“The Third Wish” is an outstanding and splendid short story written by the deceased author Joan Aiken. Mr. Peters is the protagonist of the story; he is loyal, compassionate, and wise. In this magical tale, Mr. Peters is granted three wishes by The King of the Forest and decides how to use his wishes, bringing much trouble. I think that Mr.Peters character traits are being loyal, compassionate and wise.
One character trait that Mr. Peters displays is being compassionate. One day, Mr. Peters was driving through the forest as he leaves his car and he hears a distressed cry and he finds a swan trapped in the bush. Mr. Peters tries to free the swan even though the swan attacks him. This shows that he is compassionate; Mr. Peters could have left the swan alone, but instead he saved the swan(pg. 312). Also, after Mr. Peters marries Leita and notices that she is always sad and find out that she used to be a swan, he uses his second wish to free her(pg. 316-317). He could’ve let Leita stay depressed but he cared for her and set her free. Because of this, I think Mr. Peters is a compassionate person in the story.
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Peters is he portrays wisdom. When Mr. Peters is granted three wishes he decides to put two wishes away in his briefcase(pg. 314). This proves that Mr.Peters is wise because he thinks about what might happen if one of the wishes goes wrong. Another example of Mr. Peters being wise is when he realized that things are perfect the way they are without any changes; when he turned Leita back into a swan, he realized that Leita was meant to be the way she was, without any changes(pg. 317). This proves that Mr. Peters is wise because it shows how Mr. Peters is capable from past
My third character is Sammy Shecker, the son of a rich and famous New York comedian. Shecker is unsatisfied living in his father?s shadow and thinks that if he is funny like his father, he will be accepted amongst his peer, so he unsuccessfully tries to be humorous to hide his inner pain.
Compassion has became something rare in our society, and something that a lot of people lack. The author, Barbara Lazear Ascher, explains to us that compassion is not a character trait, but rather something that we learn along the way with the help of real life situations we encounter, such as the ones she encountered herself. Ascher persuades her audience that compassion is not just something you are born with by using anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and allusions.
Without compassion, everyone would remain separated and divided which would only keep people from uniting to make the world a better place. Grant’s lack of compassion keeps him from developing a better relationship with Miss Emma as well as keeping him from helping Jefferson. Miss Emma is family to Grant and it would be in his best interest to help her, so his refusal to help Jefferson creates a barrier in their relationship. Later on in the story, Grant speaks to Jefferson in one of their meetings at the courthouse that lead up to Jefferson’s execution. Jefferson has been lost in thought as he has lost any and all motivation to reason with Grant. In an attempt to encourage Jefferson to try and better his relationship with Miss Emma, Grant states, “A hero does for others. He would do anything for people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better. I am not that kind of person…You could give them something that I never could” (Gaines 191). In this excerpt, Grant tries to motivate Jefferson to be a better person than Grant by helping those he loves and putting their well-being above his
In many works of Literature, a character comes forth as a hero, only to die because of a character trait known as a tragic flaw; Hamlet from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Okonkwo from Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, and Winston Smith from Orwell’s 1984 all exhibit that single trait, which leads, in one way or another, to their deaths. These three tragic heroes are both similar and different in many ways: the way they die, their tragic flaws, and what they learn. All three characters strongly exhibit the traits needed to be classified as a tragic hero.
Heroes in literature and history, more often than not, meet tragic ends, unless they were created by Walt Disney. These particular people are often seen as someone who is apart from the masses in morals and attempt to accomplish a higher calling for the common good. The problem with this type of hero is that they are destined for suffering.Two such characters exist in classic literature, Winston Smith of George Orwell’s 1984 and Hamlet of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” Hamlet is the true classic tragic hero, though, because he is of noble birth, possesses high moral standards, completes the task he is given to better the world, and causes tragedy in both his life and the lives of others.
According to Aristotle, there are a number of characteristics that identify a tragic hero: he must cause his own downfall; his fate is not deserved, and his punishment exceeds the crime; he also must be of noble stature and have greatness. These are all characteristics of Jay Gatsby, the main character of Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a tragic hero according to Aristotle's definition.
