The Changing Face of the Hero

By Rodney Standen

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0835606163
• ISBN13: 9780835606165
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Quest Books
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

The heroic journey within

Here's a thoughtful little volume that delves into the mythic nature of the hero, especially as depicted in Western literature. There have been quite a few such studies over the past 20 years, but this one covers some new ground. While there's the inevitable mention of Luke Skywalker, that's not the popular focus of this book. Starting with Homer, the author traces the development & cultural meaning of the hero through such writers as Dante, Tolstoy, James Joyce, Somerset Maugham, Hermann Hesse, Nikos Kazantzakis, and the Beat Generation. What do these writers have in common? Their heroes are ultimately on an inward quest. For instance, Maugham's "The Razor's Edge" & Hesse's "Siddhartha" are explored & compared in one chapter, since both feature protagonists who are spiritual seekers. In clear prose, we're given a shrewd analysis of both writers' approaches, with the merits of each highlighted. That's is the strength of this work. By choosing just a few examples, and concentrating on a single strand of the heroic myth, the author gives us some very specific food for thought. His approach is Jungian, but never dogmatic. If I have any complaint, it's that I would like to have seen the short chapters expanded a bit; but as this is essentially the author's Ph.D. thesis, there's no room for digressions, however illuminating. All in all, it's a very good entry in this particular niche of mythic study, one that sets its modest goals forthrightly & achieves them admirably. If it's not a complete banquet, it's a satisfying & fulfilling meal, one that should send the reader in search of more. Recommended!