Preview

Watership Down Heroic Epic Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1268 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Watership Down Heroic Epic Essay
Not Your Typical Superhero Story
Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cat Woman; when you hear the word hero or heroine that is who you think of. The most famous heroes of all time, as well as the not so famous heroes such as Hazel, fit the archetype of a hero; they are all courageous, resourceful, and strong-willed. Most people don’t notice that almost all action/adventure movies and novels are the same. All of their stories fit the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest. A heroic quest consists of twelve steps that the hero completes throughout his or her journey. In this essay, I will be explaining the parallels between Watership Down by Richard Adams and the archetypal pattern of a heroic quest; as well as the parallels between Hazel and the archetype of a hero.
In the first step of a heroic quest, The Ordinary World, the hero who is uneasy and unaware is introduced in a way that the audience can identify the situation. There is some type of polarity in the hero’s life that is causing stress. Hazel is introduced to the readers as a natural leader. Fiver, his good friend and brother, comes to him in distress. He immediately decides to go talk to the Chief Rabbit, Threarah. This allows the readers to identify that there is danger in the near future and that it is causing Hazel some stress.
The next step is The Call to Adventure, something comes along to shake up the situation, either from an external pressure or something from deep within. The hero must face the beginnings of change. Hazel is called to adventure when Fiver comes to him about a horrible nightmare. Fiver tells him that something terrible is going to happen and they must go tell the Chief Rabbit, Threarah.
The Refusal of the Call; the hero has a fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure. Alternately, another character expresses the uncertainty and danger the hero may face ahead. When Threarah completely ignores Hazel’s warning, Hazel gives little hesitation and makes

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    From the very beginning the author shows how confident Hazel is. Hazel sticks up for her brother. In the story it says, “... and the next word out of anyone and i'll be their mother to.” This line shows that Hazel, is confident, because to speak up to someone like that you have to have courage and confidence to show people who is boss. Hazel is great at that.…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Religion In Wise Blood

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When he is in the city he runs into a so called “blind” preacher on the streets. The blind man was preaching that there is a God and that people need to give to the church through him. Hazel was very upset about this and started attempting to preach that there is no God and they need to follow him when he starts a new church without a God. When Hazel goes to the place where he is staying, he finds out the “blind” preacher is staying there too. This really makes the situation worse for Hazel. One night Hazel went into the “blind” man’s room and lit a match to see if he was really blind. He had been lying about it. He was just a crook after people’s money. He was using God to make people feel sorry for him and that would in turn make them give him…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Watership Down is an epic novel filled with adventure. Though the main characters are rabbits, the author depicts them in a very individual way that highlights their personalities while still keeping the novel believable. Two rabbits that have and especially big impact on the story are Hazel and El-ahrairah. Though Hazel is a runaway rabbit and El-ahrairah is a legend of power, both have many similarities which make them so significant in the story.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A hero’s journey is a pattern in which the character goes on an exciting or dangerous experience in which the person goes out and goes through intense obstacles to achieve a great deed. The hero’s journey is broken up into 12 stages made by Joseph Campbell. One of the many examples of this pattern is Homer’s “The Odyssey”.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hercules Hero's Journey

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Timeless classics throughout the ages are known for their plots and concepts, however these classics tend to follow a similar plot. This monomyth is called the Hero’s Journey, where a similar plot is used every time to create a story proven to be successful. A great example of this would be Disney’s Hercules, a story of the demigod Hercules who loses his powers and must redeem himself by becoming a true hero. With godlike strength, he defeats Hades and proves himself a true hero by being compassionate and chivalrous, and showing anyone can be hero regardless of if they have strength. The plot of Hercules follows the three phases of the Hero’s Journey closely.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If an adult does not treat her equally and give her a fair share of control in any situation, she becomes sad or even enraged. When Hazel feels inable of having power, she becomes blinded of other’s emotions and focuses on her own thoughts and…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The next step is departure. This happens in “By The Waters Of Babylon”. John travels to the forest as the kind of gate into the unnatural. He then travels to the city of the dead. This is the departure. The climax of a The Hero’s Journey is the trials or tests. A good example is the trials in “Initiation”. In the story Millicent has to prove herself through her a series of tests. Only after, can she claim their reward. “How she had proved something to herself by going through everything, ...”. This is Millicent talking to herself. She has completed her trials and she receives knowledge as her reward. This could be finding love or getting a job promotion. This part of the story shows a prize for your…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Achilles: A Tragic Hero

    • 2207 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Over time there have been many men and women who have received the title “hero.” They likely have been named by their bravery, strength, and willingness to give up their own comfort, if not their own life, to benefit the wellbeing of others. Every hero differs in many ways. Each one of them has his own story of heroism. The tragic hero survives in our literature.…

