Essays on Hero

In the post-9/11 world of espionage, soldiers have been replaced with spies as nationalist heroes – since drones do much of the grunt work now as opposed to reservists, the nebulous War on Terror is fought through intelligence and espionage. At the same time, we take a much more self-reflexive look at our heroes, especially in media, and question whether or not they are truly worth rooting for. These notions of the flawed heroic spy, the one who does what is necessary while putting themselves through misery, is explored in depth in the recent films Casino Royale (2006) and Zero Continue reading...

A hero/heroism refers to a unique person with the ability of bridging the gap between humans and the divine. A hero/heroism often personifies values that create a society and posses trend of common characteristics. Such a person may or may not potent unusual circumstances of birth, lives a normal life with other people, may possess supernatural will or strength. They often lead a quest to the completing of a particular issue they are passionate about in the society. Their peculiarity is often defined the resilience and focus they put forward against all odds in order to accomplish the mission Continue reading...

Expressed in Macbeth

Myths and legends are part of our common collective unconscious; they provide us with ways to process the feelings and aspirations we have as individuals to better ourselves and be rewarded for our hard work and moral goodness. There is also a psychoanalytical portrait to this sense of myth as well, as Freudian concepts of dreams and human fantasies of the unconscious combine with Jungian archetypes to create models of human behavior that we wish to emulate and look up to. No matter the story, be it Jesus or Holden Caulfield or Luke Skywalker, myths often operate on a Continue reading...

Oedipus Rex is an astounding and great Sophoclean play which portrays a tragic hero in a unique way. The play was composed during the ancient Greece time when Sophocles took advantage of the using character flaws in the drama. He gave Oedipus the role of a tragic hero to ensure that he captured the attention of the audience. Sophocles’ play was outstanding because the play-watchers felt to be part of it and experienced a catharsis of reactions. At the beginning of the play, Sophocles gives Oedipus a decidedly recognized character with a high sense of intelligence. Oedipus is portrayed Continue reading...

Introduction

Becoming a hero requires competence in what an individual attempts to do. One may lose the title of a hero simply because of their failure to accomplish the right things appropriately as desirable. A hero should develop the courage to face the difficulties presented by certain situations in their life. Based on the two stories in question, the characters fail to become heroes because they are defeated and do not face the situations, as they should. The paper focuses on proving that young Goodman brown and George Orwell fail to become heroes since they do not courageously face the Continue reading...

Since Telemachus was the only prince that was left in the palace after his father left for the Trojan War, he had to take responsibility as a man of the palace. When his father Odyssey did not return to Ithaca after the war, many people, including the queen herself assumed that he was dead. Many suitors flooded the palace to try and win the queen, this angered him but he had nothing he could do since he was a young and helpless boy. However, Telemachus matures from a young and inexperienced boy to a man who can take up Continue reading...

What it means to be a hero during the time of the knights, what it meant to the populace, the knights, and the lords
A hero is someone who is always courageous to face danger and save the day. He’s someone who is ready to sacrifice oneself for the sake of the others. Weakness does not feature anywhere in his character as a person. He may be weak in body muscular, but he has a heart of a lion and ready to deal and tackle with anything that poses a threat to humanity.
Heroes are super men in Continue reading...

According to Albert Camus in his work The Myth of Sisyphus, man is engaged in a futile search for meaning, as the world itself is completely devoid of significant and universal truths. He compares life to the myth of Sisyphus, the Greek figure who was doomed to roll a boulder up a mountain, only to never reach the top. Instead of giving up and embracing oblivion, however, Camus believes that "The struggle itselfis enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy" (Camus 1955, PAGE). Sisyphus becomes the embodiment of Camus’ absurd hero – a man who attempts Continue reading...

