Cast Away A Hero’s Journey By: Kareem Ascha

Departure (Separation)

The Ordinary World This is the hero’s home environment, where his friends and family are. This is where the story begins, so that when the hero is separated it is obvious. This doesn’t have to a be a necessarily safe environment as long as the hero feels connected to it. For our hero, Chuck, the ordinary world is anytime he is in contact with civilization (i.e. working with other people from FedEx or having dinner with his wife).

Call to Adventure The hero is summoned to an unknown or foreign world. The hero’s old ideals and concepts no longer fit the present situation and the hero must pass the threshold soon. By chance this unknown world revealed and the hero is forced to leave. The call to adventure in Cast Away is when Chuck’s beeper goes off during the Christmas dinner and he is called away to South Asia.

Refusal of the Call This is essentially a refusal of the call to adventure, a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interests. The hero does not regard the future in terms of an unremitting series of deaths and births. He views his current system of ideals, concepts, and goals as fixed and secure. This can be the remarkable refusal to respond to anything but the deepest, highest, richest answer to the as yet unknown demand of some wanting void within. Following the call, Chuck wants to stay back and enjoy Christmas with his wife and tries to figure a way out of leaving, but eventually he is forced to go.

Supernatural Aid This is an assistance that can come in the form of a protective figure or elder. It provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon he is about to pass. The supernatural figures represent a benign, protecting power of destiny and represent the forces of the unconscious at the hero’s side In Cast Away the various packages that come from the wrecked plane are a supernatural aid to Chuck as they help him survive on the island. Particularly the volleyball Wilson who acts as a sort of protective figure and helps him keep his sanity. Also in the movie the piece of the porta-potty that washes up on the beach serves as a sail for his raft.

Crossing the Threshold The hero ventures in to an unknown world which breaks tradition and the hero meets a dangerous presence. He encounters a “threshold guardian” at the entrance to the zone of magnified power. Beyond this entrance to this zone is darkness, the unknown and foreign land. When the plane crashes into the sea, Chuck fights the storm (threshold guardian) on his inflatable boat in order to get out of harms way and eventually reach the island (zone of magnified power)

In the Belly of the Whale The sphere of rebirth (Jonah); a realm of darkness; the hero is swallowed into the unknown womb-like darkness (represents unconscious). The hero goes inward to be reborn. This gives emphasis to the lesson that the passage of the threshold is a form of self-annihilation. When Chuck lands on the island he is inside the belly of the whale

Initiation

The Road of Trials The hero experiences miraculous tests or ordeals on the road of trials. He finds parts of himself he was unaware of and assimilates his unexpected self. The advice, amulets, and secret agents of the supernatural helper covertly aid the hero. Chuck is on the road of trials as he learns how to survive on the island (hunt, cook, start a fire, etc)

The Meeting with the Goddess This when the hero meets the goddess who offers promise of perfection, everything. It represents the totality of what can be known. This goddess is the promise of perfection Cast Away has NO Meeting with the Goddess

The Woman as Temptress The woman as temptress represents an anti-life attitude; the woman is evil and may lead the hero astray. The, woman as the great symbol of life and tainted with the odor of the flesh, is intolerable to the pure soul of the hero. The big rock is the temptress to Chuck as it provides a place where he ponders on whether or not he should hang himself and just end it all.

Atonement with Father The father symbolizes judgment; the hero overcomes this fear and judgment. This stage shows growth and the ability to take on adult responsibilities. It shows the movement from the realm of mother to that of the father When Chuck finally finishes his raft and overcomes his fear of leaving the island to the open sea he has reached his atonement with father

Apotheosis The hero is in a divine state( ecstasy). He goes beyond the last terrors of ignorance. The hero recognizes the “big picture” (spiritual understanding can be known). The hero becomes free from all fear, beyond the reach of change. Chuck is in his divine state as he first unfolds the sails of his rafts and begins to overcome the waves which have kept him trapped on the island for so long

The Ultimate Boon The hero seeks the grace of the Imperishable Being which is often possessed by the gods. The hero partakes of the sustaining substance that makes his mind/body imperishable. At times, the hero has to trick the deities of their treasure, the miraculous energy substance that is imperishable. Chuck’s ultimate boon is when he finally comes back into civilization and the huge celebration that FedEx prepared on his return.

Return

Refusal of the Return The hero should bring their wisdom back to their kingdom of humanity. The hero can refuse a return; attains or experiences death in ecstasy. Often the hero wishes to remain in isolation with his boon. Chuck’s sheer nervousness in suddenly being brought back into civilization, back into the modern world scares him as he ponders what has happened to the world as he knew it while he was on the island in isolation

Magic in Flight (Chase) If the hero has the blessings of the goddess or god, his final adventures will be supported by all the powers of his patron. If the he has achieved his trophy against the opposition of its guardian, the final stage of his adventure may become, a lively sometimes comical pursuit. The hero needs magical assistance to return. He realizes a responsibility to teach. Chuck is in magic in flight as he frantically travels across the open ocean trying to find land or a ship. And also when he hysterically chases Wilson the Volleyball who fell off the raft but ends up too far away to retrieve.

Rescue from Without The world may have come to retrieve the hero. And the hero will lose and then regain his ego from being rescued. Chuck is rescued from without while he is out on the open ocean and the and a large cargo ship comes by and picks him up.

Crossing the Return Threshold There is a difficulty in the hero’s return; the world has changed and so has the hero. The hero assimilates the Self (ego) with the Other; he is now capable of fusing opposites (life and death, good and evil). This returning hero must survive the impact of the world; he may not be able to verbalize the wisdom he has gained through his journey. Chuck crosses the return threshold as soon as he steps off the plane and into the FedEx party, back into civilization.

Master of Two Worlds The hero has attained wisdom in both the spiritual and material world (conscious world). He gives up completely all attachment to his personal limitations, hopes and fears. The hero no longer tries to live but willingly relaxes to whatever may come up to pass him. The boon that the hero brings restores the world. Chuck becomes a Master of Two Worlds when he returns to visit his wife and looks at how the world has changed since the plane crash.

Freedom to Live The hero reconciles the fact that every creature lives on the death of another (a reconciliation of universal consciousness with the universal will). He learns never to be afraid of the next moment (destruction or change), he has learn “to be” (exist) Chuck reconciles the freedom to live when he returns the FedEx package he never opened to the woman that originally owned it and then leaves for the road.