Ulyssess The Hero's Journey

The Adventures of Ulysses Conveys the Hero 's Journey

A hero’s journey is a format or a template, that most heroic stories include. It has key stages and archetypes. The story of The Adventures of Ulysses, written by Bernard Evslin chronicles the journey of Ulysses trying to return to his home, Ithaca, after the Trojan War. He unknowingly angered the God of the Sea who then, consequently, started plaguing Ulysses and his crew to keep them for ever reaching home. People might think that The Adventures of Ulysses is a book that does not follow the hero’s journey, although conversely, the novel is a good example of the hero’s journey because it exhibits the main stages of the hero’s journey, has a departure to the “special world” and it has necessary

The novel has a very clear call to adventure. Ulysses is summoned by Menelaus to sail for war in Troy. He angers Poseidon, who then starts toying with Ulysses like a cat plays with its food. This is when he departs on his journey, trying to survive against Poseidon. Ulysses faces many trials that took superhuman strength to accomplish. He faced Polyphemus, the one-eyed beast (cyclops), ciconians, Circe, an evil sorceress, The Lotus-Eaters, people that eat enchanted lotuses and sleep. Some other trials include facing The Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, Giants on Cannibal Beach, the suitors and his own crew members. The crew have done lots of things such as eat the Cattle of The Sun and opening the bag of winds. Both of theses made the journey longer and costed some people their lives. These count as trials because they gave Ulysses problems after finally being slayed. This novel has an intriguing crisis point where there is almost no hope remaining for the hero. The crisis happens when the crew eat Hyperion, The God of the Sun’s cattle. Hyperion, almost as if he were waiting for the crew to fill themselves up, immediately rushes to complain to Zeus, The King of the Gods and The God of the Sky. Zeus pitched a lightning bolt which led to everyone but Ulysses dying. At this point Ulysses has nothing with him, he is tired, weak and is roaming on a small raft with

The special world rolled in the story when Ulysses passed the trial against the Cyclops Polyphemus. The other trials Ulysses faces before Polyphemus all are possible trials that could happen to anyone. Polyphemus was something they never faced before, something they probably haven’t thought ever existed. After confronting Polyphemus, almost every other trial Ulysses and his crew have faced are supernatural. Ulysses has brawled trials such as the sorceress, Circe, Scylla, Charybdis, giants Calypso and Sirens. There is also kind of a return from the “special world” because when he returns back to his home, he doesn’t deal with supernatural creatures and the book ends with him defeating humans and resting in peace with his family. Thus, it can be said that the tales of Ulysses has a proper breakthrough into a magical