The Hero's Journey

At their surface, Siddhartha and The Matrix seem like polar opposites; one explores nature and its relationship with spirituality while the other explores the bounds of technology and its dangerous repercussions. Yet, guiding the "one story" that dominates literature, film, art, and more, elements of the hero's journey exist throughout these two works, pushing — or arguably being pushed — by their protagonists and environments. Although some elements differ in their portrayal or context, the basic structure holds: a special but relatively unnoticed hero makes a life-altering decision that sends them on a journey filled with many challenges, and an unexpected environmental factor leads to their ending, but it's not the environment that leads to their success; it merely awakens someone that has always been inside of them.

In Siddhartha, our protagonist, aptly named Siddhartha, begins as a talented kid noticed in his town but relatively unnoticed in the broader setting depicted in the novel. However, feeling as though he will never finish his quest, Siddhartha makes the decision to leave his home and become a samana. After this, Siddhartha faces several challenges — including the difficulty of living in discomfort, taking a detour with Kamala, dealing with her death, and more — that seemingly prevent him from attaining his objective. In the end, it seems to be the river and her voice that leads to the fulfillment of his quest; upon deeper inspection, however, the river merely awakened a spirit that had always been inside of Siddhartha. Our hero was always our hero, but he has now accomplished his goal.

Siddhartha seems unique and filled with specific conversations and conflicts, but The Matrix checks the same boxes of our hero's journey. Neo begins as a talented programmer noticed by local clients and his community but relatively unnoticed in the larger community. However, given the choice between changing his life forever and sticking with his current situation, Neo makes the decisions to leave behind his old life, sending him on the life- and world-changing journey that spans several movies in the franchise. Next, Neo faces challenge upon challenge — including reckoning with his past, learning about reality, training through difficult challenges, and more — that ultimately lead up to his battle with Agent Smith. With Trinity's whispers and kiss, however, the battle transforms from one in which Neo is outmatched to one in which Neo dominates with his newfound set of skills. Upon deeper inspection, it's clear that these skills have always been with Neo; Trinity has merely activated them.

Thus, the hero's journey forms the backbone of these two works, guiding the plot from unassuming beginning to ultimate ending. Although Hesse and the Wachowski sisters might add padding to this archetype, the base remains the same, making them predictable to an extent. Still, the variation and detail is what characterizes these works as brilliant; we'll likely enjoy the overall plot structure, but we'll love the embellishments.