Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell; Is One of Them More Heroic Than the Other?

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Surname Instructor Course Date Compare and contrast the two main characters of Chariots of Fire, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell; is one of them more heroic than the other? Introduction : The Plot The film is about Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddel as they follow different paths to the Eighth Olympiad. Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) experiences anti-Semitic treatment from the staff members while at the University of Cambridge. He loves sports and enrols into the Gilbert and Sullivan Club and goes on to finish the Trinity Great Court run, a feat never accomplished before. He achieves a string of victories without defeat in various national athletic competitions. Although he remains focussed on athletics, he falls madly in love with a Gilbert and Sullivan girl named Sybil. Meanwhile, Eric Liddel (played by Ian Charleson), born to Scottish missionary parents in China is in Scotland. He intends to pursue competitive athletics (running) against the wishes of his mere persuasive sister Jennie (played by Cheryl Campbell). However, Liddel sees running as a means for glorifying God and plans to go to China to continue with missionary work. When they first encounter each other in a race, Liddell defeats Abrahams who takes it particularly badly. Abrahams seeks help from a professional trainer, Sam Mussabini (played by Ian Holm). Mussabini agrees to help Abrahams improve on his technique. This does not go well with Lindsay Anderson and John Gielgud, his Cambridge College masters. They argue that it is not “gentlemanly“ for an amateur to use the services of a professional coach. Abrahams, however, dismisses their concern seeing it as anti-Semitic and a sense of superiority based on class. When Liddell misses a church prayers because of his running, Jenny, his sister upbraids him and claims that he no longer cared for God. Eric defends himself by telling her that

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