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Epic hero characteristics introduction
Epic hero characteristics introduction
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In the first stage of the hero epic, the reader enters the Ordinary World. The hero lives in a “sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name” (15). And in that sad city, beyond the “ruined buildings (which are looking) like broken hearts” there lives the protagonist Haroun Khalifa (15). He is a happy young child that “grew up in a home in which, instead of misery and frowns he had his fathers ready smile and his mother's sweet voice raised in song” (15). Haroun stands out against a background where he lives in a “small concrete house with pink walls, lime-green windows, and blue painted balconies with squiggly metal railings, all of which made it look more like a cake (18). This quoted section shows
In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns by the author Khaled Hosseini presents the tragedy that Mariam went through. Mariam the unwanted child for her father because he was not married to Mariam’s mother when she get pregnant from him. She lived in a village with her only family member, her mother. One day she left her mother and went to the city that her father lived in. Her mother felt abandoned and committed suicide because Mariam is all she had. After the death of her mother, Mariam moved with her father to Kabul. She was a burden to her father so after some weeks she was forced to marry a forty-five year old man when she was only fifteen year old. She moved to another city with her husband where she had to live with a man that she never
Stories are powerful devices that “are all we have, you see, to fight off illness and death” (Silko 1). Within the novels Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko and Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, stories serve exactly this purpose. Each protagonist, Tayo and Haroun respectively, has an obstacle they must overcome. Tayo is a Native American World War II veteran who suffers from an illness of the mind, which is implied to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is told that a Ceremony is the only way to cure him. The ceremony mentioned involves stories. Haroun is a young Indian boy who has gone through tragedy at a young age. His mother has left and his father has lost his job as a storyteller. Haroun feels that both of these occurrences are his fault. Stories are how Haroun saves his sad city, his father’s job, and brings his mother back. Both of the protagonists have burdens to carry upon their shoulders. The authors, though from two different cultures, use stories in their novels in similar fashions: as healing devices. This proves that stories are universal elements that can be utilized in the same way no matter what the culture.
“His people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence-forces that continue to threaten them even today” (Hower). Khaled Hosseini’s novels have brought many of his readers a different perspective of Afghanistan. Many people after reading Hosseini’s books start to notice this place more and have sympathy feelings rather negative views about it. Usually people believe the media’s information that conveys about Afghanistan as a poverty place but does not specify why they live in this conditions and how those states affect their everyday life. In the two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author Khaled Hosseini wrote the political events that happen in Afghanistan and show how those events affected Afghans’ lives in order to show his personal values of political events and humanitarianism. Khaled Hosseini uses his and other Afghan’s personal experience to send out his mission statement to his readers. Hosseini said that his message was to get his readers be a part of “the mission of [his] foundation to reach out and help people who are exactly like the characters in [his] books” (Wrenn). Across the globe, people started to give a helping hand when they start to read Hosseini’s novels.
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, dives into the life of a boy living in Afghanistan before and after its downfall. Amir lives with his father, Baba, and they have two servants that live in a shack at their house. Baba is known throughout the land as a high ranking citizen who has accomplished much good in his life. Ali and Hassan, the servants are also like family to Baba and Amir. Hassan and Amir fed from the same breasts and have grown up entirely together. Rahim Khan and Baba usually converse about life together daily. Many struggles and conflicts continually bring the four characters together and recurringly push them apart. Amir has to make many crucial decisions as the protagonist in the story. Amir endures many hardships throughout
Imagine standing at the gate of the happiest place on earth. Completely in awe at its beauty, it's magic, and it’s history; knowing you can't go in. Living in the United States, you may be thinking the magical place I can't get into is Disneyland, but it is my home country, Iran. My family had to leave Iran during the revolution; the Iran I left, the home I loved and the place I grew up in no longer exists. What stands now is what's left of a country torn apart by war. I cannot return to my country for fear I will be imprisoned for treason; I can stand on the mountain top and look at its beauty and remember what was, but I cannot go inside. As in this example, after civil unrest, war, and revolution, people sometimes live in exile. They fear for their lives because their lives appear to not mean anything to their government. They will be able to watch their native land change, for better or for worse, but they will not be able to affect or experience it firsthand. Fortunately, countries
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.
The epic yarn Gilgamesh leaves me somewhat discouraged when I finished the book. This pessimistic ending is not the happy ending I was expecting to see considering the tragedies throughout of the rest of the story. The entire last part of the book, starting with Enkidu’s death, is nothing but more sorrow for Gilgamesh. The book seems to give Gilgamesh hope and then beat him down with more tragedy. It is almost as if the more he tries, the worse it gets for him.
