Hero Myth - Achilles Essay Example for Free

Hero Myth Achilles Essay The concept of the hero is as old as myth itself. Throughout history both concepts have evolved together. Myths tell tales of the adventures of man, frequently the son of a god or goddess and a human, who is endowed with great promise and destined to perform great feats. Often these feats involve acts of rescue, war or protection. This heroic myth is rooted in the ideal of familial romance. Particularly during adolescence it sustains and expresses the identification of the ego with idealized imagery. The hero myths have been used for centuries to educate and train youths as parts of institutions and groups. One example of a hero is Achilles, made famous through Homer’s epic Illiad. While we may not look at myths today in the same ways as our ancient forebears, the hero myth is still alive and well in our culture today. Achilles was the hero of the Trojan war as related by Homer in the Illiad. He was the mightiest of the Trojan warriors. He began life as a demigod, the son of Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons and a mortal, and Thetis who was a Nereid. The Myrmidons were legendary warriors, very skilled and brave. Nereids are sea nymphs being the daughters of Nereus and Doris. Thetis was very concerned that her son was a mortal. Therefore she attempted to make him immortal. There are two stories of how she wet about this. The lesser-known story is that she burned him in a fire nightly and then healed his wounds with a magical ambrosia. The more well-known story is that she held him tightly by the heel and submersed him in the river Styx. This made his entire body invulnerable except for the spot on his heel where she held him while he was in the river. During Achilles’ boyhood, a seer named Calchas prophesied that Troy would not fall without help from Achilles. Knowing that he would die if he went to Troy, Thetis sent Achilles to the court of Lycomedes in Scyros. He was hidden there in the guise of a young girl. While at the court he had a romance with Deidameia who was the daughter of Lycomedes. The result was a son who was named Pyrrhus. The disguise finally came to an end when Odysseus exposed Achilles by placing arms and armor amongst a display of female garments and picked Achilles out when he was the only â€Å"female† to be interested in the war equipment. Achilles then willingly joined Odysseus on the journey to Troy. He led a host of his father’s Myrmidon troops in addition to his utor Phoenix and his friend Patroclus. Once in Troy, Achilles quickly gained the reputation as an undefeatable warrior. One of his most notable feats was the capture of 23 Trojan towns. One of these was Lyrnessos where he took a war prize in the form of a woman named Briseis. The central action of the Illiad was sparked when Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, was forced to give up his war-prize woman, Chryseis, by an oracle of Apollo. As compensation for the loss of Chryseis, Agamemnon took Briseis from Achilles. Thus enraged, Achilles refused to continue fighting for the Greeks. With Achilles’ withdrawal from the action, the war started to go badly for the Greeks and they offered large reparations to try to lure back their greatest warrior. Achilles continued to refuse to rejoin the war, however, he did agree to allow his close friend Patroclus to don his arms and armor and fight in his place. The next day Hector, a Trojan hero, mistook Patroclus for Achilles and killed Patroclus. Achilles was engulfed with rage at Hector and consumed by grief for his friend’s death. Thetis went to Hephaestus and obtained fabulous new armor for Achilles. Achilles recommenced fighting and killed Hector. Not satisfied with Hector’s death, Achilles used his chariot to drag the body before the walls of Troy and refused the corpse funeral rites. Hector’s father Priam, the king of Troy, went secretly to the Greek camp to beg the return of the body. Finally, Achilles relented and allowed Priam to take Hector’s remains. After Hector’s death time started to run out for Achilles. He continued to fight heroically and killed many Trojans as well as their allies. Eventually, Paris, who was another of Priam’s sons, enlisted the aid of Apollo and wounded Achilles in his weak spot – the heel – with an arrow. This caused Achilles death. The enduring legend from the story of Achilles has to do with the concept of the Achilles’ heel. An Achilles’ heel has come to mean that despite overall strength, there is a mortal weakness that can lead to one’s downfall. While the original myth refers to a physical weakness, in modern times it has come to reference other types of character flaws or qualities that can cause ruination. The concept of the hero has changed somewhat in our modern culture. Instead of daring people who buck trends and traditions in order to help their families, nations or cultures, today we tend to revere people like sports figures and actors. While we have the occasional government or political leader such as Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King or Nelson Mandela, most of what you hear about is who is making the most money due to their sports or acting ability. The concept of the sports figure hero can have some validity as these figures do occasionally overcome great odds and perform daring feats on the modern â€Å"battlefield†, i. e. , the sports arena. However, this is nothing compared to the feats of the ancient heros. Hero myths are powerful stories from ancient times. So powerful are they that they cross cultures and ages, continuing to influence us today. Achilles was one of the great heros of ancient times as the mightiest warrior of the Trojan war. While who we classify as a hero has changed in our modern societies, we still look to the concept today. We teach young people about heros as a method to inspire them. We look to our heros as adults to give us guidance and to give us something to guide our hopes and dreams. While modern heros may not be of Achilles’ status, they remain an integral part of our cultures.

