Roy E. Disney, a longtime senior executive producer of the Walt Disney company, once said, “It’s not hard to make decisions once you what your values are”. Many people value different things and in different ways. Throughout history in many works of arts like epics and myths across all religions, there is a common occurrence of archetypes and archetypal heroes who seem to value different things. These values all contribute to promoting a greater picture; resilience, the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. Even though every hero is different, they all undergo the hero’s journey, a broad category of events that involves a hero leaving home and in a decisive crisis wins victory to then return home changed or transformed. In Oedipus Rex, a play written by Sophocles, we follow a tale of a king who fulfills a prophecy where he accidentally kills his father and ends up marrying and having children with his mother. In the story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that has been passed down through many generations; it follows Sir Gawain cutting off the Green Knight’s head and after a year later returning to do the same task with many obstacles facing him. There are similar values that both “heroes” promote but do so in different ways because of the different obstacles and challenges they face but overall help to promote resilience. Archetypal heroes demonstrate resilience through their demonstration of determination which requires the values accountability and honesty.
Archetypal heroes demonstrate accountability which helps promote resilience. In the tragic tale of Oedipus, as king of the town Thebes he finds out that the town has been struck by a plague. In order to put an end to it, they must find and exile or kill whoever killed the previous king Laos. Oedipus sets out to find out who the killer was. He speaks to the townspeople and encourages them to come forward with any information that they have. When informed about how Loas died, Oedipus makes a shocking discovery. The prophet, Teiresias, tells Oedipus that he killed Laos:. He says,
That is the one hope I have left- to wait…
If his story matches yours,
I will have escaped disaster…
He told you Loas was killed by several,
Then I cannot be the killer…
But if he says: one man,
Braving the road alone did it,
There’s no more doubt.
The evidence will drag me down. ( Sophocles 965-978)
At this point, Oedipus is now halfway through his hero’s journey. After hearing the story about how Loas was killed, he starts to have a guilty conscience. He thinks back to when he had killed a man with similar circumstances, but could it have been Laos? When the messenger comes “matches the story” Oedipus comes to a realization and has to make an important decision. The decision made at this crossroad showed clearly what he values. Oedipus Rex values accountability and honesty:
Grant my request before I go
Speak.
Banish me from my homeland.
Then you will have your wish. (1718-1724)
Rather than hiding after finding out the truth and going against his words he took responsibility accountability for his actions. He asks his wife/mother’s brother to exile him from Thebes. Oedipus demonstration of honesty which helps to build trust and creates a piece of mind and accountability helped promote resilience in the city of Thebes. Now that the killer of the previous king, Laos, has been found the town will no longer suffer from the plague.
In the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, there was another presence of these heroes valuing honesty. Sir Gawain, the brave noble who took the task upon himself to cut off the Green Knights head. A year later he had to return in order to receive a blow in return. Gawain then sets out to find the Green Knight but instead finds a castle with a lord and his lady inside. The host proposed a game to Sir Gawain where if the lord goes hunting he will return and he will exchange his winnings with what Gawain gained after staying behind in the castle. Being the brave noble that he is, Gawain accepts. While staying at the castle the lord’s lady forced herself upon Sir Gawain and was able to steal a kiss each one more than the day before:
When they had laughed,
The woman kissed Gawain…
‘Now Gawain,’ said the lord, ‘ I give you this game,
As our wager warranted, as well you remember.’
‘Certainly,’ said Sir Gawain. ‘It shall be so.
And I graciously I shall give you my gains in exchange,’
He catches him by the neck and courteously kisses him,
Then a second time kisses him in a similar style. (Gawain 1635-1640)
Sir Gawain’s value of honesty helpsed him make the decision to return to the lord what his lady gave. However, Gawain’s honesty did not last long. Even though he knew he would receive a blow to the head like the Green Knight said a year prior the inevitably became too much for him to handle. And so, upon the third day when the lady gave Gawain a belt that made him immortal:
‘So I give my girdle, a lesser thing to gain’…
For the body which is bound within this green belt,
As long as it is buckled robustly about him,
Will be safe against anyone who strikes him,’ (Gawain 1851-1854)
It was clear that Gawain valued his life more, which is what led him making the decision of accepting the girdle. The Lord who later revealed himself to be the Green Knight was disappointed that Sir Gawain was honest about everything else but the belt. The Green Knight spared him and left him with a cut on his neck when Gawain returns to the town he is honest yet again and explains everything. Gawain’s returns in connection to one of the last steps of the hero’s journey show how after undergoing a journey you return back home a new human being learned some type of lesson to the town a human who is able to realize his faults and now has to live with those decisions he has made. Gawain’s demonstration of honesty and accountability can be interpreted in different ways. Overall, when one is is honest it is easier to accomplish things because you never know what could happen. Maybe if Gawain was honest to the lord about having the girdle at the time he would’ve taken into consideration the fact that he was also honest about the kisses from the lady and ended up sparing his life. Which could’ve helped to promote a more resilient society where you are able to trust the people you are around.
When you are determined to get a task done you are able to demonstrate the values honesty and accountability. Accepting responsibility while being honest about your actions can definitely help to promote a resilient society. One that can last long and stay around for many years to come. The demonstration of these qualities in a hero can help contribute to building a more resilient society. In the many years to come, we can look to this archetypal hero that demonstrate these values to make our community more resilient.
Works Cited
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume B.
- Edited by Peter Simon, W.W. Norton & Company 2012 pp. 727-780
- Sophocles. “Oedipus the King” The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume A.
- Edited by Peter Simon, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012 pp. 707-747