In the movie Gladiator, courage is a major ideal displayed through characters and a lack of courage is displayed through some of the characters of this film as well. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines courage as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficult”. Throughout the movie Gladiator, Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general, is betrayed by Commodus who wants the throne for himself. Maximus is thought to be dead when in reality he survived and has become a gladiator. In the betrayal of Maximus, his wife and son were also killed. Maximus is out for revenge but to do that he must be in reach of Commodus. Maximus embodies the ideals of courage and the definition throughout the movie Gladiator. Maximus shows …show more content…
the audience what true courage looks like even in the face of death. Some of these scenes include Maximus leading the cavalry toward the Germanic tribes, fulfilling his duty as the protector of Rome and, the revealing of his identity to Commodus. Maximus displays courage twice in the very first scenes of Gladiator within seconds of these scenes happening. In the first few minutes of the movie Maximus and the Romans he is commanding are fighting against the Germanic tribes to end a war that they have been fighting for twelve years. Allen Ward, a professor at the University of Connecticut, says this about the opening scenes of Gladiator and its historical accuracy. “First, there was no last great battle with the Germanic tribes on the eve of Marcus Aurelius’ death”. Marcus Aurelius died on March 17, 180 not sometime after Maximus defeated the Germanics. As both the Romans and the Germanics advance toward one another to end this war, Maximus rushes around the battleground to find his cavalry waiting for him. The cavalry is behind enemy lines waiting for to give the signal to the frontlines so that the catapults can begin their assault and the cavalry can commence their attack from behind the Germanics. This is the first instance where Maximus displays courage in this movie. He must go behind enemy lines to meet his cavalry. However, if Maximus is caught by the Germanics he is in a position where if he needed help there would be no one to come and rescue him. Not only does Maximus show courage going behind enemy lines he also shows courage by leading the charge of the cavalry into the back side of the Germanics. This is the second instance where he shows courage in the same scene. Before they charge into battle Maximus gives a motivational speech making his men laugh and forget about the threat of danger and if they do die then they will be rewarded for their sacrifice for their country. He is displaying courage in this scene by leading his soldiers into battle when the threat of death is high. As a general Maximus has the choice of staying behind his own frontlines and commanding from there. However, since Maximus embodies the ideals of courage and doesn’t lack any strength, he decides to lead the charge of the cavalry. By doing this Maximus inspires his men to have courage as well. After the Romans have won the battle, Maximus meets up with Quintus and Quintus says “The gods must love you”. He is implying that that the only reason why Maximus lived through that battle and leading the charge of the cavalry is because the gods loved him enough to spare him from death. By saying this, Quintus believes that Maximus should have died from leading that charge. Maximus seems to know this but had the courage anyway to go out on the battlefield and lead his men to victory. Maximus also shows courage as fulfilling his duty as the protector of Rome. After the battle and the wounded are being taken care of, Marcus calls Maximus into his tent to talk. Marcus tells Maximus that he will die soon and when he does die he wants Maximus to become the protector of Rome and the vision that Marcus has for Rome. Maximus says he needs time to think about the offer that Marcus has given him and leaves the tent. Commodus walks in after Maximus leaves and talks to his father about becoming the emperor. Marcus tells his son that he will not become emperor after he dies and that Maximus will become protector of Rome until the Senate is strong to help Rome become a republic once more. Commodus, feeling betrayed kills his father and takes the throne for himself becoming the next Caesar. Maximus, hearing about Marcus’ death, accuses Commodus of slaying his father and denies Commodus of his loyalty. Here Maximus again shows courage by denying Commodus’ offer and accepting Marcus’ request even though Marcus’ request is harder than his son’s offer. Denying Commodus’ offer meant that Maximus had denied the emperor which causes Commodus to have Maximus executed. By accepting Marcus’ offer, Maximus betrays the new Caesar, shows his loyalty to Marcus, even after his death, and his willingness to fulfill the request that was given to him. In the last few scenes of the movie, after Commodus was slain by Maximus, Maximus tells Quintus to free his men and to have Senator Gracchus reinstated. By reinstating Gracchus, Maximus begins fulfill Marcus’ request of having Rome returned to a republic one step at a time. With Gracchus reinstated as a Senator, Gracchus can build the Senate strong enough to have the republic back. Also with Gracchus back as a Senator, Gracchus can begin to eliminate some of the political corruption that is tearing apart Rome. This was Marcus’ vision. Maximus shows courage here by not naming someone to become the emperor but by persevering with the request that was made to him. Finally, Maximus shows courage by revealing his true identity to Commodus in the Coliseum. In this scene, the gladiators are portrayed as the barbarians of Hannibal in the second fall of Carthage. This fight is rigged so the barbarians are supposed to lose however with Maximus leading the gladiators, they kill the legionnaires. This unexpected victory causes Commodus to walk into the arena and meet the gladiator who led the men to victory. Upon arrival, Commodus asks Maximus his name and he replies with “My name is Gladiator” and walks away turning his back to Commodus. With his back to the emperor, Maximus shows disrespect to the emperor. After turning his back to Commodus, Maximus proceeds to tell the emperor his name knowing that Commodus will more than likely kill him. This is an act of courage on Maximus’ part because if he reveals who he truly is, Commodus will more than likely kill him. After saying his name, he even takes it a step farther saying he will have his vengeance on Commodus in this life or the next one because of what Commodus did to Maximus’ wife and son. Therefore, this is scary situation for Maximus saying everything that he said because he knows that Commodus is a coward and will have him killed since he is alive.
