In the novel, Beowulf, the main character is the epitome of an epic hero. He has great strength, he is morally sound, and, for the most part, he thinks of others before he thinks of himself. Beowulf comes to the Geats’ aid when an evil monster named Grendel terrorizes their mead hall. He courageously defeats the monster and defeats the monster’s vengeful mother. Through these battles, Beowulf’s strength, humbleness and courageousness is revealed.
Receiving praise from a king is of such honour and prestige that few are worthy, and yet Macbeth is one of the select few who have the honour. It is learnt that Macbeth single-handedly defeated the invading enemy; Macbeth ‘confronted him with self-comparisons, point against point...the victory fell on us!’ as described by Ross, a fellow soldier. This shows that Macbeth is a man of great courage, passion and that he has the audacity to face the enemy without fear, armed only with a sword and his love for his king and country. So it is that before Macbeth appears on stage, the audience anticipates a man of exceptional stature, a soldier of heroic proportion. His words, ‘so foul a fair a day I have not seen’ announce his presence and entrance with powerful simplicity.
Antigone is more heroic than Creon, she takes risks and she is brave. When her own blood brother is sentenced to eternal suffering by being denied a burial, Antigone decides to break the law and risk her own life for her brother; “But I will bury him; and if I must die” (1.55) said Antigone, all for the sake of Polynesis’s eternal rest. Creon, on the other hand has no heroic traits apart from wanting the best for the people; he humiliates Antigone and her sister in public. This value and importance Creon has for the people’s opinion is destroyed when the people protest Antigone’s death, and he does not decide to follow what the people believe. Gentlemen, I beg you to observe these girls: One has just now lost her mind; the other, It seems has never had a mind at all (1.150) said Creon.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the main characters, Gawain, goes against the typical qualities of a hero. Heroes are stereotypically thought of as brave strong men who fight for their stance on a presented issue and also save the day by their actions. However, Gawain goes against this stereotype by making the poem feel like a lighthearted comedy about heroism as he faces hardships. In addition, another character that faces challenges as a hero of modern world is Shrek. Unlike the difficulties Gawain faced, Shrek has managed gaining his house back and fighting for the woman he falls for.
He is very angry and sentences Antigone to death. Ismene asks to be executed along with her sister. But Antigone doesn't want her by her side. She insists that she alone buried the brother, so she alone will receive punishment and possible reward from the gods. As if things weren't complicated enough, Antigone has a boyfriend: Haemon, the son of Creon.
Essentially, they are both great mean who have a position in society but each has a fatal flaw. Macbeth’s fatal flaw is ambition and Jekyll’s fatal flaw is professional vanity. Shakespeare presents Macbeth’s sense of evil through soliloquy and imagery, and Stephenson presents Jekyll’s evil through different types of narrative non-linear, third person, first person narrative and imagery. At the start of the play the tragic hero Macbeth is portrayed as loyal to the King and a brave solider. Macbeth is portrayed as a "good being" because he fought for his country and for his king.
Some may see Hrothgar as a coward; he really cares deeply for the welfare of his people, a quality that is admired by many. Grendel as a character portrays the dark and evil side of human nature and people, something we can all relate to. Grendel causes much death, destruction and grief, with his blood-thirsty rampages on the town of Herot. “So mankind’s enemy continued his crimes, killing as often as he could, coming alone, bloodthirsty and horrible.” It is interesting to note that even though he represented evil the poem says that; “he never dared to touch King Hrothgar’s
He spent countless days, even years, doing everything he could to hide the affair from the town and his congregation, in order to maintain his power and elite status within the community. By burying his sins deeper and deeper within his heart, Dimmesdale only made the guilt and regret that oppressed his mind stronger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne used the metaphor of a prison to represent the mental effects of Dimmesdale’s sins isolating him from the world and ultimately driving him insane. He chose the prison as a symbol because many criminals go insane within their jail cell due to the constant isolation that forces them to become trapped within their own mind and heart, where they are left to face the constant guilt and regret from their sins. Hawthorne brilliantly expounded upon this metaphor and symbol in relation to Dimmesdale’s life when he wrote, “...the wooden jail was already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and gloomy front”(Hawthorne 45).
Brooks contrasts a strong feminist theme and positions us to see their heroic gestures to the weaknesses of men as the villagers are faced with great tragedies. Joss Bont is one of the villains of the plague year. Brooks positions us to see that Joss views the tragedy merely as an opportunity, and his extreme greed and insensitivity know no bounds. His exploitation of the dying and their families makes us see that Anna is glad she no longer shares a last name with him. When Bont adds attempted murder to his other crimes, the demoralized village finally calls him to account.
From the short story "Spanish Roulette" by Ed Vega the poet Sixto vows revenge against a local gang member who raped his sister and battles with himself to make the right choice. Although revenge may be the momentary satisfaction in times of despair, no man extracts revenge for the sake of evil, without the intent of profiting from it, and will be punished for it, regardless of reason, in this life or the next. The theme of these stories is the ability to let go of ones hate, to allow themselves the chance to heal without making the dreaded mistake of taking revenge which will ultimately destroy themselves. The message is clear through all three texts that revenge achieves nothing but gambles everything worth losing for the momentary satisfaction of vengeance. Although the three texts go about different ways, reasons, and potential gain by exacting revenge it is very clear through each story that it is never the best answer.