American Romantic Hero Journey

In order to understand anything about the world, one must first understand their internal selves. However, one can only find themself through facing trials that test their abilities. Commonly, American Romantic Heroes such as Indiana Jones, Moana, and Rip Van Winkle, must endure this trial through a journey to a frontier. During this expedition through nature, they must utilize their intuition in order to overcome obstacles. Through this journey of self-discovery, one may learn universal truths about themselves, which can later be applied to their understanding of the world. In essence, an American Romantic Hero can be summed up as an individual who does not meet societal standards and must independently endure a taxing journey of self-discovery …show more content…
For example, American Hero, Indiana Jones, remains active when on his journey, rarely if ever taking time off. He works night and day towards locating the lost Ark of the Covenant. His internal drive for succeeding on this journey allows for him to disregard rest of any kind. In addition, one would not be able to pinpoint an American Romantic Hero who attempts to attain glory, fame or popularity. Unlike Odysseus, who was in search of fame for the Trojan War, an American Hero like Rip Van Winkle would travel on a journey given he is a non-conformist and therefore yearns to escape from the city. In fact, most Heroes find themselves unable to fit into the societal standards imposed on them so they often decide to venture out of the city to find themselves. Although they may potentially be deemed as selfish in the sense that a Romantic Hero will venture out solo for their benefit, there is such an emphasis on individualism that a Romantic Hero must not be dependant on others for any kind of assistance. Their physically and mentally taxing journeys are meant to be traveled