Oprah Winfrey, famous talk show host and philanthropist, can be considered a hero by any standards. Her life is an almost perfect representation of the mythological hero archetype. Commonalities include; overcoming extreme obstacles through her rise from a rough childhood, early recognition of talents in her career and an accomplishment of great deeds through her work as a philanthropist. Oprah is an inspiration to young women everywhere, proving that anything is possible. She will be remembered as a great social hero of our time.
Oprah was born in a small, rural town in Mississippi to an unwed teenage mother. Even though her birth was not miraculous like that of other heros, she made up for it in her early years of life with an abundance of charisma and personality. She was so poor at one point she had to wear potato sacks as clothes and was made fun of by her classmates. Oprah faced other hardships early on, including sexual assault by close family members and a pregnancy at the age of fourteen, of which her son died shortly after birth. She was forced to move towns often, living with her mother, grandmother and father at different times throughout her childhood. This did not affect her obviously natural social abilities. She was nicknamed “The Preacher” for her ability to recite bible verses and was often found interviewing her dolls for fun. At the age of seventeen, Oprah won an oratory contest that granted her a full scholarship to Tennessee State University where she majored in communication. She experienced an early recognition of her talents much like many other heros. This was the start of a booming career for her.
Despite Oprah’s rough upbringing, she retained an outgoing and empathetic personality that made her a perf...
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...ion. It is estimated that her public support for Obama landed him up to 1.6 million votes. Oprah is also one of the few heroes that has been widely recognized during her lifetime, rather than after her death, as happens so often in mythology. Her positive influence cannot be denied even by the most critical.
In conclusion, Oprah Winfrey is an excellent representation of the hero archetype in mythology. Her rise from early hardships, quick success in her career and amazing global philanthropy work secures her a spot in history one of the most highly influential people of our time. She has proved that truly anything is possible through talent and hard work. What direction would the world be moving towards if it hadn’t been for Oprah’s influential television show? It is hard to say, but we do know that without her television, and the world, would not be quite the same.
Oprah Winfrey is an outstanding & determined bright woman. Winfrey is a very advocate person. She has encouraged and inspired many people, but when she was growing up it was rough for her, but after her courageous and outstanding work, she is now a billionaire and helps a lot of charities.
Oprah Winfrey is a name that needs no introduction to most people in the world. Starting her journey with nothing, today , she has everything anybody could wish for and more. She has the money, the friends, the fame, the respect and as she repeatedly has pointed out as a comical comment, the shoes.
Oprah Winfrey is a powerful women. She has done and continues to do so much for the people around her and has been rewarded rightfully so. She displays many talents and ambitions that it would only be fair to call her a modern day Renaissance Individual. Because she is exactly that; a person who demonstrates a wide variety of talents and knowledge. And Oprah Winfrey is exactly
Mississippi Kosciusko, down deep in the south where she was born on January 29, 1954. Oprah Winfrey as a little girl was sexually abused by close family and also friends of the family. After words as she got older Oprah Winfrey went to Tennessee State University, in 1971 to go into working television and radio broadcasting in Nashville. Later on,
As talked about in Outliers, there are many factors that go into creating and building someone out of the norm of society. As Gladwell fraises it, ““Superstar lawyers and math whizzes and software entrepreneurs appear at first blush to lie outside ordinary experience. But they don't. They are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky - but all critical to making them who they are. The outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (Gladwell 285.) Oprah is an outlier in the sense that she worked for what she’s accomplished but had unforeseen forces working in her favor that even she didn’t realize until she looked back on her journey to success.
Winfrey, Oprah, and Bill Adler. The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in her Own Words. New York: Carol Pub. Group, 1997. Print.