If Maximus dies there he will not have his vengeance on Commodus and Maximus won’t be able to help Marcus Aurelius’ vision of Rome happen. However, since Maximus has courage he isn’t scared but has the moral strength to say what he needs to say to Commodus. The only reason why Maximus is spared is because of the Romans in the Coliseum watching this scene take place. The crowd is screaming to Commodus that Maximus and the gladiators should be spared and Commodus listens to them to appease the crowds and gives a thumbs up, to signal that the gladiators are spared and they live to fight another battle. However, in Roger Eberts’ review of the Gladiator he talks about how Commodus’ thumb signal is wrong and is actually condemning the gladiators to die. “…since the practice at the Colosseum at that time was to close the thumb in the fist to signal life; an extended thumb meant death”. Eberts is saying that historically speaking, the hand motion that Commodus uses in the movie to spare the gladiators in the arena is actually condemning them to their
death. Throughout the movie Gladiator, multiple scenes of characters were portrayed as being courageous in times of desperation. Also some characters in this film had a lack of courageous. However, Maximus embodied the ideals and the definition of courage throughout the movie time and time again. Whether it was leading the charge with the cavalry against the Germanics behind enemy lines, or fulfilling Marcus’ request to become the Protector of Rome and bring back the republic that it once was, or even revealing his true identity to Commodus in the Coliseum when it meant more than likely death for himself, Maximus shows the audience what true courage is even when the situations are rough.
Consus where the opening sacrifices took place was located in the center of the Circus Maximus where the racing took place. Like racing, gladiators probably originated as funeral games, with religious significance attached to what in affect was the ritual sacrifice of the gladiators themselves. The first recorded gladiator fight was in 264BC, when 3 pairs of gladiators fought to the death during the funeral of Junius Brutus. The gladiator fights were known as munera as they were originally 'duties' paid to dead ancestors. They gradually lost their connection to funerals under the Roman Empire and became an important stage for emperors and leaders to put on spectacles for their own reasons.
Courage: the ability to do something that frightens one, meaning the act of being courageous is not to be deterred by danger. This one word can categorize a person on a whole higher level. Stonewall Jackson exemplified tho word better than anyone else ever could have. For example, at the first battle of Bull Run, while several Confederate units were falling into disorder and panic, their general pointed to Jackson and his men who were withstanding the attack and said "There stands Jackson like a stone wall!" thus urging his men to gather their courage as well and regroup behind Jackson's position. In spring 1862, in Shenandoh Valley, Virginia, Stonewall created the Valley Campaign. In Jackson’s Valley Campaign, he marched
When it comes to being a tragic hero the character has to have the qualities of being a tragic hero. A tragic hero is where the main character of a tragedy whose fatal flaw leads to his or her destruction. Either the character was born into society as a great man or a slave, they may have carry
Based on the Merriam Webster dictionary, courage is defined as the,“mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In the play, the characters are tested and forced to make life or death decisions, with
Courage is when you know you’re beaten. The character Atticus, for instance, who was a seasoned lawyer acted courageous defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. Atticus was appointed to defend him. Jem was happy because he thought his father had won the case but Reverend Sykes loathed telling Jem “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(Lee 208). Atticus was sure he wasn’t going to win the case, nevertheless he gave it a try. That didn’t stop Atticus from trying to defend his client Tom Robinson. Another part in the novel when Atticus was courageous was when he shot at the man street dog. Heck Tate the Maycomb Sheriff was not as courageous as Atticus so he handed Atticus the air rifles and with one shot Atticus took down the street dog. Miss Maudie says “I saw that, One Shot Finch” (Lee 97). Atticus was referred to as one-shot finch because of his shooting skills. The other incidence in the novel when Atticus portrays courage was when he was not scared when Bob Ewell threatened him. Bob Ewell was the man who accused Atticus’ defendant Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus thought Bob Ewell threatened him as some sort of revenge, but unfortunately Atticus was wrong because when Bob Ewell said ...
"Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel.
