Esoteric Coffeehouse

Welcome to part II of the Barack Obama and Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: An Appraisal. This took some time to post - for the reason that I’m moving house these days and I don’t have access to the internet yet. I can’t begin to tell you how grueling it is not to have broadband: it’s like half of my arm is cut off. Ouch! Anyway, without much ado and whining, here’s part II.

To recap, last time we talked about section I of Joseph Campbell’s heroic journey, called “Departure” (1). We left our hero right when he was in the “belly of the whale”, but by now he’s out of it and ready to proceed to the next major section of his adventure.

II. Initiation

1. Road of Trials – succession of obstacles

Barack Obama has encountered a number of obstacles or hurdles that he has surpassed in political ascendancy. The first was the candidature for the Illinois State Senate in 1996, when he had to eliminate better titled candidates as Gha-is Askia and his mentor Alice Palmer. He succeeded, albeit using what some critics said as being unfair tactics – he successfully challenged the voting campaign of both candidates who were hence legally suspended from the contest (2).

The second obstacle was his failed candidacy to US House of Representatives in 2000, when he was defeated by incumbent Bobby Rush by two to one. This was a sore defeat, the only time when he considered giving up politics altogether (3). He didn’t, and Obama learned many useful aspects of campaigning from this attempt.

In 2004, he successfully run his candidacy for US Senate. Finally, in 2007, he obtained the endorsement of the Democrats for Presidency against the better titled Hillary Clinton.

 

2. The Meeting with the Goddess –  marriage between the hero and a queenlike or mother-like figure

In 1988, Obama met Michelle Robinson, a fellow Harvard Law graduate,  when he was doing a summer internship at law firm Sidley Austin. He married her in 1992 and has two children with her. Obama is deeply admirative of his wife, whom he called “his rock”. He speaks of her, “There’s something about her that projects such honesty and strength. It’s what makes her such an unbelievable professional, and partner, and mother, and wife” (4).

 

3. Woman as the Temptress – rejection of a powerful female figure

A read of Obama’s life shows that he seems to respect or even admire female figures. First of all was his mother Stanley Ann, a powerful, independent woman who would marry a black man from Kenya and then a Muslim from Indonesia in an era of racism(5). Then there was Michelle Obama, who was his senior mentor during his summer internship at Sidley Austin. Finally there were other political mentors like Alice Palmer, who suggested that he would be his next-in-line in the Illinois state legislature in the 1990s (6). If there was one woman whom Obama had to ‘reject’ it was Hillary Clinton, his Democrat counter-candidate for Presidency. Nevertheless, Obama did not seem to harbor bad feelings toward Hillary, neither did she act in a ‘corruptive’ sort of manner toward Obama.

 

4. Atonement with the Father – reconciliation with the tyrant and merciful aspects of a father-like authority figure

As Dreams of My Father shows, Obama was affected by the absence of his father, Barack Obama Sr (7). An important part of young Obama’s life was taken by his effort to reconcile his father’s absence with his ever-present racial heritage. After all, he was a boy bred and raised by whites but of biracial features. He also naturally missed his father that he only had the chance to meet once in his lifetime, at twenty-one.

  

5. Apotheosis – the hero’s expansion of the self, or profound alteration of the perception of reality

Obama’s first apotheosis was his famed 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention, that would bring him into the spotlight and change the course of his career. Obama’s final apotheosis was his candidacy and success to the bid for the Democratic nomination in 2007.

 

6. Ultimate Boon – the hero obtains a key item or victory

   His first major victory was his landslide win in the US Senate in 2004; next, his Democratic nomination in 2007 and finally, his election as President in 2008.

1. Refusal of the Return – having attained enlightenment or bliss, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world 

This is not the case in Obama’s case, since his victory was attained in the ‘ordinary’ world, not some otherwordly or mythical land. Furthermore, he has always been an ambitious figure, who would not settle in one place but aim higher (8), (9).

 

2. Magic Flight – the hero may have to wrestle the ‘boon’

Obama had to pull all his stops in the Democratic presidential nomination of 2007, which had to be wrestled from much better-titled Hillary Clinton.

