All sentient beings are in some way shaped by the ideas that surround them. It is impossible for any thinking creature to ignore the philosophies held by their parents, friends acquaintances, and their society. Children, for example, have their personal worldviews profoundly affected by their parents, friends, and teachers. They typically follow the ideas of their parents and integrate the prevalent ideas of their friends and teachers. There is a phrase that describes the predominant swirl of philosophies that surround a thinking being: the philosophical environment. By extension, the philosophical environment is the source of meaning we bring to life, as Joseph Campbell states in “The Hero’s Journey”: “Life is without meaning. You bring …show more content…
Accordingly, characters in fiction are defined by whatever philosophies the author envelops the character in. This develops them and opens the door for a change in characterization purely through the vehicle of a philosophical environment. John Gardner’s Grendel exemplifies this method of change by surrounding Grendel, the ostracized monster who acts as the main character, with an array of disparate philosophies. From this list, Grendel chooses those to integrate into his own philosophy. The progression of philosophies from Christian thought to nihilism to empiricism throughout the novel shows how the meaning Grendel gives to life changes as the philosophical environment crafted by Gardner changes. This idea is also present in both modern and classical psychology. Psychology attempts to explain the actions and thoughts of humans, which are tied to the meaning they ascribe to life. That meaning is in turn shaped by the philosophical environments. Plato’s “Allegory Of The Cave” and John Campbell’s “Myth And The Modern World” demonstrate how the effects of a philosophical environment on meaning extend to psychology and the actions of people in a society. Plato gives a discourse on the enlightenment of an individual and how that changes their perspective, while Campbell discusses the real world effects of mythologies, which help shape philosophical …show more content…
For instance, Campbell discusses how America lacks mythology and what little mythology there is focuses around efficiency and getting ahead (Campbell 11-12). Because we lack cultural nuances and have a dogma centered around success, we see the meaning of life as being successful and making money or having fame. That lack of nuances and dogma is what defines our philosophical environment and accordingly, Americans do everything they can to get into a good college, get a good job, and be successful. Our idols are successful people, while unsuccessful people view themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires. The meaning we bring to life, then, is materialistic and success-focused because our national philosophical environment espouses those values. Campbell also calls upon another major myth that forms a large part of the philosophical environment of many children: religion. Campbell recalls his Roman Catholic upbringing, in which he was “taught to take myth seriously and to let it operate [his] life and to live in terms of these mythic motifs” (Campbell 12). His statement provides a clear example of how a philosophical environment affects meaning. After all, religion is a part of the philosophical environment; in Campbell’s experience it is the main part. He directly admits that he operated his life around
The epic poem Beowulf is famous for many reasons. Among the top reasons is that it is a perfect example of the Hero’s Journey, a story structure that is common in many other well-known stories across the globe. It follows a series of plot points to create an interesting and suspenseful journey that the readers take. The poem follows these plot points almost exactly. Another reason it is famous is because the hero of the story, Beowulf, exemplifies all the characteristics of an ideal hero and king.
This essay provides a great example on how we establish a deeper meaning in our
The poets within Beowulf sing about tales of heroes and their heroic deeds. The sing about these deeds, even if some of them have failed. They sing their songs to King Hrothgar, his subjects, Beowulf, and his men. The poets sang to share these stories, back then stories were always passed down orally through
In the last stage of Beowulf’s epic hero journey, fatalism determines his grand finale against the dragon. The warrior king’s long journey is now coming to a close and before going into battle against the dragon, Beowulf realizes that, “After many trials,/ he was destined to face the end of his days/ in this mortal world; as was the dragon,/ for all his long leasehold on the treasure” (Beowulf 2341-2344). After facing Grendel and his mother, fate has lead Beowulf to the crisis of his journey. The dragon is the final monster he must defeat in order to complete his monomyth cycle. He is a symbol of the deadly sin, greed.
The prominent theme that the story, “The Man Who Saw Through Heaven” by Wilbur D. Steele revolves around is how people let the words of others affect/change them as deeply as they do. A pivotal point in the story that exemplifies the theme was when Mr. Krum, a Christian scientist, explained his belief to Reverend Diana about how Earth could merely be a little stone on a ring on another organism's tentacle (315). That thought altered how Reverend Diana saw the world, and Christianity. This consequently changed how he would spend the rest of his life. He replied saying “May be a--ring--a little stone--in a--a--a--ring.”
