...Helen Keller: A True American Hero What makes a hero? A hero represents the values of a society and is seen as a savior figure who conquers evil and helps people. Helen Keller, a woman who worked hard for the benefit of others and inspired people all around the world despite being blind and deaf since nineteen months old, fits this exact definition. Helen Keller is an example of a hero because she overcame numerous challenges and made great contributions that impacted the lives of many people. Helen Keller showed qualities of a hero as she overcame numerous obstacles and achieved great success. In her early years, communication seemed impossible for young Helen. She would often throw tantrums in a struggle to make people understand her. But her teacher Anne Sullivan did not give up. With her help, Helen made great progress in communication, including grasping the concept of “finger spelling” and mastering the alphabet. She began to express her thoughts to people, like her parents and teacher, which changed her into a more independent human being (“Helen Keller Biography” 2). Being blind and deaf did not shatter Helen’s determination to attend college. In 1900, Helen entered Radcliffe College, where she became proficient in Braille and even learned to speak. She graduated with honors at age 24, which made her the first deaf and blind person to earn a college degree. Although Helen experienced prevailing prejudice the society had against the disabled, she did not let...
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...1900 olympics and you are cheering on the men’s sailing team. All of a sudden you realize that one one the crew members is a woman. You start to feel a great sense of pride and cheer on even louder. Helen Barbey was that woman. She was the one who stepped up and took the place of a man on the sailing team. Helen Barbey, and later known as Hélène de Pourtalès, was born on April 28, 1868 in New York City and passed away on November 2, 1945 in Geneva Switzerland. She married a man named Hermann de Pourtalès and had three daughters. She had a passion for sailing when she was young and later filled in for a man in a sailing team for the 1900 olympics. Helen Barbey stands as a hero because she inspired other women and girls, broke many stereotypes, and proved to be very capable....
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...them and now they were left with nothing. Forced into mediocrity these special people were restricted from hero work and their previous exciting and amazing lives. Most longed for this back, but they were stuck in an endless struggle between their dreams and reality. The Parr family was especially affected by this. Robert Parr was a gifted person and was known as Mr. Incredible back in the day....
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...Character types in Schindlers list: Oskar Schindler: Oskar Schindler, war profiteer, womanizer, and Nazi Party member, becomes the unlikely hero and savior of about 1,100 Polish Jews during the Holocaust. He is essentially a con artist and moderately successful businessman who recognizes the potential for profit in wartime. He buys a formerly Jewish-owned enamelware factory and uses bribery and ingratiation to procure military contracts to make war supplies. At the beginning of his quest to become rich, he is indifferent to the Jewish situation, which he sees as merely an unfortunate result of war. A playboy with a large ego, Schindler routinely cheats on his wife and joins the Nazi Party not for ideological reasons but because it will help him make more money. Although he purchases the factory after it has been confiscated from Jewish owners and is given an apartment appropriated from wealthy Jews, Schindler feels no remorse and does not consider the origins of his good fortune. Schindler, initially concerned only with himself and the success of his moneymaking scheme, undergoes a change that prompts him to spend his fortune to save the lives of those he once exploited. His motive is never completely clear—and indeed, the real Schindler never revealed his motivations. However, the film does suggest that at least one of his incentives was obvious: Schindler simply could not sit by and watch people he knew be sent to death. His metamorphosis from a man of indifference to one...
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...physically and intellectually.Throughout the Iliad, women play a modest but important role that embodies their relative significance and the impact they have on the affairs that take place. INTRODUCTION Different types of women are represented in the epic poem The Iliad: strong-willed andshrewd women, damsel-in-distress types, wicked and vengeful women, or even women who cause the downfall of the protagonist male hero. Moreover, there are also women depicted as possessions (war prizes) or women who have little or no control over her destiny. The epic poem, generally regarded as “a male-dominated world” focuses centrally on the rage between men but it also happen that most of the time this rage is affected, initiated, and inspired by a woman. HELEN OF TROY The most celebrated woman figure in the poem is probably Helen of Troy. Helen attracted men from afar and also close to home who saw her as a means to the Spartan throne. Her first mate was Theseus, hero of Athens, who had kidnapped her when she was a little girl. Then later in the story Menelaus married her. Helen of Troy in the Illiad was the main cause to the entire war fought between the trojans and the greeks. She basically had two men fighting over her and thats when everything began...