Thesis: Based on Aristotle’s definition of not only a tragic hero but also of tragedy, Shakespeare’s Othello, the Moor of Venice could rightly be described as a tragedy due to the main character’s lack of knowledge as well as due to the play’s depiction of a community and adherence to tragic guidelines.
- Othello as a Tragic Hero
- Noble and Admirable Characteristics
- Common, Human Elements
- The Issue of Race in Separating Othello from Other Characters
- Othello’s Tragic Flaw or Mistake
- Adherence to Greek Tradition
- Presence of the Masses
Continue reading...

Philosopher Kierkegaard was enthusiastic about his philosophical work and linked it to his own challenges with faith. His scholarly work contributes immense knowledge to modern Christianity. As one of the few Christian apologists in recent times, his best modern philosophical ideology is the notion of the teleological suspension of the ethical.

What is a teleological suspension of the ethical?

Teleology refers to ‘belief in’ and the study of ‘ultimate causes’ in nature. Teleology is usually associated with religious philosophy and more specifically Christianity. As such, the teleological suspension of the ethical according to Kierkegaard is the act of abandoning the sound religious beliefs to pursue the ‘ultimate Continue reading...

The archetypal hero’s journey has taken many forms throughout history; in contemporary film, it often requires the main characters to step outside their cynical, grounded physical worlds and enter new realms of imagination. In the case of two classic films from the 1990s, Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King and the Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix , three archetypes of the hero’s journey(the hero, the mentor, and the monster) are found, contextualizing these modern science fiction and fantasy films as modern hero’s journeys. The three characters from each of these films that fit these archetypes are adapted Continue reading...

John Ford’s 1956 film The Searchers is commonly understood to be one of the finest Westerns of all time; much of that is due to John Ford’s gorgeous cinematography, but the lion’s share of the film’s appeal rests on the captivating nature of John Wayne’s character Ethan Edwards. The dubious nature of Ethan Edwards’ heroism is at the heart of the film - a mysterious stranger who rides into town after a long absence, Ethan’s behavior and attitudes change the other characters around him in an irrevocable fashion. Because of his dry, easy Continue reading...

In his article «Capitalism and Heroism in Taxi Driver», published in 2013, Matthew J. Ianucci explores the distorted inner world and perception of Travis Bickle, the Vietnam War veteran, who, due to his sleep disorder, is working as a cab driver at night time. Obsessed with the idea to be a vigilant and recognized hero of society, he, ironically, is an outcast, striving to certify his masculinity through violent and reckless actions. In his article Ianucci comes to the conclusion that violence has never been and will never be the answer to the major social and economic problems that Continue reading...

Since ancient times, heroic motives have been often depicted and represented in poems. It is a never-ending topic that brings up eternal questions of loyalty, dedication and moral. It is interesting how we find the reflection of love in most of the heroic poems. It may be the love to the land or country, maybe the love to the woman, as well.
In both, “The Knight’s Tale” and The Iliad we find heroic ideas that certainly have something in common. Speaking of the first story it is important to say, that Theseus is the first hero shown, demonstrating Continue reading...

Introduction

The literature and art of a given era often portray the beliefs and views of the societies. Homer’s poems, the Odyssey and Iliad, as well as an epic poem from Mesopotamia, the Epic of Gilgamesh, give the historians and scholars a notion how the ancient Greeks lived their day-to-day lives. By the reader reading the three poems, he/she will be in a position to experience Homer’s three thousand years old society. Admired through the ages by many as the ultimate epic, Homer’s Odyssey, along with its companion piece of work, the Iliad, was accepted by the Continue reading...

I must confess I have no personal hero, no man whom I could call that. But in this essay, I would like to write about who is a "hero of our time."

"Hero of our time - who is he?"

The word "hero" can be understood in different ways. On the one hand, it is - an event participant, on the other - is a special individual who stands out from the crowd with an outstanding quality of personality.
In Russian literature has known Lermontov's novel “Hero of Our Time." Lermontov said that "Pechorin - have title of the work," no matter what it was. It's no Continue reading...

