The Hero Essay -- essays research papers

The Hero   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Zorro, Lassie, Hercules, and Beowulf all have something in common, they are all considered hero’s. It does not matter if the hero is a man, woman, animal or an intimate object that springs to life. It does not matter where the hero comes from or how old he or she is. The only thing that a hero needs to do to be a hero, according to Joseph Campbell, is follows a predefined path of a hero and have some common characteristics of one, too. Joseph Campbell in one of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of a hero. According to Joseph Campbell many hero’s have completed the same deed over and over again throughout history. He points out that a hero is not limited to one particular time or place. Campbell explains the details about what makes a hero a hero in his discussion The Hero’s Journey. The story of the hero must have a mystical quality. A hero’s characteristics should include doing something beyond the normal range of a human and giving up one’s life for something bigger. A hero’s sequence of events is began by the hero intentionally setting out on ones own to complete a physical deed for a moral objective. The hero is trying to shape a savage world out of his existing world. The hero departs from his home to fulfill his deed and then returns home again. The hero undergoes a mental development throughout the story through different trials that he or she is facing. This transforms the heroes state of consciousness. The hero learns to live in the system in which he or she is and does not fall victim to it. Lastly whatever is accomplished by the hero is lost when he or she dies. In the story of Beowulf the main character follows Campbell’s outline of a hero. It is an Anglo-Saxon poem that recounts the life of the hero Beowulf and this poem is one of the oldest existing poems in the English language.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First of all for a hero to be a hero he needs to be present in a story that has a mystical quality about it, according to Campbell. The reader can see this mystical quality in Beowulf everywhere he or she looks. First of all as the story begins it talks of a tribe of people, called the Danes, rescuing a castaway baby at sea. The baby that the tribe rescues turns out later to be their king. Another mystical quality t... ...the path of a hero. First by setting out on one’s own to complete a physical deed for a moral obligation. Beowulf leaves Geatland on his own to kill Grendel to repay Hrothgar for his kindness to his father. Fulfilling each moral obligation is a step on the path of being a hero. Beowulf kills each monster because of a moral obligation and gives his king the riches he receives from each because it is his moral obligation to do so. A character departs from his or her home to go on an adventure and then return home again. Beowulf leavs his land to kills two monsters and then returns home again. Next a character will shape and savage world and through trials transform to a different state of counciousness. By fighting monsters and ruling the land Beowulf grows smarter and less selfish than he was before. The last step is to live in a system and finally have everything that is gained by the character lost. Beowulf lives in his system without becomming corrupt and in the end the peace and treasure that he fought for is lost by his people. When a character has the characteristics and follows the correct path then he or she is a hero. Beowulf is a hero.