Journal of the Caribbean Kangaroo - A Pirate's Journey, pt. 2: Dead Man's Quest

Are there any heroes left? If you know me then you know my answer is yes. Heroes, whether heroic or not, are first and foremost defined by their journeys, in my assessment, and there are many paths to tread...

I apologize if I seem to lean too much upon the Campbellian model for hero-analysis, though I feel that some people do not lean enough upon it....at least not with their own knowledge.

The Hero's Quest is, in most instances, cyclical. Death is not an ending, but a passage to rebirth. The hero's journey goes something like this:

BIRTH/DEATH

In "Curse of the Black Pearl" , there are four separate births. Bear with my symbolic analysis..

1. Elizabeth - She is the first image on screen, emerging from the fog. This is her "birth".
2. Will - He is pulled from the water, (by a female--Freudian analysis aside for the moment) - He has no full memory prior to that, so this is his own "birth".
3. Jack - Jack is the first fully formed character to step from the ocean onto land. As one vessel (ships are usually designated female) gives him up, he emerges onto land, wobbly and self-serving, taking whatever shiny things appeal to him.
4. Barbossa (The Pearl crew) - When Elizabeth plunges into the water, the coin/amulet summons the arrival of the Pearl, captained by Barbossa. In as much as the amulet is borne by a female, (who plucked it from a male), it has become something of an egg to be hatched, though it is also much like a Pandora's box, as little is known of what will emerge from that egg....(The skull on the coin might be a hint, though.)

As stated in Part 1 of my analysis (go read it!), the three leads, Elizabeth, Will, and Jack, are already thought to be the forces on the side of (mostly) good. The curious addition here is Barbossa. Barbossa is an anti-hero, here, as his own journey through the cycle will be made apparent.

Another character I would add here is Norrington. Norrington's own journey is somewhat obscured by the narrative, but his own heroic worth is not invisible here. He is, as the story begins, already the hero in the middle of his journey, though as he is staged as an antagonist to Will (as a romantic rival for Elizabeth) and to Jack (as a executioner of pirates), he is established as an enemy. His fate will be made clearer through the passage of events...

CALL TO ADVENTURE/REFUSAL:

When the heroic character in question finally realizes that they have been set upon a chain reaction of events that will lead them to the next stages of the Journey (inevitably, battle and death), they are, of course, either reluctant, or refused outright.

With Elizabeth, it seems that her refusal is somewhat unwitting, as her imminent engagement to Norrington is pre-empted by an uncooperative corset. When Elizabeth is captured by Pirates, Will (already established as a competent-if-unwily swordsman) is eager to set upon his next step, though is refused by Norrington as being nothing more than a blacksmith's apprentice. Jack, of course, is thrown in prison as soon as possible. Barbossa's own refusal is (as an anti-hero) actually one of personal gain, managing to invert the denial upon Elizabeth, twisting her bargain upon her.

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD/THE TRIALS

This is very often a series of symbolic clashes and challenges, usually referred to as "Brother-Battle", "Dragon-Battle", "Dismemberment", "Crucifixion", "Night Sea Journey", "Whale's Belly" and "Hell's Gate".... All of these are in some way dealt with throughout the "Pirates" story arc...

The "Brother-Battle" - interpreted here as a battle of nigh-equals, or at least those on similar sides. The clashes between Will and Jack can be seen as a Battle of Brothers, as they both work towards stopping Barbossa in the first film. Likewise, the battle of Jack and Barbossa can also be interpreted as a battle of "Brothers", as they are both of similar origins and similar natures, particularly when Jack's deviousness enables him to temporarily become one of the undead.

The "Dragon-Battle" seems more literally reserved for the second film, in that the Kraken represents the Dragon, the epic beast, which even if defeated, will undoubtedly take a piece of the hero with him or her. The battle between the pearl and Norrigton's ship in "Curse" is a form of Dragon-Battle, as the naval vessel out matches the Pearl in firepower, though not in speed.

"Dismemberment" is slightly more vague, here, if not surpassed for the most part. Pintel's eye, for example, can be seen as a form of Dismemberment, as after all, he is on his own mini-arc. Davy Jones' cutting out of his own heart is included in this. He is a Tragic Figure, whose own journey fails the heroic loftiness of Jack, Will, and Elizabeth, though echoes and foreshadows it, as well.
(It's worth while to note that "Dismemberment" can be something more symbolic, and does not literally include disfigurement, but can be an emotional crippling in some way, as well.) Elizabeth's denial of her anticipated wedding, being imprisoned, and then forced to disguise herself as a man is a form of emotional dismemberment, as is Barbossa's loss of sensation via the Aztec gold. Like Norrington's (off-screen) fall from military grace, "Dismemberment" is foremost a punishment, and in "Dead Man's Chest", Jack's black-mark on his hand is a form of dismemberment, when he is forced to "stick to the shallows" to avoid the Kraken.

"Crucifixion" - If to illustrate no better example, I point to Jack's being made Chief--as even though he has reached deity status, albeit to cannibals, they still intent to strap him to a stick and roast him. Other less obvious examples include the flogging of Will at the hands of his own father, and least likely, Elizabeth's Wedding-Dress puppet as a disembodied Crucifixion, of sorts, which is employed cleverly as a motivational device.

"Night Sea Journey" - Too obvious. Moving on.

"Whale's Belly" - Just because a whale is a creature does not mean that the "whale" here is literally a creature. The implication is that the hero has temporarily been unwillingly engulfed by something unquestionably dangerous, and will likely at some point, be "spit out", (like the biblical Jonah and the Leviathan, or the more current Millennium Falcon and the Death Star.)

When Elizabeth is captured by the crew of the Black Pearl, she is later "spit back out", stranded upon the island with Jack. Later, it is Jack's turn to be engulfed by the Royal Navy, to escape in a post-climactic turn of events. Will is likewise taken in by the Flying Dutchman, very much like a living creature itself, even going as far as to hide in it's "mouth" beneath the bow of the ship.

"Hell's Gate" - I think we'll call this what it is--the underworld entrance to "World's End"--literally, the edge of living existence. Elizabeth, Will, and Barbossa all go through it to fetch Jack, who is already experiencing something of his own personal hell (or heaven?) on the other side. The passage through the Entrance always comes at a price, though, and no hero passes through unchanged permanently. Will's own fate is foreshadowed, and Jack's passage has left him with doppleganger demons that will likely "torment" him endlessly during moments of quiet reflection. Elizabeth sees her father on the other side, and is motivated to anger and vengeance for the untimely passage. (Barbossa seems relatively unaffected...it's already evident that death has rejected him twice now, and being a man with no soul, is clearly undisturbed at the journey. Still worth noting, though, in his role as anti-hero.)


I've dragged this on quite long enough for the moment...more to follow in part 3...

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: "At World's End" - Hans Zimmer