The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell says to “follow your bliss,” or do what makes

you and other people happy. Not everyone follows their bliss, but for the ones who do, they are
the ones that have a happy ending, they are the ones that really make a difference in other
people’s life. In many of the books that we read this year, there are many characters and real
people that followed their bliss and succeeded in life. There are also others that didn’t follow
their bliss and not just because they were too lazy, but because something or someone was
preventing them from doing so. An example would be Hildy from the Berlin Boxing Club, she
was Karl’s younger sister and she was very bright in the beginning of the book. Hildy would
look up to her older brother and she would always love to be around him and she thought that he
was strong and intelligent. “She was always upbeat and cheerful even when there was nothing to
be cheerful about. Most of all, she had a completely backward view of me. To Hildy I was
strong, smart, confident, handsome, heroic, and capable of nearly any intellectual or physical
feat” (page 16 and 19) In Joseph Campbell’s poem, he says to “follow your bliss and don’t be
afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” Because Hildy lived
during the Holocaust, she was threatened by many people and was for the most part left alone
because her brother would be at a boxing match or her parents would be doing something illegal
to provide for their family, so this leaves the young Hildy alone at home. Joseph Campbell says
to not be afraid and that is where Hildy made a mistake and she decided to hide and shrink
herself instead of opening up and becoming someone that could end up making a very big
difference in the story. Another character that can also apply to this theme is the Countess from
the Berlin Boxing Club. Unlike Hildy, the Countess followed her bliss and she did what was right
by helping Karl and Hildy and taking care of them while their parents were out. The Countess
followed her bliss because she was not afraid and she helped bring Karl and Hildy to safety.
Unlike Hildy, the Countess didn’t hide from the Nazi authority and she didn’t obey their awful
laws, she did what she knew was right and she followed her bliss.
In the story A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are archetypes or prototypes that push
the story along. One example would be Puck, he is the Jester in the story because he likes to
make people laugh and that is what a Jester does. “I am a merry wanderer of the night. I jest to
Oberon and make him smile…”(Act 2, scene 1, page 13) Puck is one of the main causes of the
story and he is the one that really pushes it along as well as King Oberon. Puck pushes the story
along by mixing up the spell and putting it onto the wrong person. Puck messed up and this
caused the whole mix up between the Lovers. Puck also makes people laugh who don’t even
know that he was the cause for. “Sometimes for three-foot stool mistaken me; Them slip I from
her bum, down topples she, And ‘tailor’ cries, and falls into a cough; And then the whole quire
hold their hips and laugh, And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear, A merrier hour was
never wasted there.” (Act 2, scene 1, page 13) In this piece of evidence, Puck moves the stool
from under this woman, and she falls on the floor and this makes everybody around her laugh. In
this scene, Puck really defines the Jester as a funny and silly archetype.
Another archetype from a different article that supports the claim that a character or
person can make a difference and can push the story and can change the story as well is Martin
Luther King Jr.. He was very impactful and he made a difference in the world. Martin Luther
King Jr. was a Leader and a Rebel and even though they are nearly opposites, he was both at the
same time. He was a Leader because he lead many people to freedom. He was also a Rebel
because he went against a law if he considered it to be unjust or unconstitutional. You can be a
Leader and a Rebel at the same time because in his case, he lead people to freedom, but in the
process, he broke laws. He was the real cause of the civil rights movement and he pushed
America to believe that there was a problem between the black and white community.
One theme that really stuck out this year in many of the stories was to follow your bliss
or Personal Legend no matter what happens. Your Personal Legend is the idea or goal that you
were born to accomplish, it is the goal that you have always strived to do since you were a little
boy or girl. The main difference between your Personal Legend and your bliss is that your bliss
is something that can make you happy for a certain amount of time, your Personal Legend is
something that will make you feel full and accomplished. If anything gets in the way of your
Personal Legend, you must overcome that trial or temptation and continue to pursue your
Personal Legend. If something gets in the way of your bliss, it is okay to take a pause from it or
to not continue it because it will only make you happy for a short amount of time. In some cases,
to pursue your Personal Legend, you have to disobey your higher authority.
The I Have a Dream speech and The Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther
King Jr. can apply to the theme, follow your Personal Legend no matter what. Even if someone
in a higher position tells you otherwise. Martin Luther King Jr. disobeyed the higher authority
and he continued to pursue his own Personal Legend. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-
American who was against segregation and discrimination between black and white people. He
disobeyed the law in order to bring our country together, he gave many speeches and wrote
plenty of letters on why we should be united and how racism was a problem in America at the
time. Martin Luther King Jr. followed his bliss and did what he was meant to do. Martin Luther
King Jr.’s Personal Legend was to point out the problem that America was facing and to try to
fix it. “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of
the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination”
(page 261, Paragraph 3) This little piece of evidence from Martin Luther King Jr.’s complex
speech shows that there is a dilemma with America. He also says that we are going at a slow
pace and that it shouldn’t be one hundred years later, it should be a decade or a few years later.
