Greek tragedy and heroes
Anyone who conforms to the ideals of his particular society is a hero. If I was a beautiful busty blond who loved puppies and saved people from imminent death, in today’s society, I would generally be considered a hero. Huck, is a modern hero, and although he wasn’t an ideal person in his particular environment, the reader finds him to be near his or her own moral ideal, so the reader recognizes Huck as a hero. Odysseus is a classical hero, for he conforms to the very different social standards of ancient Greece but, since modern society shares so many ideals with Greek culture, the modern reader can still appreciate him as a heroic figure.The classical hero and the modern hero are near opposite, but both are often identified as heroes in today’s society, even though the stories themselves are quite similar. Since the cultures were so varied, the heroes were too. The entire epic of the Odyssey was based upon the need for Odysseus to gain hubris, the Greek social ideal, and Odysseus himself was brave, fought external conflicts, and restored order. Huck rejected community values for the greater moral good. The modern hero being an underdog of sorts, he needed to battle internal conflicts, face less monsters and more people. . . .
But we must keep in mind that the title if hero is primarily in our minds. The purposes of the adventures were both quite different. Huck quietly helped Mary Jane overcome her problems, while Odysseus restored social order at his house by killing all who opposed him, which, however unappealing that may seem in today’s society, was the appropriate/ideal manner in the day. Without the bias that comes with the heroic novel, an uncontrollable wave of indifference would smite the imaginations of the people of the world, causing suffering and boredom. Heroes are truly vital to any story. In both, the hero wandered from place to place by a water vehicle, in both, that water vehicle was destroyed at some point, in both, the hero restores some order to the place he goes (with the classical example it is external, with the modern, internal). "There was considerable jawing, so I slid out, thinking there was going to be trouble…everybody that seen the shooting was telling how it happened…"(139) Both Classical and Modern heroes restore some kind of order to their story. Without a hero in literature, books would rarely, if ever, have a main character. The stories, as far as plot go, were very alike, as far as use of water, and traveling adventures. As Odysseus battled the Cyclops, and conquered it, (even with a large sacrifice to his pride when he lost his crew), Huck battled his racism, and also had to conquer his pride, only in a slightly less represented or magnified state than in the Greek epic "…But that was enough. If Odysseus were true to the gods, he would regain his former life. "(204) The two heroes are riddled with the choices of what they want to do themselves, and what they are pressured into doing. Huck's goal was to help Jim find his family, and to reach the territories. While Huck feels sorrow for Emiline, attempts to write a poem, and struggles with his own emotions, Odysseus, the classical hero, sails to the manifestation of death in Hades to deal with death itself, not his emotions resulting from it.
Common topics in this essay:
, Odysseus Huckleberry, Mary Jane, Classical Modern, modern hero, classical hero, todays society, odysseus classical hero, inner conflict, crew huck, jim family, odysseus classical, water vehicle, |
Acceptance Essays
