Essay on The Successful Hero on a Path to Failure

The Successful Hero on a Path to Failure What is a hero? Is a hero is a great individual with powers or qualities that separate him from the rest of the society or world for that matter. In a sense, perhaps, I think a hero can be much more than just having these particular qualities. In my opinion, a hero is someone that also commands great respect. There must also have been a great event or deed for someone to be deemed a hero. In the heroic tale of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh himself is a hero. He has the qualities required for being a hero, but he is lacking. He fails to exhibit self restraint and wise decision making. That doesnt necessarily mean that a hero must be perfect in order to be one. A hero is supposed to†¦show more content†¦He wins wars and has little fear. It is similar to politics. If the economy is thriving, then the people say the president is doing a good job. If the country is in a state of depression, the president will most likely not win the reelection. The people of this city didnt c are much that he had ill qualities. It was more important to see the ones that kept the city moving and expanding. From the point of view of certain gods, however, Gilgamesh made too many mistakes. Gilgamesh himself was part god, but he still was part human and nothing could change that about Gilgamesh. The story of Gilgamesh is an epic tale that revolves around the life of a hero. This is the first issue. Gilgamesh doesnt think of himself as a mortal man. He begins to question death in Tablet IX after the death of his companion Enkidu. Gilgamesh wandered in the wilderness grieving over the death of Enkidu and weeping saying: Enkidu has died. Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that? Gilgamesh felt the fear of it in his belly. He said to himself that he would seek the son of Ubartutu, Utnapishtim, he, the only one of men by means of whom he might find out how death could be avoided. He said to himself that he would hasten to him, the dangers of the journey notwithstanding. He is forced to face his own mortality. It seems in the passage that Gilgamesh never even considered death beforeShow MoreRelatedThe Hero s Journey By Wes Moore1433 Words   |  6 Pagesgaining self-knowledge; the same way a hero does throughout a heroic journey. However, while both have gone through the heroic journey, their fate was not identical because of poor choices and irreversible mistakes. Wes Moore, the successful author of his book, has specifically divided his book into 8 chapters, where each shows a year that had a decisive impact for him and Wes. Similar to his book, the hero’s journey also consists of 8 parts where the hero goes through the most important stages ofRead MoreWho Suffers Most from Willys Delusions?842 Words   |  4 Pagesreceipts. During his life he follows his dream, but when things go wrong he fools everybody around including himself. His memories are filled with amazing stories which always make him the hero that everybody else are proud of. By not living in reality he makes his children follow the same path and make the same wrong dreams and choices. His wife, Linda, and his sons keep him up in these mistakes, and that hurts all of them. The person who suffers the most from Willys delusionsRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller888 Words   |  4 Pagesfact that he cannot let go his former self. His wife Linda is sad and lonely; his youngest son Biff is presented as a swinger/player while his eldest son Happy appears anti-business and confused by the behavior of his father. The two sons end up as failures because of following the ways of his father. This powerful American tragedy makes one think that the play will end as happily as it started, only to find that the ending is tragic, sad and unanticipated. This story revolves around a middle-classRead MoreWilly Loman Tragic Hero730 Words   |  3 Pageshome from a successful day as a salesman, and sits down to dinner with his sons Biff, the former football star and now successful salesman that takes after his father, and Happy, a husband and father of three who lives a humble life. This idea infested Willy’s mind to such an extent that reality was swept away. Often Willy would disappear into delusions of the past, and or people from the past in the present. Willy’s brother Ben is a Willy’s most popular delusion. Ben is a successful businessmanRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Millers Death Of Salesman 1611 Words   |  7 Pageswhere he worked as a self-employed writer. In 1944 Miller published his first book, The Man Who Had All the Luck, which was a critical failure. The story was about an incredibly successful man who is unhappy with that success (pbs). 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18th Century Debate - 5557 Words

18th Century Debates Dark Age or a Period of Continuity and Change? Types of Questions 1. 2003- Recent writing (revisionists) on the 18th century have considerably altered our understanding of the period. Elaborate. 2. 2005- In what ways have recent historical writings challenged the view that the 18th century was a â€Å"Dark age†? 3. 2010-Can the 18th century can be characterized as a â€Å"Dark Age†? Discuss with reference to some of the recent writings. INTRODUCTION: The political, economic and social transitions witnessed in 18th century India have been subject to great historical debate. Most historians view this century as marked by two important transitions – (i) in the first half of the 18th century the decline of the Mughal empire and the†¦show more content†¦Satish Chandra revised his argument and put an economic spin on it. He like Ali held that jagirs became few and infertile. Yet he linked this to an economic argument that, few and infertile jagirs led to an increasing discrepancy in estimated revenue (jama) and actual revenue (hasil) which led to a decreased ability of state officials to collect revenue regularly, thus fuelling a fiscal crisis. Amongst the economic decline arguments Irfan Habib’s view is one of the strongest within the â€Å"Dark Century† conceptualization. Habib says that Mughal Empire was highly centralization, from Akbar’s time onwards. This centralization was seen in the univer sal land tax, systematic revenue assessment and collection, with a share going to zamidars (local claimants) that operated, as well as highly uniform revenue assignment tenures and revenue collections from far away territories of the empire. Thus Habib says the administration was a dominant factor in the economy. Looking at the 18th century, Habib argues for economic decline. He says from the late 17th century as Francois Bernier observed there was a process of economic decay in India, due to unrestricted authority of the jagirdars who were assigned lands for unpredictably short tenures by the emperor. Accepting this view Habib argued there was an increased pressure for revenue by jagirdars, which led to a flightShow MoreRelatedBooks Were an Important Part of Life in the Late 18th Century. Why Was That the Case? Are Books Important Today or Have They Been Supplanted by Other Forms of Mass Communication?1582 Words   |  7 Pagesof 1653. Eighteenth Century Americans were mainly interested in reading books about practical arts, religious and the politics as well. American does have a long tradition on reading habits since long back. Thus they are proved to be improved in vocal, public expressions both towards and against throughout reading skills. Novels are the entertaining seldom read by Americans in the 18th century. 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To Kill a Mocking Bird free essay sample

The Defender You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it (Lee 30). Atticus Finch says these words to his daughter, Scout, after he elucidates to her why it is important to not be quick to judge a book by its cover . In Harper Lees To Kill A Mocking Bird, the main conflicts are centered around prejudice. In the tiny town of Maycomb, everybody is set on tradition and there is no room for oddity. Atticus Finch breaks down the walls that everybody else builds up about first and lasting impressions, slowly but surely. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb. When Atticus sees that Scout, Jem, and Dill are mocking Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor who nobody knows about except for the urban legends they hear from Miss Stephanie Crawford, the town gossip, he puts his foot down and reprimands the children to quit their connived games. While ordering the kids to quit bullying Boo, Jem argues, We werent makin fun of him, we werent laughin at him, we were just No, said Atticus, putting lifes history on display for the edification of the neighborhood (39). When no one else is on Boo Radleys side, Atticus is, because he knows in his heart that it is wrong to make fun of someone, especially someone that they do not know. What Mr. Radley did might seem peculiar to us, but it did not seem peculiar to him. Furthermore, had it never occurred to us that the civil way to communicate with another being was by the front door instead of a side window? (39). Atticus orders the kids to stay away from the Radley house until they were invited there, and that they were not to play an asinine game he had seen them playing or to make fun of anybody on the street or in the town. Mrs. Dubose is the second individual whom Atticus defends when no one else does. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is a hot-tempered, recluse woman as well as the Finchs neighbor. Scout describes her as plain hell (3). When Jem decides to destroy Mrs. Duboses plants, Atticus makes him read to her, as a punishment to Jem and an apology to Mrs. Dubose. Although Jem tells his father that he destroyed the plants because of the antagonizing comments that came out of her mouth about Atticus, he chooses to discipline Jem and do an act of kindness to Mrs. Dubose. Atticus even defends her with sweet words by telling his son, I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. Its when you know youre licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her view, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew (93). Racism plays a major factor in the story. The entire town of Maycomb has tradition embedded in their hearts, and negroes are not a part of the tradition. Atticus agrees to defending Tom Robinson, a black man, in court. Although Atticus knows that Tom will not be acquitted, he does anyway, and he does and says anything he can to let Maycomb know that Tom in innocent. Bob and Mayella Ewell are the prosecutors against Tom and they are lying and deceiving Maycomb by making up a false testimony saying that Tom raped Mayella. Atticus finds this out and does anything he can to put a stop to it. When the town hears that Atticus is defending a negro, he gets a bunch of hate but does not back down. Some people reason that Jem and Scout are better examples of showing equality because since they are young, they are better suited for respecting the disrespected because the town will not get as angry with them than with an adult. However, the kids are not quick to accepting people most of the time. Without Atticus being there to guide them along the path of righteousness, Jem and Scout would be just like any other kid in Maycomb. When the kids are confused as to why Atticus was trying to do the ethical thing and defend Tom, Miss Maudie has to explain to them that he was making baby steps in the right direction (183). When Jem is still absent minded about the ordeal, Miss Maudie says, I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your fathers one of them. Oh, said Jem. Well. Dont you oh well me, sir, Miss Maudie replied, recognizing Jems fatalistic noises, you are not old enough to appreciate what I said' (183). The kids are impetuous to judge people, like Boo Radley, and Atticus has to stand up for him against the children. Even if Scout and Jem do a good deed of exemplifying equality, they are following by Atticus admirable example since he is their father and they live under his influence. Atticus Finch is a great example for everyone to practice equality and to not judge a book by its cover. Although a father is normally on his childs side, Atticus lets Jem and Scout know that no matter how the person acts or what they look like, they still need to treat them cordially. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb. Martin Luther King Jr. goes down in American history as a leader in a revolutionary event of going against racism and discrimination. Atticus Finch is much like Martin Luther King Jr. , and if there were more Atticus in Maycomb, then the town would be just like how ours is today: equality for all.