YAY! Why, you ask did I write,"YAY" in the largest font and make it bold and underline it? Well, I will tell you, in the midst of my never-ending, near-impossible-to-complete list of tasks to complete to keep my grade afloat in the vast sea of homework came a small island were It is possible to be creative and discuss pointless things that aren't demanding and spar my interest. The island is this blog, where whether my communication studies grade disproves of it or not, instead of comparing MY life to the heroes journey, I will compare it with my character's virtual life in the fifth Elder Scrolls Game: Skyrim.
Now, Skyrim an RPG (role playing game), and in my oppinion, stays true to it's role playing roots better than any other game I've ever played.Like most RPG's you find better weapons, moves and armor to help you in battle, but that's not even half of the role you get to play. RPG's are supposed to make you feel a sense of accomplishment as you see you're character develop and grow more powerful over the course of the game, and maybe include optional side quests that might help you grow even more powerful along the way. But, skyrim goes way beyond that. It actually lets you develop a character and live with the benefits and consequences that it gives you. Like, for instance, if you do act like you would by default on any other RPG, which is a selfless hero without any personality what-so-ever, people will trust you and you will gain lots of awards for good deeds you do. But, if you act like that, people will start to expect you to do everything they say, and you might accidentally be betrayed by someone you help or simply get overwhelmed with stuff to do. and if you act like a villain and become a thief or even an assassin, people will be scared of you and not respect you, but you also get the benefit of you're stolen goods and you will become a good warrior.
So you get the idea. Now, no matter what you do, you have to go around and kill a bunch of evil dragons and learn the ancient art of SHOUTING, an ancient form of language that will help you destroy the evil dragons. Now, your mentors of shouting refer to you as, "the hero of destiny", and, "the dragon-born hero" but if you go around stealing everything from people for money, maybe you aren't as much of a hero as they say.
Dang! That dragon has some PIPES!
Now, what this all boils down to is whether my character is a hero or maybe not so much, and I will decide by listing traits that my character has:
1.I except almost every task anyone wants me to do. If there is a mission were you can either help one person or another person who are in conflict with each other, I try to depict who has the best moral value and side with them. But, this won't stop me from pillaging a house if a thief will give me money for it. The only quests I refuse to do are from a race known as high elves, who took over the great empire of the continent of tamriel (the continent skyrim's on) and are destroying human culture. I think that they are kind of really evil, so I try not to help them.
2. I am a hoarder on skyrim. I know it's not a common hero's trait, but it's not necessarily evil either. I just simply like stuff. If I don't use the stuff I find, I store it in my drawer at my house. (It now has nearing 10,000 pounds of stuff in it), and if I don't do that, I sell it to the nearest general store. If you carry more than a certain amount, you walk really slow, can't jump, and have less powerful attacks, but there is no limit to how much stuff you can carry past that point. I've been caught with 3,500 pounds on my back once! The only problem is that I also take other people's stuff too, but in ways that don't make them furious. Like if someone tells me "You're our guest here, so grab a plate or to and fix yourself as much food as you want," I take every piece of china and silverware in their house and every scrap of food I can find and sell it to the general store.
3. I am a member of the thieves guild of skyrim, mainly because they give me money when I do stuff for them. But, I think I will destroy them after they give all the money they can...
4. There is a war in skyrim between the great empire I mentioned earlier and a rebellion that wants to be free of any dictatorship of the high elves. The empire's original moral value seemed good, but since the high elves kind of took over, it's become uncaring of it's people. The rebellion, on the other hand, want democracy and respect. (This doesn't sound like that book we're reading in class about the Chinese student rebellion of 1989, except this is fake and created for my enjoyment and that was a violent display of greed for power in Chinese politics.) The only problems with the rebellion is that it is a lot weaker than the old, developed empire and they only want a race of people from tamriel's north called nords to be a part of they're country. I am thinking about joining the rebellion even though my character is from southern tamriel.
5. I am a mercenary that is up for hire by any side of the war right now, so I might just join the empire if they pay enough money.
6. I am also a member of a smaller rebellion that consists of the native people of skyrim. They want to form a country for cultural and religious freedom for everyone (mainly because the nords replaced these people's culture with thier own.). This smaller rebellion took over and imperial city and formed a country once, and it was really peaceful and happy, but the other rebellion destroyed it before it could make peace with the empire and become more powerful. This rebellion is known as the forsworn because both the empire and the rebellion don't like these guys. I joined them because they support good cause, even if they aren't afraid to use violence as a way to support it.
7. I had a failed marriage. I got married to this lady after she challenged me to a fistfight in a bar because, as she said,"You can't know a woman until you've had a good brawl and a few drinks with her!" but, after our wedding (which consisted of my hired body guard, a homeless guy, and a priest), i tried to rent a carriage for us, but I was carrying 1,500 pounds and the carriage guy was like," You're carrying too much stuff! I can't take you! Hurry up and get rid of it!" and I didn't want to get rid of my precious stuff, so I decided that we would walk 65 miles to our hometown on foot. We were having a lovely time walking until an evil dragon came out of nowhere and attacked her. I killed the dragon, but afterward, my wife refused to go on the road again. We were hiking in the wilderness for a while there, and it was alright, but we were going really slow and I was getting tired of defending my wife against wolves, bears, and saber-toothed tigers, so I decided to let her be, run back to town, and sell my stuff. After I could move better again, I went back and tried to find her, but I couldn't find her. thinking she must've sprinted the rest of the way, I went back to her house 60 miles away and waited for her for a while, but she never came back!