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...in culture and the arts,” we will discuss the 2004 version of Achilles as shown by the movie Troy. Most of you will remember the Hollywood block buster for its start studded cast of Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom, but are you aware that this story is almost three thousand years old? The story of Achilles as a Trojan War hero is chronicled in The Iliad and is estimated to have been written Homer around 700 B.C.E. I’d like to spend the next hour or so discussing what the film version has in common with the ancient story as well as those sections that may have been altered to make the film more exciting. We will discuss this historical timeline behind Achilles’ entrance into the Trojan War, his perceived “invulnerability,” and the two phases of his involvement in the final battles. Much like Homer’s Iliad, the film is focuses on the hero Achilles of the Trojan War, but each story has a slightly different time span. The Trojan War was started over the abduction of Helen (of Sparta) wife to Menelaus, brother of the Mycenaean king, Agamemnon. Paris the youngest prince of Troy visits Sparta, seduces Helen, and sets sail for Troy with Helen at his side. According to the myths of Achilles’ life it wasn’t until the Trojan War started that Achilles’ mother, Thetis, received a prophecy that revealed Achilles would die at Troy and as a result attempted to hide Achilles from the war. The myth portrays him as approximately nine or ten years old when his mother sends him to...
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...The Olympians Zeus - Roman name: Jupiter or Jove. The sky-god Zeus rules Mount Olympus. His weapon is the thunderbolt, and his bird is the eagle. The central figure of the myths, Zeus epitomizes their complexity. At times he is divine and represents a pure, eternal sense of justice; at other times, he is capricious and cruel. Hera - Roman name: Juno. Zeus’s wife and sister, Hera is a very powerful goddess known mostly for her jealousy. She is often vicious and spiteful, and it is usually Zeus’s infidelity that incites her. Many unfortunate mortals endure hardships by provoking Hera’s wrath. Poseidon - Roman name: Neptune. The god of the sea, Poseidon is Zeus’s brother and second only to him in power. Poseidon holds a decade-long grudge against Odysseus. The often cruel and unpredictable violence of the seas is assumed to be a result of his anger. Hades - Roman name: Pluto. The brother of Zeus and Poseidon, Hades rules the underworld, the realm of the dead, with his wife, Persephone. Pallas Athena - Roman name: Minerva. Usually just called Athena, this goddess emerges from Zeus’s head fully-grown and armed. Associated with war, cleverness, and wit, it is no surprise that she favors Odysseus. Athena is the goddess of Wisdom, Reason, and Purity and is chaste, like Artemis and Hestia. Phoebus Apollo - Usually just called Apollo. A son of Zeus and Leto and Artemis’s twin, he is the god of Light and Truth, the master of Poetry and Music, and the god of Archery. His Oracle...
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...January 23, 2013 Story map of troy Setting: Troy was a city encircled by high walls impregnable.The top of the walls had ramparts from where it was easy to thwart invasions.Troy was an island approachable by sea only.The stretch of sand between the wall and sea was the only place where invaders could land which made defending Troy from the ramparts easy. Characters: Iris Daughter of Thaumas who helped both sides during the Trojan war equally. Helped Hector find war plans of the Greeks and helped Achilles enter a temple. Ithaca This is home to the mythological hero Odysseus and is located in the Ionian sea in Greece Laocoon In Greek and Roman mythology, he was a seer and priest of the god Apollo in the ancient city of Troy. He played a notable role in the last days of the Trojan War; he and his twin sons, Antiphas and Thymbraeus were killed by a giant sea serpent. Menelaus king of Sparta and husband of Helen, the woman who caused the Trojan War. Mycenae In Greek legend, Agamemnon, leader of the combined Greek forces, was king of this place during the Trojan War. Myrmidons They are very brave and skilled warriors commanded by Achilles Nestor He was an Argonaut, helped fight the centaurs, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. He and his sons, Antilochus and Thrasymedes, fought on the side of the Achaeans in the Trojan War Odysseus He was one of the most influential Greek champions during the Trojan War. When Agamemnon, to test the morale of the Achaeans, announced...
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...1. Both Helen and Menelaus described Odysseus was a courageous and impressive hero. Additionally, they refer to him as a wondrous person who can achieve (and already has achieved) extraordinary feats. When Helen described Odysseus, she told Telemachus how Odysseus disguised himself as a poor slave to hoodwink the Trojans. "He had, first, given himself an outrageous beating and thrown some rags on–like a household slave–then slipped into that city of wide lanes among his enemies." (pg. 60) Odysseus had done this to blend in with the other townsfolk. He also had heard about the Trojans' plans, so when he learned those plans, he was cunning enough to overthrow their plans. Similarly, when Menelaus described Odysseus, he said Odysseus was...
