Analysis Of Joseph Cambell's Monomyth

Buddha’s story can be considered by Joseph Cambell’s standards of a monomyth because it follows the same structure of a hero’s story. His story begins in the ordinary world, but his conception is special in that his mother is visited in her dreams and is told that she was going to give birth to a great being. A white elephant impregnates her with a lotus flower and he is conceived. It is said that Buddha chose the time and place to be born. He is born Siddhartha Gautama. On his body there are 32 marks, one being a wheel on his foot, showing that he is going to be great being, a fortuneteller predicting either a Buddha or a great emperor. His mother then dies just days after his birth and his aunt raises him. His father, the king, wanting him to be a great emperor, keeps him hidden from all religious aspects, but when Siddhartha is nine, his father lets him out beyond the palace walls. Here is when life changes for him. …show more content…
The tilled earth reveals a worm which then the worm is eaten by a bird. Siddhartha realizes at this point that everything is connected and every action has a consequence. This is showing him maturing.
When the king notices Siddhartha interest in the world around him, he decides to again subdue Siddhartha from the world. The king tries to create a perfect and seductive life within the palace walls. Later when Siddhartha is sixteen his father finds him a bride and he is married. Not content, Siddhartha begs his father to leave the palace. His father allows this, but again tries to create an unrealistic world outside of the palace, by trying to get rid of all the suffering that surrounded it. Here is when Siddhartha begins his journey/adventure and show more maturing.
He sets out to the country with a guide and the further out he goes the more suffering he sees. As predicted by the fortuneteller, he sees 4