A tragic hero is commonly known as a character of nobility that undergoes a fatal change which ultimately results in a tragedy. Arthur Miller, however, has a slightly different view in regards to what a tragic hero is. He asserts that a tragic hero does not necessarily have to be a character of nobility, instead can be an average person in possession of a tragic flaw. In Death of a Salesman, a play written by Arthur Miller, the criteria of a modern tragic hero are best expressed and demonstrated through the main character, Willy Loman. Willy Loman’s tragic flaw would be his excessive and unwarranted pride. This is because his pride causes him to live his life in a world of delusion, ultimately resulting in his very death. Willy’s pride first leads him into misunderstanding and mistreating his family, consequently resulting in family feuds and resentment. It then leads him into building his life out of false hopes, consequently resulting in his absolute failure in the business world. Finally, it results in him living an incredibly narcissistic and delusional life; to a point where he believes that he can attain fame and success through suicide. As it has been thoroughly demonstrated by Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, having excessive pride in one’s self can ultimately derail an individual’s life into a mass pit of delusion and failure.
The idea, one is not born a hero, but must become one, can also be applied to tragic heroes. “The hero’s fall is the result, to use Aristotle’s term, of hamartia: an error or transgression or a flaw or weakness of character…. According to [Aristotle’s] interpretation, every tragic hero has some moral Achilles’ heel that brings him or her to a bad end.” (Rice and Watson 2). Blanche, from Tennessee Williams’s play, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Oedipus, from Sophocles’s play, Oedipus the King, are both protagonists who become tragic heroes. They have misfortunate pasts, free choice, tragic flaws, a reversal of fortune, and cruel punishments. Both Oedipus and Blanche share the common characteristics of tragic heroes, but have their own unique personalities and perceptions.
...world hope that they don't have to be incredibly gifted just to be a hero. Hamlet and Prospero show that things go wrong and you have to try to set them right. Morality is unfortunately diminishing in our time and stories like these help to bring forward those long lost emotions. Man never truly loses those emotions, he simply must be reminded of them.
...es are what led him to become a tragic hero because without them he would have been sane and not destroy his own life. His loyalties were tarnished by the influences he let in his life and helped him become a cruel, cold, heap of a man that murdered his friends.
Macbeth is the story of a man who is deeply ambitious and greedy, yet loving and moral. Macbeth has strong morals but does not abide by them, but his morals may be the reason many readers feel sympathy for this complex character. Macbeth is a prime example of a character who has great moral boundaries, but does not exercise his own advice. Not utilizing his moral compass causes a lot of problems for his character. Macbeth is a corrupt ruler, but his guilty conscious makes him a tragic hero. Although Macbeth makes hostile choices, the reader feels sympathy for him because he expresses extreme guilt for his malicious actions.
Ulysses saw the cat and sees that cat was a enemy and must be stopped. So Ulysses decided to help Flora’s Father instead of running away from it. So Ulysses gets on the cat’s head and the cat tries to hit him but Ulysses has something else in mind, he picks up the cat and throws him at a wall. This example show that Ulysses is a brave squirrel character trait is brave by choosing to help someone instead of running away from the problem.
Another human characteristic which Dickens appreciated was generosity. This trait appeared in Magwitch and Pip. Magwitch , the starved convict, was forever grateful to Pip for bringing him food in the opening of the book. Magwitch repaid Pip's kindness by opening a door to the young man's dreams. Pip suspected his dear friend, Herbert, would never become prosperous so Pip took some of the money he was receiving from Magwitch and used it as a stipend in Herbert's behalf. By doing this, Pip precipitated Herbert becoming a partner in a prosperous business. Having characters donate money and benefit from it, Dickens conveyed the goodness of generosity.
Huckleberry Finn took part in an great adventure and so did a few characters in the story. Without the characters the story would not be able to progress as quickly as it did. I included details to show each person’s characteristics and how they related with the story with my acrostic poem, my five W’s poem, and my twenty lined poem.
Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn is one of the most classic American Literature Book. It consists of historical backgrounds, universality, and timelessness. But one of the most outstanding chapters of the book is chapter 27 and 28.In the two chapters, Twain’s use of the literary device – Characterization builds the character of Huckleberry Finn and show the different aspects of his character.