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The Hero's Journey In The Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Matrix

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In all of literature, patterns and stages of the hero’s journey can be seen and identified within every story. Joseph Campbell applied the term “monomyth” to stories in order to describe basic stages that every hero quest goes through. When Joseph identified these common parts of stories, he helped connect the world of literature and establish recurring characters, actions, and situations. Even when pieces of literature that seem to have no connection to each other are examined, such as The Matrix directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, and The Epic of Gilgamesh by N.K. Sanders, the monomyth, the hero's journey, and archetypes are efficient ways to help compare and match pieces of literature and publications; all while helping to reflect on …show more content…

During his heroic fight with Humbaba, “Glorious Shamash heard his prayers and he summoned the great wind, the north wind, the whirlwind, the storm, and the icy wind, the tempest and the scorching wind; they came like dragons, like a scorching fire, like a serpent that freezes the heart, a destroying flood and the lightning’s fork” (Sanders 10). In this situation, the help from the aid came in the form of physical assistance, although that is not always the case. For example, in The Matrix, Neo’s aid came in the form of guidance from the character Morpheus. He taught Neo everything he needed to know in order to prevail in the final battle. These characters are important in the development of the story, and offer any assistance the hero needs while on their journey. Many battles and struggles later, the final battle comes for the Hero. Entering the matrix to save Morpheus and facing mortality for Gilgamesh would be the most important part of these hero’s journeys. This battle represents all that they have to face in order to succeed on their journey. If they are successful, they are able to return home with newly founded traits and wisdom. At the end of the journey, the hero finds that he or she has had these traits inside of them all along, and the new founded self-knowledge that came from the journey helped them to discover that. The Matrix and the Epic of Gilgamesh are prime examples of Joseph Campbell’s ideas of the monomyth because they both

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