Character Analysis Of Malala Yousafzai In 'The Hero With A Thousand Faces'

Overcoming obstacles in one’s life is never an easy task, yet they must be confronted by oneself to continue on in life. When one must confront extremely difficult obstacles this task seems impossible. A person who chooses to take on these arduous tasks in their own life is brave. When one chooses to face them on behalf of their community, for the benefit of many, they deserve to be allauded and honored as the heroes that they are. They are a special breed of humanity, one such person is Malala Yousafzai. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell states, “the hero is the man of self-achieved submission.” We witness this submission in Malala, who was aware of her potential, and the need to make a stand. She committed herself to fight …show more content…
There is where the preparation takes place for our heroine to learn the tools for success in the journey from various sources. Campbell reasons that because the call was answered all the forces of nature will be on the side of hero to support them on the journey, and he adds “in so far as the hero’s act coincides with that for which his society itself is ready, he seems to ride on the great rhythm of the historical process." In Malala’s story she seems to have been preparing from an early age; her namesake is Malalai of Maiwand, the heroine of Afghanistan who inspired her countrymen to defeat and stop British occupation of her country. She studied historical leaders like Abraham Lincoln and her admired Benazir Bhutto, the first female prime minister who was exiled and would return only to be assassinated trying to make a change in her country. Malala’s father is a great influence, he was a man who said his “only ambition – is to educate my children and my nation as much as I am able.” As well she learned to love the art of public speaking and became a great orator, like her father, who gave Malala the courage to take up the cause. Malala also sought guidance from God at an early age, after seeing a young girl covered in filth, whose work was digging through mounds of trash, finding items to sell to feed herself. Malala …show more content…
Prior to this stage the hero will have hopefully reached enlightenment to understand the benefit of the gifts they come to find. For as Campbell contends the hero’s “second solemn task and deed therefore is to return then to us, transfigured, and teach the lesson he has learned of life renewed.” In order to complete the journey our heroine must return “where the boon may [contribute] to the renewing of the community, the nation, the planet, or the ten thousand worlds.” Malala always wanted to share her victory with all the girls in her class and her country and one of her gifts is her dedication for she knows there is a lot of work to be done to reach her goal of education for all children, as she admits, “I don’t want to be thought of as ‘the girl who was shot by the Taliban’ but ‘the girl who fought for education.’ This is the cause to which I want to devote my life.” In addition, one of Malala’s gifts she brought back is her foundation the Malala Fund, which she uses as her tool to “invest in efforts that empower local communities, develop innovative solutions that build upon traditional approaches, and deliver not just basic literacy but the tools, ideas and networks that can help girls find their voice and create a better tomorrow.” Furthermore, Malala was able to speak on her biggest platform available to her, the United Nations Assembly, where she did not just speak to the