I recently finished Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and I noticed a writing 'template' called The Hero's Journey in it. So I thought I'd point it out as a writer. THE ORDINARY WORLD. T he hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown. The Alchemist Hero's Journey #12: Return Santiago returns to home and digs by the sycamore tree he saw in his dream. There, he finds coins and jewels and just many treasures.
Curious, courageous, young, adventurous: these are all words to describe Santiago, the protagonist in the novel The Alchemist. In this novel, Paulo Coelho develops Santiago’s character as a young boy who goes on an adventure to find his life’s purpose. Through the hero’s journey, Paulo Coelho insists that both internal and external struggles often cannot stop people from achieving their goals, ultimately encouraging people to fulfill self discovery and understand who they truly are. Coelho incorporates many internal struggles into Santiago’s life in order to prove that they don’t restrain people from achieving their personal legend. Through the use of the hero’s journey, Santiago faces many internal struggles such as when he attempts to understand…show more content… He first struggles internally when he wants to understand the dream he is having repeatedly. During the call to adventure in the hero’s journey, Santiago heads to an old gypsy in order to understand the dream he has. However, after listening to the interpretation, Santiago decided to “never again believe in dreams” because the gypsy only told him things he had already known (Coelho 17). This internal struggle, which sets the stage for the rest of Santiago’s struggles, had restrained Santiago for some time because he wasn’t able to pursue his personal legend if he didn’t believe in it, However, he later overcomes this struggle and continues on his path to achieving his personal legend. Santiago struggles internally later when he meets with the chief of a camp in the desert who tells him that he wants to see him turn into the wind. The alchemist, a man Santiago met to help him achieve his personal legend, told the chief that Santiago will be able to turn himself into the wind to show his powers, and if he can’t, “[they’ll] humbly offer [them] [their] lives” (Coelho 145). Santiago has never turned himself into the wind, so he has to dig deeply within in order to find the…show more content… After Santiago has had his dream interpreted, he sets out on a journey with the guidance of many people such as a king and a new friend. Firstly, Santiago meets a king who tells him that he can help him find his treasure if he gives him a tenth of his sheep. Santiago then sold all but one tenth of his sheep, which left him with a lot of money and a treasure he sought (Coelho 31). Now that he has no sheep left, he has nothing left to go back to, and has to start his journey. During the crossing of the first threshold stage, Santiago has to decide to take a step in which he gives everything up to pursue his personal legend. Now that Santiago has a lot of money, he is able to make the voyage to his treasure, but first he must get guidance. A boy he meets in a bar serves as a guide who holds his money for him, until when Santiago is not looking, the boy runs off with all of his money (Coelho 41). Santiago now has no money left and no sheep left. During the belly of the whale stage, Santiago faces a very impactful hindrance in which he is left with nothing but hope for finding. Lastly, Santiago faces many external struggles while on his journey across the desert towards the treasure in his dream. After traveling with a caravan during the hot days and very cold nights, Santiago learns that it is unsafe because there are tribal wars
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What is stage 16 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey? What is the significance of being a “master of two worlds”?
Master of two worlds is the stage of the hero’s journey in which the hero can move seamlessly between the two worlds, without destroying or compromising either. Master of two worlds is stage 16 of Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey, from The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
We’ll cover what being a master of two worlds entails and look at examples of the master-of-two-worlds stage of the hero’s journey.
Dual Kingship: Master of Two Worlds
The true hero is one who can move seamlessly between the two worlds, without destroying or compromising either. Here, he becomes master of two worlds. We see this in the Transfiguration of Christ from the New Testament, in which the body of Jesus becomes radiant with the glory and grace of God.
Jesus brings Peter, James, and John to a mountain. He becomes radiant before them and converses with the Old Testament figures of Moses and Elias. God then declares from on high that Jesus is His beloved Son, striking fear into the three men whom Jesus had brought. But Jesus touches them and tells them not to be afraid. Suddenly, Jesus has transformed back again into a man. He has crossed and re-crossed the divine threshold, he is the master of both worlds. Jesus tells the men not to share the vision they have seen with anyone, “until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”
Notably, this vision has only appeared to those who have forsaken worldly pursuits and secular desires. The individual must embrace their own self-annihilation. This is a requirement to be a master of two worlds. These figures of ascetic self-denial are represented across the world’s religious traditions, from the wandering mendicants of the East, to the Wandering Jew and itinerant monks of medieval Europe. The manifestations vary, but the concept is universal.
Culture Heroes
Eventually, there comes a point where the gods and heroes of mythology must yield to actual historical figures. Historical figures also become masters of two worlds. A step removed from origin stories about the creation of the cosmos, we are now dealing with the phenomenon of culture heroes—the founders who appear at the beginning of a culture’s legendary past. Rather than creating the universe, these figures create cultures.
The Alchemist Hero's Journey Quotes
Such figures are shrouded in mystery and their historicity is much-debated by historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists. Often, these are the kings whom legend tells us were themselves gods or demi-gods and used their divine status to create the great cities and kingdoms that we recognize and see today. They were masters of two worlds.
Eventually, the world no longer needs the culture hero either. Society has been established to a sufficient degree so that now, ordinary men and women can take up the burden of sustaining civilization. The first of this kind is an emperor or king in human form who hereafter stands as the model of good political leadership for the kingdom. This is exemplified by the Chinese figure of Huang Ti, who reigned a few centuries after Fu Hsi. He ascended to the throne at the age of 11 and ruled for over a century, during which the Chinese state enjoyed a golden age of peace and prosperity. He introduced mathematics, shipbuilding, woodworking, money, music, and private property.
Return and Exile
These human culture heroes often have a miraculous childhood (despite frequently being born to lowly status) and are endowed with powers from the moment of their birth. Their herohood is predestined, not achieved. They have some special connection to the world of the supernatural, either through dreams or premonitions, and their story is often one of ignominious exile and glorious return. After a childhood where they overcome extraordinary obstacles, they rise out of obscurity and reveal their true character. This is essentially the theme of crucifixion, followed by resurrection. They are masters of two worlds.
Sargon of Akkad (founder of the Mesopotamian Akkadian Empire and an undisputed historical figure from around 2300 BCE) was, as his legend tells us, born to an obscure mother and an unknown father. After being set adrift in the Euphrates River on a basket of bulrushes, he was discovered by a shepherd and bestowed with great favor by the goddess Ishtar. This divine blessing, this endorsement from the gods was what enabled him to found the world’s first empire.
12 Steps Of Hero's Journey
Similar origin stories of great historical figures abound, from Chandragupta, the founder of the fourth century BCE Maurya empire in India; to the early medieval pope, Gregory the Great; to the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.
Master of Two Worlds: The Hero’s Journey, Stage 16 (Explained)
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The Alchemist Hero S Journey 12 Steps
Here's what you'll find in our full The Hero with a Thousand Faces summary:
How the Hero's Journey reappears hundreds of times in different cultures and ages
How we attach our psychology to heroes, and how they help embolden us in our lives
Why stories and mythology are so important, even in today's world