The Hero: Crossing the Threshhold

The hero: Crossing the threshold

According to the historian of mythology Joseph Campbell, a true hero is a man or woman who ‘crosses the threshold’ by undertaking a courageous action that enables him or her to be reborn into a new identity. A hero might not seem to be an extraordinary person initially, but through the willingness to reinvent him or herself, he or she is revealed to be a heroic person. This was the case with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born to privilege. He lived a luxurious existence of wealth few Americans could dream of experiencing in Hyde Park, New York. He was descended from a line of prominent figures, the most famous of who was Theodore Roosevelt, the former Republican president. Franklin was educated by governesses as a young man, attended prep school, and graduated from Harvard University and Columbia Law School. However, he was bored with corporate law and decided to enter politics: “breaking from family tradition, he ran as a Democrat in a district that had voted Republican for the past 32 years” and won a state senate race (“Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” Biography.com. 2012: 1). Franklin’s early political career was nearly ended when he was stricken with polio (“Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” Biography.com. 2012: 3). Franklin was tempted to leave political life, but he taught himself to walk with braces for short distances for political appearances and persevered. Eventually, he was elected to become Governor of New York State, then the presidency. He led an America suffering in the mires of the Great Depression. President Roosevelt questioned conventional economic wisdom and instituted a massive social welfare policy known as the New Deal, many of whose programs still exist. The idea that government has a responsibility to manage the economy and help the less fortunate was a new one, one which Roosevelt pioneered on the executive level. He also led the nation through World War II. Had Roosevelt bowed to the...