    • 2207 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Another example of the hero archetype is in the Story of Macbeth. For a story to be a hero’s journey, there are usually 10 stages that it must follow. The first stage is usually known as the ordinary world. This is when the hero is introduced in such a way so the audience understands their situation. Macbeth is shown in this way since he is a general of king Duncan's army and he holds off an invading army.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Epic of Gilgamesh and Hero

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Hero 's come in many forms, a hero can be someone we look up to (father, mother, teacher). They can be a unique character passed down for thousands of years such as Odysseus, in The Odyssey. They can be someone we 've never interacted with or someone by our side every day. They might be brave, courageous, truthful or dishonest. A hero could be male or female, black or white. A hero may be someone that simply affected a life in a positive way. One thing hero 's all have in common is that they provide drive and purpose for those the believe in them, they help some focus on dreams and they might provide a path when no path exists. In this paper will be defining a hero and the qualities an epic hero has with my definition. I will be using epic hero 's in, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey to help shape my explanation.…

    • 1640 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Heroes are the game changers in society, who create the misfortune and accomplishment through their efforts. Throughout time, heroes have been represented in a variety of different ways. The Canterbury Tales and the Odyssey both portray their heroes far different than the other. In addition, heroes from the fifteenth century may be considered villains in today’s society. In conclusion, heroes are viewed in different ways because of perspective, the time period, and their self morals.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When one has a better understanding of themselves they can have occurrences that make up their individuality. Garnet is so lost in himself at the beginning after being taken away and moved around from home to home the only way he could survive alone in the streets was to adapt to the people around him, avoiding conflict at all costs. Combining his past likes with his present, gives Garnet a sense of balance between the old and the new. He discovers a sense of place when returning to White Dog. Garnet’s family gives him the love he did not know he needed until meeting them and connecting as one. Sharing and listening to stories keeps Garnet grounded. For once in his life, he has role models to look up to and learn from. Having his true family by his side allows for power and self-confidence. The Keeper guides Garnet on his journey, fills Garnet’s head with Ojibway culture and traditions which enables him to start paving his own road. Also, the material he learns from the Keeper gives Garnet the motivation to stray away from civilization and makes him aware of why his culture is important and why he must respect nature because of its power and resources. No longer scared of the future, he accepts who he is “More scared of not being enough one now. Not living up to what I learned, y’know?” (274). He gains a spiritual awakening and allows him to look forward to the future. Wagamese shines light on a positive journey of self-discovery and how it takes time to discover who you are. Wagamese informs the reader that it is not something that happens overnight. Garnet now knows what he wants in the world. From family, culture and nature Garnet discovers what it really means to be…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Epic Hero Essay

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Epic Hero- (n.) a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements. Odysseus and Spiderman both fit this description. The characteristics they displayed in their daily lives make them deserving of this title. In the novel The Odyssey by Homer, the main character Odysseus must learn how to take special gifts given to him by a goddess and use them to keep him alive. By comparison, in the screenplay Spiderman by David Koepp, the main character Spiderman deals with the same problem. He must learn to use the powers given to him by fate and at the same time, save the world. Whenever the word Epic Hero is said, many times the characters, Odysseus and Spiderman follow. Those who want be recognized as an epic hero, must possess the specific attributes that make up these great men.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Epic Hero Essay

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A hero is a person of distinguished courage who has outstanding qualities and abilities, and who is admired for brave and noble acts. An Anglo-Saxon hero is a person who has good leadership qualities, is able and willing to provide people with a sense of security, and is willing to go into danger despite possible harm to them. Beowulf, Roy Hobbs, and the Dark Knight are all three heroes that exhibit Anglo-Saxon qualities that have allowed them to evolve into something bigger than itself. All three heroes have shown Anglo-Saxon values which have allowed the newer generation of heroes such as the Dark Knight to still possess these values and qualities that were founded at an earlier date. I have found six qualities among the three heroes which they all happen to possess which include strength, loyalty, courage, bravery, confidence and honor. These six qualities have shown that no matter how new or old the hero is, they have all stayed true and evolved starting with the Anglo-Saxon era.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The girl thinks she cannot trust her mother, she thinks her mother is plotting against her "to get me to stay in the house more, although she knew I hated it"(pg.195). She thinks her mother`s work is not as important as her father's. More importantly, inside work she finds "endless, dreary, and peculiarly depressing"(pg.194) and outside work "ritualistically important"(pg.194). In the stories she tells herself every night, she fills them with heroic moments of her being the heroine in these stories, shows how she intends to become someone who makes a difference in the world. While she wishes to become the heroic woman of her dreams, it is the opposite of the stereotypical girl her family insists her to become. As she struggles to find her identity, she is expresses her identification with a horse called Flora. Furthermore, Flora is a beautiful, powerful and rebellious horse who is for fox meat, but escapes from the farm and when the girl is able to stop her she lets Flora go. Subsequently, the girl did not close the gate, but left it open so she could freely escape "I did not make any decision to do this, it was just what I…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics