The Lord of the Rings Aragorn is truly the epic hero form the Lord of the Rings. From the start, Aragorn displays hero qualities which continue to lead his group into success. His decisions are wise, and his fighting is brave enough for him to be considered a hero. At times, it seems that his friends would not be able to get by without him. Because of Aragorn's bravery and hope, the Battle of Helms Deep is won by the humans, ultimately making Aragorn the epic hero. In order to be a hero, one cannot just be an above average person. When a dilemma arises, a hero must never give up hope and always know what to do. Aragorn is knowledgeable and leads his companions like a true hero. For instance, Legolas, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, and Gimli escape from the terrifying Mines of Moria thinking …show more content…
This eases Boromir's mind before he dies. Again, Aragorn displays hero-like characteristics by knowing what to say to a fallen soldier. After this, only Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are left. Gimli believes that the fellowship has failed. Aragorn says, "Not if we hold true to each other Let's hunt some orc!" (The Fellowship of the Ring [video recording]). A hero like Aragorn never gives up hope. Instead, he always looks to a positive future which raises the spirits of his companions as well. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli later make it to Edoras, a city ruled by Théoden in Rohan. It is here where a mighty task is given to Aragorn. Since Théoden wants his people to be safe, he decides to take them to Helms Deep for safety. Gandalf, before his departure to search for the riders of Rohan, tells Aragorn that "We will need you before the end, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you." (The Fellowship of the Ring [video recording]). Aragorn acknowledges this knowing that he has the duty of protecting Rohan. He knows that it will not be easy, although he still does not lose hope. As a leader, Aragorn takes the
Courage, selflessness, justice, and humility are all characteristics of epic heroes have exhibited. Both Beowulf and Shrek show the qualities of epic heroes. Beowulf is a brave warrior, and he is a wise king of the Geat’s. Shrek is an ogre that lives in a secluded forest and cannot express his emotions, but he is kind hearted and tries not to hurt anyone. Beowulf and Shrek are epic heroes because they receive assistance from allies, face supernatural foe, and reach lowest points where they appear defeated.
An epic hero is character who is brave and noble, and that person is someone who carries good leadership traits and goes through an epic journey. Usually an epic hero is from an epic, and an example is Odysseus. Odysseus goes through a journey to return back to Ithaca, his homeland. In the modern era, there are epic heroes all around us. They can be in books, movies, or plays. One great example of a modern epic hero is Woody from Toy Story 3. He is confident, courageous,selfless, and humane. Woody is a toy cowboy and his owner, Andy is going off to college. Woody and his buddies get misplaced and get donated to a child day care center. There, they have to try to escape and return home, after realizing how bad the place
The epic hero is often the person who has shown outstanding superhuman abilities no other can achieve. A hero is also a person who has conquered a very difficult obstacle or challenge in their early lives. In this case Theseus’ first obstacle was to be able to get the sword and shoes his father had placed under a great stone.
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who lives in a hole in a hill. He enjoys a quiet life but it is interrupted by a surprise visit by the wizard Gandalf. Gandalf comes with a company of dwarves led by Thorin. They were searching to recover a lost treasure that was being guarded by a dragon named Smaug, at the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf decided Bilbo would be helpful to the team as a burglar.
Kingship in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Ringsand Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings." Tolkien Studies 6.1 (2009): 71-90. Project MUSE. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
In every epic story, the center of attention will be on the epic hero. Usually all the epic heroes have some kind of special power, which keep them different from other characters. Later on, their epic journey these powers, help them to win the glory, which make them epic heroes. In Beowulf, Beowulf is truly an epic hero, because of his wisdom, strength and bravery.
A true hero does not fear death or, but instead risks all that he is for what he believes to be right, moral, and just. Beowulf is an epic and tells the story of a legendary hero, conquering all obstacles as if he was immortal. Up until the end of Beowulf’s life he was constantly looking to be the hero. However, his humanity is exposed by his death. Heroes all share the characteristic of their willingness to die in their effort to accomplish their heroic act, thus making the act in itself heroic. Throughout the epic, Beowulf in many ways exhibited all the qualities and characteristics needed to be a true hero.
