Comparing Odysseus and Spiderman free essay sample

He undergoes a transformation from a human to spider-like characteristics and abilities. Peter Parker devotes his life to saving others who are in need. Although Odysseus’s heroic journey in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey and Spiderman’s heroic journey in Sam Raimi’s movie Spiderman share many characteristics of Joseph Campbell’s hero journey hero pattern, some differences occur. The Odyssey and Spiderman have distinct differences and specific similarities which begin in the main characters’ departure from their current lives. In the beginning of the stories, the departure starts in their ordinary world where they experience a call to adventure, refuse the call at first, and then the characters, Odysseus and Peter Parker, cross over the threshold. The ordinary lives of these two characters are quite different. While Odysseus lives a royal life as king of Ithaca, Peter is a normal geek in high school living in Queens, New York. Later the protagonists are presented with a problem or adventure. Odysseus’s call to adventure is when he is drafted into the Trojan War. Because Odysseus wishes to stay in Ithaca with this wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, he pretends to be insane. In the end, he fails and is forced to uphold his oath in having to sail to Troy. On the other hand, Peter Parker’s adventure begins when he goes on a field trip to a genetics laboratory and is bitten by a genetically engineered spider that gives him spiderlike powers. These two adventures are different in that Odysseus is drafted into war, which is much more realistic than Peter being bitten by a fictional spider that gives him the characteristics and abilities of a spider. When Odysseus and Peter are called into their adventure, they are scared and refuse the call. At first, Odysseus pretends to be insane and plows a field using salt, but the Greeks force his hand by placing the baby Telemachus in front of the plow. When the Greeks commit this action, Odysseus is given the choice to either kill his own son or turn the oxen aside proving that he is sane and capable of fighting in the war. Odysseus chooses his son’s safety and participates in the war. Likewise, Peter refuses his call when he allows the man, who robbed the person in charge of the wrestling match, to escape. Because Peter let the robber escape, the bandit kills his father. In comparison, Odysseus and Peter Parker are faced with the task of protecting their loved ones. As expected, the two characters handled their situations differently. Although Odysseus pulls his plow over to protect his son, Peter failed to catch the thief who ultimately killed his father. Additionally, Odysseus and Peter cross over the threshold leaving the ordinary world and entering into the special world. In Odysseus’s case, the crossover is when he goes down into the underworld to speak to Tiresias. Peter crosses over when he sees the robber who kills his father and goes after him. After fighting and killing the bandit, Peter dedicates his life to fighting crime. Odysseus’s and Peter’s actions are dissimilar because Odysseus physically crosses the threshold, whereas Peter mentally crosses the threshold. During the journey, the hero collides with a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Circe, a witch-goddess who turns Odysseus’s men into beasts, consults with Odysseus about his journey, but more obviously Athena continually weaves in and out of the myth trying to help Odysseus and Telemachus. Peter Parker’s mentor is his Uncle Ben. Peter is always remembering little things that his uncle has told him in the past years when he was alive, such as â€Å"with great power comes great responsibility. † The difference in the two characters’ mentors is that Odysseus has an actual mentor that he can see and listen to in person and Peter’s mentor is someone that he can only faintly remember and recall the things he said in the past. Along with Odysseus’s and Spiderman’s mentors, they also have allies. Odysseus’s allies are the Phaecians. After Odysseus’s ship is destroyed, he swims to the island Scheria, home of the Phaecians, and is warmly welcomed, fed, given gifts, and set off in a great ship to his home, Ithaca. Spiderman’s allies are the citizens of Queens, New York who believe in him as being a hero and not a villain. The resemblance in the two characters is that their allies are not just one person in particular but a group of people. By the end of the heroes’ journey, Odysseus and Peter go through tests, temptations, and the development of enemies. Odysseus is tested in controlling his men and getting them to do the right thing as well as of himself and his boastfulness. He is also tested on overcoming his fears when needing to enter the underworld. Additionally, Spiderman is scrutinized on saving people and building his name as the city’s hero. These two characters are related in the fact that they both are trying to develop their character. Odysseus is trying to be more of a leader in demonstrating leadership and