The Power of Freedom in Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings
How far would you go to defend freedom? Would you overcome impossible odds? In the films “Braveheart” and “The Lord of the Rings,” the main characters, Mel Gibson and Elijah Wood, go to the ends of the earth to achieve their goals and bring freedom to the people within their society. The two main plots emphasize the concept that no matter what nation you live under, any man or woman will fight to defend their right to freedom.
In “Braveheart”, Mel Gibson, plays William Wallace. In the movie his wife is brutally killed by one of the English kings. Before the death of his wife, Wallace also experiences the death of his brother and father by the hands of the same aggressor when he was a child. After this he decides that any aggressive action against those he holds dear will not be left unavenged. The day of his wife’s death, William waited for his wife at a secret hiding place and when he finds out she isn’t coming because she was killed, he takes the ways of the law into his own hands. When William becomes a revolutionary he leads the Scottish people to an uprising against the English government. William then begins to de-thrown all the kings in the English region. He loses all sense of inhibition while pursuing his desire to avenge his loved ones’ death and brings freedom to his people.
“The Lord of the Rings” is a movie about the plight of mankind while defending itself against a great evil of a supernatural kind. In this movie, the main character, Frodo Baggins, played by Elijah Woods, must protect the ring of power on an arduous journey across the country in an attempt to destroy the ring. If he fails, all of mankind will be destroyed and ruled by sorcerers and unseen forces of evil. Although he faces many grueling obstacles during his journey, his determination and knowledge of the possible disintegration of the human race fuels him and gives him the strength to complete his journey. In the end, after many trials and near death experiences-not to mention the loss of close friends and his own personal struggles centered around the power the ring has over him-he accomplishes his goal and successfully destroys the ring and brings freedom to mankind.
William Wallace became a hero and a representative of Scotland’s declaration for independence. What’s ironic is that Scotland’s independence did not occur till about 50 years later, but because of his battles, and more recently the movie, he will always be remembered a Braveheart.
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
Just like Yunior, Piri who is the first child of his family also has a tense relationship with his father. He too wonders why his father treats him differently from his other siblings. He feels targeted which can be seen when an incident occurs and Poppa beats Piri for knocking down the coffee machine even though it was his brother Jose who pushed it; and Piri was only trying to prevent it from falling. Piri also practices masculinity in order to mask his true feelings. This is observed in his change of character when he is with his friends and when is alone with his thoughts. Piri describes hanging on the block as a “sort of science” which requires him to put on mask of masculinity in order to be approved and respected in el Barrio. One of the ways he does this is to brag about his sexual encounters and prove to his friends that he is a “ladies
Bilbo cleverly eluded Smaug’s temptation, spared the life of foul creature Gollum, and demonstrate courage more and more throughout his journey. These exquisite traits made Bilbo into the revered character that was loved and respected for generations of readers. Throughout the book, Bilbo’s character had changed. At first, he was the ordinary hobbit who described adventures as “Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things” (4) but by the end of his journeys stated to Thorin, “I am glad that I have shared in your perils” (290). Bilbo’s ability to fight evil, make new friends, and to look beyond his maps and books enable him to become a hero. As Gandalf once said at the very beginning, “There is a lot more in him than you guess, and a deal more than he has any idea of himself” (19). Gandalf was right. What appeared to be an uneasy hobbit who fainted at the thought of adventures, turned out to be a brave leader, a compassionate friend, and an inspiring
Peter Jackson’s film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” revolves around a young hobbit by the name of Frodo Baggins and his unique group of companions. They go on a journey to destroy the One Ring of Sauron (the Dark Lord). In short, the One Ring has malevolent powers to whomever wears it.
Within J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Tolkien uses the character of Bilbo Baggins to reveal to the reader the constant struggle between heroic and anti-heroic qualities within Bilbo and ourselves.
“Papi pulled me to my feet by my ear. If you throw up— I won 't, I cried, tears in my eyes, more out of reflex than pain” (307). As this scenario presents violence, it displays innocent Yunior’s response towards his abusive father as he pulls Yunior’s ears. In the short story Fiesta 1980, Junot Diaz depicts the life of young Yunior as he struggles with his Dominican family issues. Yunior was picked on the most in the family, especially from his dad. As Poor Yunior was the victim of his dad’s affair with a Puerto Rican woman, it affected him psychologically. Yunior suffers from the fact his beloved mother is being cheated on; therefore, he vomits as he rides his dad’s van, as his first ride in the van is linked to his first meeting with
Bravery is like a very trusted friend, it will never let you down. That statement holds true in the great epic of "Beowulf." "Beowulf" is the story of a great hero who comes to the aid of a troubled king. Beowulf hears that king Hrothgar is having trouble and immediately comes to help with no questions asked. he defeats the monster, Grendel, with his bare hands. Beowulf then defeats Grendel's mother along with a dragon until he is fatally injured. Bravery is a very admirable characteristic that few people possess.
From the beginning of the story it’s very clear what type of man Papi is. When he arrives home, he goes to “wash off the evidence quick” (150) because he was probably with the Puerto Rican woman, Yunior speaks of. That one moment showed the adulterous side of Papi. This is a clear cut conflict. (Man vs. Man) In a sense he shows respect by going to washing himself off in the presence of family, but the manner in which he shows his respect cancels everything out. His respect is almost in vain. Papi struggles with being his poor self. He does not like the life he lives. Papi wants to be impressive to people. He went out and brought a VW van, knowing they could not afford one, “new or used” (173) All of Papi’s actions influence the other characters within the story. He had begun to bring the children around the Puerto Rican woman he was having an affair with. Eventually his cheating becomes normal and something that does not s...
In Junot Diaz's "Fiesta" the father created substantial fear in his children which resulted in extreme disconnection inside his entire family. The story begins with the family being ready to go to the party, and waiting for the husband/father to arrive. "If papi had walked in and caught us lounging in our underwear, he would have kicked our asses or something serious" (Diaz 4070). Both Yunior and his brother Rafa were terrified of their father. This caused separation between both the brothers. Reason being that Yunior was always getting in trouble with his father, which lead him to search for some sort of defense. He turned to his older brother. If Yunior eats before riding in his father's new van, he becomes nauseated and vomits. The father would punish Yunior for technically, surviving. His father was so disconnected from his son that would be mad at his son for eating. When Yunior was going to be punished Rafa would disappear. This angered Yunior resulting in constant bickering between him and his brother. The fear in the household was so immense that the youngest daughter would cry when hearing her father's voice. Yunior bl...
This essay is about a story named “1984”, written by George Orwell. Winston Smith Is living in a dystopia society were everyone is being monitored and controlled by their superior big bother. Winston Smith is rebelling against Big brother. The society Winston is living in is, is somewhat similar to the word we live in today. The government spy on their people and invade their privacy in ways that big brother does.
The definition of family dynamics refers to the way members of the family interact with each other in relation to the group as a whole. A lot of influences affect the dynamics between family members such as traditions, communication styles, behavioral patterns and emotional interdependence. In Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis relates to how humans and their offspring are capable of changing and interpreting different life experiences in the family that can transform the dynamic bond.
Frodo Baggins, the main character in the movie faces many compelling circumstances in his quest and is challenged to sacrifice much of himself. The first challenge Frodo has to face when Gandalf as...
Mel Gibson is " Bravehearts " director as well as the main star. This is a well made movie that I really enjoyed. The movie " Bravehearts " is an amazing account of one Scotsman that decided to fight the oppression of the English to gain his freedom. With this one mans vision an awesome movie is created. There is a scene for just about all audiences. There are war scenes, romantic scenes, and who could forget dramatic scenes.
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.