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Essays on the heros journey
Summary of the heroes journey
Essay on the heros journey
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When I think of heroes I usually imagine a “superman” like character, whose greatest asset is his overpowering physical prowess combined with a sense of hyper-morality. But, Homer’s The Odyssey introduces a hero who is neither. Similarly, the Coen brothers also present a comparable tale in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, whose hero also lacks an emphasis on these traits. Instead, both authors use their characters to build a more realistic fairytale by highlighting (what happens when simple hospitality goes astray) their hero’s character flaws.
Both the ancient Greek poet Homer, and modern day writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen, create a hero rife with flaws against a backdrop of inhospitality. In Homer’s The Odyssey it is Odysseus. Odysseus
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is missing and presumed dead after the Trojan War. Instead, he is coveted by Calypso and held captive on a remote island. Not revealed to the reader yet, Poseidon also wishes to see Odysseus stranded on the island for blinding his son, Polyphemus: The Cyclops.
Back home in Ithaca, Odysseus’s wife Penelope is being heavily pursued by suitors who mean to supplant Odysseus. Odysseus’s son, Telemachus struggles to rid his father’s kingdom from the suitors while trying to uphold his family name. Meanwhile, aided by the goddess Athena and simultaneously attacked by the god Poseidon, Odysseus struggles from island to island to get home. Upon returning home a disguised Odysseus attempts to survey the situation. His wife Penelope does not recognize Odysseus and holds a competition to pick a suitor. Later, Odysseus reveals himself after winning the event and slays the competitors, regaining his former life. Comparatively, in the spring of 2000, Oh Brother Where Art Thou debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, Oh Brother Where Art Thou also highlights a flawed hero, “Ulysses Everett McGill”. Taking place in the depression era deep-south, depicting three escaped convicts chained together literally and by fate. The main protagonist “Everett” played by George Clooney, convinces two fellow inmates, “Delmar” played by Tim Blake Nelson and “Pete” played by John Turturro to escape a chain gang and go in search of …show more content…
hidden treasure. Everett falsely describes this hidden treasure as the loot from an armored car robbery to persuade Delmar and Pete to agree to escape. In reality, this treasure is Everett’s wife “Penny”, played by Holly Hunter, who is about to be married to another suitor. Constantly hounded by law enforcement, the three escapees encounter many obstacles, including a hulking one-eyed man, threatening to keep them from their goals. Clooney’s character is a middle aged, charismatic man, impulsively focused on regaining the true treasure: his wife. In the end he regains his wife and children. As Homer’s tale begins a Greek concept of Xenia is introduced.
Although, Homer presents it in a perverted form. An old prophet foretells of Calypso holding Odysseus captive, coveting him for herself, on an island and denying his escape (Fagles 1995: 3, 67, 77). The reader may ask, where is Homer going with this? Creating this conflict allows Homer to use these events as a backdrop for the hero to display his cunningness, ego, selfishness or other character imperfections. Instead of displaying the Greek philosophy of Xenia in an idealistic form, Homer seeks to entertain his audience by emphasizing how his hero reacts, imperfections included. Similarly, the Coen Brothers borrow Homer’s concepts for their hero and locate their story in the deep-south, which is stereotypically renown for its hospitality: Xenia. By doing so they also afford their hero “Everett” the same opportunity to display his imperfections early on against the backdrop of poor hospitality. The three escapees are invited to climb aboard a railroad handcart: an island of sorts. Without request they receive a foretelling about their journey by an old prophet (E. Coen, J. Coen, 2001). This concept is perpetuated many times by both authors and abused by different characters throughout the hero’s journeys. Later, Homer introduces it again when Odysseus tries demanding hospitality from the Cyclops: Polyphemus, by stating, “[W]e’re at your knees in hopes of a warm welcome, even a guest-gift the sort that hosts give
strangers (Fagles 1995: 144, 145), but receives none. Odysseus could have easily avoided the situation he now found himself and his men in, but his greed and selfishness endangered them now. By Homer introducing this struggle he can now highlight not only his characters intelligence but also his deficiencies. After outwitting the Cyclops, Odysseus yells out from the boat, endangering everyone (. Without presenting this corrupted version of Xenia, Homer could not depict a very human response from Odysseus. What person would not want to “tell-off” (seek revenge) against the bully who just abused them. Snarky Not immediately recognizable from a casual observation but both stories have just begun under the same premise. Likewise, just like The Odyssey the Coen Brothers also give a rendition of Thus, Homer and the Coen Brothers contribute to their respective cultures by providing value in their believable characters: a flawed hero. When each author pulls from a darker part of the human persona it allowed the audience to connect. The audience will notice parallels between the literary devices used by Homer and the Coen Brothers. Just as Homer undoubtedly borrowed from similar oral recitations, the Coen Brothers undoubtedly imitated Homer’s style when creating their story. Both authors would have intentionally left out the less desirable elements from their stories to make their modern day tale more palatable to their audience. Homer and the Coen Brothers intentionally used these flawed human portrayals because they found an accepting audience. Hopefully, the next visionary who wishes to keep the aura of believability and reflect their society’s values will use elements from these stories, but as woman take on more roles traditionally reserved for men: military service, leadership positions, etc…more and more heroes will also be shared by heroines.
