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Joseph Cambel. Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey Myths are the oldest stories
in existence; they show us what we once were, and what we are capable of. ...
Submitted by AwdxishxEvil on April 29, 2008
Category: English
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Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey
Myths are the oldest stories in existence; they show us what we once were, and what we are capable of. They give us lessons on life from across the ages. But what is a myth exactly?
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines the word “myth†as, “A traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief or natural phenomenon.†(Webster’s, pg 785). According to this a myth is an old story, handed down from bygone generations, that holds in it some kind of moral, or lesson of some kind. Under this definition, it could be argued that the works William Shakespeare are myths, as are the tales of the Thousand and one Nights, and Beowulf.
To be honest, I think that a myth is something else. A story, of course, but perhaps a little bit more than just that. I see myths as reflections of ourselves; they are stories that show us our flaws and our good points. They give us something solid to put our backs to in a world where nothing seems like it is. Myths, in short, are stories that teach those who will listen how to better themselves.
It was summed up rather nicely by Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty, in the introduction of the book, Hindu Myths, “… they are symbols in a way that no human being, however ‘archetypal’ his life story can ever be. They are actors playing parts that are real only for us; they are masks behind which we see our own faces.†(Gaiman, Neil, pg 155).
Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, has his own opinions on the power and purpose of mythology. According to Campbell, the power and purpose of myth is as simple as it is universal. Myths, and indeed all spirituality, are human attempts to search for answers to the questions of, “Where did I come from?†and “where am I going?†(Campbell, Joseph. Mythic Reflections).
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