Unlike the difficulties Gawain faced, Shrek has managed gaining his house back and fighting for the woman he falls for. All in all, as a hero, Gawain’s greatest challenge is himself as he fears death; this goes hand and hand with Shrek’s greatest challenge, as he believes that his love will never want him. Traditionally, heroes are portrayed as courageous and even perfect human beings. First as a hero, Gawain is faced with the challenge of the Green Knight. As the Green Knight comes to King Arthur’s court, he causes a scene, which then invites everyone to "give a blow and take a blow".
An example of this is his lack of any legitimate reasons for killing King Duncan and obtaining the throne except for his own ambition and greed to become king. The prophecies that Macbeth receives from the witches seem so true that he relies on the words of these predictions alone, instead of taking action himself to secure the works of the prophecies. Macbeth let his ambition blind him; as did the ruler in “Ozymandias”. Another consequence of ambition is loneliness. Ozymandias and Macbeth had so much ambition that they put themselves above all of their peers and former supporters.
People who dwell on their deficits may envy and resent others who have more than they do. Some people who are unable to overcome social shortcoming fantasize about obtaining any means, good or bad, to satisfy every need and greed. Prevention of these instances is essential to living in a life filled with satisfaction and peace, away from evil. Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers or skills they are graced with. For the Villain with a smiling cheek says he is strong but he is truly week.
(1.3.71)” Banquo also doubts the intension of the witches, he believes that evil always tells one part of the truth in order to earn one’s trust and lead him to destruction. Banquo warns Macbeth, ”But ‘tis strange./And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,/ the instruments of darkness tell us truths,/win us with honest trifles, to betray’s/In deepest consequence. (1.3.124-128)” On the other hand, Macbeth ignored his friends warning and believes in what the witches say. He is over whelmed by his ambition to be king, he said to himself,”Glamis, and the thane of Cawfor!/The greatest is behind. (1.3.118-119).””Two truths are told/,as happy prologues to the swelling act/of the imperial theme.
Frodo is doing everything to protect his friends because to him the shire is the one place of protection. Outside the shire it might not be safe for him. Sauron had forgotten about the Hobbits until now but since he found out about Frodo and the ring he is going to enslave them if he makes it to the ring and the Shire. Frodo possesses all of the characteristics of an epic hero because he is also an unlikely hero. “‘I cannot keep the Ring and stay here, I ought to leave Bag End, leave the shire, leave everything and go away.’”(Tolkien 61) This shows how much Frodo cares about the shire and the hobbits.
Later, he describes himself as "Deformed, unfinished, sent before his time into this breathing world, scarce half made up." The deformity, which has been shown to have been exaggerated or even deliberately faked in portraits of Richard III, is given as the source of his evil ways. He says that as he "cannot prove a lover" he is "determined to be a villain." While everybody makes fun of Richard, and thinks that he is not able to achieve anything, he shows everyone that even though he is handicapped, he can achieve the highest power, to be King. Richard overcompensates his inferiority.
Both characters seem to constantly blame each other, and try to undermine each other to destroy their evils, but this is impossible as the two are part of a singular identity and need each other. No matter how much they try to convince themselves that their counterpart is a great barrier to their happiness, they are unable to even survive let alone be happy without each other. Their doppelganger relationship is comparable to that of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson in which the two main characters, Jekyll and Hyde, are alter egos of each other, representing the conflict between good and evil within their singular identity. Frankenstein and Jekyll both battle with their identity, and face immense psychological turmoil as a result of their doppelgangers. Both these stories focus on the dualistic nature of man, and the idea that one cannot repress a part of one’s identity
The unsuspecting reader does not enter a magical childlike land, but he progressively masters the art of manipulation. In the midst of this imaginary universe that abounds with mythical symbols, supernatural creatures and anthropomorphized animals, an abominable rule stands as fundamental principle: not to be manipulated, but to manipulate. For example, Clever Grethel deceives both the guest and her master and distorts the appearances in order to hide her gluttony. In “The Raven” the cavalier does not only trick three men to rescue the princess, but treats them condescendingly “Now you good-for-nothing fellows, you have got what you deserve”(page 31). Moreover, there is no mercy for the gullible characters.
Here we could say that he becomes an ‘unhappy victim’ of his own crime, as he is heading toward his ultimate downfall. ‘ One of the key themes of this story, good versus evil, is represented through the existence of Hyde, Jekyll himself, only having transformed his body into something deformed. ‘left an imprint of deformity’ The name ‘Hyde’ itself is a metaphor for this struggle to disguise and remain unseen. However, Hyde is not a monster. He is rather a brutish dwarf, with an inferior social status and younger thank Jekyll – this itself it a great advantage as he can he get away with his actions.
The Subject of Order vs Chaos is somewhat of a cliche topic found in everything. It can be compared to good vs evil. Ralph represents the good in the world and Jack represents evil. With this topic, Golding describes the idea that all humans are inherently evil, by portraying evil actions done by Jack and his followers. Chaos and savagery come as a result of men trying to find pleasure without making sacrifices.