“The Odyssey” is an epic written by Homer between 750 and 650 B.C. It is the tale of the main hero’s, Odysseus’s, journey home to Ithaca from Troy. It takes place after the Trojan War and is the sequel to “The Iliad.” Odysseus and his men set sail from Troy and come across the lair of the lotus eaters. After escaping, they run into the cyclops,
Homer’s Odyssey is the iconic story of a man’s episodic journey home. The film, O Brother Where Art Thou, is a justifiable homage to the Odyssey because of the many parallels between some of the major characters depicted in the movie and the epic poem. The movie is set in the 1930s in the state of Mississippi, changing the characters in social demeanor, but retaining their motivation and major plot points.
Firstly, the main characters of both stories, Odysseus and Ulysses, share qualities of the “crossing the first threshold” that quite clearly show the similarities in these stories. These parts of the heroes’ journeys for Odysseus and Ulysses both consist of the two beginning their long journeys and beginning the transformations from ordinary people to heroes. In The Odyssey, this part of the journey is when both Odysseus starts his journey to Troy to fight in the Trojan War and when his transformation from ordinary citizen to hero commences. In O Brother, this section of the journey is when Ulysses and his fellow jail mates break out of jail and begin the long journey home that initiates his character shift from an av...
“O muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story...Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending...A wanderer, harried for years on end…” (Homer). These are the opening words of The Odyssey. This is also in the opening scene of O Brother Where Art Thou?. O Brother is a reception of the revered story of Odysseus’ journey with a bit of a twist. The works have similarities that only a person well informed of the Odyssey could see. The Odyssey and O Brother highlight the trials of the main character’s journeys. While the Odyssey was written in the eighth century, O Brother is set during the 1930s in the deep south. Each of the trials that the characters face is supposed to make them quit their journey, but they proceed with greater determination.
Let's begin with the most basic and obvious similarities, the movie and the book both begin with the same line " Sing in me O muse." The Greek name Odysseus translates to the name Ulysses in Latin. Odysseus's goal in the book is to get home to Ithaca to be with his wife Penelope and save her from the suitors. Ulysses is trying to get to Ithica, New York, to stop his wife Penny from marrying a suitor. Odysseus begins his journey by spending seven years on the island of Calypso before being let go. Ulysses is in jail for several years before escaping. Shortly after escaping, Ulysses runs into a blind man that tells him several warnings about his up coming adventure. Odysseus gets various warnings from different gods, and from prophets through out his entire journey. In the Odyssey, they travel to the island of the lotus-eaters. Once the men eat the flower they become passive and don't want to leave the island. In O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU the scene where Delmer and Pete are baptized is comparable to this. Delmer and Pete have no worry and are happy that they are sin free, even though the police are still looking to arrest them for escaping jail. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is warned not to touch the cattle of Helios, ...
O Brother, Where Art Thou, a film written and directed by the Coen brothers, is a modern day interpretation of Homer’s ancient epic the Odyssey. The opening credits of the movie quote the invocation of the Muse from the first lines of the epic: “Oh Muse sing in me, and through me tell the story of the man skilled in all the ways of contending, A wanderer, harried for years on end”. The film follows Ulysses Everett McGill (portrayed by George Clooney), a depression era Odysseus, and his men Delmar O’Donnell (Tim Nelson), and Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro). The three men are escaped convicts, running from the law through the Deep South in an effort to reach home and split a (truly non-existent) treasure. The leader of their group, Ulysses Everett McGill (from here on referred to as Everett), is a smooth talking self-professed lawyer with extreme egotistical issues. Pride is a theme in both the movie as well as the original epic. In both the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou his pride is the source of many dilemmas. The visual symbol of this pride throughout the movie is Everett’s Dapper Dan pomade.
Most works of literature have their characters embarking on a journey or journeys to reach a desired location whether it is mentally or physically. These journeys do not stand alone but contribute to the piece as a whole. The Kite Runner focuses on Amir taking on life in his suffering country to moving to a land granting great opportunity and ultimately returning home to complete a deed that would stabilize him for the remainder of his life. In the epic The Odyssey, Odysseus or Ulysses in the Latin form takes on many challenges on the dangerous sea attempting to return home to Ithaca after being victorious in the Trojan War. Traveling can also reunite characters once again as it did for Amir and Hassan in The Kite Runner or bring together two such as Telemachus and Pisistratus in The Odyssey. “This journey has brought us together still more closely” (Homer 15.59-60). Characters walk through the journeys authors create on pages and typically change for the better or reach an ultimate goal.
