Warriors in Literature - Essay Example

?Warriors in Literature Question A warrior is one who stands up for the people and protects those around him/her. A warrior does not always have to be the archetypal sword wielding warrior man who charges into the field of battle; sometimes, it can be a person who stands up for what is right. There are tools that a warrior must possess which are essential to his/her character. Courage is the utmost important and is needed to stand in the face of danger or in the path of unjust action. For example, Harry Potter exemplifies many aspects of courage throughout J.K. Rowling’s series of Harry Potter. Often Harry has to face insurmountable odds in order to protect the one’s he loves as well as stand up for what he believes is right. A warrior must also be righteous in that his ethical values are clear and true with their moral compass always pointing north. Lastly, resourcefulness and humbleness are key to the creation of a warrior. Not only is a warrior a hero, but he/she is also a leader and must show resourcefulness when solving complex problems as well as show humility when they conquer a task for the people. The role of a warrior in society depends on the societal norms placed on the individual. This also shapes how the person deals with the demands from this society. In Beowulf, Beowulf is tasked with the challenge of slaying Grendel, an evil creature who has been terrifying the people in the king’s hall and killing them. In this, Beowulf functions more as the archetypal warrior character in that his primary purpose as a hero is protecting the people through slaying the beast. Like in government, the power and respect that a warrior yields is not his/her, but rather is delegated to him/her by the people. Many warriors often have abilities that can be considered superhuman abilities, but they always have that one flaw that challenges them in the development of the character. In the Illiad, Achilles is a fearsome warrior who fight’s for Agamemnon in the Trojan War recanted by Homer. Achilles yields the respect of all those in the army for his skill of the sword and his prowess as a warrior. His enemies fear him knowing that he will bring death and destruction. Despite all of this, he was one weakness on his leg in which he is vulnerable to defeat. Unfortunately, he is unable to overcome this weakness and perishes which lead to the name of the area to be called the Achilles tendon in that if any one of us is injured there, it fundamentally changes the way we are able to get around. The idea of a warrior is based on what he/she does for society and how society interprets the actions of the hero/heroine. It is as easy to be praised for a positive act of protection as it is to be reprimanded for an action that society deems immoral or just as easily not meeting the expectations of society. Question 2: Cultural and societal beliefs help fundamentally define the people within. Many cultures have beliefs that there is divine intervention among those in society either for better or worse. They will create shrines to celebrate these deities and make sacrifices to curb the wrath of them. The first and probably most well written about would be the roman gods and demigods which dominated and shaped the roman way of life during ancient times. Many superstitions can be attributed to these gods. They believed in many different gods which usually had domain over an element or aspect in life i.e. Venus is to love as Neptune is to water. They believed that these gods influenced their lives every day in every aspect. In order to gain favor, they shaped their entire culture around this. They paid homage to their gods for good fortune and built great Parthenon’s in their honor. Contemporary, we look at Christianity and the belief in one god subdivided into three aspects: the father, the son, and the holy spirit. In today’s day, society is divided on the divine interference of god in daily life. Many people pray and read the bible in order to try and interpret his meaning in order to live a moral life that will lead them to heaven rather than hell. Compared to the roman way of life, the role of religion and divine intervention does not play an active role in society and in determining society’s actions. In Egyptian mythology, they built huge pyramids to pay homage to the gods. They also placed a huge emphasis on the after life in the present life. Their entire culture surrounded around Osiris, god of the dead, and the judgment that would be passed. This influenced the burial of the person and helped bring about advanced techniques of body preservation which allowed us to study them today. Unlike Christianity and Roman societies who were focused on the daily intervention and influence of the divine in daily life, Egyptian mythology and belief focused on the after life and preparing for what would happen once they died. Perceptions and beliefs vary from religion to religion and society to society. Even though some of the characteristics might be similar, the view and role in which they played in society are completely different. This can be seen in the monuments that they left as a testimony to the life that they lived as well as the works of literature produced by the scholars of the time. Question 3: King Arthur is one of the most written warriors and heroes of all time. He focused on the creation of a peaceful kingdom in which justice and tolerance would prevail. Along with his chosen companions they would help rule and bring peace to Camelot. The motivation was intangible; therefore it had the greatest power. Many of the stories written by Chaucher resemble those quests of King Arthur. This is due to the fact that they both come from the same area approximately around the same time. Thus the values that are held are very similar. In The Decameron, unlike in the previous tales, talks about the dark times of humanity in that the Bubonic plague which wiped out around one third of the worlds population. It talks about the luck and trials that were faced. Unlike the others, it has a darker and more foreboding tone. The Mwindo epic and Gassire’s lute are similar, but are most unlike their European counterparts. The Mwindo epic is based on a folk tale in which talks about a story of betrayal and vengeance. However, in the end they are able to reconcile their differences. In Gassire’s lute, the story deals with one who is obsessed with attaining the kingdom and becoming king. However, he is told that instead he will play a lute, with the catch that the song he became obsessed with could only be played on the field of battle. After he sacrificed many men and his sons in order to hear the song, he is banished from the kingdom by the people. It is only then does he hear the sound he had been searching for. These create a diverse amount of examples to look at as in there are examples from European literature as well as African literature. Both reflect the ideals and cultures of the time which makes the idea of the warrior very different from each perspective. The best of these would be King Arthur due to the fact that the illusion and themes drawn from the story are still universal and can still be applied to most of the things that we deal with today. It has also inspired many other stories and media to be created. The one’s from African American literature are not as easily applicable due to the nature and reason that they were written. This might be due to the fact that the cultural and societal definitions of heroism and stories in African literature are incompatible with the cultural and societal values of western culture. Read More