...Sun Hwa Choi English 3 Thursday Evening Class Professor Humphrey Due May 21, 2015 Essay 4: Development of Heroes (+Hamlet) The Heroes of the Greek and Rome poetries share few common uniqueness. They are heroic in that they all sacrifice, they are all intelligent, they all have their own faith or luck, they are all remembered or also known as Kleos and they all wander and deal with many problems. We have read many of them in this course such as Odysseus, Oedipus, Aeneas, Achilles and Beowulf. Then there is the great Hamlet who is not one of the Greek Heroes but a character from a play by William Shakespeare. Today in this essay, I want to compare some of the Greek poetry characters with the Prince Hamlet. First of all, I want to talk about few similarities between Hamlet and one of the Greek poet characters we have learned from this course. In my opinion, the story of Hamlet itself can be very analogous to the story of the poetry Oedipus. Both of the story have a plague or a outbreak going on from the beginning of the story. In the Oedipus the King, it starts with the Plague of Thebes where then Oedipus start to take actions for his people. This is where he shows his heroic features being a great leader for his city and sacrificing himself to solve the problem. The play Hamlet also starts with an outbreak and there seems to be something strange. The play starts with, "who’s there?" (Act 1 scene 1 line 1) by one of the guards. The fact that the play starts out with a question...
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...Name Course Tutor Date Ancient Greek Heroes vs. Modern Heroes Introduction The word hero brings to mind different things to different people, since people tend to have different concepts of heroism. This is particularly the case with regard to the concept of heroes in ancient and modern societies. As times have changed, the definition of heroes has also changed, in keeping with the changes in the modern society. However, ancient and modern heroes do share some similarities, which act as the basis of heroism regardless of one’s perspective. In view of this, a hero can be described as a courageous person, who deliberately sets out to conquer obstacles for the benefit others or one who performs extra ordinary feats. The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast ancient Greek heroes with modern heroes, for the purpose of understanding both concepts of heroism. Differences There a few differences between modern and ancient Greek heroes, one of them being the religious background of the ancient Greek heroes. In Greek mythology, heroes were usually religious figures, specifically demigods. They were usually born from liaisons between mortal and immortal parents. These heroes were favored by the gods, hence were able to accomplish supernatural tasks, which were beyond the abilities of normal men. Hercules’ mother for instance was a mortal, while his father Zeus was a Greek god, who disguised himself as her husband. As a result, Hercules was a demigod, and was able to accomplish...
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...Christian Lescznske Professor Larkin ELIT2055-B 31 March 2014 The Hero’s Journey: Comparing and Contrasting Heroes Joseph Campbell was an American psychologist and mythological researcher. In his lifelong research, Campbell discovered many common patterns running through hero myths and stories from around the world. Years of research lead Campbell to discover several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through (no matter what culture the myth is a part of). He calls this common structure “the monomyth” (Hero’s Journey). The “hero’s journey” appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. It describes the typical adventure of The Hero, who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the family, group, tribe, or civilization. There are twelve steps, or stages, of the typical “Hero’s Journey”. The twelve steps are: The ordinary world, the call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the threshold, a test, the approach, the ordeal, the reward, the road back, the resurrection, and the return with the elixir, or reward. As I previously stated, Campbell’s monomyth works best with the traditional form of the quest such as in folk and fairy tales, myths, legends, and other fantasies. However, it can be applied to many different genres or types of stories. A quest does not have to include swords and monsters. It can just as easily occur in the real world. The monomyth is ageless and universal...
