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Odysseus and Indiana Jones

Shawn Wittmier has observed that the heroic archetype in modern myth "is one that is a fairly set pattern. In order to have a successful heroic figure, the tale must follow theses lines." Theses lines have the effect of shaping archetypal heroism, whatever culture the heroism springs from. That suggests that they can be applied equally to ancient and modern heroes, that the mythical archetypal hero of the past is essentially the same as today. In the ancient mythical figure of Odysseus, as well as in the modern movie hero Indiana Jones, can be seen a larger-than-life charisma that attracts and nurtures an enduring human desire for attachment to something greater than the ordinary. The attraction to heroes and heroism has not changed much over the millennia, nor have the general lines of action that demonstrate how a hero's persona is operationalized. That is the subject of this essay.

The big picture of identification of the archetypal hero who rises above the mundane and ordinary is one of what Campbell refers to as mythological adventure. The hero, he says, "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 fellow man" (Hero 30). Campbell sees the heroic adventure--which is to be identified with the adventure of human development--expressed by myth in three broad stages: departure, initiation, and return. When successfully negotiated, each of these stages marks a process of human development that may be heroic. The "call to adventure" is a call to the unknown: "destiny has summoned the hero and the transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown" (Hero 58). Wittmier's structure of analysis, which is not inconsistent with Campbell's but which has a different emphasis, involves more...

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Odysseus and Indiana Jones. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 20:59, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2000239.html