Arthur Ashe :: Biographies Bio Biography

Arthur Ashe was someone who was able to touch people with not only his superb tennis skills, but also his abilities off the court, like his superb speaking skills and knowledge of the world around him. He was willing to put aside his tennis in order to try to change what was wrong with the world. Arthur Ashe was a brave and gifted person willing to take risks to make a difference and influenced many people's lives. In 1970, Arthur Ashe became a familiar name after Ashe easily won the 1970 Australian Open. He immediately used his new status as a popular, well-known figure in order for him to be able to address social issues and be listened to. During Apartheid, Ashe attempted to ban South Africa's participation in the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). By calling for South Africa to be banned from the Federation, he immediately saw how great his influence was, as his call was immediately granted. This made all of America take note of Ashe's powerful personal opinions and desire to get them across. Ashe spent the next couple of months after this speaking out against unfair on racial policies. This made everybody stand up and take notice and in addition to getting banned form the ILTF, South Africa was also excluded from Davis Cup competition as a direct result of Ashe's influence with his words. Though he was unable to stop Apartheid with his words, he was able to make people awar e of the horrors going on and also weakened it by getting the tennis organizations to exclude them from competitions, mainly the Davis cup. During this time, Ashe still hadn't given up on tennis, and continued to play well in addition to his large and ever-growing influence. In an unforgettable match, Ashe defeated popular player and Hall of Famer, Jimmy Connors and won the singles title of Wimbledon in 1975. The victory made Ashe the first black man ever to win this extremely prestigious tournament. Even now, no other black man has been able to win Wimbledon. Ashe went on to end the season ranked number one in tennis. He is also the first and only black man ever to achieve that honor. Ashe's career tragically came to an end when he suffered a heart attack while participating in a New York tennis clinic in 1979.