The archetypal hero’s journey has taken many forms throughout history; in contemporary film, it often requires the main characters to step outside their cynical, grounded physical worlds and enter new realms of imagination. In the case of two classic films from the 1990s, Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King and the Wachowski Brothers’ The Matrix , three archetypes of the hero’s journey(the hero, the mentor, and the monster) are found, contextualizing these modern science fiction and fantasy films as modern hero’s journeys. In the proposed research paper, the three characters from each film that fit these Continue reading...

“A Good Man is Hard to Find”

Traditional convention suffered a string of devastating shocks in the first half of the twentieth century. A world war, a Great Depression, and another world war shattered many people’s faith in traditional institutions. A propos, Flannery O’Connor dispenses with the conventional tropes of hero and villain in “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” She gives the reader a villain who is not evil and a hero who is not good.
Despite the third-person narration, this is the Grandmother’s story. The narrator presents her thoughts and feelings, but the other characters exhibit no evidence of inner Continue reading...

Introduction

The characters of Dante and St. Francis represent the changes that were occurring in the emergence of Romanticism. The Hero lives in a world that is created by his destiny and the hero makes use of his skills to overcome barriers to his goals of self-achievement. The Romantic hero was quite different from the typical hero and always stood outside the norms of the society. He questions the standards of the society and gets alienated in the process. Dante gives a good example of romanticism in The Divine Comedy, where the lead character struggles against society and achieves unity Continue reading...

Abstract

The essay looks into how the Greek and Roman culture developed the idea of the hero into the idea of a saint, during the process of conversion and totalization. The paper studies Saul of Tarsus and Augustine of Hippo, their conversions, and how they relate to the stature of hero and saint.

Introduction

We find two metaphors in Professor Ambrosio lectures, the hero, and the saint. These personified ideas carry different approaches to seeking the meaning of life. There are explicit metaphors of hero and saint, and these two figures carry different worldviews and in the human situations. Heroes are Continue reading...

Nowadays, Edward Snowden is the person, whose activity connected with the leak of top-secret documents about a variety of the classified N.S.A. surveillance programs, who is widely discussed all around the world from ordinary people to high-ranking officials.
Being a computer system contractor for the N.S.A., Snowden collected a pile of documents linked with the U.S. surveillance activities towards ordinary Americans (Smith). The whole society was shocked with his revelations, though an overwhelming majority of ordinary citizens approve the act of Snowden, people who are in minority ask themselves: ‘Why Edward Snowden is a hero? (Turley)’ The answer to Continue reading...

Jay Gatsby, the protagonist of “The Great Gatsby” is the archetype and represents the tragic hero. This archetype is the one the audience sympathizes with and whose luck changes throughout the story from best to worst. In most cases the tragic hero dies and it happens because there is a flaw in his character. Jay Gatsby is fortunate at the beginning of the film when he meets Daisy and falls in love with her. However, his poverty prevents him from marrying her, so he goes away and returns as a wealthy man, but only to see the love of Continue reading...

The play “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles begins with Oedipus the king explaining his concern about his citizens thus: “My zeal in your behalf ye cannot doubt; Ruthless indeed were I and obdurate, If such petitioners as you I spurned” (11-15). These lines clearly establish the fact that Oedipus is a good king and looks after his kingdom, Thebes, quite well. However, this is not enough. No matter how well Oedipus governs his kingdom or how valiant he is, tragedy befalls Oedipus through what can be said as “Hamartia”. Hamartia or tragic flaw is what brings down a great Continue reading...

A journey of a hero is described by Campbell in his “heroic cycle” in the form of stages. The first stage in Campbell’s cycle is a “call to adventure” where hero receives the call to the unknown. Perseus receives his call to the unknown when the King Polydectes pursues Perseus’s mother. Perseus declares that to keep Polydectes away from his mother he would do anything and he would even bring “the head of Medusa.” The King Polydectes accepts Perseus offer and thus begins the journey of our hero from the ordinary world to the world of the Continue reading...

