Comparing The Character of King Leonidas with Cuchulain Essay

Additionally, bravery is something that is hard pressed to retain in chaotic times of war.

All fictional heroes share the fact that their mindset changes through adversities in order to reach fulfillment. For example, Odysseus is considered an unconventional hero because he killed and or scarred many creatures that prevented him from going home. On the other hand, Rainsford is also considered an unconventional hero, but he didn’t have powers like Odysseus to kill his hunter (General Zaroff) instead he used his intellect. In addition, the archetype heroes of war are portrayed in Odysseus and Rainsford because yet endure hardships through creatures and or people. Although Odysseus and Rainsford share their differences in the development and growth of their mindset, they eventually find their destiny as becoming altruistic. In summary, methods and approaches taken by the heroes based on their obstacles can help us identify comparing key points as well as contrasting in fictional heroes. At the end of the day, all heroes fictional or not will be portrayed as being selfless through their change of

We all think of an ancient Greek hero as a robust, brave, young hero with a bulging chest and washboard abs. He has beautiful hair and a large menacing sword. He stands victorious after slaying a mighty beast, looking very handsome. He has a confident smile on his face because he knows that he is best. The Gods adore him, and every mortal praises him for his great deeds. But although Greek heroes may appear to be the best of the best, they might not be as noble as people think. Likewise, by today’s standards, their characteristics might not be appreciated as much as before. In ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus would have been considered heroic, but only Theseus and Perseus would be deemed heroic in modern day.

This conveys that Athens is confident enough in their security to allow people to enter their city because they believe that they are the most powerful nation of all. However, this is inaccurate because Athens and Sparta were equal in power at the beginning of the war. Thucydides presents courage when he quotes from Pericles that Athens is powerful because they have a natural courage in comparison to a state induced courage like Sparta. However, Thucydides presentation of courage is inaccurate because by talking about the greatness, security, and courage of Athens Pericles is forcing a state induced courage on the Athenian people by giving them no reason to question the outcome of the war. Thucydides presentation of courage and security in Pericles speech was accurate to the citizens of Athens because they are given no other reasons to contradict Pericles claim. Also, the presentation of security and courage is used to make Athens seem greater and more powerful than they actually were to future nations.

Explaining what he once heard to be from Plato, O’Brien uttered that proper courage came from wisdom and nothing else. For one to be a true sublime human being, they must demonstrate wisdom, justice, temperance, and lastly courage. As for a man without wisdom cannot be courageous, something a man without courage cannot contain any of the other three virtues (wisdom, justice, or even temperance). To Plato, wisdom is simply not just knowing what is right and what must be done, but following through with it. Courage, portrayed so perfectly by Tim O’Brien, is “the endurance of the soul in spite of fear” (140). The act of bravery is a battle within itself. Bravery is not about acting upon one’s desires, but instead setting them aside and putting the needs of the people around them first. It is about humbling yourself to your best ability, no matter how much fear one may obtain. There are people who simply just do not understand what is right due to their lack of intelligence, states O’Brien. Then there are so many men who might know what is right, however, they have too much fear to build up the courage to fight for it. As fear so often overtakes one’s whole self without even true recognition, courage is acting against that (136). All throughout the war, soldiers are constantly faced with fear as fear tends to come hand in hand with death.

This summer I was at the Ottawa County fair doing the off-road Derby. I wasn't sure about doing it at first, but my mom and dad said I would be fine.I got to choose what number I was and I got to choose what color it was too. In the end my mom and dad were right, it was fun and I got 3rd place for my first time. By doing the derby for the first time I showed Bravery. Bravery has risks and to other people they could be good risks and bad risks.The character’s Louie from the book Unbroken and the sniper from the short story “The Sniper” shows Bravery through the joining the war while trying to survive, and already being in the war while being prepared and trying to survive.

The courageousness that can beam from someone really shows how much you’re willing to do to stand up for what’s right (even if it means an individual has to prove your determination). Believing in courage and noticing

Throughout history, there have been countless times whenre individuals have courageously fought for change and societal justice. For instance, Gandhi helped India gain their independence, even though the circumstances were extremely risky for him, and could have led to his arrest or even death. However, he continued to persevere through it all, and was able to accomplish great things for his country. Another example is Malala Yousafzai, who promoted the education of girls in her country. Despite the clear threat of the Taliban, she continued to fight hard for her cause. Courage can be defined in many different ways, such as the ability to persevere and accomplish something in a frightening or risky situation. Examples of courage can be seen all around the world. Without courageous people, society would not have been able to improve. Being courageous is difficult, and requires an abundance of dedication and perseverance. It also includes remaining strong, despite the challenges that may occur along the way.

Another example of how training proved to accompany courage as "the right stuff" is when test pilot Chuck Yeager was flying the rocket-powered NF-104 when the aircraft went into a flat spin and he lost control of it. While the aircraft was plummeting down to Earth from 104,000 feet at 150 per second, Yeager was able to stay calm and run through all the scenarios that he had been trained in, and then some extra attempts to restart the aircraft and save it from destruction instead of

These examples show us so much insight into the real Valley Forge. They show us the brutal conditions of the lives of these poor men who deserved better. The sacrifices that they made were tremendous and often a matter of life and death, before any shots were fired. Again, if it were my decision, I would have strayed from Valley Forge. The thought of leaving my family and the possibility of death before battle would not have been worth the

This courage, or rather the opposite, is demonstrated in Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried, in particular the chapter entitled “On the Rainy River”. In the summer of 1968, O’Brien was drafted to perform military service in the Vietnam War. He, like many others, thought that this conflict was very unjust and he didn’t really understand what the United States was trying to accomplish. Unfortunately for O’Brien, he felt that if he did not go and perform the service like he intended that not only his family, but also his entire hometown would look at him as if he were a coward. In response, he states “I was a coward. I went to war.” (61). In the traditional sense, the

Society has not remained stagnant for the last thousand years, so it is only natural that the definition of a hero has changed, too. Greece’s Odysseus was the opposite of Martin Luther King Jr. when it came to peace; his blade bore the blood of many man and beast because of his involvement in the Trojan War and his penchant for adventure. Instead of talking to his enemies, he found it easier to defeat them through force. For example, while in the Cyclops’ cave, “he took the olive sapling, and buried under the ashes; and when it was red hot . . . [he] pushed the point hard into the eye of the Cyclops” (Rouse 3).

The novel Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is about seven teen demigods that must stop the destruction of Rome, the end of the world. This is an action packed story that allows one to better understand Greek Mythology. When reading this book, the author is trying to make the reader realize that there is a hero in all of us, whatever we set our minds to do, and we can accomplish it no matter what obstacles are put in front of us. One quote from the book that is quite iconic is “Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”(Riordan, pg. 475) Anything is possible if you just give it a chance. The theme throughout this series is that with teamwork much can be accomplished.

     Overcoming obstacles may be one of the hardest parts of being a hero. I think it’s the hardest because a lot of people are blocked from doing something and just quit. A great example of this trait is Jackie Robinson. He was discriminated against because he was African-American. Even though

The classical hero is a timeless description of human beings all around the world. Not only is it part of some human’s nature; it is used as a source of entertainment for people as well. The classical hero is seen both in the Iliad, as we have discussed, and in today’s world every day and in most cases everywhere. Heroes are seen today in TV shows, novels, movies, sports, in politics, and on the news, etc. As an audience, we love to study the classical hero whether we’re watching something or reading a novel or story about one. It always seems to be exhilarating because it’s part of our nature. The story of the hero motivates individuals to want to be like that person and strive to help