Celia Humanities 319Professor Melnarik2/6/06

Essay One

The definition of the hero has different meaning to many cultures. In America, if

one asked what a hero is, the answer would be Superman or Batman. These two heroes

fit what most people in America expect a “hero” to be: brave, strong, honorable,

handsome, and compassionate. Superman or Batman is also expected to continually fight

evil and protect people. Each has certain abilities. Superman has superhuman strength

and Batman has his wits. In his book The Hero of a Thousand Faces, Campbell mentions

that the hero is praised, ignored, or viewed with suspicion (37). Because of extraordinary

gifts, people’s response to Batman and Superman is exactly what Campbell proposes.

Superman is usually praised or ignored for his heroic efforts. However, Batman faces a

different situation. When Batman saves the day, he is viewed with suspicion. A

percentage of the public believe Batman is no better than a criminal. Campbell portrays

this perfectly by saying that sometimes the Hero, “…may meet with such a blank

misunderstanding and disregard from those he has come to help” (37). Batman is much

the same, misunderstood, feared, and in some cases despised. He has good intentions but

his dark costume and his manner confuse people. There is also another hero that faces a

similar dilemma. That hero is a character from a videogame called Final Fantasy II. This

person has several dimensions of Campbell’s archetypal hero. In this paper that

character’s story will be introduced. Then there will be a discussion of how this person

fits Campbell’s archetypal hero. This will open up a discussion on how the continuity of

Campbell’s hero in this character’s story reflects human nature, culture, and myths.

Finally, it will be determined if Campbell’s rules for the hero still exist in this modern

age.

The main character’s name in Final Fantasy II is Cecil. He does not exactly fit

Campbell’s archetypal hero because of his nature. Cecil is a villain and a Dark Knight (a

knight experienced in the dark arts). He is a sinister figure who wears black metal armor.

Cecil’s helmet shields his eyes and has horns on the sides. This only adds to the

mystique of a man whom no one knows anything about. Even Cecil knows nothing of

his own origins. His role in Final Fantasy II places him as captain of the Red Barons, an

elite core of troops who serve a king. Instead of protecting the king’s citizens, the Red

Barons seek neighboring kingdoms crystals. The Red Barons’ king has an interest in

collecting these crystals, which maintain nature’s balance throughout the land. The game

begins as Cecil and his Red Barons are out collecting the crystal of Mysidia, a

neighboring kingdom. Cecil and his men manage to take the crystal from the temple with

little effort from the temple priests. Then Cecil returns to his king’s castle where he

presents Mysidia’s crystal to the king. His liege takes the Crystal. Cecil feels guilty for

taking crystals from innocent people and questions the king’s motives. The king

threatens Cecil and assigns another task for him. Cecil is told to deliver a mysterious box

to a village in the Valley of Summoners. Cecil then sets out on his new errand. After

days of traveling, Cecil reaches the cave that leads to the Valley of Summoners. There is

a dragon guarding the exit leading to the valley and will not let him through. Cecil is

then forced to fight the dragon and defeats it. As soon as Cecil sets foot in the village,

the mysterious box opens up. It shoots out flames and soon the entire village is engulfed

in fire. Cecil soon realizes that his king tricked him into destroying the village in the

Valley of Summoners. Cecil encounters a little girl trying to wake her mother, who is not

breathing. The girl mentions that her mothers’ dragon must have been injured (the

summoners are linked to a human companion, if one dies so does the other). The girl

discovers that Cecil defeated her mother’s dragon and summons a monster to kill him.

