A Hero's Death - Basis in mythology??

[antoshachekhonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 99851

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> wrote:
> >Hedwigstalons wrote:
> > Hi!
> > Would anyone out there be able to give me the msg. # of a posting by
> > Hans (may be from last summer) that talks about heroes and needing 
> to
> > die (meaning Harry)? I thought the hero _can't_ die, but it seems
> > that they can - Argh!! Not the fate I want for our Harry!!
> >
> 
> Kneasy:
> <snip>
> In fiction (and reality) heroes quite often come to a sticky end. 
> It's one
> of the more depressing aspects of being a hero. Some pop their clogs
> in a mutual blood-fest with the arch enemy (Arthur, El Cid), some cop
> it in the neck from another monster at a later date later (Beowulf). 
> <snip>
> 
> Neri now:
> It is certainly true that the hero can die, but it depends a lot on 
> the genre. Mythological heroes (which Kneasy mostly mentioned, some 
> of which I snipped) usually die in the end of the story (although 
> there are some notable exceptions - Odysseus, Perseus, Rama). In 
> fairytales, OTOH, the hero almost always lives happily ever after. 
> Modern (last 200 years) adventure literature, mainly for children but 
> also for grown-ups, is modeled more after the fairytale genre than 
> the myth genre, and the hero usually survives. Even when he "dies" he 
> might still be resurrected (Sherlock Holmes being the famous 
> example). This is also true for Science Fiction, which includes many 
> cases of "universe building" more impressive than the Potterverse. 
> The style of HP is typical to this kind of literature. It is 
> certainly not myth or "modern myth" like LOTR. If I had to bet on 
> Harry's chances based on the genre's statistics I'd say he has about 
> 95% chances to live.
> 
> Neri

I think it's a little extreme to say that most heroes in myths die; it seems that way because 
the cultures that gave birth to those heroes--Gilgamesh, Moses, Gautama Shakyamuni, 
Jesus, etc--are interested not only in the hero's particular adventures, but in their whole 
lives. Gilgamesh, the Buddha, Jason, Moses, and many others die, yes, but they're old men 
when they die. Oh, and the other way that heroes exit their stories, if their stories don't 
simply end, like Odysseus's, is either to transcend, as Hercules does (he becomes a god), 
or to be reborn to another existence.

Joseph Campbell's exploration of the hero journey archetype suggests that the hero ends 
by returning to the 'everyday' from which he came. He (it can be a she too) brings back 
some sort of boon--whether physical (a sword, a cup) or metaphysical (wisdom, a magic 
power). He can then either succeed or fail in rejoining society. Both choices are open to 
Harry. And we know, alive or dead, his adventure ends just before his eighteenth birthday.

Antosha