The Scarlet Letter: Pearls Impact on Main Themes

Pearls Impact on the Main Themes In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is a bastard child living in Boston during the 1600’s. Although she is the youngest character, she is arguably the most important because she emphasizes the main points in the story indirectly through her observations and questions. Two of the main points are that the scarlet letter represents sin and that sin is an inevitable part of life. Throughout most of the book, all the townspeople and even her own daughter, Pearl, associates the scarlet letter as a symbol of adultery, which is a sin.During their walk in the forest, Pearl makes several comments that reveal her opinions on the impact of the scarlet letter in her mother’s life. Firstly, she points out that â€Å"the sunshine does not love† her mother and when it sees her, the sunshine â€Å"runs and hides itself† due to the fact that â€Å"it is afraid of something on [her] bosom† (Hawthorne 220). In this conte xt, the sunshine refers to the innocence and the pureness of oneself which is the opposite of the scarlet letter, which represents sin.Because Hester committed adultery and is forced to wear the scarlet letter, the sunshine does not shine upon her because she is neither pure nor innocent. Additionally, the sunshine is also a representation of the community, because they too tend to ostracize her for the same exact reason. Since the sunshine and the scarlet letter are two polar opposites, they tend to avoid each other. In contrast, Pearl realizes that she is â€Å"a child† and since she does not â€Å"wear [anything] on [her] bosom†, then the sunshine will not flee from her (Hawthorne 221).Pearl indirectly makes the connection that the scarlet letter is a negative symbol, due to the fact that sunshine tries to avoid her mother, who wears it all the time. Conversely, due to the fact that she is a child and does not bear the sinful meaning of the scarlet letter on her bos om, the sunshine welcomes her under its rays. Even from a very young age, Pearl understands that the scarlet letter dictates her mother in every way. She also understands that it is a symbol of sin and nothing good can amount to it since sinful people are often ignored.Similarly to the point mentioned above, Pearl again, indirectly finds out that sin is a part of growing up. After making the association that the scarlet letter is a sinful thing, she tells her mother that she does not wear the scarlet letter yet. Hester responds to Pearl and says that she hopefully never will. Pearl is confused, and proceeds to ask her mother if the scarlet letter â€Å"will not come of its own accord when [she] [is] woman grown† (Hawthorne 221). The confusion among the young character reveals that she believes that her mother represents all the women in the community.By that, Pearl essentially believes that it is only natural that all people will eventually become sinful and bear the scarlet letter to represent it. It is a valid point but, Hester does not tell her whether she’s correct with the assumption. Instead, Hester avoids the topic and tells Pearl to â€Å"runaway†¦and catch the sunshine! It will soon be gone† (Hawthorne 221). Hester’s response can be interpreted in both a literal and figurative way. The literal response is telling her daughter to run and play before its starts getting dark. The figurative meaning is much more complex.In the paragraph above, sunshine has already been identified as ones pureness and innocence. When Hester tells her daughter that the sunshine is receding and advises Pearl to catch it while she still can, she is emphasizing the fact that sin is a part of life. Like the rotation of the sun, there comes a time in the day where it sets and all becomes dark. Pearl is currently pure and innocent because she is in the sunlight. However, her mother warns her that the sunlight is not going to be present forever and once it gets dark, she too will be sinful.The combined information about Pearl’s assumption and Hester’s figurative response to her daughter reveals to the reader that sin is an inevitable part of life. Pearl, being the youngest character, does not have the maturity to understand the complex world around her. However, her indirect observations and questions highlight the main points in the story. In this case, a few lines of her interaction with her mother reveals that her mother’s scarlet letter is a representation of sin and that sin is an inevitable part of life, which Hawthorne feels very strongly about.