Character is built in several different ways. Some may view character as how one handles a certain hectic situation or how well one person treats another. A true definition character contains these elements, but one’s character is built and developed mainly on how one picks and chooses his time to act and his time to wait. This definition refers to restraint and discipline. Gilgamesh and Homer’s The Odyssey uses many instances in which the main characters must use incredible restraint to protect not only themselves, but also the ones they care for and love. Although both stories use this theme of self-control and discipline to develop certain personalities, each one tells a different account of how these characters are viewed by their fellow men and women and the rewards that come from showing the traits of restraint and self-will. In Gilgamesh, the character that holds back and exhibits patience is viewed as a coward, as Gilgamesh believes, and is a sign of a lack of bravery and confidence. The way that patience is portrayed in Gilgamesh reflects how the society of the time feels about everything in their lives. The author of this story wants the reader to believe that one must not hesitate and must act decisively and quickly. Opposing this belief, Odysseus holds back emotions of rage and homesickness in order to complete the task at hand. Homer, living in Greek society, understood that his people thought more about the problem before coming to a quick conclusion and then acting on it impulsively. So, although both stories repeat the concepts of self-restraint and discipline as character building qualities, they differ in the way that these attributes build or weaken a personality.
The Kite Runner is a popular novel that grew in fame and popularity very quickly. It gives us a look into what life is like growing up when “cruelty and friendship meet head-on in this coming-of-age story set in the last peaceful days of Afghanistan” (Hosseini). The novel is told by Amir, the protagonist of the story. He is from the Pashtun and Sunni Muslim group. The Pashtun Muslims are the dominate ethnic group of the area, which plays a role in the relationship between another major character, Hassan, in the novel. Hassan is a Hazara Muslim, who are looked down upon as a minority. In The Kite Runner, the invasion of the Soviet Union also affects Amirs life and relationships. The Soviet Union is a communist
The Arapesh are known to be gentle, sensitive to others, and cooperative. In class, they were described as friendly and supportive as well as trusting. An example used was of a child running the perimeter of town and receiving support from every adult. They all treated this one child as their own and the atmosphere was so pure and positive. I must admit however this example lead my mind off track and into a sort of dream. With this concept I raised three questions. If these people only know the trusting world they live in, how can they travel the world? If everyone lived in this society, could there be such thing as a perfect world? Lastly, I found myself wondering if I would want to live in a world where I trusted everyone.
To many people stories are just a way to pass time, to escape from reality, that they do not serve any real purpose. However in Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie If there are no stories then many of the characters lives would be changed drastically
on his motor bike. This appears like the 'eye of God'. As soon as the
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.
An assortment of monolithic and cultural presence gives Midaq Alley the well-earned reputations of one of the lost treasures of Cairo. The fine stone-paved surface ran directly to the Sandiqiya Street. However, time mad Midaq Alley a poor, destitute, side-street alley neighborhood, where most of the inhabitants strive for bigger and better things but against a world that is against them. The Second World War did not begin in Egypt, but just like the United States of America it was eventually come knocking on their door! Bombing raids occurred but were now a scarce occurrence. Midaq Alley is set during the 40’s when the British Army has taken a defensive position against the Nazis in the city of Cairo. Throughout the whole novel characters are brought to life by the author Naguib Mahfouz although the story conspires only a few main characters. Kirsha, is a soft owner of the café in Midaq Alley. Kirsha’s wife Mrs. Kirsha beats him, and a son Hussain Kirsha grew up with Abbas and they are friends but also rivals, Hussain Kirsha also shows signs of greed. Abbas is a slightly heavy, average height, and a life long Midaq Alley resident who loves Midaq Alley. He and Uncle Kamil share an apartment and Abbas is the local barber at his shop. Abbas is also a young man who wants to marry Hamida, she says yes but he can not afford it so he joins the British Army. Hamida has a lust for wealth and men with wealth, when Abbas is gone she marries Salim Alwan a rich entrepreneur who owns a store on Midaq Alley. Salim Alwan’s business even is profitable during time of war, because he is invoved in black market deals operates on the black market. His wife has gotten older and doesn’t get him going sexually anymore, so he began to go after ...
In the novel The Arabian Nights, translated by Husain Haddawy, Sharazad is the main character who narrates fables to delay her death each night and potentially save her own life, but also to influence the king to be a better man and ruler over his kingdom. Throughout this novel readers will learn two moral lessons. First, they should not take things for granted, and once things are said you can’t always take them back.