preview

Is The Sacrificial Scapegoat In A Hero's Journey?

Decent Essays

one man, Ezra, who is blind, Ben is very unkind and insulting to over the phone as a meat salesman. His unkindness was due to an outburst shortly after the deaths of all those people. He comes to find that Ezra is a humble, genuine, lonely, good-hearted man and gives him his eyes to see. Ben asks another woman, Holly (who is a social worker), if there is a case where the victim desperately needs help, but is too proud to accept a hand out. She directs Ben to a Hispanic mother of two who is in an abusive relationship, but is too afraid to leave. He gives this woman his beach home and his inheritance to give her a new, far-away life. To the social worker, he gives part of his liver. To his best friend George, he gives his kidney. To his brother, he gives his right lung. Finally, to a little boy with cancer he donates his bone marrow. As Richard Paul Janaro would say, The Journey is an archetype in …show more content…

“She said she was watching over our village, so that she could see when Evil arrived.” (Coelho, pg. 99). The Archetypal Criticism Document suggests that a Sacrificial Scapegoat is a “hero figure with whom the welfare of the tribe or nation is identified and must die to atone for a people’s sins and restore a land to fruitfulness.” (Young, pg. 14). Berta was selected as the victim to be murdered so that the village may claim their prize and restore the village to its former glory. Including the possibility of building a playground to bring the children back to Viscos. “We know when the sacrifice will be offered up in the interests of the well-being of the village. Thanks to this sacrifice, a good soul will go to heaven and find eternal joy, rather than remain suffering here on earth.” (Coelho, pg. 99). The villagers attempted to justify their actions by implying they are doing Berta a favor, by putting her out of her “misery” and allowing her to be reunited with her

Get Access