A condensed form of steps of the hero's journey are as follows:
1. The Ordinary World
2. Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of Call
4. Meeting the Wise Mentor
5. The First Threshold
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
7. Supreme Ordeal
8. Revisiting the Mentor
9. Return with New Knowledge
10. Seizing the Prize
11. Resurrection
12. Return
2. Call to Adventure
3. Refusal of Call
4. Meeting the Wise Mentor
5. The First Threshold
6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies
7. Supreme Ordeal
8. Revisiting the Mentor
9. Return with New Knowledge
10. Seizing the Prize
11. Resurrection
12. Return
Now, most readers wouldn't consider The Kite Runner an adventure story, but the hero's journey reveals an alternate view of some of the events that occur in the story. There is one point in the story in which Amir's life takes a dramatic spin: the Call to Adventure.
Amir's call to adventure started with a phone call from Rahim Khan, beckoning him to Afghanistan. Rahim then presented his request for Amir to find Hassan's child, marking the official call to adventure. This was the point that marked the end of the ordinary world and a turn in Amir's life. He originally refused the call, but then realized that it was his only shot at redemption for his actions.
As Amir sets out on his journey in the first threshold, Farid becomes his companion and transporter, linking him to the stages of his journey. Amir makes friends and foes, but then he is tested to his limits in the Ordeal, or confrontation and fight with Assef.
Amir's brawl with Assef could be called the climax, the battle, or the ordeal, but one thing remains true: it is the darkest part of his adventure and separates Amir's old self from the new. A violent and traumatic fight made room for change and new beginnings in Amir's life and allowed Amir to finally achieve some sort of redemption within himself. Assef had doled out the punishment that Amir had longed for for decades. So, this Return With New Knowledge cleared a path for Amir to Seize his Prize, Sohrab.
The Resurrection was a time of peace for Amir; a time away from the stresses of his past journey and a time of reflection on how he had changed. This was an internal struggle for Amir, yet it had finally lead him to his Return home with Sohrab. He had seized his prize and brought him home safely, but failed to subdue Sohrab's pain.
So, as Amir concludes his journey, can he be considered a hero?
I remember learning about this when we read the Epic of Gilgamesh last year, but I had completely forgotten about it since then. This is a way of looking at the book that nobody brought up during class, probably because Amir's actions during his childhood were so clearly un-heroic. But Gilgamesh is not admirable at the start of the Epic either--he must pass through many ordeals and adventures to become a wise and good king. And while Gilgamesh's story included bigger, more dramatic adventures--climbing mountains, fighting monsters, and so on--his most important journey was internal, just like Amir's. Amir is no Gilgamesh, and his journey of redemption has none of the glory of ancient mythology, but there is something heroic about it all the same.
ReplyDelete