In Chapter IV, Sacrifice and Bliss, Joseph Campbell talks about the idea of balance between birth and death found in ancient mythology. Campbell also talk about how parenthood is an act of self-sacrifice. He then ends the segment with the notion that following your bliss whether it is foolish or not is the proper way to live life.
Analysis: “When a figure is sacrificed in the planting culture, that figure itself is the god.” (133) this quote perfectly describes the planting culture because the myths that Campbell have introduced us to a figure that must die and be buried to bring the people of that culture food. Examples would be the Algonquin corn myth and the Polynesian coconut myth. Both have a figure that appears over a period of time. Both tell the person they are visiting that next time will be their last visit and, that afterwards they must be killed and…show more content… From the burial of these figures the people of these myths are given access to food that needed. This ties into the idea that for there to be life there must be death. “Every generation has to die in order that the next generation can come” (133) yet again Campbell has present the idea that without death there cannot be a successful birth. He starts talking about how in Indonesia a hunt head commences as a rite of manhood. A young man in this culture cannot marry or become a father until he has had his first kill, this leads into what Campbell said, “As soon as you beget or give to a child, you are the dead one. The child is the new life, and you are simply the protector” (133) thus creating a spiritual balance within the cycle of life and death. “If he does only what he wants to do, he’ll be dead” (146) here Campbell is recalling something he heard a man tell his wife when talking