Once upon a time, heroes were identified as people who fought and slayed monsters while saving mankind. However, the definition of a hero has changed dramatically over time. Now, a hero can even be an ordinary everyday person. Even though their appearances may have changed however, there is still a pattern, a so called “archetypal hero.” Such can be seen in Mozart, in the movie “Amadeus.” Mozart, although he does not look or acts like a hero, is undisputedly a hero. In the beginning of the movie, he is portrayed as an extremely vile creature, and yet, with great musical talent. As the movie progresses, Mozart transforms and his personality grows to fit his great musical talent.
In the beginning of the movie, Mozart, while possessing great musical talent, is a bawdy impish jokester. When Salieri, the narrator of the movie first sees Mozart, Mozart is running on the floor with a girl, telling boorish jokes. He is angered by Mozart’s behavior, and believes that this was god’s way of mocking him-by giving him the ability to understand music, and yet using such a vile creature as his instrument. This is also proof that Mozart is an archetypal hero. Such behavior is proof of his unusual birth, which is a trait of archetypal hero; Mozart’s behavior is the result of a pampered childhood in an aristocratic family, where he was denied nothing. He also shows exceptionally rude behavior in front of the cardinal when the cardinal attempts to chastise him for being late to the performance; he opens the doors to the cardinal’s room before taking a bow outside to his crowd of admirers to deliberately show his behind to the pope. However, Mozart also shows that he possesses great musical talent. When he hears his music being played wi...
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...il the end of the movie. At the end however, when Mozart passes away after writing his final, most inspiring piece of music, people finally appreciate his genius, and realizes they had lost a genius of their time.
In conclusion, Mozart in “Amadeus” shows the transformation of an Archetypal hero, and therefore fits the description of an archetypal hero. He comes from an aristocratic family, has great musical talent, proves himself through his talent, and during his life, becomes one of the greatest composers of all time, and at the end of his life, finally appreciated for his genius. Recently, the world does not understand such potential is in all of us, we simply do not try to bring it out. Everyone should take a step back from their busy lives, and as Michael Fowlin said, “do what we should do instead of what we are supposed to do.”
Works Cited
"Amadeus"
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In the play, the devout Salieri bargains with God for the ability to compose great music, in return for pious behavior. He feels betrayed by God when the foul-mouthed, libertine Mozart outdoes him with little apparent effort.
Through out Salieri's childhood his father had forbid him to become a composer because in so many words it was a waste of time for him. Normally a father dying would be something bad but being the man Salieri would turn out to be it is understandable that he would take it as gaining his freedom. He would become Gods instrument because he vowed to heath the word of God in his music. He eventually worked his way to be the court composer for Emperor Joseph II. The real jealousy came to him when his dreams were put on hold because Emperor Joseph II asked specifically for Mozart to compose a national opera for Viennese.
Throughout history, there have always been heroes. Those strong-willed, brave individuals who perform courageous acts for fame and glory are prevalent in most cultures.. Societies have these heroes as standards of their cultures’ moral codes. Every society has their own definition of these codes are, so a unifying definition of hero can be hard to achieve. However, Philip Zimbardo says “Simply put, then, the key to heroism is a concern for other people in need—a concern to defend a moral cause, knowing there is a personal risk, done without expectation of reward.” With this basic definition, I will be examining various epic heroes I’ve studied throughout the course of my senior year for characteristics. From the copious amounts of studying, I’ve deduced that Achilles, Odysseus, Aeneas, Socrates, Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Arthur all have characteristics that make them heroic.
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First, there is a contrast of their early life. Mozart was born on a musical family. He was also influenced deeply by his father. His father taught him music in a gentle way when he was young. During that time, he could play a variety of instruments since he was six years old. After that, he travelled to some different Europe cities with his sister and his father to perform in several tours. According
Salieri like everyone else also had a bad side. He was really jealous when Mozart took over his dreams. Mozart was also a composer and he became well known in Vienna through his music. When Salieri first saw Mozart he thought how can such a vulgar man create such great music. Salieri was really mad at God for making such a disgusting and a dirty minded person such a great composer.
This paper discusses Mozart's life, his compositions and his importance to the world and the world of music. It explains how Mozart's music is still some of the most popular classical music played today and his life is still studied because his music is so well known and liked.
The Classical Period brought forward new musical innovation. The sudden change in emotion and contrast in the music from the classical era is one of the many fascinating topics. However, the topic most talked about to this very day is Mozart’s Requiem. The mystery of which parts were composed by Mozart puzzles many. Even the rumor that surrounds Mozart’s cause of death is fascinating. Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, added more controversy to this intriguing mystery.