ABRA-KADABRA'S

MYTHS

Are they real?

EPICS & STORIES

A WAY OF LIFE

Do they still exist?

Greco-Roman mythology sounds so far away and one might think that being able to grasp the thinking, beliefs and way of life of the people who had written the myths are all but incomprehensible.

In reality, Greco-Roman mythology has been the foremost pioneer of stories with lessons, adventures, values and most importantly a plot; a plot that we all, perhaps unknowingly, follow today, the Hero Cycle. This may sound very vague and unclear as to how two different times share a common style of writing and literature, but it is evidenced by almost everything around us!

Our own writings, the Filipino ones, like Ibong Adarna or Florante at Laura confine to the elements of Greco-Roman mythology that make the stories so popular. The influences of the Hero cycle not only appear in texts, but also in the big screens! Movies such as UP, The Mummy or even Evan Almighty all have a person placed in a normal setting until something pulls him away from reality and adds quest and journeys that eventually lead the person to gain boons or rewards once his mission is over and everything seems to be put back into normal.

Now, if we look further into culture, it becomes evident that no one can escape mythology. It has encrypted and engraved itself in the vocabulary of the world. The planets are all named after the gods like Neptune, Saturn, Pluto, Venus etc. Commonly used words and expressions also bear the markings of mythology such as “By Jove!” or “Achilles’ Heel”. If it isn’t too much to handle, mythology still has influences in other aspects of life. There are those that involve even religion. The act of praying and sacrificing for a thanksgiving or for a favor, even if there are many ways of doing so now, still are evident today.

Mythology always has answers to phenomena. The gods and goddesses all are, in a way, tools to help accept these occurrences. The Greeks used wonderful stories and myths about power, enchantment and other things all told with shocking detail. Mythology brings with it an air of reality, it is told with such in-depth knowledge and indignation as if it were really true.

We know that Mythology has been modernized in many ways, and in this light, magic realism can be seen. Mythology's main feature is the way it portrays emotions and normally abstract things. Greco-Roman mythology involves concretizing these things such as love, being Eros (Cupid) and death being Hades.

Many interpretations can be made from the stories inspired by magic realism, but the way it is narrated and the point being put across may be a bit vague. The surreal and sometimes overwhelming feel of the stories make it quite controversial because no one is really sure about how to really dissect and interpret the writings. This attachment to the unreal makes the stories that involve magic realism very attractive, stimulating the minds of the readers.

There are many stories that show magic realism, one of which is Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This novel proves the existence of the influence of mythology in modern days. The novel talks about religion and its many controversies, but most importantly, it focuses on a boy’s adventure and his struggles in survival. The book, Life of Pi, has evident traces of mythology and an even stronger presence of magic realism.

The most evident and striking part of a good book would be its plot. The Monomyth or the Hero Cycle, as coined by Joseph Campbell, shows direct similarities in the plots of myths and stories all around the world; most of which can be traced from the time of the Greeks. The Monomyth talks about 8 stages in the protagonist's adventure wherein he starts out in a normal setting, but stands out in his environment. This Cycle can be seen in the Life of Pi.

Pi was not an ordinary boy. Even if he was set in India and everything around him seemed normal, he was not. Pi's father was a zookeeper, so his childhood was immersed in being around animals. Pi also had 3 religions which makes him a step above normal in many people's view. Clearly, Pi is the main character of this story and his Hero Cycle begins with his call to adventure which happens sometime nearing the second half of the book. His calling was when his father decided to leave India for a new and a supposedly better life in Canada. Having lived in India his whole life, Pi's going to Canada sets him off on his journey.

Similar to a hero being pulled from his surroundings to be plunged into a different journey in the Hero Cycle, Pi's crossing is the sinking of his ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on his way to Canada. From his normal world, he was now thrown into a totally new environment and the only thing he was to worry about is to survive with the animals he had on board.

Pi's tests surround his struggles for survival. Many elements work against him such as the weather and the wild animals. Another trial he encounters is faith. Many a time, Pi relies on his faith in his religions to keep him going. The power of the story lies in the way Pi keeps his faith alive and how it keeps him from killing himself. The deaths he sees bring his morale lower and lower, and having to live with Richard Parker is not an easy thing to get used to. The Monomyth contains these trials as proof that the protagonist really is extraordinary.

Pi would not have gone through his endeavors without his helpers. Though how unbelievable it may seem, the animals helped him through his journey. The animals, especially Richard Parker, helped him push himself. Without the hyena, the zebra, Orange Juice and Richard Parker, Pi will surely not have survived and kept his faith.

In every Hero cycle, the supreme ordeal epitomizes the hardships and sufferings that the main character goes through. Pi’s supreme ordeal was when he arrived on the algae island. The seemingly heaven-like island was actually carnivorous. This was his supreme ordeal because this was by far the most tempting and irresistible thing he had to let go. After being stranded at sea, it was very hard for Pi to move forward and leave the island. He planed to stay on this floating paradise because it had an abundance in food and could sustain him, but soon he figures out that it was life-threatening. He fights his way back to the lifeboat and continues on his journey to find civilization once more.

Pi leaves the island, allowing the current to bring him home and returns to civilization as he reaches the shores of Mexico. Now, the boons of a Monomyth are usually grand and contain much fortune for the protagonist, but in Pi’s case all he gets is to be reunited with civilization. His time spent lost at sea was over, and he was thrown back to reality, weather he liked it or not. His detachment from that “world” at sea was made concrete by Richard Parker running away from him right as they touch the shore, without even looking back. The writer attaches Pi back into reality by making Pi reach shore and eventually be interviewed by the two investigators.

After reading through the novel, I am actually quite astonished that Life of Pi, taking into consideration that it is very recent, still follows the Monomyth. Mythology is EVERYWHERE! They exist not only for pleasure. Instead, their impact on the world still carries its momentum till the present day. Stories are there to give a lesson. This book, along with all other books and stories gives the readers a union to classic literature. The wonder of mythology and how things are all interrelated is that no matter how specific one is or how outrageous another is, the essence of life is still engraved in them. I am now more open to things which uphold the Greco-Roman style of writing and their way of life.