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One Myth, Two Myths, Three Myths...All the Same?!

First off, a word of warning: The majority of this article is simply a slightly edited essay that I wrote for my English class, a week or two ago. Only the end relates directly to Zelda, although you'll need to read the whole thing to understand the end. It's a good essay, though, I swear!

The Hero’s Journey. A classic literary concept that is embodied in countless works throughout every generation. The most interesting thing about the many versions of the monomyth, as it is often called, is not the differences between them, but what they have in common. Across the ages, and around the globe, the basic values of mankind are personified through this amazing form of literature. The beginning of one journey, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (FotR), and another popular tale, nearing it’s end, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HBP), in terms of characters, conflict, and plot, are akin in all but name. Let us go forth to explore the monomyth, the One Myth of the ages.

There are usually three central characters in the Hero’s Journey: The hero, the guide, and the villain (which may or may not be simply an evil). FotR and HBP each have theirs, too. The heroes, Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter, by the end of their respective books, have each matured at a remarkable rate, but still have a ways to go. Gandalf the Grey and Albus Dumbledore are frighteningly similar in their ineffable wisdom. Take, for example, their thoughts on death:
“Death is just another path. One that we all must take.” -Gandalf, LotR: RotK-
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” -Dumbledore, HP and the SS-
Also, remember that each die in their respective books, with one later returning from the dead, and the other’s fate not having been fully written yet. Saruman (not Sauron, who is hardly a character) and Voldemort are similar only in their lust for power, and show two author’s different views on evil. This, however, does not destroy the essence of the monomyth, and reveals that different generations have different interpretations of basic human values. As is apparent, characters are one of the best ways to get inside the author’s mind, and to discover the core of the Journey.

The conflicts of different hero’s journeys may appear to vary greatly, but they always portray a world facing its “greatest” evil, both externally and internally. FotR has Sauron, Saruman, and the Nine as external threats, and HBP has Voldemort. Internally, both stories are faced with harder-to-find problems. FotR faces the weakened relations between the Free Peoples, a fact especially prominent in the chapter, “The Council of Elrond”, as well as the ailing dealings between the Fellowship itself (Boromir sticking out as an excellent example). HBP faces the hindrance of the Ministry, although not nearly as much as in the fifth book, and, very much so internally, Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape (debatable). To see the similarities between these two, and so many other monomyth conflicts, is to truly see that we are one people, one culture, throughout war, throughout peace. The One Myth, with all its conflicts, both external and internal, is what comprises a legend. It, in itself, is conflicting. It is Conflict.

The plot of the monomyth is fairly straightforward, in essence: The hero transforms/matures along the way, and eventually triumphs over the CURRENT evil. Before there was Sauron, there was Morgoth, before Voldemort, Grindelwald. Evil will never be entirely vanquished, but, as Gandalf so wisely stated, “We have only to do with the time that is given to us.” To see the similarities between these two, and so many other monomyth plots, is to truly see that we are one people, one culture, throughout war, throughout peace.

Characters, conflict, and plot: All are staples in the journey of a hero. All are approached differently by different authors, too, yet all are as similar and familiar as our opposable thumbs. All our values, and our morals, and our beliefs are found therein, as are the conflicts of a thousand generations. Because, really, how many times can the same mystery novel be written and read before it becomes as predictable as death and taxes, as opposed to partaking in the accumulated insight of Homo sapiens, “wise men”?

Now, to bring this back around to that which this site is about: Zelda. Surely the question burning in your minds right now is as such: “Is the Legend of Zelda a version of the monomyth?” To give you a one-word answer would be an insult to the literary form itself, so, in its stead, I’ll just go through what the above essay went through:

Does the Legend have a hero, guide, and villain/evil? Naturally, we have Link as our Hero, and Ganon(dorf) as our Villain. But what of a guide? I’m sure that I could easily think of a guide for every game thus far: OoT has Rauru, Kaepora Gaebora, and many more, tWW has the King of Red Lions, ALttP has Sahasrahla, etc. There’s one requirement knocked off.

Externally, every Zelda game faces some head honcho of evil: Ganon(dorf), Vaati, Agahnim, Veran, Onox, etc. But are there ever internal threats in a Zelda game? The mind flickers to Agahnim, Vaati, “possessed” Impa, etc., but these threats really can’t be labeled as internal. Well, that’s one missing quality.

And finally, plot. It’s a given that in many/most of the games, especially the 3D ones, Link matures, sometimes physically, but always mentally/emotionally. Also, I think that we can all vouch for the fact that evil can never be entirely vanquished in the Zelda series. *sigh* Oh, Ganon…

As the above have hopefully showed you, the Legend of Zelda series, to a certain degree, is indeed a version of the Hero’s Journey. Naturally, slight altercations had to be made, as we are discussing a videogame series, here.

So, come, [Insert Nintendo’s Decided Release Month for TP (XD)] 2006, as you find yourself yelling about how similar TP is to LotR, or how much Obi-Wan Kenobi and Albus Dumbledore are alike, simply remember this little rhyme:

One myth, two myths, three myths, four,
Five myths, six myths, seven myths, more!
Yet all these myths are quite the same;
We’ve no one but ourselves to blame!