Hero
One of the most pervasive archetypes in literature is the hero. The Greeks presented a complex and very human type of hero, often referred to as the tragic hero. Readers can relate especially to tragic heroes because tragic heroes have flaws. Their flaws make tragic heroes more human, and are effective protagonists even when their plans fail. The hero who is semi-divine or divine is a less compelling story, given that few if any human beings can relate to a figure who is flawless, immortal, and possessing of unlimited strength. Graphic novels present complex characters including some that fit the definition of tragic hero. Modern literature teems with examples of heroes who are just like us: they have good intentions, they are far from perfect, and they sometimes fail. Yet embedded in the definition of hero is the imperative that the individual must be able to put aside egotism, and reach deep inside for an altruistic spirit. Heroism is about overcoming great obstacles. Often the hero's biggest enemy is herself, or himself, via internal issues like anger or fear. Sometimes the hero overcomes external obstacles: ranging from torture to racism. For example, in "The Train from Hate," John Hope Franklin writes about overcoming racism. Heroes may exhibit unique flaws and character traits, but they share one universal quality in common: all heroes remain true to themselves and their dreams in spite of any obstacles.
Even the concept of the anti-hero fits the definition of a character that remains true to himself or herself in the midst of great obstacles. Anti-heroes are popular in modern literature, film, and television. Take Dexter, the hero of the namesake television show. Dexter is a quintessential anti-hero: the audience technically should not root for someone who kills. Yet...
Journey motif is pervasive in global literature, attributed to the existence of collective symbols common to all human societies as archetypes (Zhang, 2008). Both Homer's Iliad and Shakespeare's Henry V incorporate the journey motif as a literary technique. This serves to elevate the status of the protagonist to the heroic level, as the character struggles to meet challenges and overcome obstacles without the familiar trappings of home, family, and social
Aeschylus - the Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers and Eumenides) The Oresteia offers the reader a close and intensive immersion with a truly pained universe of suffering: each play still has at its core a sense of flush of promise and vibrancy of Athens that was pushing forth and evolving into greatness. Even so, the author Aeschylus is able to captures a sense of the undercurrents of the primal vengeance that still
With respect to the mythology of the male gods, Zeus, Apollo, and Hephaestus seem to be a combination that matches the dynamism of their female goddess counterparts. These gods represent the good and the bad of males; they also represent the spectrum of power and balance of male energy. There is no one god or goddess myth that I feel fully represents the tension between male and female gods because
Race, Ethnicity, And Utopia The idea of a perfect society is very important in human cultures everywhere. Most cultures and religions talk about a time long ago when the world was perfect. Stories of long lost "golden ages" or the "Garden of Eden" hold memories of a better world that has been somehow left behind. When those longings are expressed in speculative fiction, dreamers may imagine the existence of a fantastical
Clinical Psychology Dissertation - Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings An Abstract of a Dissertation Dream Content as a Therapeutic Approach: Ego Gratification vs. Repressed Feelings This study sets out to determine how dreams can be used in a therapeutic environment to discuss feelings from a dream, and how the therapist should engage the patient to discuss them to reveal the relevance of those feelings, in their present,
Bram Stoker's masterwork and greatest novel, Dracula, has been and remains one of the most culturally pervasive novelistic tropes of the last 100 years. Indeed, in multiple film versions as well as in the novel and myriad other mediums, it remains a deeply pervasive cultural idea. Part of the inspiration for the story no doubt takes elements from Stoker's own life and fictionalizes and dramatizes them to the point where
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