«V for Vendetta» is one of those thought-provoking films, which cause mixed feelings. I like movies about the psychology of the crowd and the individuality in conditions of extreme totalitarianism, as this theme is always essential.
Magnificent masked hero, played by Hugo Weaving, turned out surprisingly alive, despite the fact that we know nothing about him: no name, no face, no origin. But we know his human qualities, affection, values, love. The hero is smart and, I can say, beautiful and elegant due to his musical, poetic and other tastes. And on the other hand, explosions, accompanied by fireworks Continue reading...

An epic is a poetic genre that is traditional in nature, but which has also been used in modern times. Epic has been extended to modern day forms of art such as film, novels, television and even video games. Many societies in the world have traditional stories that qualify as epic because of their characteristics. Among the Mali of West Africa, is a traditional poem called Sunjata or Sundiata. The poem tells the history of the Mali Empire. It is a story that is said to have originated in the 14th century in the present day Mali. It has Continue reading...

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most mysterious and remarkable writers of the 19th century, whose artistic heritage has always been readers’ and critics’ concern. Being a representative of the American Romanticism, Poe is also well known as an innovator of new genres of literature (detective-fiction and science fiction genres) and as successful practitioner of the short story. His literature style is considered to be macabre and anxious, and the theme of a death is presented in the most of his short stories, and every time it is inextricably linked with psychological conditions of the heroes. “The Masque Continue reading...

In the movie "Gladiator," Maximus goes through many different roles. Through it all, he remains a leader, although in different incarnations.
At the time of this quote, Maximus is ascending the ranks of gladiator fame. Still in the Zanzibar province, he slaughters his way through four other gladiators in casual fashion. To a man of Maximus' martial skill, honed in the Legions, the vaudevillian fight style of the gladiator is no challenge to his compact, efficient technique. At the end of the fight, in a show of disgust, Maximus hurls his gladius at the VIP box of the arena, Continue reading...

Brian K Vaughan’s hero in Ex-Machina, Mitchell Hundred, is a reimagined hero.

While the hero as a literary figure exists in a variety of literary contexts, comics are the literary medium where a hero feels most at home. Though comics can be written to explore any theme that can be explored in any branch of writing, comics are most commonly associated as having a hero. An example of the traditional archetype of the super-hero would be Superman or Batman. Comic scholar Christopher Gonzalez defines this as America’s idealization of the individual. (Gonzalez, 2011). He breaks the mold of the traditional hero. What is the political and social significance of this Continue reading...

Essay 2 Final Draft

The issue of gender roles is one of the central themes of this novel. All the main characters of the novel spend their whole lives trying to conform to the standards of masculinity and femininity expected of them by the society. The inability of the main character of the book to meet the expected stereotypical roles not only causes themit personal turmoil but also makes theirits social life miserable. They try tointo fit in the ascribed gender roles of their Dominican culture, but are simply incapable of doing that. However, the society does not understand their incapability and makes Continue reading...

Myths are stories that are aimed at providing justification to things people lacked understanding about. Other theories argue that myths are simply distorted explanations of real historical events. One such myth is Sunjata. Sunjata, a hero who founded the Mali Kingdom, is an African King whose story is characterized by supernatural elements ranging from his birth to his possession of beyond the ordinary strength. He is a champion of South Saharan epic Africans.
The people in these cultures believe that Sunjata, the hero of an African epic of community existing around the southern Sahara. The king referred to as Continue reading...

Euripides’s Heracles – Villain or a Hero?

Heracles is an ancient Greek tragedy and is the work of the Greek playwright Euripides. This tragedy explains the rage of the divinely persuaded insanity of the Greek hero Heracles that prompted him to slay his own wife and offspring. This work was authored around the 416 BCE or even earlier. Besides, this work of Euripides is one of the two extant plays written by him in relation to the family of Heracles. The first work was Heraclidae.
Heroes are always adored and the hero myth that was idealized by many famous authors like Joseph Campbell, among others, is Continue reading...

