Maya Angelou once said, “You may not control all of the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Many time in life people are hit with unfortunate events. You can’t change the happenings of a certain event but you can change how you get affected by them. Don’t let the little obstacles block your path, get through them. As often as events happen in real life, it also happens in the stories Antigone an A Long Way Gone. The main characters in these books, face many devastating challenges along the way but get through them with the help of a mentor. To be more specific, Sophocles’ Antigone and Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone display how the characters of Creon, Antigone, and Ishmael embark on the hero’s journey. This was demonstrated in that they both met a mentor along the way and traveled along a path of trials.
To begin with, Creon and Ishmael embarked on the hero’s journey in that they met a mentor along the way. First of all, Creon’s son, Haimon, was his mentor, as he advised Creon throughout the text. When Haimon is introduced, he starts by lashing out at Creon, “‘Yet there are other men who can reason, too; and their opinions might be helpful.’”, (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 55-57). Haimon is trying to share common knowledge with his dad. He is also advising him to listen to other people to make important decisions because they all have different perspectives of what is going on. Haimon is also a mentor to Creon when he shares his knowledge about being a good leader to his dad, “‘The reasonable thing is to learn from those who can teach’” (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 90). Haimon is informing Creon that he, as king, needs to listen to what his people and others have to say or else he will not thrive. He is telling his dad to compromise when he needs to. In addition, Haimon is mentoring his dad on how to be a successful leader and listener in order to achieve his goals and prosper. Finally, the last way that Haimon was a mentor to Creon is indirectly, towards the end of the book when Haimon kills himself. Creon responds to this with, “‘Oh my my wife, my son!’”(Act 1, Scene Exudos, Line 111). Here, Creon realizes that his actions of driving Antigone to death was wrong and was only proved because of Haimon’s actions. Haimon, is indeed a mentor at this part because he made his dad realize his mistake. Even though Haimon is dead, his actions made Creon rethink his decisions and impacted his thinking.
Similarly, Ishmael met a mentor, along his journey. His mentor was his nurse named Esther. Esther was first seen as a mentor when she gets Ishmael a Walkman and cassette as a gift, “She threw a package at me… When I unwrapped it, I jumped up and hugged her, but immediately held back my happiness” (Beah, 154). Esther is doing everything she can to try to regain Ishmael’s humanity after the war. By getting him the Walkman, she is, in a sense, helping him recover. She is attempting to show him that some people are still good. Esther was also seen as a mentor when she listened and replied to Ishmael's story, “It was the genuine tone in Esther’s voice that made the phrase finally begin to sink into my mind and heart” (Beah, 165). Here, Ishmael’s thoughts reveal that for the short period of knowing Esther, she has already impacted his life. She is proven to be a mentor because she is genuinely interested in Ishmael’s life and wants to help him as much as she can. She is comforting him to the best of her ability. Finally, Esther is seen as a mentor on page 167 when she tells Ishmael, “Think of me as your family, your sister” (Beah, 167). Esther has guided Ishmael through his recovery and provided advice for him. She shows empathy and cares for him and helps teach him what it is like to live a normal life. Ishmael would not have been who he is today without the help of Esther. All in all, both Creon and Ishmael meet a mentor along their journey that influenced them heavily.
Likewise, Antigone and Ishmael both embarked on the hero’s journey in that they both trekked on a path of trials. First off, Antigone traveled through the path of facing her death. Antigone starts off by getting caught while burying her brother, “Here is the one who did it! We caught her in the very act of burying him” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 302 & 303). Antigone has been caught going against the law, by paying respects to her brother, which calls for some sort of punishment. This is her first obstacle on her path because she has to face her punishment and admit that she did indeed do it. As the story comes to an end, Antigone faces Creon about her actions and says, “I have done no wrong, I have not sinned before God… But if the guilt lies upon Creon who judged me, then I pray that his punishment equal my own” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 722-726). Antigone, here, is admitting what she did, but is, in a sense, cursing Creon. She wishes that whatever punishment she has to face, which the readers learn is death, Creon too has to face. Antigone is okay with being sentenced to death and doesn’t fight or go against it. In fact, many times when she is arguing with Creon she talks about her death, “Then I beg you: Kill me” (Act 1, Scene 2, Line 94). Antigone is ready to die, and will face her death with honor. She knows that this is the end of her path and knows that she can’t change it. While Antigone traveled along her path, she kept her image strong and faced her punishment of death with strength.
In like manner, Ishmael faced a path of trials, specifically relating to separation from his family. To begin with, Ishmael and his brother, Junior, were separated from their parents at the start of the war, “Every morning in Mattru Jong we would go down to the wharf for news from home” (Beah, 15). Ishmael was separated from his parents early on in the war and had no idea where they were and what condition they were in. Many conflicts arose due to Ishmael and his brother not being with their family. They were looked down upon and were seen as filthy, thus harming their self-image and identity. Ishmael and Junior had to get through this and was their first trial. As the book continues on, Ishmael loses another part of his family due to the war, “It was during that attack in the village of Kamator that my friends and I separated. It was the last time I saw Junior, my older brother” (Beah, 43). Ishmael no longer has any ties to not just his brother, but his whole family. He has no one to connect with and is all by himself. Being separated from his family and brother had many negative effects on him. These effects were seen on him both mentally and physically. Ishmael had persistent nightmares and isolation problems were present. The readers can see that he is afraid of thinking, and was lost and lonely, “I spent most of my time mentally fighting with myself in order to avoid thinking about what I had seen or wondering where my life was going, where my family and friends were.” (Beah, 52). Separation from his family, made Ishmael stressed out and restless. This lead to a lack of sleep because Ishmael feared that his thoughts would appear in his dreams. From being separated from his family, one small thing lead to another, which ultimately amounted to many problems in Ishmael’s daily life. As the book continued, Ishmael almost comes into contact with his family, “I wanted to see my family even if it meant dying with them” (Beah, 96). At this part of the book, Ishmael sees the village in which his family living in, and watches it burn into flames. He was so close to meeting his whole family, yet never saw them, as they died in the fire. Ishmael is now separated from his family forever. Watching his family die in front of him also had many negative psychological and physical effects on him. It caused him to be more violent and aggressive and untrusting of people.
Ultimately, the characters Creon and Antigone in Sophocles’ Antigone and Ishmael in Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, venture on the hero’s journey. Both Creon and Ishmael met a mentor along the way, Creon’s mentor being his son Haimon, and Ishmael’s being his nurse Esther. Both the mentors influenced the main characters in a positive way and changed their lives for the better. Likewise, Antigone and Ishmael traveled along a path of trials, Antigone’s being the path of facing her death, and Ishmael’s path being separation from his family. Both are courageous as they travel on their respective path and conquer obstacles along the way. As the characters travel along their path of trials, they eventually end up meeting their mentor who helps them through their path, much like in the real world. To get through the path of life, we meet mentors along the way who help us reach our destination.