Leader Oliver’s Heroic Journey as in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Leader Oliver's Heroic Journey as in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we have a story about children traveling to a rural, pseudo-medieval world populated both by mythological beings such as fauns and Centaurs, and by Christian figures as well. Note the case of Aslan, the lion who sacrifices himself to save the others, and experiences a glorious resurrection. The children, aided by some animals and threatened by others, embark on a search for a means to restore the natural and moral balance in a world where winter never ends and where the White Witch turns elements of the natural world into decorative objects. Edmund, the child who succumbs to the temptation is, in principle, seduced by the material enticements of the witch. Eventually when he realizes that only suffering and pain hide behind her words, he learns the universal values of generosity and forgiveness —Christian values— through the example of Aslan. The witch is defeated, and with her disappearance, the cyclical change of season resumes, thereby restoring the natural and temporal balance.

A look at how The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe fits into Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey as well as The Leader Hero's Life Story.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the year 1940, four siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie – are among many children evacuated from London during World War II to escape the Blitz. They are sent to the countryside to live with Professor Digory Kirke. They were introduced to their ORDINARY WORLD.

During high school before the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, our life was easy. My Father was a Foreman in a construction company in Saudi Arabia. My Father was the eldest amongst his siblings and he helped his other siblings finish their schooling. One of them was my Uncle who finished Accountancy with the help of my father. So our lives were easy back then and we were provided with our daily needs by our parents. This was MY ORDINARY WORLD. My father's contract in Saudi Arabia ended and life became a little stiff. Having five siblings all taking up school at the same time became a hard task for my parents. My parent's income was just enough food and daily needs for a family of seven members. My eldest brother had to stop his college engineering course to give way for me. Studying in Manila on a reputable university was impossible. I settled in taking up Accountancy on the same institution where I graduated High School.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Call to adventure is partly in the form of the wardrobe itself. The moment Lucy expects to find the back of the wardrobe but instead finds herself "standing in the middle of a wood at night-time with snow under her feet and snowflakes falling through the air" the adventure has begun. The other three Pevensie children however, follow the traditional part of the Hero's Journey in first refusing the call and insist that Lucy's trip through the wardrobe is "all nonsense".

MY CALL TO ADVENTURE began when it dawned on me the responsibility of striving to finish my college and hopefully land on a decent job to take care of my sibling's schooling. Four years in college was extremely financially difficult for us. Then come the time to take the review for the board examination. My school encourages me to take the Board Exam. My parents told me we cannot afford it but my Uncle told me that he will help me. At first I was hesitant to take it and just wanted to apply for a job first and help my parents and siblings. I tried to REFUSE THE CALL. I considered our financial capacity and thought that I would not finish the review and might not pass the board exam due to our limited resources.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Threshold is also, the Wardrobe, which allows the children to travel to Narnia: "Behind them were coats handing on pegs, in front of them were snow-covered trees". The wardrobe can also be seen as a Supernatural Aid, as it helps the children enter Narnia when it is most needed and not necessarily when its most wanted. Other supernatural aids include the friendly talking animals that inhabit Narnia. The mysterious red robin, for instance is one of the children's very first supernatural aids. Also helping them along the way is Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Father Christmas, and Aslan himself (the mentor figure).

Opportunity knocked when my school gave me cash to provide for my review tuition. In addition, my Uncle encourages me to continue reviewing for the board exam and promised to help me with my daily allowance. My Uncle (the one mentioned above) eventually became my MENTOR. I will discuss more about my Uncle on my Genogram as he played an important role in my leadership journey.

I started CROSSING THE THRESHOLD when I took the CPA review without knowing what will happen to me and so I focused myself at studying and preparing for the day of the examination. I committed myself aiming at passing the exam as there is now no turning back.