An epic hero is an individual who must evoke a sense of heroism through legendary and inspiring deeds (Merriam-Webster). These heroes of tragedy have the ability to determine their own fortune due to the amount of admired characteristics they possess. However, the ideals of an epic hero are constantly fluctuating due to the ever changing ideals of society. Although the characteristics of an epic hero are under constant modification, Beowulf is still an effective modern-day hero due to his acts of courage, compassion, and dedication in relation to his people. Courage can be defined as any individual possessing moral or mental strength in the face of physical pain or indescribable hardship (Personalitytutor).
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and The Truman Show Midterm Movie Paper The “Allegory of the Cave” and “The Truman Show” is a representation of humans believing what they see in front of them is the only truth that they know. The Allegory of the Cave is an ancient knowledgeable philosophical work made by the Greek philosopher, Plato. He emphasizes the significance of humans achieving wisdom, intellectual insight, knowledge and education as a metaphor in his story (Plato, 246-249).
In the epic poem “Beowulf” the character Beowulf is the foundation for all of our modern heroes, but was he really a great hero? A hero is classified as a person who is admired for their bravery, achievements, or nobility. Although Beowulf displays all these qualities, there are several reasons he is not a hero, mainly him being egotistical and arrogant. This is why Beowulf is not a heroic person. Beowulf is often caught bragging about himself and his great accomplishments.
A hero's journey is a pattern of narrative identities that appears in many dramas, storytellings, myths, and psychological development. The journey consist of twelve different steps and in the story Beowulf we read about the magnificent and rough journey that Beowulf and this men accomplish. Many people question if Beowulf is considered a hero and if what he did was good. The journey that he embarked on, leads me to believe that Beowulf is a hero and always will be. The first step in the hero's journey is called the “call to adventure” this is when something is disturbed from external pressure of from inner conflict.
“Gardner explores many philosophical themes within its stream-of-consciousness narrative, and the novel may best be seen not as the clash of hero and monster, but as a clash of visions — the creative artistic vision of the Shaper, who sees the world as ordered and meaningful, and the nihilistic vision of the Dragon, who sees the world as disordered and meaningless.” Describing the philosophical class of beliefs between Grendel, the reason for his acceptance of nihilism can be easily understood. The Shaper kept Grendel from accepting nihilism. Once the Shaper died so did any hope for a positive outlook on life from
Once upon a time, there was a marvelous warrior that was a hero to so many and king to some. In the story of Beowulf, the hero, Beowulf, must follow and go through the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey has twelve stages, or three acts. The stages go in the order: 1) The Call to Adventure, 2) Assistance, 3) Departure, 4) Trials, 5) Approach to the Inmost Cave, 6) Crisis, 7) Treasure, 8) Result, 9) Return, 10) New Life, 11) Resolution, and 12) Status Quo (Winkler). Since Beowulf is facing three different monsters, there is not only the story’s significant journey, but also multiple inside it.
Beowulf is the main hero in the poem, and he travels to the land of the Danes to help King Hrothgar get rid of the monster Grendel. After having slain Grendel, there is still a huge crisis present. Grendel’s mother comes to the Hall of Heorot to avenge the death of her kinsmen by killing Aeschere. Aeschere is one of Hrothgar’s most trusted advisors, and his loss bear’s heavy on Hrothgar’s heart. In the culture displayed in Beowulf, the bonds of friendship and kinsmanship are very important to the characters.
Seung Woo Lee Ms.Aubrey World Literature September 11, 2014 World Literature Paper To many, the meaning of of life is a constant cycle of searching and failing. Many have attempted to ascertain the true value and meaning of life. People repeatedly question the purpose of life.
The Perfect Hero In every heroic tale, there lies a theme of balance in values. Every hero is said to possess a fatal flaw; whether they overcome this flaw or let it define who they are is up to them. In the epic poem Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney, it is not particularly hard for the reader to point out their perceived flaws of our hero: arrogance, pride, egotism. Yet, Beowulf stands tall in the poem as the perfect hero, adored and praised by all.
Beowulf is one of the oldest and most well-known epic stories throughout the world. The main character in this story is Beowulf himself. Beowulf is a true and epic hero, who ultimately loses his life while trying to protect the he cared for. Beowulf was a man of great strength, which allowed him to defeat monster and make him the hero that he was. He did not have this strength on his own accord, but was assisted with some divine intervention.