Essay about The Effect of Television Violence on Children

The Effect of Television Violence on Children Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior; The violence that children are constantly subjected to on television can have very harmful affects if not monitored carefully. More and more often parents are using television as a means of entertaining their children when they are unable to, and the amount of television that children are watching is a growing concern in our society. While a large part of the concern is the quantity of television that young people are viewing, a more pressing issue is the quality that is offered to them. While cartoons may seem to be harmless and humorous, that is not always the†¦show more content†¦Television can be a very suggestive influence that should not be taken lightly when young children are concerned. In the average home it is more unusual to find a family without a television then is it is to find one with more than one (Budd, p98). Children between the ages of three and four on average watch approximately four hours of television a day (number 3). This is a large amount and takes time from other activities that would be more beneficial to these children when their minds are in the stages of growth. If a child is inside in front of their television set they are not outside socializing with other children their own age, or spending time with their family doing other activities to stimulate their minds. It is important to realize that children are not born with their personalities and their values, but rather they develop them with the help of their surroundings and environment. If a child is learning these values from a character on a show, a parent cannot always be sure what morals a child is going to pick up. Society is beginning to recognize the need to monitor the amount of television a child is watching because of the situations it may demonstrate to younger generations. When parents simply sit their child down in front of the screen they are letting characters do part of the raising and they cannot be completely aware of exactly what is being taught.Show MoreRelatedThe Effects of Television Violence on Children1315 Words   |  6 Pages Shortly after a Boston television station showed a movie depicting teenagers dousing a derelict with gasoline and setting him afire, six youths attacked a woman and set her on fire in an identical manner. Several months later, NBC televised Born Innocent, a made-for-television- movie, which showed the sexual violation of a young girl with a broom handle. Three days after this program aired, a group of girls committed a similar attack on another 9-year-old girl (â€Å"Wild† A20). These are justRead MoreThe Effects Of Television Violence On Children1735 Words   |  7 Pageswatches approximately 23 hours of television weekly. Children spend more time watching TV than doing any other leisure activity. By the time they finish high school, most have spent more time in front of the TV than in the classroom (Strasburger, 1995). On average, a child will see 18,000 murders, robberies, bombings, assaults, and beatings in their years of watching television (Liebowitz, 1997). Not to mention all the food commercials. In today s society, the television is used for more than just entertainmentRead MoreTelevision Violence and Its Effect on Children867 Words   |  4 PagesTelevision Violence and Its Effect on Children The children of today are surrounded by technology and entertainment that is full of violence. It is estimated that the average child watches from three to five hours of television a day! (Neilson 1993). Listening to music is also a time consuming pastime among children. With all of that exposure, one might pose the question, How can seeing so much violence on television and video games and hearing about violence in in music affect a childs behaviorRead MoreThe Effects Of Television Violence On Children915 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Today violence is the gold of television. Violence has become a high demand by the viewers. The more violence equals more views which equals more demand. According to Hamilton (2002), â€Å"Children are not the target of advertisers on most violent programs. But their exposure to violent images can lead to social damages not factored into decisions about when to air programs and where to draw the line on content† (p. 18). The controversial debate that television violence influence children is nothingRead MoreEffects Of Television Violence On Children Essay1722 Words   |  7 PagesEffect of Television Violence Program on Children Now more and more violence television shows appear on the screen. A lot of television shows will remind that is available for certain range of audience. Of course, elementary school student, mostly watch cartoon. However, the television production people will add violence into the show. This study aimed to demonstrate the gender-specific impact of violence-oriented television cartoons for children, and to identify the behaviors demonstrating thisRead MoreThe Effects Of Television Violence On Children1552 Words   |  7 Pagesleisure 2.8 hours of television a day. There is the constant outcry from parents and teachers that children are growing to be television-obsessed zombies, or that the exposure to violence from their favorite shows are going to cause aggressive actions. But if that is true, then how is it that we as adults are able to stop ourselves from murdering everyone we see, especially if we have so many television programs with violence as a feature? The effect that television violence has on us does not comeRead MoreThe Effects Of Television Violence On Children Essay1246 Words   |  5 PagesThis guest teaches your children to resolve conflicts through violence. The guest baby sits your kids and teaches them principles you don’t agree with. Does watching violence in TV is harmful for your children? Is it Ok to let the 2 year olds watch TV unsupervised? No says the American replacing baby sitters? Hypothesis: Extensive viewing of television violence causes children to behave in aggressive or harmful ways to others. Children model behavior they see in the media, she wrote in 1993. IfRead MoreEffects of Television Violence and Children3538 Words   |  15 PagesEffects of Television violence and Children Outline: I.THESIS STAEMENT: Although the television serves as a form of entertainment, when you abuse its use, and make it a habit to watch, it gives negative effects on the behavior of children especially in their brain’s development. II. PORPUSE OF THE RESEARCH III. INTRODUCTION IV. HIPOTHESIS amp; METHOD A. CHILDREN QUESTIONNAIRE 1. HOW IT CAN AFFECT VIEWER’S BEHAVIOUR 2. CHILDREN RESPONSES B. EFFECTS amp; RESULTS 1. NEGATIVE EFFECTS a. Behavior ofRead MoreThe Effects Of Television Violence On Children978 Words   |  4 PagesTelevision has become one of the most, if not the most, used form of entertainment for all ages. Every TV show has some kind of age limit whether it’s rated G or R, it’s not always easy for parents to moderate what their children are watching. Young children are very moldable, not only by the people around them, but what is on TV. I have conducted an experiment to see how much violence and aggression are in everyday television shows that children are likely to watch. I have watched three differentRead MoreThe Effects of Television Violence on Children Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pages Thesis Statement: Unsupervised children who watch violence on television exhibit violence in their everyday lives and develop into aggressive adults. â€Å"Research shows that television violence increases levels of aggression, fear, and desensitization among some who consume it† (Hamilton). This quotation by James Hamilton briefly summarizes the potentially negative effects of television on young minds. A child’s favorite television show can keep a child occupied while the mother prepares