The Odyssey is an example of Greek history portrayed in literature. As in all Greek literature, the epic hero Odysseus answers a call to action, suffers through great confrontation, and returns with a better understanding of life. Greek stories such as, The Odyssey set the stage for today's modern action movies with epic heroes such as Indiana Jones, Frodo from the Lord of the Rings, and Western cowboys like Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger.
In 2002, Sam Raimi directed the first Spider-Man movie of the three-part series. In this movie, the famous Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, adapts to his newfound super powers after being bitten by a genetically-enhanced spider on a high school field trip to OSCORP. Throughout this movie, he battles the infamous villain the Green Goblin, otherwise known as Norman Osborn, in New York City. Peter Parker is an outsider at his high school and has a crush on the beautiful and popular Mary Jane Watson, who is also Peter’s next-door neighbor, and she dates the typical high school jock. Peter’s only true friend is Harry Osborn, the son of Norman Osborn. Peter was raised by his aunt, May and uncle, Ben, after his parents died in a plane
This was true in ancient times, and the desire endures in modern culture also, through our sophisticated fascination with cinema and literature. The storylines of many movies follow a familiar structure of plot and characterization. The characters that are imagined and placed in these productions and compilations often encounter similar challenges that plagued the heroes detailed in ancient oral mythology. The ability for these characters, heroes, and legends to transcend time and culture is a unifying force that almost appears to be a required consequence of a civilization as they continue to prosper in their interactions with the external forces troubling to existence. Myth’s capability to distract us from our fears cannot be emphasized enough. Purpose can be found within these workings, and they offer individuals the opportunity to define their own meaningful existence. In a meaningless world, the only meaning is the one we give it (Longenecker, “Why Myth Matters”). The presence of myth and its thematic elements perseveres in modern society through the manifestation of art, movies, music, and
Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey, is an amazing example of an ancient hero that went through many different challenges. Heros, to me, are people who do great and help many different people in a lot of different ways. Odysseus is a good example of an ancient hero because he helped his city defeat Troy with his great trickery, courage, and strength. A great example of a modern day hero is Superman. Also known as Clark Kent, Superman is an outstanding hero. He helps out his city whenever they are invaded by evil super villains. He is able to accomplish these challenges with his superpowers, his willingness to protect the citizens. I believe that Odysseus has a lot of similarities with Superman in a hero’s journey.
Heroes. From the timeless tale of Beowulf to the well-known chronicles of Superman, cultures all throughout the world have taken it upon themselves to weave a fabrication of a fantastic being, said being a hero of a sorts, that always makes it to defeat the bad guy and save the day. Even whence we as human beings always tend to have our political, social, economic and religious differences, at the end of the day we all have one thing in common that fills our dreams with hopes of the future, of safety, of a peaceful life; heroes. Helping to define who we are and what we want to be, giving us hope and inspire us to head in the right direction, showing us that good will always triumph over evil and that anything is possible if you set your
Hero’s are eminent and cherished by the general public; they use their abilities to help others. A hero can be defined as many different kinds of people. A doctor who saved someone’s life for example, could be their hero. A hero sticks out to people, be that in a good way or a bad way. In Homer’s, “The Odyssey,” Odysseus is a character portrayed as a hero through his bravery, wisdom, and loyalty.
Therefore, Captain America’s actions and choices turned him into a heroic symbol for his people. In the book Mythology, Theseus was praised as a champion by the people of Athens, because he rid of the bandits, “Greece rang with the praises of the young man who had cleared the land... he was acknowledged as a hero” (150). Like Captain America, Theseus has become the champion of his world. He was recognized as a hero for his brave deeds, and becomes a symbol of hope. Captain America and Theseus each are champions of their world and symbols of strength, another important factor of the hero. They also teach different lessons of life through their story.
We all love heroes cause they save millions of lives or maybe even billions. We love them either by their personality or their superpowers. Two of the strongest heroes are of course Superman and Hercules. They have god like powers that no human being have. There are lots of similarities, differences, and how both of the themes and conflict connect so well.
And as another symbol, superheroes are often depicted of as secret identities of people who try to act normal and yet conceal great power to help others, like for instance Clark Kent and Superman. Thus seeing the protagonist's obsession with superheroes and his fantasies of exacting justice upon the bully implies that he too wishes he were like that, that he could use that power stand up and not be afraid. His superhero persona also has a star-shaped mouth hole evocative of Captain America, who has stars proudly portrayed all over his outfit that symbolizes truth, justice, and freedom.
Greek myths are stories that explain the meaning of life and teach moral lessons through the values of heroes, gods and mortals. In Ancient Greece, myths were an important part of the culture, first being told orally and in poems, then seen in architecture and theatre. Homer, the Greek poet, wrote epic poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, which are still revered and read extensively today. Greek myths have carried over to contemporary American culture, appearing in movies, children’s toys, clothing and books and the values of Greek myths are entrenched in today’s society. Notably, heroism is a prominent value that plays a major role in Greek mythology and continues to influence American culture today, as heroes inspire society with their nobility, bravery and patriotism.
Heroes and their sidekicks have been a consistent motif in mythology from the very first civilization, to the ancient Greeks, and even to popular culture now. Three specific stories with very similar hero-sidekick themes are the relationships between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad, and Batman and Robin in the graphic novel Death in the Family. This essay will explore the similarities and differences between these important pieces of literature.
Heroic stories can be very entertaining to the reader. Seger discusses the hero myth in this article. She explains the meaning of a myth considering we've been taught myths our entire lives. Heroes are normally portrayed as innocent normal people before their transition. She proceeds to point out the differences between Luke Skywalker and James Bond. Skywalker is depicted as a person that is unhappy with his normal life. Bond is known as the guy that saves the world.
The hero’s journey is a long and arduous one, but ends up being quite rewarding in the end. The hero follows the road of growth and education until they are ready to pursuit their goals and save the day. Two such heroes journeys are the stories of Will Stronghold in Sky High (2005) and Hercules of Hercules (1997). Both, Will and Hercules, want to be heroes and correlate through the ideals of: lacking of powers, making their fathers proud, and wanting to save the day. Thus, the two films can be assessed through the various social and personal similarities within the film.
In 1949, Joseph Campbell, a writer and mythologist, published a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this book, he proposed a theory of how hundreds of hero stories can be summarized in a twelve-step pattern. Half of the cycle takes place in the hero’s regular world, and the other half takes place in a special world. Clearly, modern hero characters can be traced back to this simple sequence. One hero that has been introduced in recent decades is Hercules, from the 1997 Disney movie of the same name. Hercules, like countless other heroes, fits perfectly into Campbell’s twelve-step cycle.
In Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, demonstrates a common theme/motif of invisibility, to show the conflicting role of African Americans in a white society, throughout his literature.