The monster knocks Cecil unconscious as well as destroys the valley. Cecil comes to and

finds himself in an unknown location. He discovers the unconscious summoner girl next

to him. Cecil is not proud of what he has done (willingly or not). He vows to right the

wrongs he has done in the name of the king (which means retrieving the crystals and

returning each to every kingdom). Cecil starts by taking responsibility for the girl. Cecil

takes her to the nearest town so she can be healed. The summoner girl awakens but

refuses to talk to Cecil. The two proceed to the town’s inn and rest for the night. In the

middle of the night, Cecil’s superior captains have managed to find him and order him to

prove his loyalty by slaying the summoner girl. Cecil refuses and has to fight the

captains. After Cecil has defeated the captains, the summoner girl then decides to forgive

Cecil. She accepts the protection he is willing to offer. Together Cecil and the

summoner girl travel. Cecil encounters others who have problems and need assistance.

He helps then as he can and in return he gains companionship. Later in the game, Cecil

even helps one of his companions defend his kingdom, Fabul from the Red Barons who

seeks its crystal. Cecil encounters the Red Barons who are lead by an unknown person.

That person is Golbez, the main villain in Final Fantasy II. Cecil discovers that his own

king had been working for Golbez, who also desires the crystals. Cecil tries to prevent

Golbez from stealing Fabul’s crystal but is unsuccessful. Then Cecil decides that he will

try and retrieve Fabul’s crystal from Golbez. He sets out on the seas with his new

companions to try and find Golbez’s domain. Unfortunately, he and his friends are

separated when a sea monster attacks the boat. Again, Cecil is knocked unconscious.

When he wakes up, he is ironically on the shore of Mysidia. Cecil’s companions are no

where to be seen. He has no choice but to go inland for help. Mysidia’s people have not

forgotten what Cecil has done and do not receive him with kindness. Because everyone

has refused to help him, the only place Cecil can go for help is to the very temple he

robbed of its crystal. The same priests still fear Cecil but listen to his story about how he

lost his companions. The priests feel that Cecil is not all evil and has some good in him.

In order for Cecil to fight Golbez and get help to find his friends, the priests tell him he

must become a paladin (a sacred knight). Cecil decides to become a paladin and sets off

on this new quest. In order to become a paladin, Cecil must undergo an ordeal in a

building on top of a mountain. When Cecil reaches the place of his ordeal, he discovers

that he must battle himself. This means that Cecil must battle a being representing the

essence of evil within himself and his faults that hold him back from becoming a paladin.

Cecil comes out victorious in this battle and is transformed mentally as well as

physically. His dark knight armor is replaced with the white robes of a paladin. After the

battle, Cecil hears a voice call commanding him to continue battling evil. Then the voice

gives him a sword and bestows a blessing. When Cecil returns to Mysidia, the priests are

shocked to see him hold this sword. It happens to be a sacred sword that only the chosen

one who will save the world can wield. Mysidia’s priests conclude that Cecil is that

chosen one and decide to help him rescue his friends. As the plot plays out, Cecil rescues

his friends and finds an even larger evil than Golbez that wishes to take over the world

using the sacred crystals.

There are several elements of Campbell’s archetypal hero in Cecil’s story. Like

Campbell’s hero, Cecil receives his call to adventure. The call takes the form of his

king’s assignment to the Valley of Summoners. At first Cecil is willing to take up the

task at hand. However, Cecil doubts his liege and discovers his doubts are well founded.

Cecil goes against his liege’s orders and starts up a new task, to right some of his wrongs

by retrieving the crystals. This represents the refusal of the call but it is different than

Campbell’s notion in the sense that Cecil did not refuse to complete a journey at all. He

simply changed the nature of his journey with a new agenda. However, Cecil is punished

like Campbell’s hero when his captains turn against him at the inn. Another element of

Campbell’s hero that appears in Cecil’s story is the road of trials. Cecil struggles with his

conscience as he tries to right the wrongs he has committed. This is the internal battle

that Campbell describes the hero going through in his journey. Cecil must also fight

monsters that stand in his way of becoming a paladin, which is the external battle of his

journey. Similar to Campbell’s archetypal hero, Cecil must change and become the

opposite of himself to continue with his journey. When Cecil battles his internalized evil

(which represent his limitations), he conquers himself and is changed forever by

embracing good. Cecil became opposite of his original nature and rids himself of his

limitations just as Campbell describes his hero needing to do. This change represents

