In Linda Seger’s essay “Creating the Myth”, she states that “we identify with the heroes because we were once heroic (descriptive) or because we wish we could do what the hero does (prescriptive)” (317). We try to compare ourselves and our lives with the heroes in movies. On occasion, we get a sense of comfort from these heroes. Things can turn out well, even if it seems all is lost. In the movie Finding Nemo, Marlin’s journey to rescue his son will be an emotional challenge.
The Hobbit - Romantic Elements Romance is often misinterpreted as a genre that limits itself to emotional and physical relationships between two people. Whether it is Greek Mythology or present day love, romance always involve a female character. In "The Hobbit", however, the author J.R.R Tolkien prevents himself from following the typical romance depicted in the phases of heroic journey. Instead, he focuses on materialistic love to reveal the hero's character. Tolkien depicts the hero, Bilbo Baggins, going through a emotional breakdown as he departs from his home.
Bader explains how there are different aspects that make up heroes. Heroes have bravery, imaginations, they battle for what they believe in, and they triumph over obstacles (784). Bader gives the reader examples of heroes who possess these qualities. Nelson Mandela represents bravery, Shakespeare with his imagination, Martin Luther King, Jr. battled for what he believed in, and Moses triumphed over his speech problem (784). These qualities turned ordinary people into what society considers heroes.
The Role of a Hero in Epic Literature In order to analyze the function of something, one must first seek to know what it is. A hero is defined as a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. So, in essence, a hero’s role, first and foremost, is to fulfill dauntless tasks in order to achieve an illustrious status. However, the pragmatics behind the subject do not allow for such a simple answer. An epic is more or less a story that has been considerably exaggerated to the extent that, in some cases, gods that possess the ability to manipulate the laws under which the natural world operates interfere and pose such a threat, that the security of everything we know is at stake.
Is Heathcliff Really a Romantic Character? Although it embodies the features of Romanticism, Gothic novel and Realism, at first glance Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” of course seems to be a purely Romantic piece of literature. Uncontrollable passions and wild heroes, mysteries and sufferings, “demonic” characters make the reader view it in the light of Romanticism. Moreover, this understanding is sometimes followed by the interpretation of Heathcliff as a Romantic character, even “Byronic hero”! This point of view seems rather disputable, especially if you imagine Heathcliff how he was in the end of the book – old, vindictive, cruel and detestable.
Being a war-opponent and social activist, Howard Zinn’s most likely intention in writing “Unsung Heroes” was to educate people about the mistakes (and deliberate lies) that are, in his opinion, very common in the perception of American history. Also, he likely wanted to direct attention towards the un-credited but “true” heroes who may not be shining enough to fit the common definition of a hero, but who have made meaningful contributions and therefore deserve to be remembered. In any case, they are people who are not responsible for killings of native Americans or the suppressing of minorities. Despite the popularity of Zinn’s views and of “A Peoples History of the United States”, there is an opinion that Zinn is overly pessimistic in his interpretation of the past. Further, some people complain, as he states himself, that they feel “thoroughly alienated and depressed” after reading the book.
Additionally, as pointed out by Miroslav Marcovich in the article “From Ishtar to Aphrodite,” many of the Deities within Gilgamesh share startling similarities with their accidental counterparts within The Iliad. Both epics also contain heroes who have more in common with the Gods than with ordinary mortals, and who act more out of self-interest or in the pursuit of glory and fame than for the good of humankind. Despite their self-centered personas, the heroes of each epic nonetheless hold camaraderie and friendship close to their hearts, and each epic’s central character takes his strongest actions in response to the death of his closest friend. Finally, as discussed by Scott Pollard in his article “Lyrical culture: rethinking Western literature after reading 'The Book of Songs',” grief, pity, and forgiveness take central roles within each epic,
The fiction based stories may be based off of an old lies tale, or possibly even an epic. The language used in the book will not be the same as the language used in the epic, but the characteristics and qualities of the epic will be in the book. For example, the Harry Potter series. This series is primarily fiction based but the epic qualities are there. There is a hero, their nemesis/ rival, a lesson to learn, and love and loss along the way.
Pechorin represents the Byronic Hero. Identity in ‘A Hero of Our Time’ In Lermontov’s novel ‘A hero of our time’, the character of Pechorin in many respects is the embodiment of the Byronic hero and is often represented as the prototype of a superfluous man. He is possessed of extreme arrogance, yet has a deep insight into his own character and epitomizes the melancholy of the romantic hero who broods on the futility of existence and the inevitability of death. Although his existence throughout the novel tends to be interpreted as superfluity much of his actions reflect self-destructive intentions and therefore would show him to be more of a Byronic figure than a superfluous man. Throughout the narrative it becomes apparent that Lermontov’s depiction of Heroism is demonstrated more through Pechorin’s physical actions rather than heroism in an altruistic sense.
“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Paper The Romantic, Realistic/Naturalistic, and Transcendental movements have had major influence on the works of some writers because of their beliefs in the goodness of both man and nature and how organized religion and political parties ultimately corrupt the purity of the individual. Amongst many of the writers whose artworks were influenced by these movements was Mark Twain. In his novel “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the ideas and beliefs of these movements were put into play throughout the novel; especially through the characters. The most obvious example of Romanticism in the novel was Tom Sawyer. This character bases most of his life and actions on adventure novels.