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...so proud of his honor and bravery that he didn’t recognize his violent temper and Iago’s mind tricks. Oedipus was so proud of his cleverness that he tried so hard to escape his own fate. With all that said, these were honestly just a couple of comparable traits between Oedipus and Othello. When looking for a great leader that would lead your city through anything and everything it is not hard to tell that both Oedipus and Othello could be those leaders. Both had great gifts in leadership. They stood up in what they believed in. Each held exceptional accomplishments and both possessed the ability to be an all-around leader. Othello was a respectable citizen who was usually known for his fighting or war success. He knew how and what the goal was to succeed. Not all leaders knew that. Oedipus was also somewhat the same. He, like Othello, was known for his fighting and war success, but two words always stood out when people of Thebes talked about Oedipus; intelligent and self-confident. That’s where his true pride came from. Confidence was his strong point. Nothing brought him down. He knew what was needed to be done and he got after it the best way he could possible. Both Oedipus as well as Othello hold similarities...
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...The key character in the poem Beowulf, is a heroic and a legendary character whose actions are embodied to the Anglo-Saxon culture. As a hero he has the accepted and the most ideal characteristics that are accepted in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The tale revolves around these characteristics to make up an epic tale. Beowulf is moulded to possess the virtues, traits and beliefs that were highly respected and requires in the Anglo-Saxon culture. Therefore, is displayed to have these virtues in his own actions and words during different circumstances in the tale. Reading Beowulf brings out lots of similarities with many pieces of literature from the Ancient Greek and the Modern literature. The Beowulf carries is similar to many Greek dramas that focused on a protagonist who was turned out to be a tragic hero. There was an element of belief in the gods who had super- human powers and had unique and ultimate special skills of their own, and overcame unsurmountable problems. However, in Beowulf, there is no Greek or Roman gods, but there are other supernatural beings defined as monsters that exist and are difficult to win over. Beowulf is extra-ordinarily strong, agile, and super intelligent. He is portrayed as one who overcomes many obstacles and was able to kill Grendel and his mother and the others in the sea. In addition, the wide character list and meaningful names is similar to those of other types of literature of the early eras. The story of Paradise lost opens in hell. Satan...
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...Mythology, one of the most famous stories – is the Trojan War, the fight between Troy and the Achaeans. Throughout the years, there have been numerous representations about this grand tale, from a beautiful amphora portraying Achilles and Ajax playing a board game, created around 500 B.C. (Arts) and the epic poem, Homer’s Iliad describes in great details the last few weeks of the war, written in 800 B.C. A more modern take on the war is the famous movie Troy with actors Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, released in 2004. Here we have three different mediums, an amphora, a long poem and a modern film, yet they all tell the tragic bloody tale of the Trojan War. I will discuss the overall theme that these three pieces share,...
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...The batman legend Aspects of mythology in batman legend: example of the dark knight trilogy There are a lot of differences and similarities between the heroes and gods of the Greek and romans myths and traditions compared to the superheroes and legends of the comic’s books and Hollywood movies. Scholars often conduct researches to define and analyze pieces of art to check its methodological features in terms of form and content. In this humble research we will try to shed the light on the aspects of mythology in batman as a superhero and a legend taking the dark knight trilogy as an example to examine how mythology is represented in this masterpiece by the brilliant director Christopher Nolan. The dark knight trilogy consists of 3 movies: batman begins (2005), the dark knight (2008) and the dark knight rises (2012). The three of them was directed by the filmmaker Christopher Nolan and were inspired from the batman character created by Bob Kane. ``Batman Begins`` movie was basically about the origin of the batman legend as a force of good in Gotham city. In the light of his parents tragic robbery murder (Bruce Wayne) took a journey around the globe looking for meaningful values and tools to fight injustice and criminals. He was taken in by a strange instructor called Ducard and taught him how to become a ninja in what is named the League of Shadows after that he came back to Gotham and uncover his masked crusader (Batman) in order to start fighting gangsters to end their...
