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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
In three pages, this paper examines the hero’s journey or quest to awaken self knowledge and inner strength resulting from self realization experiences as represented in these classic works of literature. Five sources are cited in the bibliography.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGheroknow.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
works defined a hero as a virtuous character, which were labeled by Plato as cardinal virtues and described by his student Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics as "fortitude, prudence, temperance, and
justice" (Prewitt 25). An individual needed to possess a few if not all of these virtues to qualify as a hero in the classical literary sense. Joseph Campbell
added to the heroic definition in Hero with a Thousand Faces, in which he contended that the hero must embark upon some type of quest or educational journey during which
time he will acquire the knowledge and leadership that will distinguish him from other non-heroic individuals (Prewitt 25). Human consciousness medical pioneer Caroline Myss further defined the contemporary heroic
quest in her 2004 text, Invisible Acts of Power: Channeling Grace in Your Everyday Life: "The goal of the human experience is to transform ourselves from beings who long to
attain power to beings who are empowered from within. This is the classic heros quest. You embark on a journey to awaken self-knowledge and inner strength" (Myss 64).
In three of the most famous works of classical literature, Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Everyman, the result of the heros quest is self-realization, with the glory
being more internal than external, the awakening of inner strength and self-knowledge that results from this journey. When Denmarks King Hrothgar needs the celebrated warrior Beowulfs help to protect his
people from the monster Grendel, he is more than willing to oblige. Beowulf defines heroism in terms of exploits on the battlefield and how they are celebrated. He
imagines that upon his death, there will be a funeral for his fallen heroism unlike any that had taken place before or since. Beowulf slays the monster, and takes
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