Rim,
Hero in the traditional mythological sense was what I always thought the author was bringing out in B. Just my interpretation of course
I would agree with you on the addiction analogy. It seemed to me that this line of thinking a little askew in the 70's, when (at least in my circles) it was prevelent. Like addiction, the essense of the quest is about the struggle that is within us, but to me, thats where the comparison ends.