Another story that also has the theme to follow your Personal Legend no matter what, is
Of Mice and Men, and the character that connected to this theme, but was prohibited from doing
so was Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife wanted to become an actress and from that become famous,
but her mother wouldn’t let her. “Come there when I was a kid. Well, a show come through, an’
I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show. But my ol’ lady wouldn’t let me. She
says because I was on’ y fifteen. But the guy says I coulda. If I went, I wouldn’t be living like
this, you bet.”(page 88) Curley’s wife wanted to become famous and because she wasn’t going
to disobey her mother, she never did. Sometimes in order to follow your bliss, you have to
disobey people that are over you like Curley’s wife could have disobey her mother if she wanted
to pursue her bliss.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Curley’s wife had their own personal legend, but Martin
Luther King Jr. followed his personal legend, and Curley’s wife didn’t follow hers. One thing
that they had in common was that they knew their Personal Legend and their bliss. But Martin
Luther King Jr.’s Personal Legend was to help America come together and end segregation and
discrimination. Curley’s wife’s Personal Legend was to really do what would benefit her in the
end which is to become famous.
Another person from a real story is Anne from the Diary of Anne Frank, she was a young
girl who had to grow up through the Holocaust and she wrote in a diary that her parents gave to
her for her birthday. In the diary, she wrote about what was going on outside and inside of the
secret annex that they were living in. Anne followed her Personal Legend even though she didn’t
think that she was, she continued to write in her diary and gave us a different view on the
Holocaust and what was really going on. “I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring all
kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart.” (page 2) In this piece of evidence from Anne’s
diary, it shows that she wants to write and share what she is feeling. The diary that Anne wrote is
now the second best selling nonfiction book other than the Bible. Anne wanted to become an
author and she wanted to write many books, but because she was forced to hide, she didn’t think
that she would be able to follow her Personal Legend. But in the end, she became an amazing
author and she wrote an astonishing book that affected many people that dealt with things similar
to her problems like persecution and racism.
Most people that try to pursue their Personal Legend or bliss end up being affected by a
positive and sometimes negative force called the Soul of the World. The Soul of the World is the
force that guides us through life and gives us pointers on where we need to go in order to follow
our Personal Legend or our bliss. The Soul of the World helps us when we are at our lowest
points and can also give us trials and hardships. In some stories, it helps the characters by leading
a lost animal or some kind of food source to them when they are hungry, it can also put you into
jail like Martin Luther King Jr., but in the end, it all can point to a positive outcome. “It’s a force
that appears negative, but actually show you how to realize your Personal Legend.” (page 22) An
example that can relate to this evidence from the Alchemist is Martin Luther King Jr. when he
went to jail. Because of that, he wrote a letter call The Letter From Birmingham Jail, and this
letter showed many people that there is police brutality in America. Because the Soul of the
World put Martin Luther King Jr. into jail, he wrote that letter that showed the problem with
segregation in America. Sometimes the Soul of the World can also be referred to fate, God, or
just as the Universe, but they are all the same thing with different names.
One specific archetype that came up a lot in the books that we read this year was the
Lover. Sometimes the Lover would live happily ever after with the person that they loved, and
other times they would be seperated from the person they loved. Penelope from the Odyssey was
the archetype of a Lover because she waited for her husband’s return and would not marry any
other men no matter what they told her. Penelope really loved her husband and she would not
accept the proposals of any other man in Ithaca. “And so she too rejoiced, her gaze upon her
husband, her white arms round him pressed as though forever” (page 616, lines 1622-1623) In
this scene, Penelope is finally reunited with her believed to be deceased husband. This has a
happy ending with Penelope and Odysseus reunited after the many years they spent separated
from each other. Some stories don’t always have a happy ending like Romeo and Juliet. In
Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet are forbidden Lovers and they don’t have a happy ending
like Penelope and Odysseus. Romeo dies and Juliet kills herself a few seconds after Romeo dies.