An important part of the Hero's Journey includes the hero's fall, which is often marked with the hero's physical journey into deeper and darker places. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe all four children start their journey through Narnia by walking across ground that began to "fall steeply downhill" in order to get to Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's home. When Peter, Susan, and Lucy leave Mr. and Mrs. Beaver's house, they leave the descent and darkness behind them and travel an uphill a path lit by moonlight. Soon after they meet with Father Christmas, who rewards them with supernatural gifts. Edmund, however, leaves the house and travels even further downhill to the castle of the white witch. He walks out into darkness and shadows and can't help but literally fall as he descends into a literal and metaphorical darkness. After falling to his deepest point, the hero must not only confront his failures and atone with the Father, but must die and be reborn (physically or metaphorically). After Edmund is rescued from the White Witch, the children see "Edmund and Aslan walking together in the dewy grass, apart from the rest of the court.

It is through his fall and his spiritual rebirth that Edmund is ultimately able to put an end to the White Witch. Edmund has been tested and tempted: he eats the Turkish Delight, lies about Narnia's existence to his siblings, and journeys to the Witch's castle. But he also goes through one last physical set of trails during the battle before finally being able to get to the White Witch.

Edmund's heroic actions in battle not only help cleanse his past mistakes, but ultimately fulfill their quest.

Lastly, the Hero's Journey is completed only with the hero's return. Just as the children had first refused the call in the beginning of the novel, they refuse the return near its end. In fact, they forget there is somewhere to return to: "I know not how it is, but this lamp on the post worth upon me strangely. It runs in my mind that I have seen the like before; as it were a dream, or in the dream of a dream".

But the children do return and they come "tumbling out of a wardrobe door into an empty room, and they were no longer Kings and Queens in their hunting array but just Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy in their old clothes". And the Hero's Journey, having come around full circle, is now completed.

My parent's and relatives' high expectations on the board exam added too much pressure. During the review, there were TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES. I had a lot of difficulties catching up with the subjects. What I learned during four years of college was not enough. Adding to that, my former college classmates who were also my roommates persuaded me to not take it seriously and instead just watch movies and enjoy sometimes. There are lots of readings and memorization, formulas and theories. I even failed a couple of pre-board trials. Then finally came the days of the exam. The exam was four days covering eight subjects. After three days the results were released. It was raining hard that day and the streets in our town are flooded. I went to town on a banca just to get my hands on the newspaper. When I saw the page where the result was, my name was not on the list.

I have GONE TO THE INMOST CAVE and all I saw was a failure. I failed. I went home sad and disappointed. I asked God the reasons why. Of all the hardships and sacrifices I made and at the end it's just a failure? Does my four years in college and six months of pure hard review not enough? It became a tough test of faith for me.

What must I do to endure this supreme ORDEAL? I cried on that night. I fell asleep. In my dream God told me to hold onto Him for He has great plans for me. I woke up and read a passage from the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11 read, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I realized that night that it is not the end of the world. God is always by my side to guide me in all my endeavors. He reminded me those hard times which I was able to overcome. I also realized what is lacking great in my life – PRAYER. God opened my heart to trust Him and lean on His promises. I SEIZED THE SWORD.

I was given the opportunity to review again. My Uncle, my Mentor encouraged me again to take the review. He shouldered all my expenses during the review and finally in May 2000 I took the board examination. This time around I passed the CPA Board Examination. It was a sweet success. I thank God for the REWARD He gave me for completely trusting in Him.

Passing the Board Examination was the start of the bigger plan that is in store for me. I faced a lot of challenges both positive and negative. On the positive sides - beating tax deadlines, submitted management reports that were useful in management decision making, advised clients on business growth and development, helped clients save millions by recommending and implementing internal control procedures although sleepless nights were spent in client audits, leading people of different cultures and backgrounds, trained clients on business processes. On the negative - errors were made in financial reporting that resulted in wrong decisions made at client expense, misrepresentations made to clients, client's employees fired due to audit findings made, and dangerous travels locally and abroad as far as Kabul in war torn Afghanistan. Through all these years God was true to His promises. He led me to a position where I could help other people or my clients to achieve their goals. I return my blessings by being able to help my siblings finish their schooling and eventually repeat the cycle of helping others achieve their dreams and purposes in life by starting with finishing their schooling first.

Main Character: Leader Oliver Pabillon as the Hero   3.5