fearlessness; Spiderman is trying to show the people that he is not a villain but a hero by committing good deeds and saving citizens around Queens, New York. Next, the heroes undergo temptations. For example, Odysseus is tempted by the Sirens. After his crew has tied him to a post on the boat, Odysseus asks them to untie him and let him go; however, the crew knowing what would happen keep Odysseus tied. Spiderman faces the temptation of switching over to the bad side along with the Green Goblin and hurting innocent civilians. Odysseus and Spiderman’s temptations are in related because they both stay true to themselves and do not let others influence their thoughts. Lastly, all heroes accumulate at least one enemy on their journey. Odysseus has a plethora of enemies; for example, the Cicones, Polyphemus, Circe, Scylla, Charybdis, Apollo, Calypso, Penelope’s suitors, and at times, his own crew. But Odysseus’s enemy who has the most impact upon him is Poseidon. In Spiderman’s case, his enemy is the Green Goblin who makes people think of Spiderman as a villain and even goes as far hurting his Aunt May. The difference in their enemies is obviously that Odysseus accumulated a great deal more of enemies than Spiderman collected. Next in the heroes’ journey, they approach the final ordeal or possible death. During the approach, the hero may experience setbacks during tests and may need to try a new idea. An example where Odysseus has to try a new idea is when he disguises himself as a beggar to reconnoiter the palace to plan his revenge against the suitors for not staying loyal to him. Spiderman’s new idea is seen when he first encounters the Green Goblin. At one point he offers Spiderman an opportunity to work with him, but Spiderman refuses and the goblin eventually attacks Aunt May. The approaches differ because none of Odysseus’s loved ones get hurt, whereas Peter’s Aunt May was injured. Later in the stories, the heroes meet the biggest life or death crisis. Odysseus’s challenge is when the royal battle he has with the suitors is won with help of others. Spiderman’s challenge would be the final fight with the Green Goblin. These instances are alike in the fact that both heroes win their own battle in the end. Through both Odysseus and Spiderman’s battles, they accept what is required to complete their mission. Odysseus completes his mission when he passes the test of Penelope. Penelope asks for him to move their bed, and Odysseus replies that it can’t be moved, therefore, passing her test of making sure it truly was Odysseus. Spiderman accepts what is required to be done to complete his mission after the Goblin dies. Peter attends the funeral and Mary Jane expresses her love for him, but he cannot be with her because he knows it is too dangerous. When Peter says no, it is then that he has officially dedicated his life to the responsibility of playing the role of being Spiderman. The final stage of analyzing the hero’s journey is their reward, road back to where they originated, and return of the elixir. The reward is when the hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. Odysseus’s reward is surviving death, overcoming his fears, and earning the greatest reward of being reunited with his wife, Penelope, his son, Telemachus, and his father, Laertes. Spiderman’s reward is him saving Mary Jane from death and defeating the Green Goblin. These rewards are alike because both Odysseus and Spiderman live and gain bravery; however, they are dissimilar because Odysseus is granted the homecoming with his family whereas Spiderman did what he thought was best in mind for others and rejected Mary Jane to devote his life to being Spiderman. On the road back, the hero must return to the ordinary world. The road back in Odysseus’s case can be demonstrated when he journeys onto the road to bring back his father to live with him. As for Spiderman, the road back would be him trying to make things right again with his best friend, Harry, after Harry has found out that he has killed his father. In the end, Odysseus is successful in getting his father back to live with him again, but Spiderman fails at getting Harry to forgive him. Finally, the return of the elixir is when the hero returns home or continues the journey bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed. Odysseus does not have an elixir, but on the contrary, Spiderman does. Spiderman is able to continue his journey knowing that Mary Jane loves him and that he saved Mary Jane as well as all the school kids. Because of this heroic deed, Spiderman is a bigger hero than he was previously. There are many similarities and differences in the Odyssey and Spiderman. Both stories have elements of realism and fantasy. Odysseus faces many challenges that contain unreal characters, but his fight to learn how to control himself and others is a struggle that many leaders face. Although Spiderman is a spider, he wants to be honorable and work on behalf of others in providing safety. The two stories are very different but share principles that are applicable throughout many facets of life.