Charateristics of Epic Heros Essay Example
Epic Hero- A main character in an epic whose legendary or heroic actions are central to his/her culture, race, or nation. Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits, some of these traits are shared, and some of them are not. Gilgamesh, Beowulf, Hector, and Achilles are characters that are very self-confident, courageous, and skillful, or the opposite!
Self Confident-. A measure of one's belief in one's own abilities. Each character portrayed this characteristic, with Beowulf it was when he went to war with Grendel without any armor on. “I would rather not use a weapon if I knew another way to grapple/ with the dragon and make good boast/ as I did against Grendal in the days gone by.”(“Beowulf” 33) This quote shows that Beowulf is so confident he’s going to win the battle he’s telling his peers he’s not going to wear any armor to defeat the monster Grendel. Gilgamesh shows a great deal of self confidence when he is to defeat Humbaba. “I will defeat him/ in cedar forest”(Mason 48) this quote shows that Gilgamesh has no doubt that he will defeat the enemy when he tells his friend Enkidu before they go off to fight Humbaba. Finally Achilles shows self confidence to when he’s chasing down Hector, like prey. “Achilles shook his head at the armies/, never letting them hurl their sharp spears at Hector.”(Homer 59) This shows that Achilles has confidence in his self, and doesn’t want anyone to take what’s his, he know he can catch up with Hector and he wont stop till he catches up with him.
Courageous - a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear. Beowulf shows courageous in numerous times in the story, but one that sticks out is when he is getting ready to fight Grendel’s mom who is bigger and I imagine a lot scarier! “He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer.”(Beowulf) This quote shows that Beowulf was ready when he said he was ready and didn’t wait on anyone to give him the
Self Confident-. A measure of one's belief in one's own abilities. Each character portrayed this characteristic, with Beowulf it was when he went to war with Grendel without any armor on. “I would rather not use a weapon if I knew another way to grapple/ with the dragon and make good boast/ as I did against Grendal in the days gone by.”(“Beowulf” 33) This quote shows that Beowulf is so confident he’s going to win the battle he’s telling his peers he’s not going to wear any armor to defeat the monster Grendel. Gilgamesh shows a great deal of self confidence when he is to defeat Humbaba. “I will defeat him/ in cedar forest”(Mason 48) this quote shows that Gilgamesh has no doubt that he will defeat the enemy when he tells his friend Enkidu before they go off to fight Humbaba. Finally Achilles shows self confidence to when he’s chasing down Hector, like prey. “Achilles shook his head at the armies/, never letting them hurl their sharp spears at Hector.”(Homer 59) This shows that Achilles has confidence in his self, and doesn’t want anyone to take what’s his, he know he can catch up with Hector and he wont stop till he catches up with him.
Courageous - a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear. Beowulf shows courageous in numerous times in the story, but one that sticks out is when he is getting ready to fight Grendel’s mom who is bigger and I imagine a lot scarier! “He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s answer.”(Beowulf) This quote shows that Beowulf was ready when he said he was ready and didn’t wait on anyone to give him the