Archetypal Quest free essay sample

The Archetypal Quest Essay The archetypal quest, also known as the hero’s journey is effective in revealing which ways a person’s values, ideas and ambitions can be explored and changed throughout society. The hero’s journey is a genre that is prominently seen through nearly every sort of text, written or visual, usually representing an internal or physical struggle to gain a sense of personal character, personal identity or achieving a goal that one has claimed to be unachievable. On occasions the composer of a narrative, film or story will alter the hero’s journey to challenge or perceive a variation to ones society.Mathew Vaughn’s film ‘Stardust’ and Homers epic ‘The Odyssey’ represent all aspects of the hero’s journey, including the original quest narrative of facing and overcoming multiple obstacles to obtain the reward in the end, whether the reward reflects a growth in self, realisation or a rare possession. In both texts, the characters Tristan from ‘Stardust’ and Telemachus from ‘The Odyssey’ undertake a hero’s journey which sees their transitioning from being a boy to becoming a man, and it is proven that the society which the hero lives, dictates the representation of the hero.The cultural context of ‘The Odyssey’ is set in Ancient Greece, which differs from the film ‘Stardust’ which obtains a fantasy genre, but mirrors the 18th Century realm in England. The values of society in these two different time eras are somewhat similar, some of which being the value for family, justice (both of which proving to be more prominent in ‘The Odyssey’) and the value for status within the community. Athene, the Greek goddess or war and wisdom, advises Telemachus to rid his house of the suitors, acting as his call to adventure.Typically, being a child, Telemachus refuses the call as he has insecurities about himself and believes that ‘no one will listen’ to him. Athene is a character that wants Telemachus to grow up; ‘You are no longer a child, you must put your childish thoughts away’ and it is this encouragement that helps Telemachus maintain strength and persistence throughout his journey. The values of family, justice and hospitality play a big role in the Greek culture and are represented throughout Telemachus’ character.The search for his father that he has no memory of reflects the ancient Greek values of family; the loyalty in the father and son relationship. Accordingly, some amount of Telemachus’ drive to find his father is associated with the thought that justice will finally be put in place for his home in Ithaca and for the suitors, strongly representing the ancient Greek value of Justice. Lastly hospitality is greatly represented throughout the novel. When disguised Athene enters his home in the first book of the epic, Telemachus displays this value and embraces the hidden goddess into his home; ‘Welcome friend!You can tell us what has brought you here when you have had some food†. This value is represented in the same fashion towards Telemachus when he sets out in search of his father and visits Nestor and Menelaus. In ‘Stardust’ the value of family and justice are shown throughout Tristan’s journey, but also the value for status among the community plays a bigger part in his journey in his time and era. Tristan represents the value for family, similarly to Telemachus, as after failing to cross the wall he lights a Babylon candle, to travel by candlelight, to reach his mother that he has no memory of.Although in this attempt to find her, he thinks about Victoria and the shooting star which sets him on his path for his original journey . Victoria assists Tristan in his call to adventure, agreeing that if he can return with the fallen star on the day of her birthday then she will accept his proposal of marriage. To prove himself worthy, Tristan claims that ‘for her hand in marriage he would cross the wall and bring back the star. ’ Victoria triggers his insecurities as ‘nobody crosses the wall’ and when he tries but fails, his insecurities grow stronger.Tristan fights for his status within the community, as trying to win the heart of an upper classed lady, when he is ‘just a shop boy’. The value of justice is shown towards the end in the fight scene between the witches, Septimus and Tristan, where Tristan gains his elixir and justice is restored. Telemachus’ journey follows the typical principle of the quest narrative, including all the twelve stages. His quest is provoked by the suitors, who are ‘eating him out of house and home’ and the drive to find his father so justice can be restored.He encounters many tests, such as being able to maintain his mental strength throughout the inmost cave where he loses his childhood innocence an d travels to other islands and remain strong when he is faced with the ongoing struggle to find news of his dad. The suitors also test Telemachus’ hero character, as they regard him as the one thing that is standing in the way of the dominance of his household. They are the only ones to disrespect him and his authority, compared to everyone else who regards him as Odysseus’ son. The expectation to live up to his father’s standards is high but quotes such as â€Å"He at once gave orders o call the Achaeans to assembly† displays that he is a leader, taking after his father, and the impact of his speech and the way he used his words when addressing the assembly resembles his father’s talent. After overcoming the obstacles he hears that is father is alive and back at home which counts as the reward and the elixir being that Telemachus achieves the goal of his journey, with the suitors defeated and his family life restored. Similarly, Tristan starts of in his ordinary world, as an inferior character. This is shown in the beginning of the movie where he throws small stones at Victoria’s window to get her attention.The placing of character, with Victoria looking down on Tristan from her window emphasises his vulnerability to the ‘femme fatale. ’ Also the fencing fight between Tristan and Humphrey outside Victoria’s window emphasises how they think he is nothing out of the ordinary. Tristan’s drive to be accepted starts him on his journey thus succeeding in passing the first threshold; finding the star. The casting and costume design of Yvaine (the star) reflects a bright, shining atmosphere, which helps her act as a guiding light to Tristan on his journey.On his journey back to the Wall he faces many encounters, tests and obstacles such as the witch, an antagonist which wants to capture the star for an eternal life of beauty, and also Captain Shake Speare, who counts as an ally and helps transform him into a man. Like Telemachus, Tristan’s strength is also tested throughout his journey, as he starts to realise what he is capable of. When he reaches his ordeal, he puts his life in danger to save the life of the one he loves, Yvaine (the star) and defeats the witch, freeing his mother and reuniting his family, a value just like the Odyssey.Telemachus reflects the Ancient Greek society, representing the typical quality traits of a Greek hero. He stays loyal to his family and sets out on a conquest to prove himself worthy and help those around him; he is your typical willing hero, committed to the adventure. On the other hand, Tristan challenged his society by going beyond what everyone thought he was capable of and proving himself worthy. Tristan represents some characteristics of the loner hero, starting off separated from society, but ends being indulged and included into ones group, except he doesn’t return to isolation.They are similar in the fact that they both are dedicated to the journey and they both finishing gaining the elixir, but the difference in the motives behind the journey is that, although they both journey to reunite their family, the main purpose behind Telemachus’ journey is to regain order in the kingdom whereas Tristan’s main motive is to find his true love. Similarly they both transition from boys into men by the end of the journey and find an inner strength and intelligence about themselves. This is shown through Telemachus’ dialogue of when he states ‘I have learnt to use my brains by now and to know right from wrong and his strength is shown in the end of the journey when he helps his father defeat the suitors. Tristan’s transition from being a boy into a man is shown when Vaughn contrasts the fencing scene in the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie. In the beginning Humphrey triumphs over Tristan, gaining a sense of hierarchy over him, but in the end of the movie the same scene happens again, but instead of Humphrey beating Tristan, Tristan draws a sword which dominates over Humphreys fencing stick. Also the dialogue of ‘Look Humphrey, I dont want to fight you’ shows the growth in character and how he has matured into a man.These archetypal quests are constantly being revised as they provide hope and inspiration for the audiences. It allows one to go on a journey of their own or imagine what one would be like. The hero’s journey in both texts remain similar, despite the difference in cultural context. Taking into account that in ‘stardust’ some aspects such as moral values have been appropriated into the film to adjust to a modern audience, both texts reflect a strong sense of value in their character’s journey. This is proven that the hero’s journey depends on the society in which they live, and alternatively changing the way in which their society lives.