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...first and best in a line of male protagonists on television that have been given the title “antihero.” However, this moniker hasn’t stopped fans from viewing Tony and his successors as they would normal heroes, supporting their decisions and sympathizing rather than condemning. Although the idea of an antihero is relatively new to television, the protagonist of questionable morals and heroism has been on the stage for quite some time. In Christopher Marlowe’s play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, the titular doctor is not presented as a particularly heroic man. The aspects we associate with heroism, chiefly voluntary service to others at the cost of personal sacrifice and potential harm, are not displayed by Faustus. Yet if we examine the history of dramatic tragedy as well as morality plays, we can get a better understanding of why Faustus indeed fits into the categorization of hero. While not necessarily a character that gains our initial support, Dr. Faustus is nonetheless the hero of the play. With a word like “tragical” in the title, it’s safe to say that Doctor Faustus isn’t a comedy. Yet comic elements are present throughout the play, so what makes this a tragedy? Aristotle attempted to set the boundaries for tragedy and the tragic hero in his Poetics. According to Aristotle, tragedy is dramatic imitation of man, as is comedy, but it imitates good...
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...“held the play together”. Also there would be a Chorus that would come into play when the tragedy would begin unfolding. The Greco-Roman variants were almost always tragedies. Be it Homer’s Iliad or Odessey. The hero after long travails always seemed to return to nothing and would come to grief. Achilles, Priam, Agamemnon, Oedipus, all came to grief. In the Greco-Roman tradition, it seems to be a common practice by the Bards and playwrights, to depict their heroes as strong and upright men who fell prey to either their fates or to the whims and fancies of jealous gods (the plight Medusa & Cassandra). It appears the Greeks and the Romans looked to tragic plays as a sort of vent for their pent up emotions. Not surprisingly, the Indian answers to Homer’s works are also tragedies in keeping with the ancient Indo-European custom. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are tragedies on an epic scale, where great wars are fought over matters of honor and virtue, and great armies decimated and cities sacked, and where great heroes come to naught. Sophocles takes us back to the times when Kings made their decisions based on oracles, and made propitiatory sacrifices. Sometimes even of their near and dear ones, as the sacrifice of a child, made by the Greeks at the outset of the Trojan war, for favorable winds. It was a period when the oracle of Delphi held sway. Even Alexander the great no less, visited Delphi and had the oracle predict his conquering of the world. Oedipus Rex (King...
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...Both Oedipus and Odysseus struggled with listening to others. Odysseus, during the beginning of his ten year journey back to Ithaca, was an immature and distracted leader. He blinded and taunted Poseidon's son, Polyphemus, an obvious disregard of obedience to the gods. Oedipus, during his investigation for the cause of the curse that has fallen upon his kingdom, calls upon the sage, Tiresias, trusting that he will provide answers. However, when Teiresias reveals that Oedipus is the reason that such an abhorrent curse has fallen upon the land, Oedipus flies into a rage spitting insults at Teiresias stating that he is frail of mind. Though there are these similarities between both greek parables they also differ. Odysseus later on is found waiting to hear the wisdom of Teiresias after making a respectable sacrifice. “Meanwhile I crouched under my drawn sword to keep the surging phantoms from the bloody pit till I know the presence of Teiresias.” (Homer, 678). Odysseus exhibits a great deal of respect towards Teiresias and clearly trusts his foresight and as a dutiful child Odysseus heeded Teiresias’ advice. In contrast, Oedipus did not improve at all but instead becomes more and more stubborn as seen when the Chorus pleads to Oedipus to trust his brother in law, Creon, that he was not the cause of the curse, “Listen to reason, my lord; I beg you, be guided by us.” (Sophocles, 27). This ability to...
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...Case Study- How Hollywood portrays Arabs An Overview of the portrayal Introduction Hollywood has for several decades, set an agenda as well played a propagandist role in showcasing the Arab world and the Middle East in general. This depiction has been greatly impacted by several major political events from the last few decades to a century. Political events such as the creation of the State of Israel, the revolution of the Islamic State of Iran, and the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in the United States have gone a long way to influence Hollywood’s portrayal of Arabs, very often in stereotypical and negative facets. Issues concerning the Middle East have been omnipresent in American society for several decades. There is daily news coverage of Arabs and the Middle East in all forms of media in the United States, including on television and in movies. Hollywood, for many years has depicted Arabs in stereotypical images, villain roles opposite American heroes who tend to save the day. Since the early days of Hollywood, Arabs and Muslims have been depicted overwhelmingly as villains, barbaric, inept, sinister, and incompetent and cowards. How and Why have Arabs been vilified in Hollywood? Ronald Adler and Russell Proctor II, assert that stereotyping can have a harmful effect on interracial communication, hindering professional and personal relationships (86). They also explain that “stereotyping does not always arise from bad intentions…in...