Campbell’s apotheosis, where Cecil has become successful in his journey and has

become a true hero. In a way, Cecil has passed the same threshold that Campbell’s hero

goes through. By becoming a paladin, he now understands both evil and good. This

knowledge makes him a part of the good and evil world. It also means Cecil can never

go back to his old ways of evil. Similar to Campbell’s hero, Cecil must find his place in

life. Campbell’s notion of supernatural aid also arrives in Cecil’s story. A divine figure

(the voice Cecil hears) gives the hero aid in the form of an object (a sacred sword of

legend) which increases his chances of succeeding in the journey (246-247).

The continuity of Campbell’s hero in Cecil’s story reveals that it is human nature

to struggle. Struggle is an inevitable part of life. People must struggle in order to live

and have to face it everyday. Some individuals struggle to graduate from college, other

to find a job, and more try to obtain a higher standard of living. Campbell’s archetypal

hero struggles as ordinary people do and people can identify with that individual. The

only difference in Campbell’s hero is he struggles harder. The hero has to bear the

burden of saving the world or obtaining an object. It is never easy but the hero can find it

satisfying to succeed in his journey when he saves the world or obtains the boon. This

accomplishment would be meaningless if struggle did not exist. Without struggle, there

would be no point in accomplishing anything. It is also human nature to take for granted

what comes easily. This means what is often appreciated is difficult to obtain. Struggle

is what makes accomplishing anything have meaning. Campbell’s continuity in Cecil’s

story suggests that in culture, people will usually follow what is ordained without

question (even if it is wrong) as long as the conscience is not involved. If people feel that

certain rules are wrong, the motives for those rules will be in question. Individuals may

investigate and find a less than honorable situation. There are three options: run, ignore,

or challenge the wrong doing. What ever option is chosen, the wrong doing will come to

light. Eventually, some action will need to be taken. Campbell’s hero goes through this

when he accepts the quest (challenge the wrong doing) or refuses the quest (run or ignore

wrong doing). Whatever the hero does, the evil he is to fight or object to retrieve will

still exist. Regarding to myths, Campbell’s continuity reflects the popularity of stronger

than life heroes or extraordinary heroes. As in past times, people today still expect the

hero in a myth to be somewhat superhuman. The hero must not be too ordinary like

“normal” people because that would be boring. The extraordinary is always interesting.

This super humanity doesn’t always reflect strength. Super humanity can also come in

the form of wits, cunning, courage, and charisma. For example, Cecil would be

considered somewhat superhuman because of his courage to go against his king.

Superman is superhuman as well for his strength and Batman for his intelligence.

In general, Campbell’s rules for heroes are still relevant. Modern heroes such as

Cecil, Batman, and Superman still heed the call to adventure or choose not to. All are

assisted by a divine force or helper. Each of these heroes still go through several tests

and struggles. The heroes will experience self growth and learn how to work past self

flaws. Eventually, heroes become part of two worlds whether it is evil or good,

adventure or real. It is only in select parts that Campbell’s rules need to be molded in

order to fit modern heroes. Today’s heroes face a dilemma. A hero may take up the call

to adventure but is not asked to retrieve an object or defeat all evil in the world only once.

Instead, he is asked multiple times and the journey is continuous. The hero is asked to

defend normal people from evil forces. This is a never ending process because people

will always need rescuing and there will always be evil in the world. The modern hero

cannot be integrated into the normal world because he is still participating in the

adventure world. Therefore, a hero must find a way to live between both worlds and

continue his journey in protecting innocents. Campbell’s notion of the boon still exists

but its nature has changed. The hero seeks a boon but it is not kept by him or distributed

as wisdom or an object among the community. The boon is still distributed among the

community but it is in the form of protection against evil. The hero has no need of this

boon because he can protect himself and gives it to those who are defenseless (246-247).

As long as the popularity of heroes and myths exists, many of Campbell’s rules will

continue to live on.