In both Homer’s The Odyssey and the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? the audience is given an opportunity to experience a spectacular adventure, filled with not only the sense of journey, but also the senses of peril and excitement. A tale about a Greek hero being compared to a film set in Middle America starring three jail-escapees seems rather far-fetched. However, upon closer inspection, both actually share a lot in common. The Odyssey stars Odysseus, a man famous for his heroics in the Trojan War. O Brother, Where Art Thou? shows a bit of a contrast by starring Ulysses, a former convict who escaped and began looking for “A Treasure”. So by default, one would assume that that these two stories would be completely different. However, it ends up being quite the opposite. The two stories are so remarkably alike that it is almost staggering. However, it may not just be simple similarities that make the two so alike. The main reasons why the two characters are so alike are not so much the actions that they take, as oppose to the overall human emotional aspect of the two pieces of work. For example, we see that both Odysseus and Ulysses are invested in their lives with their families, and as such, they never have a moment where they stop thinking about the lives they used to live. Both characters are extremely alike in terms of thoughts, skills, and experiences. They are both profound tacticians, as well as being rather strong and good looking men. So in the end, both of these men have plenty in common on the emotional and psychological levels.
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
Hero is a word that is commonplace in our society. We seem to always be able to turn on the latest news story and find the newest local man who saved that beautiful kitten from that building that was burning down. When we say hero a vast array of different definitions come to people’s minds. Our definition of hero in our world is most definitely not a constant. In the Epic of Gilgamesh and the novel Monkey many would consider the main characters and their strongest companions nothing close to heroes but rather tyrants. I have to say that these people have defined hero too narrowly, and I must prove them of their folly. Monkey and Gilgamesh, despite the many sins they commit, highlight what it truly means to be a hero, reminding us to always aspire to greatness.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.
Homer’s epic, the Odyssey, is a heroic narrative that follows the adventures of Odysseus, the powerful King of Ithaca. The main story involves Odysseus’s return journey to his homeland after the Trojan War. However, Homer skips around in the action periodically to give the reader a better understanding and interest in what is going on in the epic. Homer takes his audience from the present action involving Telemakhos’ search for news of his father’s return, to the past where Odysseus tells the Phaiakians of his tragic journey home after the war. The events in Homer’s epic are not in order but still prove more effective at guiding the reader through the narrative. Although the events in the Odyssey are not in chronological order, the story line is enriched by Homer’s use of the in media res method because it introduces characters that were not involved in Odysseus’ adventure, because it shows the urgency of Odysseus’ return to his kingdom, and because it allows the reader to become more interested in the opening chapters without having to wait for a climax in the action.
In Homer's classic Greek epic, The Odyssey, its main character Odysseus, a Greek hero, struggles to overcome difficulties he faces while he is stranded away at sea. Odysseus has been lost at sea for ten years since the fall of Troy, and as a result, his wife and son in Ithaca are lost and having doubts regarding both their beliefs about whether or not their beloved husband and father is alive, as well as whether or not they will be able to rid the rowdy suitors who have laid waste to his palace. As Odysseus struggles to maintain his sanity and return to his family in one piece, his son Telemachus must prove himself at home with his mother Penelope, by saving the integrity of their family's reputation, as well as his mother's faithfulness from
There is another type of hero that almost no one is aware of. In the poorest areas of the country, live mostly minorities and other ethic background. All their lives they’ve been expected to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Some individuals living in poverty with a determination to succeed work hard all of their lives to become what everybody doubted they could. Escaping the crime, drugs, and prostitution is enough to escape hell, even if they don’t go to college. Despite of their financial problems, drug and crime surroundings, or difficulties in the language skills, their desire to triumph fuels their persistence. Those who make it to success are the few living examples of the purest form of hero anyone can be. They are not only their own heroes but also the heroes of the poor children who dream of becoming like them someday.
For a time, the main characters in a story, poem, or narrative were easily classified as either being a hero or a villain. A hero would be easy to identify by the traits he'd possess, such as bravery, honesty, selflessness, trustworthiness, courage, leadership, and more. The villain would be easy to identify as well, possessing traits such as maliciousness, deceitfulness, immorality, dark, wishing harm upon others, and more. But what if the character lacked the natural heroic qualities but wasn't a villain either? What if the person displayed personality flaws that would traditionally be associated with a villain, but has heroic intentions? These questions were finally answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.