Monkey’s story fits very well into the Heroic Journey Model. From the beginning it was easy to tell that Monkey wasn’t satisfied with his current life. He was in search for something more to reach his “bliss”, which is what the HJ Model is based on. Monkey reaches stage one of the HJ Model right away. All of the other monkeys were happy and satisfied with the way they were living but Monkey didn’t feel the same way. There was something missing for him. Monkey got to the point where he couldn’t contain his dissatisfaction. “One day he suddenly felt depressed during a banquet with his monkey host, and he started to weep. The startled monkeys crowded round, bowed to him and asked, ‘What’s the matter, Your Majesty?'” “I’m worried about the future. That’s what’s getting me down”, he said. Monkey’s realization that something is missing from his life marks the beginning of his heroic journey. From this point on, he devotes himself to finding whatever is missing in his life in order to reach his “bliss”.
Group: Muneeb, Jamie, Jorge
2 responses so far ↓
j.guzman3 // Feb 16th 2017 at 6:41 pm
From early man exploring unfamiliar lands, to modern man jumping at the opportunity to have an overseas adventure. The idea of embarking on journeys has shown to withstand the test of time. Monkey king is no different. Monkey is full of passion, desire, and excitement, which has feed his care-free character. He has nothing holding him back from the tasks that he wishes to accomplish; the true essence of a hero. As Muneeb explained, after a while he becomes worried about the thought of death and reincarnation – this is known as the call to adventure in the Heroic Journey Model. “I’m worried about the future. That’s what’s getting me down”, he said. Monkey decides that he must explore the ends of the earth to find a way to get around death and reincarnation because he is not happy with the ordinary ways. But, I’ll go far as to say that hero in fact is Tripitaka for his journey correlates with the Heroic Journey Model impeccably. He too had an ordinary life that he couldn’t go back to for he had already passed the threshold. But with the help of his three helpers (fish, monkey, pig) he will undergo a transformation and will be able to return from his journey.
j.yatcha // Feb 17th 2017 at 12:09 pm
It doesn’t seem that Tripitaka has gone through a heroic journey. A heroic journey is the process of a hero finding his or her bliss. It is unclear from the reading if Tripitaka has reached his bliss and the process of him reaching such a stage is defiantly not discussed in our reading. Tripitaka is simply on a mission to “the temple of the Great Thunder Clap where Buddha lives.” Tripitaka’s function in this story is simply as an assistant to monkey. Tripitaka is supposed to tell Monkey to ” stay your hand.”
Muneeb explains very clearly that Monkey is in fact on the path of the Heroic Journey. I think it is valuable to think about where along the road he stands. He has faced a ton of obstacles at every step of the way but I don’t think Monkey has face his final trial just yet. I would imagine that towards the end of “Journey to the West” Monkey will in fact reach a final trial that will cause him to either overcome his emptiness or fall into utter despair.
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