How Difference in Genre Affects the Portrayal and Conception of Heroism - Essay Example

How difference in genre affect the portrayal and conception of heroism Most literature works are placed into categories called genres depending on their characteristics, form, and content. The Iliad by Homer can therefore be categorized under the genre of epic. An epic is actually a long poem that tells a story that includes heroes, heroic exploits and gods. Most narrated events that occur in an epic are normally drawn from a legend with great significance. Heroes in myths and legends are described as men or women endowed with great strength and courage and are favored by the gods. The lliad portrayed heroes in different ways depending on the genre. The heroes of lliad were presented as human, male or female who have or possess superhuman abilities and descended from the immortal gods. The main example is Achilles, who appears to be the greatest hero in the lliad. He was the son of Thetis, a sea-goddess who popular due to her cosmic powers. In Homers work, he presents heroes in different ways. Heroes are portrayed as mortal even though they descend from the gods. This is because, in Iliad, from the epic, it is very clear that Achilleus father is mortal though the mother is a sea-goddess. This makes Achilles the greatest of heroes mortal as well. Heroes are therefore portrayed as mortal even though they are descending from the gods. The main reason for this is because when a family is dominated by immortals, the intrusion a single mortal makes the other descendan5ts mortal because mortality becomes the dominant gene. Compared to other stories, the gods can miraculously raise the heroes to life after death. The fact remains that a hero is not immortal by nature. Heroes are presented in away that every hero aims at achieving honor. In Homeric heroes, honor is considered as an essential element to an extent that life can be considered meaningless without it. This therefore makes honor more important to heroes than life itself. For instance, in the lliad, when a hero is advised to be careful by avoiding the situations that threatens life, the only option he or she can do is to ignore the warning despite of the dangers that may occur. A hero therefore appears to be bold and courageous in a way that he accepts to sacrifice himself in order to save is people. The honor of a hero is therefore determined by his physical abilities, courage, his possessions and social status. The greatest honor is mainly achieved in a battle. A hero is honored when he actually wins in a battle. In addition, he can obtain honor from other heroic activities such as being the best hunter and leading in athletics. From these, a hero is therefore one who becomes a star in war, hunting and athletics. Other heroes are presented in non-physical activities. For example, Nestor who is very old to engage in physical activities gives advice to the council since that is the only heroic activity he can perform. Most heroes gain a lot of respect mainly in very hard conditions. For instance, in a battle situation, the hero is expected to struggle until he ensures that he wins and saves the other individuals from war. Homeric heroism is presented as savage and merciless. This is because the hero normally ends up in a hard situation, a dilemma situation where he either survives or dies. When the hero becomes successful, it means he survived and gains great honor but otherwise, means failure leading to death hence eliminated from the group competing for honor. Heroes occasionally receive awards for bravery and courage in the battle like in the cases of Chrysies and Briseis belonging to Agamemnon and Achilleus respectively. Homeric heroes are presented to be concerned about their own honor and their household. For instance, Achilleus is not as concerned about his fellows as he is about his household and himself. The main concern of a hero is the reaction of his fellow heroes towards his actions because it is them who can bestow honor. For example, Hektor is urged by her wife not to re-enter the war. He ignores saying that he will be ashamed because his fellows will consider him as a coward.  “…yet I will feel deep shame, before the Trojans…if like a coward I were to shrink aside from the fighting…” he is actually ashamed of walking away from the war because he fear the public opinion thus risking his life in face of death for the sake of honor. The heroes are therefore expected to fight courageously, whatever the cost. This is because those who walk away from the fight are considered to be cowards considering Odysseus says, “…I know that it is the cowards who walk out of the war…” The gods in the lliad resembles human being and try to act in the same way as human beings displaying all the humans’ emotions, vices and virtues. Zeus is portrayed as the patriarch of the gods who demands honor and obedience from the other gods but does not get. In the same way, mortal heroes struggle to receive honor from the other heroes but only finds it after proving by wining in battles, leading in athletics and wars. Gods are depicted in a different perspective in lliad as compared to the literal presentation of god in actual ancient religious observation. Homer is mainly concerned about making the gods to directly suit the thematic needs of the poem. The gods at some level act as a foil in lliad because they accent the trouble experienced by man. The appearance of god is therefore characterized by comedy in order to emphasize on human misfortune by contrast. Homer presents gods to be concerned with human affairs. For example, Achilles’ mother is a sea-goddess while his farther is a mortal. The involvement of gods universalizes the poem. Most heroes are revealed as people with great courage and bravery. In addition, a hero can also be a worrier who leads and wins in battles. Other people consider heroes as clever people who use their brains or tricks to win. Homer uses various ways of presenting heroes according to their genres. In his epic poem, Odysseus is considered as a hero because he suits all definitions given to a hero. He appears to be brave and courageous as he does every thing possible to save people even if he is risking his life. Even though Odysseus was very brave he also had some weaknesses. He was very proud and liked cheating. In the same way, in the in Homer’s Iliad, Homer illustrates his view towards heroes and villains. He illustrates that heroes possess great qualities while the villains have bad and evil qualities. Furthermore, he also shows that heroes also have some qualities of villains. For instance in the epic each character has his own qualities. Achilles is presented as a selfish and an objector. On the other hand, Hekter is portrayed as a family man but runs as a coward during the battle. This clarifies that everyone; both heroes and villains have their own ups and downs. Furthermore, he demonstrates that heroes have their own choice of war and of peace. From the illustrations and presentations of a hero, it is true that heroes have the same values as compared to other writings and play books. Heroes are normally considered as people with good qualities compared to others. Heroes’ main aim is to ensure that their people are well protected. They therefore offer themselves to do any thing possible to protect their people even if they risk their lives in the process. Heroes are respected and honored but they also have some bad qualities that may cause their downfall. In general, heroes share most qualities with very little differences. For instance, some heroes are portrayed to have supernatural powers making them appear extra ordinary. In such cases, the heroes have some hidden secrets which makes them had to conquer but when the secret is discovered, they are easily killed. In addition, heroes are normally attributed to a pitiful or painful death. The heroes in the tragedy are normally portrayed in a way that they regret at the end. A tragedy is mainly used in dramatic works where a hero or a tragic protagonist suffers some misfortunes. The misfortunes are normally not accidental but are logically connected to the actions of the hero. In a tragic literature work such as The Iliad, the hero’s actions even if they are of good intentions usually lead to disaster. In the Iliad, the futility of human action is conveyed in a dramatic irony. Homer depicts his characters to do things that later lead them to their own trouble. In Iliad, the actions of Achilleus and Hektor lead to their suffering more so after discovering the consequences of their actions. Certainly, there are no much differences in the presentation of heroes for the gods in the hymns and the mortals in the tragedy. The heroes in a tragedy are normally attributed to bad ending that result due to their actions. They normally lose and finally die. The mortals are normally therefore subjected to death where as the gods never die. Due to the fact that gods are associated with humans affairs, some heroes are normally raise to life after death miraculously by the gods. This later makes the heroes immortal. Achilleus and Hektor are some of the heroes whose actions later led to a tragic situation. In conclusion, heroes are normally portrayed with good qualities unlike the villains who normally have evil qualities. In addition, heroes are normally portrayed according to their genre. For instance, the Iliad by Homer can be categorized under epic genre. This is because it consists of both heroes and gods who affect the action in the poem.                              Works cited Euripides. The Tragedies of Euripides. New York: BiblioLife, 2008. Print Samuel Butler. The Iliad. New York: Create Space, 2010. Print Read More