But this isn’t the definition of courage. Courage is being able to act in the face of danger or in an uncomfortable state. Being stubborn and brash is the exact opposite, as someone acting as such may danger others and/or may be comfortable by standing alone. A prime example is shown in 12 Angry Men, as Juror 8 and Juror 3 represent courage and arrogance. At one time in the film, they both stand alone against a room full of people thinking against them, but how they act to it makes them who they are. Unlike how Juror 8 sways others individually, Juror 3 refused to act politely and focuses on himself, making others not appreciate him and seeing him as a barrier to
Within the novel "to kill a mocking bird" the character Atticus finch defines courage as, "Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." Atticus takes the first step by being courageous to take the Tom Robinson case, defying the towns liking of prejudice, even his own sister thinks that he is disgracing the family by taking the case he explains with concern
After its debut in America on May 5th of 2000, the movie Gladiator has been a nationwide symbol of heroism(Imdb). The film was directed by Ridley Scott and the lead roles of the film were carried out by Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus(Imdb). The movie takes place during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is dying and wishes to leave the Roman Empire under the control of Roman General Maximus Meridius. The Emperor’s son Commodus betrays Maximus, kills his father, and takes control of Rome. In betraying Maximus, Commodus has his family killed. Maximus knowing this returns to Rome as a gladiator under the alias “Spaniard” in search of revenge(Imdb). According to Aristotle, “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude”(Kwheeler). In order for someone to be considered a tragic hero, the person must meet the criteria of high social status, suffer from a hamartia, face a catastrophe, invoke catharsis, and experience anagnorisis and peripeteia(Kwheeler).
A tragic hero is defined as a person of high social rank, who has a tragic flaw or flaws that lead to their downfall. These heroes’ downfalls are usually either complete ruin or death. Tragic heroes face their downfall with courage and dignity. While many characters in Julius Caesar could fit these conditions, the person who fits the role of a tragic hero the best is Marcus Brutus. Brutus develops into a tragic hero throughout the play, and this is shown though his qualifications of a tragic hero, his high status, his tragic flaws, and his courage in the face of his death.
This type of courage is shown by Bilbo as he accepts and departs on his adventure. The hobbits of Bilbo’s town frowned upon adventures and considered them to be dangerous and wasteful, yet Bilbo went on one because he thought it was right, thereby showing Bilbo’s courageous nature as he defied the status quo and society’s slander, thus making him an admirable character to many of today’s people as they do not have the courage to defy their status
Harper Lee’s definition of “courage” is still fighting for something when you know that you will most likely fail. As Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird “It’s when you know you’re likcked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (Lee 149). There are a few characters that stand out show courage in To Kill a Mockingbird and those characters are Scout, Atticus, and Mrs. Dubose. My first example of a character supporting Harper Lee’s definition of courage is, “‘Simply because we were licked a hundred years before is no reason for us not to try to win,’ Atticus said” (Lee 101). Cecil Jacobs said that Atticus defended niggers at school. Scout said that he wasn’t but asked Atticus about it when she went
Despite the triple digit temperature, the stadium is packed with spectators. The first group of men storm the grassy field dressed in their protective armor. They jump up and down, chant, and butt helmeted heads, fueled by adrenaline from the deafening cheers of the spectators. Another group, dressed in a different color storms the field, and the spectators cheers turn to boos that echo around the stands. Both groups line up face to face with their opponent, awaiting their leaders command to charge. In a blink of an eye they charge, clashing into one another as they fight for the upper hand, fueled by more monstrous applause… What may sound like a scene from the movie Gladiator, is actually the beginning of a college football game. The University
The expectancy theory proposes an individual will behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be. In essence, the motivation of the behavior selection is determined by how much one desires the outcome to be. This is shown when Maximus is initially recognized as a supreme gladiator by his owner Proximo, the man who taught him how to fight as a gladiator. Proximo took great interest in Maximus’ abilities and encourages him to go to the Roman Coliseum to fight for his freedom. Proximo advises him that if he is able to “win the crowd”, he will earn their respect and eventually his freedom. Performance to Outcome poses the question on whether success will lead to reward. The reward in this case would be after successfully winning battles, and the crowds’ favor, Maximus would gain his freedom and seize his opportunity to kill Commodus. Maximus’ strong desire of vengeance for the murder of his family drives him to win every battle he comes up against. Infuriated by Maximus’ success, Commodus sets up a fixed fight between Maximus and Tigris of Gaul, the undefeated gladiator. Maximus prevails in the battle and against Commodus’ orders, spares Tigris’ life. Maximus’ defiance of the emperor and mercy to Tigris made him more popular to the crowd than even Commodus
In this world, there are many courageous people mentioned on the television. The action movies are always talking about how courage is the key to save the world. The superheroes in the movie are always destined to make a courageous choice to save the day. But in this modern society, what is a real courage? What kind of action is a courageous act? Courage is something that anyone can achieve yet it might be the hardest thing for people. For an act to be courageous it must comply with the following criteria: