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Into the wild character analysis
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Into the wild character analysis
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Theseus or Hercules?
Theseus is most worthy of emulation. He was a great hero in Athens.
"Theseus was, of course bravest of the brave as all heroes are, but unlike the other heroes he was as compassionate as he was brave." (p. 159). Theseus also was a man of bravery, intellect and bodily strength. Hercules on the other hand was what all Greece except Athens most admired. He was very strong but wasn't too smart. Hercules never thought of the consequences that his actions would bring about before he followed through with them.
First, Theseus was very strong. He fought many terrible horrendous monsters such as the Minotaur, "..a monster, half bull, half human.." (p.151), and went on many great ventures such as the Quest for the Golden Fleece. Theseus showed his great strength in adventures such as the one with the Minotaur.
Hercules was also involved in many great adventures in which his great strength was shown. Hercules was much stronger than Theseus, but Theseus made up for this small loss in other ways.
Second, Theseus was very smart. Because of his great intellect the
Athenians, people who valued thought and ideas, chose him and not Hercules as their hero. Theseus escaped from the Labyrinth and killed the Minotaur. Neither of these tasks were easy and required someone with aptitude unlike Hercules.
Theseus always thought things through and made good decisions. Hercules' foolishness was shown on many occasions such as when he killed his family and his music teacher. Theseus' intellect is one very valuable quality which makes him more worthy of emulation.
Third, Theseus was very brave. In fact he went on so many great excursions that a saying grew up in Athens "Nothing without Theseus!" (p. 149).
When it was time for Theseus to seek his father he would not go by water " But
Theseus refused to go by water because the voyage was safe and easy." (p. 149).
Theseus insisted to take the way by land. His idea was to become a hero as quickly as possible, and he accomplished his goal by ridding the land of all the banns to travelers on his way to find his father. Theseus had many other adventures. He was on the Argo, in the Caledonian hunt, as well as many others.
Hercules also had many adventures but his were often the result of his own
Theseus, The Great Athenian hero, was the son of Dianae and King Aegeus. Theseus had something that not many children at his age didn’t have, “he grew up strong far beyond others” (210). When he was young his father, King Aegeus, set a hollow sword and a pair of shoes and placed a great
From sacrificing six of his own men to surrendering his self pride to the gods, Odysseus accepts the noble title and proves himself deserving of being a hero. He took on a journey in which he grew into himself and rid himself of the one thing that held him back all along: his hubris. At the end of the journey, Odysseus went from being a selfish, cocky leader to being a selfless, modest hero.
The first hero I will compare him to is Jason, who had a similar adventure. His adventure was made to claim a throne that was rightfully his, just like Odysseus' adventure to get home to Ithaca and regain his throne. They both faced many perils on the sea, and both persevered to reach the end of the journey and gain the throne.
Learning the Greek rituals and after practicing them for many years, Odysseus, Odysseus' shipmates, and Telemachus became very reliant Greek tradition, especially that of treating all guests with great hospitality. At many times Odysseus would not have made it back to his wife and kingdom if it was not for the Greek tradition, that he relied on. After being at sea for seventeen days on a raft he had constructed, Odysseus spotted land. Poseidon then brought about a terrible storm, which wrecked his raft. After two days of battling waves that brought him near death, Odysseus was finally helped by a sea nymph onto the shore of Scheria. Once reaching the shore he kissed the earth, crawled under some olive trees, and fell asleep. Later, Princess Nausicca and her young friends went to the shore of Scheria to wash their clothes. Playin...
Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus shows that he is an antihero through his pride, disloyalty, and bloodthirstiness.
A hero accepts who he is as an individual, but strives to change himself for the better. In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, the main character Odysseus is a valiant king who embarks on a life-changing voyage. While traveling from Troy back to his home in Ithaka, King Odysseus overcomes daunting obstacles, and in doing so discovers his place in the world. Odysseus is truly a heroic figure because he demonstrates courage, improves his character, and wins the support of the gods.
adventures, he proved himself to be not only a great hero but also a cunning and
Although Oedipus claims a place as one of the greatest of the Greek tragic heroes, other tragic heroes abound in Greek mythology and literature. Another exceptional tragic hero is Achilles of Homer’s Iliad; like Oedipus, this greatest Achaean warrior exhibits both tragic flaws and true heroism. Similarities between the two do not end there, however. Both were great leaders, albeit in different contexts, and, more importantly, each clearly exhibited his tragic fla...
out the earth. His destiny was to build the ark and take a pair of every living
Myths and religious doctrine are generally recognized as two entirely different things. Myths are usually referred to as a fictitious story or a half-truth; often they are stories shared between groups of people that are part of a cultural society. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, and purpose of the universe, and often containing an ethical code dictating appropriate human conduct. Although they differ in certain aspects, they still hold similarities. Comparable to parables within the Bible, myths have different versions which are both motivating, as well as entertaining. There are not only parallels to the idea of the stories but specific tales hold similar morals and equivalent characters.
Throught Oedipus Rex, Oedipus displays his heroism many times. From the Prologue of the play to the moment in which he leaves Thebes, Oedipus' heroics are extremely apparent; however, at the same time, the decisions which make Oedipus a hero ultimately become the decisions which bring him to shame and exile.
support and troops and went to Rome to make his adoption official. When he got to
A hero has many admirable traits that are attributed to them. Today, one would describe a hero as someone with courage, bravery and a clear conscience to invoke good deeds. In mythology, heroes are also present and hold the same qualities as our modern heroes. Heroes just like Odysseus who after spending ten years trying to return home from the Trojan War, wants nothing more than to get back to his wife, son and reclaim his position as king of Ithaca.. But hardships that appear during his voyage demonstrate his courage and intelligence. Using these traits he is able to reach his ultimate goal and become the hero he is meant to be. But to become the hero, Odysseus needs to fulfill the six steps that were set by Joseph Campbell, who illustrated these steps in his text Hero with a Thousand Faces. These steps include: 1. Leaving home; 2. Deciding upon a quest; 3. Encountering dragons; 4. All-out fights; 5. a wound (left upon the hero from his/her encounter with a dragon.; 6. Wisdom which the hero learns that informs his or her life thereafter, or a wisdom won that can be shared with the hero’s people. Odysseus almost illustrates the true definition of a hero and, goes on a hero’s journey to attempt just that. Odysseus must face many challenges and dangers to reach his objective. Through the way he eradicates them, it is evident that he has successfully completed parts of the hero’s journey but fails to complete the last step.
The idea of a true hero is varied from person to person, because each viewpoint has a different idea of the personality that makes one a hero. There have been many fiction and non-fiction heroes that show different character traits, which influence people’s definitions of a hero. However, each person’s unique thought about a hero still focuses about one central idea: a hero must prove himself in order to earn his heroic status. This is the cornerstone of all the opinions about heroes because heroes have to show their heroism in order to become who they are in the end. At the beginning they are inexperienced, ordinary people who go on their adventures, and face their fears and weaknesses, but they develop greatly throughout these journeys. After comprehending what true heroism is and following it only then will they become heroes even though each of them has different traits. In the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus gains the title of hero during his journey back to Ithaka, from Troy, by proving to be one. It is through his characteristics and experiences that he becomes the well developed man at the end of the book. In truth, because of his confidence, loyalty, and difficult struggles, Odysseus becomes a genuine hero to the people he defended.
Hercules the great hero and the son of the great god Zeus, was the most famous of all the Greek mythological heroes. Hercules was known for his strength, bravery, and adventuresome personality. Hercules like most heroes had a god as their father, and he had a mortal mother named Alcmene. Hercules like most heroes was not an ordinary mortal and a good example was his superhuman strength.