Although Beowulf thought that he was finished with Grendel’s threats he wasn’t. Grendel’s mother was enraged because of her son’s death and began to terrorize the king’s men, much like her Grendel had done. Everyone knew that Beowulf was the only one able to stop her, so once again he set out to risk his life to save others. Beowulf was almost defeated during this fight, but he finally killed Grendel’s mother, because of this he became king of the Geats and ruled without fighting for 50 years, until the Dragon attacked and burnt down his house, that is. Even Beowulf knew that his chances of winning this fight were small, but he knew what he had to do.
CONSUMING RAGE: THE REAL ACHILLES HEAL Achilles consuming rage is his tragic... ... middle of paper ... ... Achilles in the heel, his one weak point, and the greatest warrior of all met his inevitable fate of death (Homer). Achilles was killed at the hands of the young prince that started the war, fate finally caught up with him, the tragic hero falls. CONCLUSION In The Iliad Achilles is the example for the tragic hero because of his individuality and rage. Achilles came face to face with his fate in Troy. By going to war he was signing his own death certificate, but because of his hubris he went and fought.
Beowulf is a superior hero to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf in the epic of Beowulf because he kills every monster that he fights, becomes a widely feared warrior and king, and dies in battle completing his final heroic act. Beowulf is superior to Hrothgar, Unferth, and Wiglaf because he kills every monster that he faces. When Herot was ravaged by Grendel and his mother, Hrothgar lacked both the strength and the courage to defend his people. Hrothgar was hindered by his old age and lacked the vitality of his youth that would have made him capable of slaying the monsters. However, when Beowulf grows old and becomes king, he is not affected by the factor of old age.
A Tribute to Tragic Heroes Dictionary.com defines a tragic hero as a great or virtuous character in a dramatic tragedy who is destined for downfall (“Tragic Hero”). Aristotle defined a tragic hero as a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his own destruction (“English IV Class Discussion”, 2016). A tragic hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death; intelligent so he may learn from his mistakes; have a weakness, usually it is pride; and be faced with a very serious decision that he must make (“Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle”). Achilles, Hector, Beowulf, and Hamlet all exhibit these characteristics and, as a result, can be seen as prime examples of
Many people know Achilles for these qualities and look up to him for that reason. Later after Patroclus’ death, Achilles goes through the behavior cycle for the second time, starting with arete, summoning his anger and courage, and gets back on the battlefield. Achilles explains his reason for going back to war by saying, “I now ... ... middle of paper ... ...ector. Afterwards Hector has been killed and have been dragged around the Trojan Walls, His second nemesis occurs when Paris gets back at him for killing one of the Trojan’s best warriors and leaders by killing Achilles with arrow right into his heel, the only place where Achilles can be killed. Achilles being killed is the end of Achilles’ two behavior cycles.
Achilles’ key to fame was not only in killing hordes of Trojans but also killing one of their beloved icons – Hector. “...Brilliant Achilles drove his spear and the point went stabbing clean through the tender neck...” He killed Hector as revenge for Hector killing Patroclus. Hector was the first Trojan icon to go down in The Iliad although the next ones went down later on in the war, perhaps not in The... ... middle of paper ... ...pt one) fled his side, he bravely fought the dragon. He did not survive the battle against the dragon, however, but Beowulf did manage to slay him. And death in battle also attributes to the glory he earned and will leave him to be a very famous man throughout history (in the story.
Achilles the great warrior of the Greeks takes countless lives of worthy warriors such as Hector and leads the Greeks to the Trojan wall (Achilles). Achilles knows of a prophecy that if he joins battle he will die a glorious death but if Achilles withdraws from battle he will live to be an old man and die an inglorious death. Achilles faces this situation and decides after remaining at the ships for a large portion of the Trojan War to join battle to avenge his fallen mentor and decides a glorious death with worth more than a long life. Hector, who opposes the Greek warriors in the Trojan War, made leader of the army of Troy and leads his men in a war that does not pertain to him or any of his interest he merely does it out of pride and love for his family, his brother Paris takes fully responsibility for the war and should be leading. Hector shows his courage and strength by leading his Trojan army against the feared Greeks and by killing Patroclus, Achilles mentor, during battle while Patroclus wore god made armor (litcharts).
Hector kills Patroclus, as he thinks it was Achilles. When Achilles got word of his best friend’s death he became enraged and grief stricken. Achilles joins the war the following day and sets out to kill Hector. After a one on one battle, Achilles successfully kills Hector. Achilles drug Hector’s body home on the back of his chariot and did not return his body to his father until days after Patroclus had been put to rest.
Never wanting to give up and giving your all were key components of life that the warriors lived by. When Hector dies in Book XVIII, the values and characteristics that he displays are nobility, self-respect and courage. Dying in the duel is shown to be a hero’s death and the best way for a warrior to die. The final battle between Achilles and Hectors is not only a battle between two heroes but of two heroic values. Hector is motivated by the fact that he wants to kill Achilles because he has killed multiple members of his family.
Can A Tragic Hero exist in the Hero’s Journey? The tragic hero was a staple of Greek Drama. This type of hero forced audiences to fall in love with the character, only to have their heart broken when the character falls. Every tragic hero has a flaw that will eventually lead to his or her demise and this flaw is displayed through the play. For example in Oedipus Rex Oedipus’s flaw is that he is quick to anger.