The word hero is usually applied to the individuals who are dedicated to make difference in their life, community and the world. Therefore, committing heroism through being a hero is viewed as a comprehensively valued characteristic. However, heroism is frequently viewed as a rare and inherent characteristic, and hence does not exhibit in many individuals. This heroism train is portrayed by the in A Separate Road and Paul’s Case. A Separate Road is an autobiography that represents the life of Richard Wright. The book explains the Richard Wright’s journey from innocence to experienced life, where he overcomes Continue reading...

There are but few authors in the plethora of Western literature that can rival Homer in his lasting impact on the craft of epic narrative. Both of his Odyssey and the Illiad are often attributed as the oldest surviving works of literature in the Western Greek alphabetic tradition (Powell xv). Along with Hesiod’s poems, they are also considered to be the oldest substantial pieces of writing in any kind. Almost nothing survives between these poems – which appear at the dawn of Greek alphabetic literacy – and the rich literary production of fifth-century Athens. Everything else is lost. Of course, Continue reading...

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English
Introduction to the Epic of Gilgamesh
Introduction – Authorship and publication details
Gilgamesh is a long narrative poem that is actually a Babylonian epic. The epic of Gilgamesh essentially focuses on a single hero as its primary theme and narrates the heroic acts of that particular hero. It is a work that can either be written text or an oral narration that was the main source of transition along significant cultural tales prior to the evolution of writing. This epic was translated into English by George Smith and was published for the first Continue reading...

The French emperor Napoleon has been viewed as both a hero and a tyrant depending on who is answering the question. Originally from Corsica, he used his political acumen and military strategy to eventually rule over France. Although under Napoleon France rose as a great power, it was his hunger for power and the desire to conquer the whole of Europe that ultimately lead to his downfall. Napoleon’s rise to power was dramatic n its own way. For a revolutionary, he was a hero as he brought an end to the monarchy and the Jacobin reign of terror. Continue reading...

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Ancient Hero Motifs
Mythology predominantly deals with the basic idea of battle, or the combat between good and evil. In this fundamental battle between good versus evil, many individuals are categorized based on their actions of either being the cause of evil or displaying bravery and bringing in good fortune to the common public. Greek mythology defines heroes as humans of either gender who hailed from the isolated past and are conferred with mystic capabilities and are also regarded to have descended from the eternal gods. Apart from this, the Greek mythology also Continue reading...

Heroism, which can be always observed in an American movie, depicts persons going beyond their powers, capabilities, and commands to achieve greatness on behalf a community, tribe, or group. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a real person who suffered through hurricane Katrina in many ways. Despite the suffering, he travels the city of New Orleans in his own canoe to rescue people and animals. As fate would have it sometimes, Zeitoun gets arrested and tortured without charges, representation, and a phone call, all because he was suspected as a terrorist. Through his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell Continue reading...

This short essay will prove that Lady Gaga, a most popular singer and entertainer, is indeed a hero based on several dimensions of being a hero. She is a modern day hero whose qualities and characteristics fulfill these dimensions and definitions.
Her Origins are Obscure and Mysterious Lady Gaga was born to non-entertainment based parents. As stated in the website of Entertainment Weekly, she was born in 1986 to parents who worked hard to reach their professional positions in life. Her mother worked in the telecommunications industry and her father used to be an Internet businessman. Both parents worked Continue reading...

Laius was the father of the infamous tyrant, Oedipus and the first husband to Jocasta. Because he broke arguably the most important custom in ancient times, the guest-host relationship, he was fated to be killed by his own offspring. His role in the story of Oedipus was described in pages 72 and 73 and it is a very interesting one for several reasons. He played a versatile character because not only is he the cause of all of Oedipus’ woes, but he was also a motif which often appeared in Greek tragedy, which is the “absent father.” Laius was Continue reading...