I would like to make an insignificant comparison between myths and legends of Western countries and China focusing on individualism and collectivism.
In the tales of mighty heroes created by those anonymous in western world, figures with extraordinary strength or wisdom can often be seen as spiritual leaders guiding civilians on the way of both victory and glory. In the most of the case, the one must accept his fate sent by destiny willingly, slaying the foe of his dearest realm and sacrificing his own life with no hesitation.
Take Beowulf as an instance: A dauntless fighter, an invincible warrior, a sapient ruler. All alone, Beowulf beat down the wicked Grendel, its mother, and the fierce fire-dragon, offering both his soul and flesh to his
For leaders, being a hero for their people can help in various ways. In the tales of both Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, and Once and Future King, written by T.H. White, both works contain main characters that become heroes through their actions. Their values and traits, such as those of leadership, humility, and respect, contribute to the making of their heroic nature. However, a hero is not without their own set of flaws. Beowulf and Wart, King Arthur in his youth, differ in their acceptance of their duty. Nonetheless, this adds more to their character and makes them more personable being. Beowulf and King Arthur
After reading the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Burton Raffel, one would see culture from the Anglo Saxon civilization. Taking a glance into the America’s pop culture you would see a parallel universe between the two. A parallel universe basically is a world much like another, with slight differences. When looking at American cultural values, one could find similarities and differences, while looking at the Anglo Saxon civilization.
Heroes comes in all different shapes and sizes. This is clearly seen when comparing the heroes in the stories of Beowulf, Cuchulainn’s Boyhood Deeds, Lanval, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For example, Beowulf and Cuchulainn both share traits of a hero; however, have drastic dissimilarities.
Heroes bring a hope to people whom they protect. Heroes bring people joy and bring a sense of relaxation to the people of their society because they play such an important role in lives everywhere. Heroes are complex rather than unembellished because they can fight dragons to defend their kingdom, or create a non-profit foundation to enhance the quality of life for more than 2,000 underprivileged kids. Heroes in our present day can be very complex because a person’s viewpoint on a hero’s life can be a completely different than the way another person looks at that same hero. Thomas Davis Sr. can be extremely comparable to Beowulf but they also have major differences.
Hero faces most dangerous meeting with death – this shows the hero can apply all the wisdom
Since long ago, people carried an image of what it means to be a hero. It is evident in some great books one might even say. As in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Antigone, and The Iliad, heroism is displayed and exalted, but what does being a hero mean? Overarchingly, in regards to these works, the heroes earn their titles as heroes by notably doing what is right when the time is right, with humane purpose, and an everlasting message. However, Gilgamesh, Antigone, and Akhilleus, being different in their purposes, everlasting messages, type of heroism as whole, can not compare in regards to heroic status.
After the rise and fall of the earliest civilizations, some of the very first ancient empires started to emerge over many centuries before the birth of Christ. Although there are many things that characterize these empires uniquely from each other, there are still resemblances between them. Despite the fact that both Persia and China were great empires in two different regions, their governing methods coincide in the systems of organization and basic infrastructures; but they differed greatly in the beliefs of both the government and people.
Beowulf and Lord of the flies are both old stories with many important lessons to be learned. Both stories have interesting and complexing events that take place throughout the novel that are caused by lots of violence and evil. These acts include many different different facets including death. While both stories revolve around death Piggy and Simon’s death, in Lord of the Flies, were much more influential to the other characters, plot, and the theme than beowulf’s death.
People have been fascinated by tales of heroism for centuries. In ancient Mesopotamia, heroes give people hope and comfort, and fill them with strength. Ancient Mesopotamia is filled with tales of heroes- mighty warriors battling monsters, men ready to risk life and limb to save their true love or to fight for their nation. Still, there is a great difficulty that lies in defining what a hero truly is. Strength alone does not make a hero; nor does intelligence. Moreover, the Epic of Gilgamesh truly defines the definition of a hero. Gilgamesh is portrayed as a true hero through his skill, intelligence, willingness to die, reverence, and his respect for death.
Throughout history the traditional heroic elements have changed because of our society. Although elements of a hero have changed there are also certain characteristics of a hero that stays the same, such as a hero’s character and courage. This can be seen through Beowulf , “ The Epic and the Epic Hero,”and the movie “The 13th Warrior.”
Throughout humankind, many heroes have impacted world’s history. Some are true stories while some have become legends. These storied are retold over and over due to the hero, which shows a common
Anglo-Saxons refers to settlers from the German regions that migrated to Britain during the fall of the Roman Empire. In the story Beowulf, his actions portray him, indeed be an epic hero. Both Christianity and Paganism are both portrayed throughout the epic Beowulf. Beowulf frequently speaks of God throughout the story, while there are also many Pagan elements that are evident throughout the story as well. In addition, "It 's hard to ignore the Christian and Pagan elements in Beowulf. These types of elements are what define the heroic warrior in the epic Beowulf"(Vengeance the Pagan and Christian Inspiration). Throughout the epic Beowulf, while the Anglo-Saxons followed Christianity, they had a hard time letting go of the Pagan beliefs when things got hard.
During the Anglo-Saxon time period, individuals wrote poems about achievements, deaths, emotions, and adventures taken by certain individuals. There were many popular poems during this era including, “Beowulf” translated by Burton Raffer and “The Wanderer” translated by Charles W. Kennedy. Although both these poems were written during this era, “Beowulf” was an epic poem and “The Wanderer” was an elegiac poem. However, both of these pieces shared certain characteristics related to the culture and values of the Anglo-Saxon culture. Many attributes that make up this culture are related to both Pagan and Christian beliefs. This includes many ideals relating to fate and God. The culture and values of Anglo-Saxons through “Beowulf” and “The Wanderer”, suggest that along one’s quest emerges an individuals outlook on ways of life.
Foreshadowing is a unique literary device in which the author must balance revealing the future and leading the reader in a certain directions. Different kinds of foreshadowing yields different results. Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon are very different when it comes to foreshadowing. The former tells a story of a great hero on his quest for fame and glory. In his quests he slays multiple fearsome monsters and separates himself from normal humans. In the latter, a young boy grows up with a love for literature. He falls in love with a book and dives into the mysterious history of the author while dealing with his own social problems as he grows older. Even though they are quite different,
The epic poem Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, presents two heroic kings that have very clear differences on how they overcome challenges but they still keep their people in safe keepings. Hrothgar and Beowulf are admired by their people because they both show strong characteristics of what an Anglo-Saxon king should do or be.