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Hero's Journey: Rewards And Riches

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Hero’s Journey Essay : Rewards and Riches

Three classic stories, The Odyssey, The Alchemist, and The Count of Monte Cristo, each have a goal that their heroes strive for; treasure. Odysseus searches for many treasures both physical and spiritual. Santiago’s treasure of unimaginable wealth, one of great mystery and desire. And Edmond searches for a treasure all of mankind wants, freedom. The treasure that these heroes search for, and the stories that depict it, The Odyssey and Odysseus’ desire to return home, Edmond Dantes’ freedom in The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Alchemist’s Santiago looking for wealth; are rewards and riches that are a fundamental part of life, a part of human nature that everyone searches for, hoping to find before it’s too late.
The tale of Odysseus, a story known around the world, is filled with the pursuits of Odysseus. Odysseus pursues many quests in his twenty years away from home including love in the arms of another, other than his wife. But the strongest “quest” Odysseus pursues is to return home to Ithaca, and to his family. This quotation is an example of the urge to return home “...there is nothing dearer to a man than his own country and his parents, and however splendid…” The quote tells us that while he enjoys the fame and glory of being the hero of the war in Troy, he truly wants to enjoy his home, his family, and would rather leave the glory behind than never see Ithaca again. It takes Odysseus nearly an extra ten years to return

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