpheus is forced to return to earth alone unsuccessful. Therefore, Orpheus fails the final step of the hero journey. Furthermore, Orpheus dies a horrible death “They slew the gentle musician, tearing him limb from limb, and Hung the severed head into the swift river Hebrus.” (Hamilton 2) Therefore Orpheus is not a hero.
Unlike the Oliver poem, Orpheus did not listen to his inner voice “He knew that she must be just behind him, but he longed unutterably to give one glance to make sure”. (Hamilton 2) Orpheus accepted what he must do in order to live his authentic life with Eurydice. Instead, he turned to her, it was too soon because Eurydice was still in the cavern which was too early “She had slipped back into the darkness” thus she was gone. Orpheus was insecure about himself, unwilling

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