According to the novel, Awakening the Heroes Within, we are all on a journey in life and through that journey. To prepare for the journey, we are guided by inner guides, or archetypes, that help us by teaching us to become successful members of society. The twelve archetypes teach us lessons, and each presides over a stage of the journey. Through the book, we all live heroically by activating and applying the twelve archetypes in our lives. The heros journey includes three major stages: preparation, the journey and the return. In the novel, The Power of One, we learn about a young boy, Peekay, who takes us on the journey through his life.
We enter his world though the eyes of a scared little boy, who seems to be lost in his journey. To prepare for his journey, Peekay must experience the fall, this is when he becomes and Orphan. Peekay feels disappointed, abandoned and betrayed by life- and especially the people that are suppose to care for him. Peekay has been sent to a boarding school because his mother has been institutionalized. Peekay has never been away from home or his Nana before and he is scared of the fact that we will not have her to hold onto. By the Orphan archetype, Peekay learns that he has to provide for himself and he cannot rely on others to take care of him. When Peekay arrives to the school, he is forced to realize that he is different from the others. Peekay was the youngest; he spoke English while the others spoke Afrikaans, he also learned that he was circumcised and the others were not. According to Peekay, he knew that trouble would lie ahead, but he still had hope, which shows the innocent Orphan coming out in him because of the part in him that tries to protect him for being hurt or victimized.
Peekay call to adventure begins the first night at boarding school he was taken by twelve year olds, who took him to the seniors dormitory where he had to stand trail. Peekay had to stand in front of the Judge, who takes on the role as Destroyer, to face death. The young boys drug Peekay of to the showers and the boys pissed on him. Peekay had closed his eyes to pry, he did not pray to God but to his Nana. Peekay said that he could fell the blood (the urine from the boys) running down his back. The next morning when Peekay woke up he was surrounded by the other kids; they were all holding their noses. When the teacher, Mervou arrived she took him through his first Road of Trials, when she called him out for peeing the bed. She took him down the hall by his ear and made him take off his pajamas then turned the shower on him. Peekay had never taken a shower before so he thought that the stinging pricks of the water were Mervou peeing on him, like the kids the night before. Peekay thought for sure that this time he was experiencing death. When he opened his eyes the Judge was standing over him, behind him was a jury, they began to chant Pisskop, which while at school was Peekays name. Peekay was hated and the Judge ordered that Peekay be beaten up a little at a time. Once the end of the term was over, Peekay had crossed over his first threshold, and he believed that he could stay home so he would not have to endure that torture at school anymore.
When Peekay returned to the ordinary world, he was greeted by his Nana, who he asked to help him with his peeing the bed. Nana took him to see the medicine man, which was Peekays supernatural aid. Not only did the medicine man help him to not pee the bed anymore, but he gave Peekay the chicken (Granpa Chook). When Peekay had to return to school, he took Granpa Chook with him, and the chicken helped Peekay overcome must of his fears while he was there. Granpa Chook was his only friend, but he acted as Peekays courage, which produce the warrior to come out in Peekay. The day that the jury tied Peekay up to the tree and Granpa Chook tried to stand up to the Judge, the killed Granpa Chook right in front of Peekay. This was Peekays ultimate boon; he was faced with the death of his friend, his only friend. This forced Peekay to become a Warrior and stand up to the Judge. Once he started to help the Judge with his homework, life at school was not so hard for Peekay, and he realized that once the Judge was gone school would not be so bad after all.
Once Peekay finally got to go home, he had to ride on the train, which was an adventure for Peekay, because he had never rode on a train before. This is where Peekay enters a special world. He meets Hoppie and realizes that being an Englishman is not a bad thing. Peekay knows now that everything that happened at school was in the past and he was starting a new life. What he believed in was not what it was. Hoppie was the rescue from without, he took Peekay in and allowed him to see and be a part of the world of boxing. This sparked Peekays interest and began his magic flight, when he got to see Hoppie win his fight and winning money from it. This encourages Peekay to start boxing. This is the point in the story where Peekay finds self and inner balance. Peekay has created a whole world based around the small amount of time that he sends with Hoppie on the train. On the psychological level, Peekay feels peace in his life and the cycle of suffering and healing is suspended.
When Peekay returns home he finds that his mother has returned and she has sent his Nana away. This is his return from the special world to the ordinary world. He realizes that Nana is gone and he feels the Orphan archetypes again, until he meets Doc, who shows him the love of music. Peekay takes interest in Doc and begins to spend all of his time with him. Doc becomes Peekays caregiver, and then when Doc is arrested Peekay feels that there is nothing left for him. Peekay is told that he cannot see Doc because everyone thought that Doc had hurt him. Peekay realizes that he has to help his friend, and tell the real Judge the truth. Once he convinces the Judge, Peekay is allowed to go and visit Doc in jai, where he meets Lieutenant Smit, who agreed to give Peekay boxing lessons. In Peekays journey this is where he becomes the ruler of his own destiny, and he realizes that he can go far in life. Peekay has now conquered both the special world and the ordinary world. Once he received the scholarship to the Prince of Wales School he then begins to start all over in life and he starts a new journey. Going away to the school is his new call to adventure.
Everyone who takes a journey is already a hero. In life we go through the life we are guided by outside sources to help us through the stages of the journey. Everyone goes through the stages of the journey many times in life. Peekay went through that complete journey; however, he is beginning a new journey through life because he is called to another adventure. Through the novel, The Power of One, and the book Awakening the Heroes Within, we learn that the cycle of the journey is a never-ending process that everyone experiences in their lives. All of us are faced with different adventures and journeys in life and we are guided through them with the help from the twelve archetypes. Those archetypes help us find ourselves and help us transform our world.
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