Comparing Hughes's Essay 'Myth And Education'

A merger of the inner and outer worlds In the essay “Myth and Education”, Hughes discusses imagination that “holds wide open, like a great theater, the arena of contention, and … pays equal respect to both sides” (150). He states that once we grasp the imagination that contains the “laws … of human nature” we find balance between inner and outer worlds. In the movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, characters who accompany the protagonist, the Baron, have difficulty to recognize who they are; they have been misdirected and lost their sense of purpose. For example, the character Berthold due to his long stay on the moon believes that he is a criminal, while Albrecht who represents strength, wants to be sensitive and weak. The same thing
He affirms that the imaginative force that induces “negotiations between the powers of the inner world and the stubborn conditions of the outer world, under which ordinary men and women have to live” (151) creates this relationship. Our imagination motivates us to accomplish our goals and perform feats, which are crucial for the restoration of the relations between two worlds. In the movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the Baron as well as his companions face moments of oblivion and despair, where they no longer see any hope to achieve their goal; they are prepared to give up. For instance, in the scene where the Baron finds Gustavus and Adolphus inside an enormous fish, he becomes weak and hopeless. He doubts in his own power and the ability to escape from the fish they are trapped in. Facing oblivion represents death for the inner world of the hero. Therefore, death haunts the protagonist throughout the film, and appears often in the moments of his desperation as if it expects him to completely lose heart. For that reason, the little girl Sally who accompanies him on his journey represents the spirit that wakes the characters up by saying “You can't give up!” and gives them hope. She, manifesting the energy of the Baron’s youth, sees the power of the story and encourages the desperate Baron, along with his companions, to go forward and to overcome the obstacles they are forced to face. Thus, due to her perseverance and faith, the hero unites his inner world that assists him to surmount external difficulties such as the giant fish, the Turks who are willing to behead the Baron, and ever-present