A comparative analysis of the proactive role of the hero's journey archetype in prominent contemporary Iranian and South American novels

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 PhD in Persian language and literature - Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

Abstract

Introduction
The theme of some of the contemporary Iranian and South American novels has the potential to depict the archetype the hero's journey. The role of the hero's journey archetype in the works of these regions' authors, been manifested to a great extent due to the similarity of their political and revolutionary atmosphere. The archetype in modern Iranian novels is a reflection of ancient mythology; writers such as Sadeq Hedayat, Simin Daneshvar, Bahram Sadeqi, Qazaleh Alizadeh and others, have exploited archetypes in their works, novels of Fuentes, Márquez, Lluçà and particularly Isabel Allende, are incredibly mixed with myths and archetypes. So much so that Iranian and South American writers express the revolutionary, social and individual themes and even the contemporary problems of their societies in the shadow of archetypal actions and especially the archetypal travel. Writers of these two regions try to adopt heroic people in their stories to show benevolent and good-thinking ideas. These characters, sometimes according to the three stages of the hero's journey; the separation or departure, honor and return of the hero, appear in the role of warrior, saint, lover or despotic emperor.

Methodology
For this research, the analytical-comparative method is employed, which is conducted by analysis of Iranian and Southern American novels and, using library sources. Our research is based on mythological criticism and emphasis on the opinions of Jung, Campbell and Vogler in the field of the active roles of the archetypal hero and his/her journey in the formation of literary works.

Background
Each one of the novels reviewed in this article, has been analyzed from the point of view of the hero's journey archetype. Mohammad Ali Atesh Soda and Azam Tavaloli have dedicated the article "Comparative review of the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude and the novel the Mourners of Bayal" to the comparative review of these two novels. In the article entitled " Examining the heroic journey of the character in Blind Owl by relying on the archetypes of awakening the inner hero" written by Majid Sarmadi et al., the novel Blind Owl and Prince Ihtejaab are analysed on the basis of intellectual foundations of Carol Pearson and Hugh K. Marr. In the article "Evolution of Wahhab's character in the context of love in the story of the House of Idrisi based on the model of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey" written by Roya Yadalhi Shah-rah, attention is paid to Wahhab's character by considering the model of Campbell's hero's journey. In the "Analysis of the structure of the novel (I turn off the lights) article, based on the archetype of the hero's journey" written by Afsaneh Hassanzadeh Dastjerdi, this novel is analysed according to Vogler's archetype of the hero's journey.
Conclusion
The archetypal concept of hero and anti-hero as two fictional characters in Iranian and South American novels may be reviewed. Yusof, Qobad and Alba as warrior heroes, Blind Owl narrator, Morgan, Santiago, Philip and Wahhab appear as beloved characters. Esteban Trueba, Trujillo and Dr. Hatem appear as heroes in the role of the despotic emperor. In general, the mythological action of the hero and the various roles of the hero, such as warrior, saint and despotic emperor, have a similar function in the novels of the two regions, and the role of anti-heroes and the hero as a lover is more obvious in South American novels.

Keywords


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