Father LaTour as the Hero in Death Comes for the Archbishop
In Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, the heroic ideal whose definition began with Moby-Dick is again viewed. Father LaTour is clearly seen as having an elevated status, concern and understanding for the people, and a desire to make a lasting mark on the land that becomes his home. These characteristics were seen in differing ways in both Ahab and Jo in Little Women. In The Red Badge of Courage, the concept of courage in the hero was addressed. This quality too is seen in Father LaTour. Father Vaillant also displays many of these characteristics. Both priests are fully consecrated, they just live it out differently. They have committed themselves to self-sacrifice for the sake of those whom they seek to serve and exhibit strong inner courage in the setting aside of self. However, Father Vaillant's very presence has hinged upon the influence of Father LaTour in his life, thus ultimately pointing back to Father LaTour s the heroic figure in the novel.
"The new Vicar must be a young man, of strong constitution, full of zeal, and above all, intelligent. He will have to deal with savagery and ignorance, with dissolute priests and political intrigue. He must be a man to whom order is necessary--as dear as life" (Cather 8). With this opening description, Cather introduces the caliber of man to be found in Father LaTour. When he discovers the juniper tree in the shape of a cross, his immediate response is one of grateful worship. He is described as ". . . a priest in a thousand . . . . His bowed head was not that of an ordinary man . . ." (Cather 18).
Father LaTour's role as a leader is found partly in his position in the church, but it is validated b...
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... the opportunity comes, he recognizes that intellect is not everything and that his life's fulfillment is in his serving until death among his Mexican and Indian populace. The country thought in the Prologue to drain him of his youth (p. 8), becomes in the end the source of life for him. Father LaTour lives what he preaches. This makes it possible for him to say he shall die from having lived (Cather 267).
Father LaTour assumes his role of leadership, impacts the lives of those he encounters, displays great courage, and above all is self-sacrificing. He does not hope for personal gain in his actions. Ultimately, Father LaTour exhibits many heroic characteristics in an unassuming manner that leads to the addition of this quality to the working definition of the heroic.
Works Cited
Cather, Willa. Death Comes for the Archbishop. NY: Vintage Books, 1990.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
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“The Hero’s Journey.” Ariane Publications, 1997. Course handout. AS English I. Dept. of English, Woodside High School. 26 October 2013.
It is apparent from reading The Catcher in the Rye that one of the novel’s main themes is alienation. The theme of alienation is most clearly visible as a form of self-protection through the actions of the protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield. Caulfield’s self-imposed isolation as a form of protection can be seen in his physical seclusion from the outside world, in his constant acts of lying, and in his condemnation of society as being “phony.”
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From the beginning of time, mythology has appeared to be one key method of understanding life’s confusions and battles. Within these myths lies a hero. From myth to myth and story to story, heroes experience what may be called a struggle or a journey, which lays down their plot line. Bearing tremendous strength, talent, and significant admiration, a hero holds what is precious to their audience, heroism. Over time however, no matter the hero, the hero’s role remains indistinguishable and identical to the position of every other hero.
Many young people often find themselves struggling to find their own identity and place in society. This search for self worth often leaves these young people feeling lonely and isolated because they are unsure of themselves. Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger's main character in the book The Catcher In the Rye, is young man on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. One contributor to this breakdown, is the loneliness that Holden experiences. His loneliness is apparent through many ways including: his lack of friends, his longing for his dead brother, and the way he attempts to gain acceptance from others.
Thomas Hobbes is a 17th century English philosopher who argued in Leviathan that the natural condition of mankind would result in a war of all against all if humans were not subject to state power. He concludes this by saying that if there were no government, no civilization, no laws and no common power to prevent human nature; human beings would result to the destruction of each other. In this paper I will show how Thomas Hobbes is right in holding that if we were not subject to state power; we would be plunged into a war of all against all. I will show this by using different scenarios in anarchistic community.
Roles of the Catholic Church in Western civilization has been scrambled with the times past and development of Western society. Regardless of the fact that the West is no longer entirely Catholic, the Catholic tradition is still strong in Western countries. The church has been a very important foundation of public facilities like schooling, Western art, culture and philosophy; and influential player in religion. In many ways it has wanted to have an impact on Western approaches to pros and cons in numerous areas. It has over many periods of time, spread the teachings of Jesus within the Western World and remains a foundation of continuousness connecting recent Western culture to old Western culture.-
“Life, Liberty, and Property.” A component in the Declaration of Colonial Rights, a resolution of the First Continental Congress, this phrase might have been integral to our constitution’s definition of inalienable rights. “Property” was replaced with “the pursuit of Happiness” because our founding fathers knew of the adversity that stood between the way of people and property during that time. For many generations of peoples throughout the years, property- or more of the lack of and fight for- has not been conducive towards the pursuit of happiness. The American Dream is less fulfilled sans the house with a white picket fence. Mimicking her upbringing, Lorraine Hansberry details her own dreams deferred in her play, A Raisin in the Sun, through the convolution of the American Dream, the prioritization of its aspects, and the resounding consequences of the American Dream's selfish mutilation.
...ping CHD. Food can also be a relevant factor. Dietary patterns such as nutritious factors and inflammation markers are used as a way to analyze a connection to CHD. Reduced Rank Regression (RRR) is a method that was established. Various studies formulated nutritional patterns by the use of RRR. It was discovered (McNaughton et al, 2009) that a connection of the pattern had a link to greater possibility of CHD from the use of blood lipids as feedback.
“There can be many reason for animal cruelty, like any other form of violence, is often committed by a person who feels powerless, unnoticed, or under control of others. Some who are cruel to animals copy acts what they have seen or that have been done to them, others see harming an animal as a safe way to get revenge against--or threaten-- someone who cares about that animal”. (“Animal… Statistics”) Concerns towards abusing animals have gone up in the past. Although there are not many cases on animal abuse, many have occurred. Abusers are charged with Criminal Animal Abuse and then sentenced to life in prison. Some animals that are physically abused are sometimes rescued by Animal Control, and are taken it to an animal shelter. However, many shelters have not had the space to keep the animals so the workers would have to put them down (Carol Roach). Researchers have shown that the main animals getting abused are dogs, chickens, horses, and livestock (“Animal...
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