In our world it is hard to find somebody who can truly be called a “hero”. This is probably because society portrays heroes as being like Superman and Batman. These comical heroes blur the perception that some people have of heroes. They think a hero is someone who can do anything and everything and have an otherworldly power. In reality, a hero can be anybody. To be considered a hero by Greek Mythology a hero needs to be favored by the Greek gods and usually fight in and win a war like Odysseus did against the Trojans. In both the epic tale Beowulf and in The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, the protagonist’s and in the case of the Hobbit, the members of Thorin’s company have the ability and desire to save friends and others propels them to the status of hero.
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings strikes a cord with almost everyone who reads it. Its popularity has not waned with the passing of time, nor is its appeal centered on one age group or generation. Book sales would indicate that The Lord of the Rings is at least as popular now as it ever was, if not more so. Some estimates put it at the second highest selling work of all time, following only the bible.
An epic hero according to Anglo-Saxon literature is a hero who is larger-than-life; someone with self-confidence, great strength, and the qualities of loyalty, bravery, and honor. Beowulf can be considered an epic hero for multiple reasons throughout “Beowulf.” Beowulf is a character constructed on all of the Anglo-Saxon epic hero qualifications. For starters, Beowulf is seen as a noble character, that is willing to provide security for the people by risking his own life. As a character, Beowulf conducts superhuman strength, and can complete impossible tasks. These are only some among many other reasons and characteristics Beowulf can be classified as an epic hero.
It is likely for one to assume that a classic piece of literature set in a fantasy oriented stage will have no merits to the youths of today. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, however, with its crafty of usage symbolism, displays its relevance to issues that often trouble teens. As the story progresses from a children’s tale to an epic, the main character Bilbo undergoes a series of development, his experiences often overlapping with ordinary people. Reading the Hobbit will provide teens with opportunities of exploring the importance of several common but serious topics. People may encounter many of the themes presented in the book elsewhere repeatedly, but it’s possible that they never appreciated the applications it might have on themselves. When teens read the Hobbit, they perceive it as a simple fiction of adventure. Under proper guiding, they will be able to recognize and utilize the lessons of the Hobbit, and improve their attitudes and ideas about life.
The two Hobbits set off on a journey in which they meet up with others that join them on their journey such as Gimli the "Dwarf", Legolas the "Elven" archer, Boromir a "Human" tracker, Aragorn the heir to the "Human" throne, two more "Hobbits" Merry, Pippin and the powerful "Wizard" Gandalf. They travel across "Middle Earth" fighting off many "Orcs" and "Black Riders" which are in search of the ring by the orders of the powerful evil "Wizard" Sauron. During their quest, they encounter many ambushes by the "Orcs" which they overcome and usually slay. In some of the ambushes, Frodo uses his ring to become invisible to escape from the "Orcs" and "Black Riders".
The authors of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter each use the hero quest pattern as a scheduled backdrop of action. The two protagonists, Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter have very similar beginnings. They are introduced as normal boys who find out that they are going to undertake something very great. The two protagonists however, are not alone in their quests. They both have very similar mentors in Gandalf and Dumbledore respectively. Even greater guidance comes from their friends, who are there every step of the way. Each novel uses a reoccurring symbol to show the presence of evil. The two journeys are so epic due in part to the dark and powerful villains that each hero has to battle.
Beowulf also contains an epic hero. The title of the poem has been named after our epic hero, Beowulf. In definition, an epic hero is someone that does larger than life deeds and is stronger and smarter than any normal man; and Beowulf fits this description as if the mold were made for him. He has the strength of thirty men and uses it as a major weapon against evil. This can be seen through Beowulf’s battles with Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon.