Bella Caracappa: Loss and Gain

    The first part of Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Hero's Journey by Thomas Van Nortwick discusses the Epic of Gilgamesh. Through analyzing this hero's journey, Nortwick asks, "Why must one kind of gain be preceded by another kind of loss?" (Nortwick, 35). I wish to view this question from three different perspectives: a literature perspective, a real-world perspective, and a leadership perspective. 

    For literature, loss is used to further the character's journey as they continue to gain despite this initial loss. Without this loss, the story would not be worth reading, and audiences would find the story boring as the character remains sedimentary. However, the site could be accurate, which is even worse. For example, in most stories today, characters are given special powers at the beginning of their story. The characters gain all these new things and experiences; however, in the end, these characters take these gains for granted and receive an even more significant loss. 

    From a real-world perspective, gain is often preceded by loss. For example, many successful war strategies involve nations frequently giving up or losing certain things to win. People usually view this interaction as the gain outweighing the cost, which often serves as a motivator to overcome the loss.


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