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...Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus: Knowledge is Powerful or Fatal Everyone has heard of the old saying, “knowledge is power” which is true in some cases. There is some knowledge that should not be obtained. This is known as the forbidden knowledge. It is described as books or any other information that is restricted. Christopher Marlowe’s, “Dr. Faustus,” is a prime example of taken forbidden knowledge. There is a reason why this knowledge is forbidden. The consequences of using the knowledge are usually fatal. Nothing good comes out of it. Throughout the drama of “Dr. Faustus,” the main character experiences his rise with the forbidden knowledge but this hero also is lead to a fatal damnation because of the journey he chooses. Faustus plan to learn the power of black magic also known as the forbidden knowledge leads the tragic hero to his path of corruption and soon to be damnation to hell. The decision for Faustus is merely based on Faustus own character flaw of pride. “Considers logic…but notes that disputing well seems to be the only good of logic…considers medicine…he has achieved great renown as a doctor already…considers law…but dismisses law Greenlee 2 as to petty…religion and theology seems to offer wider vistas and finds the Bible’s assertion ‘the reward of sin is death’ and unacceptable doctrine (sparknotes). After dismissing all these studies, he choose magic because he believe that this is a “world of profit and delight/ of power, of honor, and omnipotence,/ is...
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...When people are determined, they can overcome anything.” The determination of these people is what makes them different from everybody else. They go on to accomplish and achieve greater things in life and have people look up to them. Heroism involves helping others, showing determination, but they may not always get recognized for their deed. Heroes lend a helping hand to others, even if it’s not a life threatening situation. For example, Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, wanted to help all the other struggling slaves in the plantations. In his autobiography he says, “ I have been engaged in pleading the cause of my brethren-with what success, and with what devotion, I leave those acquainted with my labors to decide.” This quote describes how Douglass wants to defend all of the other slaves and and leaves anyone else who is also an abolitionist to help him up to them. Secondly, there are many unrecognized people who also help others, even though many people wouldn’t think of them as a hero such as scientists who are working hard to find cures for cancer and other diseases. Many people would think otherwise because they get paid for it, but they also were the ones who chose the profession. Overall, being...
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...Hermes, who led them to Paris, who was a prince of Troy. The three goddesses appeared naked to Paris, but he was still unable to judge them. Then they tried to influence him by offering him bribes; Hera offered him control of Asia Minor (Anatolia) and political power, Athena offered him the abilities of the greatest warriors, skill in battle and wisdom, while Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta (who came to be known as Helen of Troy when she eloped with Prince Paris). Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, not knowing that Helen was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Top Elopement of Paris and Helen Source: Francesco Primaticcio (artist), via Wikimedia Commons (PD) As part of a Trojan delegation to Sparta, Paris encountered and seduced Helen. She fell in love with him after being shot by a golden arrow from Eros (Greek equivalent of Cupid), Aphrodite's son. At that time, Menelaus had left for Crete to attend his uncle's funeral. When the Trojan delegation left, Paris and Helen eloped. Menelaus was furious upon discovering his wife's infidelity, and asked...
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... Mrs. Lilibeth Vargas (Subject teacher) Trojan War . In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, after Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, gave them a golden apple, sometimes known as the Apple of Discord, marked "for the fairest". Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris, who judged that Aphrodite, as the "fairest", should receive the apple. In exchange, Aphrodite made Helen, the most beautiful of all women and wife of Menelaus, fall in love with Paris, who took her to Troy. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and the brother of Helen's husband Menelaus, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris'...
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...WHAT WAS THE TROJNA WAR? In the middle of the 13th century a. C., Troy, flourishing city of Asia Minor, in present Turkey, was ravaged by a coalition of people from Greece. The Trojan War is a fundamental mythical episode that confronted for the first time to Europe and Asia. For the Greeks, it meant the first time aware of its unity as a people, despite their political disintegration. The Trojan war lasted nearly 10 years. It says in the first chapter of the Iliad that the war was already 9 years old and that many of the ships had problems from rotten ropes and wood and the like. The war starts because Paris, a Trojan prince, "steals" Helen (they feel in love) and whisks her back to Troy. Her husband is a real tough character and is the King of Sparta. Worse yet, his brother is even tougher character and is the King of Mycenae (the richest city) and also the head of all the Greek city states when it came to matters of war. Agamemnon (the brother) and Menelaus convince and bully all the Greek city states into joining with them for the war. A thousand ships are sent. Despite the extreme force, the Trojans are doing very well at holding the Greeks off. Hector, another Trojan prince, is very good at war. The walls are huge and strong. All the Greeks manage to do in 9 long years is to rape and pillage nearby small towns. Troy still stands. The Iliad starts with an argument between Agamemnon (top guy) and Achilles (best fighter) and ends, 24 days later, with Achilles killing...
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...The pride, rage, and ego of both Agamemnon and Achilles is so much they can never make an agreement and are continually arguing. They both believe they are better than the other, and always seem to find something to conflict about. The rivalry between Agamemnon and Achilles affects the conduct of the Trojan war because they make the war longer, they cause the killing of other men, and them hating each other causes more conflicts than the original reason the war even started. Agamemnon and Achilles make the war last longer than it was supposed to and they’re one of the reasons it took 10 years for someone to actually win. Achilles and Agamemnon make the war go longer because they were always arguing whether it was about women, who they were...
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