 

3. Rescue from Without – the hero may need supernatural support to bring the boon into the ordinary world

There were several moments when Obama’s ‘lucky streak’ played in.  It isnt a coincidence that Washington Post, in an article from August 2007, called his ascent to US Senate as “A Series of Fortunate Events” (10). They recorded how in 2004 his win for US Senate was helped by  the decision of Peter Fitzgerald, the incumbent Senator, not to run for his own seat again, by the domestic abuse charges brought against Democrat counter candidate Blair Hull, who was the favorite for the seat just one month before the election and by Republican counter candidate Jack Ryan’s domestic sex scandal. Obama eventually came in to win the Senate seat by a landslide victory: 70% (11). Yet the 2004 Senate win was not the end of Obama’s luck. Among his fortunate moments may have been the financial crisis whose impact overturned John McCain’s lead in the polls (12).

 

4. Crossing the Return Threshold – the hero returns to the ordinary world

The ‘return threshold’ is undoubtedly the win of the American Presidency, which was both a challenge and a given – following his win of the Democrat nomination over Hillary Clinton.

 

5. Master of the Two Worlds – the hero pertains both the divine and human worlds

Following his political ascendancy and experience, Obama is now seen as fit to run the USA and able to share his vision to the American people.

 

6. Freedom to Live – the hero bestows the boon to his fellows.

Once he has won the Presidency, Obama is now in the position of contributing to the betterment of American life and of improving America’s tarnished image abroad.

Conclusions: Barack Obama’s story and image fits quite well with Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” pattern, even if it does not flow in a linear fashion as Campbell designed it. This is, after all, natural: Campbell was disecting single-story fairy tales and books, but Obama is real-life figure and his life goes beyond the imaginary.  

On the other hand, one aspect worth noting is that Campbell’s pattern does not go beyond point 6 where the hero is in the position of bestowing the ‘boon’ to the other people. Obama must go beyond the Campbellian heroic journey into the actual work of sharing the boon. Currently, Obama is a hero because of his past, and the symbol of change, youth and racial unity that he symbolizes. However,  it is his long-run work that will define him as a true hero. Time will tell if he is able to go beyond his current image as a ‘hero’ into a true ‘hero’ as defined by posterity. 

References:

(1) Campbell, J. (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Pantheon Books.
(2), (6)  Jackson, D & Long, R. (2007). Barack Obama: Showing His Bare Knuckles. Chicago Herald Tribune, 4 Apr. Online. Available at: www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-0704030881apr04-archive,0,5507395.story. Accessed on 09 Nov 2008. 
(3), (10), (11) Mundy, L. (2007). A Series of Fortunate Events. Washington Post, 12 Aug. Online. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR… Accessed on 10 Nov 2008.
(4)  Parsons, C., Japsen, B. & Secter, B. Barack’s Rock: Michelle Obama. (2007). Chicago Herald Tribune, 22 Apr. Online. Available at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-070422michelle-story-archive,0,56722.story?page=1 . Accessed on 09 Nov 2008.
(5) Jones, T. (2004). Barack Obama: Mother Not Just a Girl from Kansas. Chicago Herald Tribune, 27 Mar. Online. Available at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-0703270151mar27-archive,0,2623808.story?page=1. Accessed on 09 Nov 2008.
(7) Obama, B. (2004). Dreams from My Father. New York: Three Rivers Press.
(8) Pearson, R. & Long, R. (2007)Barack Obama: Careful Steps, Looking Ahead. Chicago Herald Tribune, 3 May. Available at: www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705030101may03-archive,0,2521558.story . Accessed on 10 Nov 2008.
(9) Dorning, M. & Parsons, C. (2007). Carefully Crafting the Barack Obama Brand. Chicago Herald Tribune, 12 Jun. Online. Available at:www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-obama_senate_recordjun12-archive,0,3195588.story . Accessed on 10 Nov. 2008.
(12) Doyle, L. Financial Crisis has boosted Obama, Polls Show. The Independent, 29 Sept. Online. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/financial-crisis-has-boosted-obama-polls-show-945287.html. Accessed on 12 Nov. 2008.
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Tags: hero with a thousand faces, hero's journey, joseph campbell, michelle robinson, obama, obama hero, obama hero's journey, obama luck

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