Treading on the Life of a Hero: Parallels and Reflections on Hercules

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Treading on the Life of a Hero: Parallels and Reflections on Hercules

by Samantha Louise R. Carimpong


     Hercules is a 1997 animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film was based on Heracles' heroic life and deeds, who is known as Hercules in Roman Mythology. The film shows how Hercules changed from a mortal young boy into a heroic god through acts and endeavors. With that, his experiences can be analyzed using Joseph Campbell's concept of the monomyth that argued that a hero's life follows a particular structure or pattern (Jeffrey, n.d.). This concept has three main stages: departure,  initiation, and return. In this paper, I will be discussing how my journey in becoming an English major is parallel to Hercules' life as a hero.

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/5d/92/615d92d34e37eb621d0d1da4d29f6adf.jpg

Departure

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    The first step in a hero's life is called the departure or the call to adventure which shows how a hero leaves his current world or place that he/she regards as safe and comfortable to embark on another place that is unknown to him/her. In the movie, we've seen that Hercules left his foster family when found out that he was just a foundling to look for answers about who he really is. It was in the Temple of Zeus where he found out that he is, indeed, the son of Zeus and was taken away from Mount Olympus.
    Such experience is parallel to my experience before becoming an English major. This started from leaving my life as a high school student and entering the Philippine Normal University (PNU) as a freshman student. I experienced uncertainties during my freshman year because I was unsure whether to take Social Science or English as my major. In the end, I decided to pursue Bachelor in English Education.

Initiation

        Source: https://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5eab42ef04139b3db0bae8bc/master/w_2560%2Cc_limit/MSDHERC_EC033.jpg

    At the initiation stage, the hero will face different trials, challenges, conflicts, etc., proving that the hero's journey is perilous and full of hardships. The movie showed that Hercules battled and defeated various monsters and did his best to prove his worth as a true hero. However, Zeus said that those are not enough, and his fame and strength are not the basis of becoming immortal again.

    This is, somehow, similar to my experience now as an English major. Although there's pride in being one, there are many hardships, frustrations, disappointments, and failures that I experienced, which results in having constant doubts about whether I made the right decision. These are the things that I have to battle every day. These are like the monsters that Hercules fought in the story, but the only difference is that the battle is within me.

Return

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   The return stage refers to the hero coming back home, entirely different from who he/she is from at the beginning of his/her journey. This transformation is due to all his experiences in his/her journey. This is evident when Hercules and Megara were summoned by the gods to Mount Olympus, with Zeus offering Hercules a place to the said home of the Greek gods. However, he decided to stay on Earth and be with Megara.

    At present, I believe that I'm not at this stage yet because I'm still treading on the path to graduation. However, I think I will fulfill this when I graduate and become a licensed professional teacher. I will go back to the university as a different person, maybe a graduate student or a university professor, but I'm sure that I am not the Samantha who entered PNU anymore.


         In conclusion, I realized an asymmetry and symmetry between Hercules' heroic life and my life as an English major. They are asymmetrical because his deeds and my endeavors are entirely different in nature. Still, it is symmetrical because we both experienced certain hardships, doubts, etc., as we tread on our own lives. I also realized that we are the hero's of our own lives, and the hero's journey never ends while we are living because, along the way, we would seek and achieve goals that would make us the best version of ourselves.

Reference
Clements, R. (Director), & Musker, J. (Director). (1997). Hercules [Film]. Walt Disney Feature             Animation, Walt Disney Pictures.
Jeffrey, S. (n.d.). How to use the hero's journey for personal development.                                        CEOsage. https://scottjeffrey.com/heros-journey-steps/?fbclid=IwAR0jVPCyfTf-                        hdfBuy6zHT3H4yrrngBeTQT9I2S7rfkIegSEcK5zVjqYP38

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