Robert B Ray The Thematic Paradigm Summary

Ray’s Theory We love our “Hero’s.” In Robert B. Ray’s essay, The Thematic Paradigm, he explains that Americans have always been undecided about the value of civilization. Whether in real life or fictional, there is a contrast in the “Hero” type. First being the “Official Hero,” one who is responsible, usually having a family, job and one who believes “you can’t take the law into your own hands.”

The American people prefer to live together, but they also love individualism. This paper looks at how Robert Ray explores enduring people’s thoughts about society and how to balance community and the individual. Ray’s model was designed to use as a guide in Hollywood movies. Ray combined academic study from history to look at scholarship, and psychology as well; he didn’t end there, but he equally explained how written works have repeatedly been used in worldviews about the community behavior in trying to avoid breaking the law or to weaken the American film industry. Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm” considered persistence in approach which has been used in the worldviews and tradition as the two reasons why the American people have not avoided

Native Americans believe a hero is one who commits great feats and is a benefit to his or her society, while the Europeans believe a hero is constituted by the materials he owns and the people or places he conquers. For example, Man-Eagle tells Son of Light, who is a cultural hero on a quest to save his wife, “You’re speaking big words, but first you’ll have a contest with me” (Pyramid 39). This shows Native Americans value bravery and selflessness, and only those who help others can succeed in their society. The European perspective of a hero differs greatly from this, and it is yet another cause of conflict between the two societies. Cabeza de Vaca considers himself a hero because he sees the Europeans as the liberators and saviors of the Native Americans, when really they are in America to manipulate and steal from them.

“These heroic archetypes pop up all over Western Lit. They are: Stereotypical/Classical Heroes, Everyday/Everyman Heroes, and Anti/Un Heroes” (Bunting). Each type of hero is used for certain reasons; not all stories use the anti-hero and the classic hero is not always the way to go. There are many reasons why an author would choose to use a certain type hero in their work.

A superhero can sometimes be a symbol of hope that can destroy all evil. Some examples of super heroes are Beowulf and Superman. Beowulf in the poem “Beowulf” is a hero who fights against a monster named Grendel to defend his people; he is considered the strongest warrior around. Superman on the other hand is considered the most powerful fictional superhero on planet earth, who fights against supervillains to defend human beings. Although Beowulf and Superman are both similar when it comes to heroic traits and that they both go on long dangerous journeys they differ in that they have different heroic deeds and show different timeless values, but somewhat similar universal

What is a hero? Is it a being or idea classified by tights and capes or is it something more? A hero can be anything their society makes them out to be, which is the case in Etheridge Knight’s short story, “Hard Rock Returns to Prison.” A hero can also be a reassuring mother of a frightened child, as shown beautifully in John Hope Franklin’s short story, “The Train from Hate.” In both stories, the theme heroism plays important roles in their respective plots.

Have you ever thought about what makes a hero a hero? Usually pictured as strong, muscular men in tights, heroes are not that at all.. Women or tiny, scrawny people can be heroes. Fighting crime like policemen is not what heroes are limited to; they are much more. Heroism is ordinary people doing extraordinary actions, people who follow their hearts in order to do good, but they are not always popular.

In contrast, Ray states that, the official hero is customarily portrayed as a teacher, lawyer, politician, farmer, or family man (Ray 451). He continues to say that the official hero represents the American belief in collective action, and the objective of legal process that understands right from wrong (Ray 451). The official hero is a thinker and will not act impulsively; he trusts his fellow men, believes the whole world is fundamentally reputable, uses reasonable judgment, and believes the justice system cannot fail. The outlaw hero and official hero can have a reconciliatory hero or a reluctant hero characteristic. Reconciliatory hero is when the hero agrees with someone other than themselves, changing their actions, and making his beliefs

A Superhero is not judged by the power he has,but only by the choices he makes. In the essay,”Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, the author uses an extended metaphor to explain his relationship with the fictional character Superman. Alexie uses many things in his life to compare himself to Superman. Although Alexie may not be seen as a hero with actual superpowers, he demonstrates the qualities of a superhero in different ways. Alexie is seen as someone that almost resembles an alien in the eyes of his society.

In this article, “Why We Love TV’s Anti-heroes,” the author Stephen Garrett argues that in today’s society our whole perspective of heroes has changed since the mid-twentieth century. Garrett is appealing to all American’s who love watching their favorite TV heroes and heroines. In addition, Garrett’s main focus is the fact today’s heroes entirely different from what the idea of a “hero” was two or three decades ago. The author relies on generally accepted ideas from the American public to base his main idea; he uses sources from popular TV shows and movies which have anti-heroes that draw the attention of their audience.

When Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, explicitly states,”A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself,” he represents the significance of the unreplicable impact of Superheroes in our lives and the irresistible power of bravery a hero has. Even though we are highly influenced from the qualities of our superheroes, we neglect the acknowledgment of the advancement of developing these qualities. Heroes like Theseus, obtain their considerable success by the use of his or her determination, and they alter our determination to be our better selves. Because of their exhilarating but successful feats, Superheroes inspire us to improve on ourselves by supplying us hope during helpless times, and educating us about the right and wrong. First and foremost, the hope of our people when drastic times come with drastic measures is obtained because of the presence of superheros in our literature.

A hero is a man or woman that leaves their known world to go off into the unknown world, and go make a positive impact. Heroes aren’t just the big strong super heroes that can fly and shoot laser beams out of their eyes. There is more behind the superheroes than just killing the bad guy. For example, Batman was called to adventure when his parents were killed and he was sitting right there watching. Bruce left his home town to go out get training to become a crime fighter.

When one hears the word hero he or she would most likely think of the fictional, comic book superheroes. However, heroes are not limited to just comic books and actually do exist in real life. They may not have laser-vision or shape-shifting abilities; but instead they possess valuable assets that label them as both inspirational and influential. Yet, overall, there is no clear-cut definition of a hero and, the definition varies for each individual. In actuality, heroes come in countless forms and generally speaking, have a positive impact in either one or numerous lives, and, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest J. Gaines, demonstrates how everyone has the opportunity to be a hero.

From Batman fighting crime in Gotham city to Superman keeping the peace in Metropolis, we find ourselves drawn to the idea of heroes overcoming the odds and prevailing in the end in their story. The theme of having a

The character of the American hero that has traditionally dominated the American psyche is one that had been suggested in an essay by Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893. This was a hero who had been forged by a frontier existence, as America expanded westwards. Imbued with qualities of “…coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and inquisitiveness;” this hero embodied a spirit of individualism, toughness and a drive for advancement (Turner, 1893, 9). Commonly featured in North American literature and films, this image of the American Hero remained dominant during the first part of the twentieth century. As the century progressed the figure of the American hero evolved and adapted to suit the challenges faced by the American nation.