Analysis of The Story of Odyssey Vs. Rapunzel

The Tangled Odyssey

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." —Joseph Campbell. Campbell means that in order to live the great life that is ahead of us, we have to finish up the loose ends of our life that we have been trying to achieve for so long and start a new beginning. This applies to both Rapunzel and Odysseus because they must conclude their life and yet discover a new life to live. A long lost princess, “daughter” of the witch Mother Gothel, Rapunzel is awaiting her birthday and she wishes to achieve her dream to see the lanterns. Dying to see the lights, Rapunzel finds her way out of the tower to chase her dreams and on the way she ends up a new dream. Disney Pixar, the creators of Tangled, portrays the contemporary hero’s journey from the hero’s journey archetype also shown through Homer’s The Odyssey. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca who has been away from his homeland, his wife Penelopeia, and his son Telemachos. While his house is overcome with unruly men, Penelopeia and Telemachos are hopeless about Odysseus’ return. Odysseus is met with many trials on his journey and is unable to return home for twenty years. Finally, when he comes home, he is a new man and has changed 180 degrees. The steps to the hero’s journey that are applied to the journey of Rapunzel and Odysseus were rephrased by Christopher Vogler, who in return, derived his claim through Joseph Campbell, the one who uncovered the hero’s journey archetype. The purpose of the hero’s journey can always vary, though they have the same three steps: The Preparation, The Journey, and The Return, all of which depict the significance, the reality, and the depth of the hero’s journey. The similarities and differences of Rapunzel from Disney Pixar’s Tangled and Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey are based on the hero’s journey archetype and show that they are not only stories that should be told, but instead stories that should be lived.

The Preparation is an important stage in kick starting the hero’s journey of Odysseus and Rapunzel who both have similar and different reactions to each step. The first stage, The Preparation, consists of five steps: the ordinary world, the call to adventure, the refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, and crossing the threshold. Overall, the ordinary world is the most essential step to The Preparation and is the moment where the hero feels like something is not right with where they are. During their stay in the ordinary world, Odysseus and Rapunzel are both discontent with where they are and want to leave. Staying at Calypso’s island, Odysseus is stuck and finally Calypso tells him to leave: “She found him sitting upon the shore. The tears were never dry in his eyes; life with its sweetness was slowly trickling away” (Homer 65). Odysseus illustrates his dissatisfaction with his ordinary world and shows how being at Ogygia without anything to do about it causes him to become lifeless. With each passing day, Odysseus’ hope of returning home becomes severed as he is all by himself and has no one to console with. This ordinary world shown through Odysseus can be relatable to some; although, instead of losing hope and the meaning of life such as Odysseus, people should keep enduring and not give up. In Tangled, Rapunzel is a long lost princess kept away in a tower with her “mother,” and feels as if something isn’t right. For example Rapunzel questions her mother as to why she can never go outside and Mother Gothel replies: “The outside world is a very dangerous place filled with horrible, selfish people.” (Tangled). This is significant because this shows that Rapunzel is questioning why Mother Gothel isn’t letting her go outside and doesn’t fully believe in her. By questioning Mother Gothel, Rapunzel shows how she feels as if she no longer belongs in the tower anymore and needs to find her new life prepared for her on the journey. This is similar to Odysseus’ ordinary world because he too, is discontent with his ordinary world and wants to leave. By both wanting to leave their ordinary worlds, Rapunzel and Odysseus show that they want to search for the life in store for them instead of having to keep on living the life they’ve always been living. People too, should follow their instincts like Rapunzel and Odysseus in their ordinary worlds, and know when something doesn’t feel right.

The second stage in the hero’s journey archetype is The Journey, which is the actual adventure itself and the main part of the story. It also is the part where the hero experiences life to the fullest and undergoes many challenges that affect the heroes. In this stage there are four steps: the test, allies and enemies, the new approach, the ordeal, and lastly, the reward. The ordeal is the most important step because the hero finally understands that he or she hasn’t been living the way he or she could have and learns that what they’ve been doing isn’t right. When Odysseus is at the party and the minstrel sings the songs of Odysseus, he relives flashbacks of his tribulations from his past. For example the book narrates: “So sang the famous minstrel. Odysseus was melted, and tears ran over his cheeks” (Homer 98). As the minstrel sang the song about Odysseus’ past, Odysseus had to reevaluate how he lived his life, what he did wrong, and how he should approach life differently. The ordeal is an important stage in life for everyone to experience because, without enduring the ordeal, no one would learn from mistakes. Similarly, Rapunzel also goes through her ordeal, though in a different way. In this case, Eugene “leaves” Rapunzel which is all part of Mother’s plan and Rapunzel figures out she is the lost princess. For example Rapunzel says, “I am the lost princess, aren’t I? Did I mumble, mother? Or should I even call you that?... No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me” (Tangled). In her case, Rapunzel falls in love with Eugene and gives the stolen crown back, but his “monsters”: Mother Gothel and the two crooks, send him off to jail putting him on a boat. Meanwhile, Rapunzel sees him “leaving” and Mother tries proving herself to Rapunzel on how she knew that Eugene would leave her and forsake her. Mother Gothel then brings Rapunzel back to the castle and Rapunzel finally figures out that she is the lost princess. The way she handles this ordeal can lead to a life or death crisis; therefore, Rapunzel has to meticulously make her decision on how to deal with it. This is important to apply in life because it only takes one mistake from the hero for the antagonist to destroy their life.

The last stage, The Return, is when the hero finally reaches his or her destination, experiences much more than they have expected to happen, and becomes a new and improved person. The three steps included in this stage are: the road back, the resurrection hero, and the return with the elixir. The most important step of this stage can be considered to be the return with the elixir because it is when the hero can finally relax and radiate happiness and relief to those around him or her. Odysseus’ return with the elixir is when he publicizes about his homecoming to Penelopeia and everyone around him. For example, when Penolopeia realizes that the stranger is actually Odysseus, she is filled with emotion: “She was conquered, she could hold out no longer when Odysseus told the secret she knew so well. She burst into tears and ran straight to him, throwing her arms about his neck. She kissed his head…” (Homer 257). Comfort and joy overwhelms Penelopeia as Odysseus returns to her with the “elixir” and makes everything in the world seem perfect. The “return with the elixir” is the moment where the struggle not only ends for Odysseus, but also ends the torment caused upon Penelopeia and Telemachos throughout Odysseus’ absence. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, people can finally lay down all their troubles and rejoice about his coming. This is important because it isn’t just a moment to celebrate the hero’s homecoming, but it also is a time to rejoice over the new life the hero is living. In Disney’s Tangled, the hero’s return with the elixir is when Rapunzel returns to the kingdom as the princess, everyone’s dreams come true, and Rapunzel accepts Eugene’s marriage proposal. For example, Eugene describes how everyone’s dreams became reality and also narrates: “The party lasted an entire week, and honestly, I don’t remember most of it.” (Tangled). Returning with the elixir, Rapunzel and her return has caused the anxiety within the kingdom to be replaced with peace, joy, and hope. The long lost princess’ homecoming not only brightens the mood of the kingdom, but also unlocks a new sense of life within the people. This new sense of life is “the life that has been waiting for them”. Rapunzel’s return with the elixir is important because it enabled everyone to carry out their dreams. Overall the return with the elixir is the moment when the hero begins living the life that they found in their hero’s journey. The hero begins living a new life, and also brings a new lifestyle and to those around him or her.

Odysseus and Rapunzel are portrayed as heroes whose journeys should be learned from and taught about in order to capture the lifestyle people should be living. Throughout the three stages of The Preparation, The Journey, and The Return, each has a significant step that pushes the hero to live the life ahead of him or her. Those steps are: the ordinary world, the ordeal, and the return with the elixir. The beginning the hero feels as if something is wrong and begins the journey. Then the hero experiences many trials in their journey and finally returns home as a changed person, also changing those around him or her. In the hero’s journey archetype, the journey not only changes the hero’s character but also brings fresh qualities to the lives of those around him or her. All of these steps cause a person to mold and change their lifestyle, living less of the life that they’ve tried to live for so long. Still, in the real world, some people never get to experience the hero’s journey… Should that interfere in “getting rid of the life we’ve planned” and “living the life ahead of us” as John Campbell mentioned