Two people that are similar and different is Martin Luther King Jr. and the Alchemist
from the Alchemist. They are both very smart people and they both impact many people whether
they are in a book, or they are real people. They both followed their personal legend and they
both helped other people in their journey to pursue their own Personal Legend. The Alchemist
helped Santiago find his Personal Legend and see the pyramids and get more than a handful of
gold and jewels. Martin Luther King Jr. help America as a country and as a people unite and
come together. If America had a Personal Legend at that time, it would be to untie and bring the
black and white community together. “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice
is here.” (Page 272, paragraph 3) In this piece of evidence, Martin Luther King Jr. is telling his
fellow Clergymen why he is in Birmingham which is to show people why there is injustice there
which in other words is saying that some white people are treating the black people unjustly and
unfairly. Martin Luther King played a big role in helping America become united. Martin Luther
King and the Alchemist were very wise and made right decisions for the majority of their life,
they were very smart in their field of expertise and knew what they were going to do would make
an impact on the people around them. An example would be the Alchemist when he was waiting
for Santiago to come to the camp, he knew that he had to help Santiago pursue his Personal
Legend. They helped people and in some cases countries fulfill their Personal Legend and in
doing that, they completed their own.
Another archetype that really stood out was the innocent. The innocent characters or
people seemed like they were getting punished for no particular reason, or they were nearly
perfect with a few minor mistakes, but this made that character or person seem more innocent.
One of the innocent characters is Paris from Romeo and Juliet. Paris was initially supposed to
marry Juliet, but Romeo stole Juliet’s heart and Paris never married her and in the end, he died
trying to protect her grave. “O, I am slain! If thou be merciful, Open the tomb, lay me with
Juliet.” (Act 5, Scene 3, lines 72-73) Right now in this quote, Paris is dying because he was
trying to protect Juliet from Romeo. Paris tells Romeo to put his body next to Juliet’s in the
tomb. Paris was innocent because he did nothing wrong, he did what was normal at that time.
Normally the father would choose who the daughter married and the daughter had no say at all.
Juliet’s father chose Paris and Paris truly loved Juliet and you can really see that in the end of the
story when Romeo kills Paris in order to find Juliet. Paris asks to be with her and this proves that
he loved her, even though they were dead, he still wanted to be with her.
Another one of the innocent is Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Helena was in
love with Demetrius and he didn’t really love her back and would be rude to her and she felt like
no one loved her. “Demetrius-Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit; For I am sick when I
do look on thee. Helena-And I am sick when I look not on you.” (Act. 2, scene 1, page 16) In this
quote, Demetrius is really telling Helena that he doesn’t like her and that he just want to be away
from her. But Helena tells Demetrius that she is sick when she is not around him and that she
loves him. Helena seemed innocent because everybody would make fun of her while they were
under the spell and she was very disappointed and she really felt like no one loved her. Helena
seemed innocent because all she ever really wanted was for Demetrius to love her and she never
got that till the end of the story.
Some of the characters and real people from the articles that we read this year went
through a positive transformation called Spiritual Alchemy. An example would be Demetrius
from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, even though he was a very rude person to Helena, in the end,
he turned out to be engaged to her and he loved her and was kind to her. Even though Demetrius
changed through magic, he still changed and would continue to love Helena for a long time. One
character that never really changed through Spiritual Alchemy was Lennie from Of Mice and
Men, Lennie would get himself into trouble and George would have to be punished for it. In the
story, Lennie killed many mice, rabbits, puppies, and he also killed two women. Lennie never
wanted to kill them, he just couldn’t control his own strength. In the end of the story, Lennie
killed Curley’s wife and he died in the end of the story because George shot him in the back of
the head. If Lennie went through Spiritual Alchemy, he would have changed to a better version
of himself and he would have learned how to control his own strength.
In Marianne Williamson's quote A return to Love, she tells us to not hide and to shine our
light so that we can make a difference in the world. She also says that when you decide to hide,
you are deciding to not make a difference in the world. “We ask ourselves, Who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of the
universe. Your playing small does not serve the world.” This part of the quote from Marianne
Williamson talks about who we were born to be and that we were meant to make a difference in
the world. She also says that when we don’t pursue our Personal Legend, we don’t really make a
big difference in people’s lives and we don’t help the world. She also says “There is nothing
enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” In this part of
the quote, she says that we were meant to follow our bliss and pursue our Personal Legend, and
if we do, we can help many people follow their Personal Legend. One example would be the
Alchemist, he followed his Personal Legend, and in doing so, he help Santiago get on track and
remember that he has a Personal Legend as well. The Alchemist helped Santiago get to the
pyramids and he also taught Santiago that he need to follow his heart and that he needs to listen
to his heart as well. When we play a big role in this world, we can make a big difference in
people’s lives and we can cause change. We can help people that might be going through
something and we can help them feel confident. We can cause change by stopping segregation
and discrimination like Martin Luther King Jr. did. Some things that we can do to help other
people and follow our Personal Legend is to become a doctor and help other people feel better.
For example, I want to be a dietitian and help people eat better and to not become obese. There is
so many things that we can do to help people and cause change if we just follow our bliss and
pursue our Personal Legend.
100/100 Excellent work Lacey! You’ve done a great job this year and I know you had to
do some catching up to keep up with the class. But you’ve done it awesomely!!!!