Oprah Winfrey lived a very rough early life until Vernon Winfrey took her into good hands. She lived in Kosciusko, Missippi for the first 6 years of her life, and then she moved to Milwaukee to live with her mother who was a housemaid. When Oprah lived with her mother she was sexually molested during the daytime when her mother would work the long days. This abuse went on everyday possible for 4 years until she was out on her own at age 14. Oprah had given birth to a baby, which had unexpectedly died during infancy. After the baby had died she moved in with her Father who lived in Tennessee. “Vernon Winfrey was a strict parent, but he gave his daughter the secure home that Oprah needed. He saw to it that she met a curfew, and he required her to read a book and write a book report as well. “As strict s he was,” says Oprah, “ he had some concerns about me making the best of my ...
Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954. (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah had a rough childhood (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). She constantly moved from her mother’s house to her father’s house (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). When Oprah lived with her mother she was raped (Lies, 2011). When Oprah lived with her father, she excelled (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”). Oprah’s rough childhood and thriving high school and college years definitely influenced her contributions to the world later showing ethical leadership (“Oprah Winfrey Biography”).
Oprah Winfrey is as American entrepreneur and a popular talk show host. She was born on January 29 1954 in Kosciusko Mississippi. She was the result of a broken teenage relationship and teenage pregnancy so as you can imagine it had quite an impact on her development as she grew up. Against all odds she became a very successful woman and is currently worth 2.8 billion USD.
As noted previously, Oprah Winfrey was born into poverty, was being moved from her grandmother to her mother, and was next moved to her father. Then too, Oprah was then called back by her mother and lived in a dangerous neighborhood, which had its negative effects on Winfrey, was being sexually abused by many of the family members at the age of nine, and was finally sent back to her father, which gave her to discipline and guidance to success. Lastly, Oprah was given many jobs in being on radio stations and being the first Native-American co-anchor, she soon moved on to the Oprah Winfrey show and won many awards, and later founded Harpo, Inc., and made generous contributions to many
Winfrey has brought so much change to the world that one cannot just write a simple paragraph about. She has used her platform to discuss topics that are truly life changing such as Weight Issues, Reading, Give Big, and Taboo. Topics about weight have always interested the public, and Oprah was one individual who discussed it for the world to put their input in. She has talked about her own weight and made it clear how diet and exercise is important for the body. She strived to put the message in people’s ear’s that being healthy is what’s right. The next topic is reading, and this came from her “Oprah 's Book Club”. Oprah has always believed that reading is a fundamental skill and she wanted others to hop on the bandwagon and expand their knowledge. She started this book club for many reasons and it surely brought change to society. Give Big is the next topic of discussion and this changed society in a positive way. In 1997, Oprah wanted her viewers to make a difference in other people’s lives by donating their spare change. Shortly after that, she transformed that into the charity known as “Oprah 's Angel Network”. This charity was a huge success and has helped a lot of individuals in need. The final topics that will be discussed are taboo topics such as abuse, infidelity and addiction. These types of topics are what made Oprah Winfrey’s show such a success. She was so open about her childhood and other obstacles she had to face in her life that people began to trust
...other Teresa had become a leader in Calcutta. Films were soon made on her charitable efforts and she became known worldwide. Using this newfound fame, Mother Teresa spoke to world leaders on behalf of the poor in their respective countries. Most of them fulfilled her request and promised to do everything possible to provide help. Once she started speaking on behalf of the poor she fulfilled the middle part of Robert F. Kennedy’s definition of a hero, “to stand up for the lot of others”.
For most people growing up is filled with memories of joy and happiness. A childhood should be filled with affection and care, but Oprah did not always feel those things. Oprah did not have such a great upbringing, but despite the odds she rose up and became who she had wanted to be. Oprah had dealt with many accounts of sexual abuse, the lack of attention from her mother, and moving from place-to-place for most of her early years (Fry, web). Not only was Oprah faced sexual abuse, but she also became pregnant from one of the instances (Fry, web). This made things even more difficult for the young Oprah.
One of the most powerful women in the world is Oprah Gail Winfrey. Oprah is one of the richest businesswomen in the world, but she wasn’t always rich and successful. She had a very tough life growing up and didn’t have much money. She has always been a hard worker, and she had a passion for hosting and acting. Oprah is very good at what she does and that’s how she raised to the top of being one of the most influential women in the media.