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...“It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?”(M. Montgomery, 15). Anne of Green Gables written by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a novel which focuses on the theme of conflict between imagination and social expectations. Montgomery represents her passionate sense of creativity and imagination through the unique yet queer character of Anne Shirley whom is present in a series of her novels. Montgomery develops this character in her written work by making many connections and similarities relative to significant memories of her own childhood. As a Canadian author, Montgomery uses a variety of Canadian landmarks in her writing which contributed greatly to Canadian literature. It has also been recognized that a wide collection of writing devices are used within the author’s work to enhance the development of the novel. The theme of this novel presents significance to the character of Anne whom continuously struggles to subside her unique imagination and submit to social expectations. There are endless examples within Anne of Green Gables that demonstrate the similarities between herself and the beloved character of Anne. To conclude, the character of Anne Shirley is merely a reflection of Montgomery herself. A Canadian with roots in Scotland, Lucy M. Montgomery was a regional romantic novelist best known for Anne of Green Gables (1908)( Castriota, Lucy). Montgomery was born in 1874 in PEI where she was raised by her maternal grandparents after her mother passed away due...
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...radically different types of leadership. Hector is considered the tragic hero of the poem; he is both the devoted family man and the patriotic champion of Troy. Agamemnon is the cruel, harsh commander-in-chief of Achaeans, driven by self-gratification and greed. However, as drastically different as the two leaders are, they also share certain similarities. Both are fundamentally human and have their own unique flaws and admirable characteristics that coalesce to influence their individual styles of leadership. Hector motivates his army with promises of glory and loot, while Agamemnon uses ridicule and humiliation to motivate his army. When Hector needs a spy to learn if the exhausted Achaeans are still guarding their ships, he begins with promises of glory and material objects. He offers “a chariot, two horses with strong necks, the best of the breeds beside Achaea’s fast ships”, with the alluring promise of “what glory (the spy) can win” (286). Instead of selecting a spy through intimidation or goading, Hector appeals to his warriors’ desire for glory and luxury. Glory, or kleos, is one of the most sought after ideals in both the Achaean and Trojan armies, and Hector knows this. By appealing to these desires, Hector motivates his warriors, hoping to spur them on to greater valor and successes. Agamemnon, on the other hand, uses shame and humiliation to rally his army. When battle breaks out after the duel between Menelaus and Paris, Agamemnon uses shame and mockery as motivational...
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...of paying college athletes. Are athletics so important that colleges need to put out millions of dollars per year just to pay for students to play for them? Paying college athletes is like throwing a lit match into a haystack: once the fire is started, it just keeps burning, making a bad situation worse. There are several differences between the haystack and paying athletes. To start, throwing a needle in a haystack is a totally negative concept; everything will burn. However, with paying college athletes, some people can find reasons why this could be a positive thing. For instance, some believe paying athletes will bring more competition to the table and make some colleges much more prestigious than others. Others say this will bring in more money and more revenue. A second difference is the end of the situation. At the end of the fire, there is smoke and it will eventually put itself out. However, this is an issue that cannot extinguish itself. No matter what the verdict, someone is going to be unhappy and the "fire" will keep burning. [pic]Despite these differences there are many similarities between the two. One similarity is the haystack going up in flames and the whole educational system going up. If we pay our college athletes the focus will be more on the money than on learning. College is supposed to prepare a student for life's work through learning, not be life's work. College sports will also become more like professional sports- all about the money...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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