8. I am a member of a bards college, where my character gains singing and persuasive skills.
9. I never go anywhere without my hired mercenary, Marcurico. He is skilled in magic and unwillingly carries some of my stuff. I probably wouldn't be alive without him. I used to travel with my best bud named Feandal the wood elf, but he was killed by bandits. I haven't quite recovered from his loss.
10. I have fought more zombies, evil spirits, and dark mutants than I can keep track of! But, they all drop money and stuff when I kill them, so I just keep it up! I also occasionally do it for quests
Well, that's about it! now to compare my hero with some hero's traits:
Bravery: "You can't be brave if you've had only wonderful things happen to you." ~ Mary Tyler More: This is the most important characteristic of a hero. You have to be brave to stand up and fight.
Courage: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" ~ Winston Churchill: You need the courage to fight a situation no matter how bad it is. Heroes have the fear of losing but they also have the courage to drive away that fear.
Determination: "The difference between the impossible and possible lies in a man's determination." ~ Tommy Lasorda: When you have the determination to fight something, no matter how weak you are, you will win.
Dedication: "The only tyrant I accept in this world is the 'still small voice' within me." ~ Mahatma Gandhi: Dedication in a task pays off eventually.
Endurance: "Don't pray for lighter burdens, but for stronger backs." ~ Unknown: If you are strong enough to face failure, nothing can stop you from achieving your goal.
Perseverance: "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt: When you are persistent, you are bound to be victorious eventually.
Valor: "Where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live." ~ Thomas Brown Sr: To be bold enough to stand against the wrong when no one can show true heroism.
Selflessness: "Without selfless service, no one ever receives the fruits of their rewards." ~ Sri Guru Granth Sahib: You have to be selfless in your life to be remembered as a hero.
Sacrifice: "Those things that are precious are saved only by sacrifice." ~ David Kenyon Webster: It is very difficult to make sacrifices but a true hero sacrifices without hesitating.
Humility: "To become truly great, one has to stand with the people, not above them." ~ Charles de Montesquieu. You shouldn't have airs about yourself but be down to earth and humble
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-a-hero.html
An Epic Hero
Somewhere in movies the epic hero also projects an image of a real life hero. Let's take a look at some of the characteristics of an epic hero to which people can relate to.
He is mostly pictured as a warrior who fights for his country but has a simple life.
He has to undertake a long journey filled with challenges in his way and has to fight various battles to accomplish his goal.
He always takes up distinctive tasks which no one else ever dares to.
He may come across haunted woods or enchanting witches that he fights with his endurance and valor and eventually reaches his destiny with a confident heart.
He has qualities like courage, honesty and willingness to sacrifice.
He stands for everything we love to see ourselves as, hence they are so famous with the audience.
Some famous epic heroes are Beowulf, Odysseus from 'The Odyssey', Aragorn from 'Lord of the Rings', etc.
A Tragic Hero
There has to be a tragic hero in a movie. He can either be the main character or a side hero who supports the story line.
In Aristotle's plays, a tragic hero always had characteristics like greatness and a noble stature. A tragic hero was portrayed quite strongly in Aristotle's play 'Poetics'.
In the play 'Macbeth' by Shakespeare, the tragic hero Macbeth was a victim of his doubt and insecurity. Thus the hero's downfall is due to his own errors and actions. This is one prominent characteristic of a tragic hero.
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo has been portrayed as a strong victim of the rules laid by the society. He could not make a strong decision and hence committed suicide for his love.
A tragic hero has to suffer because of his own mistakes or somebody else's as shown in the movie 'Julius Caesar' where the tragic hero was Brutus.
Some examples of a tragic hero are Othello, Macbeth, Brutus, etc.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-a-hero.html
An Epic Hero
Somewhere in movies the epic hero also projects an image of a real life hero. Let's take a look at some of the characteristics of an epic hero to which people can relate to.
He is mostly pictured as a warrior who fights for his country but has a simple life.
He has to undertake a long journey filled with challenges in his way and has to fight various battles to accomplish his goal.
He always takes up distinctive tasks which no one else ever dares to.
He may come across haunted woods or enchanting witches that he fights with his endurance and valor and eventually reaches his destiny with a confident heart.
He has qualities like courage, honesty and willingness to sacrifice.
He stands for everything we love to see ourselves as, hence they are so famous with the audience.
Some famous epic heroes are Beowulf, Odysseus from 'The Odyssey', Aragorn from 'Lord of the Rings', etc.
A Tragic Hero
There has to be a tragic hero in a movie. He can either be the main character or a side hero who supports the story line.
In Aristotle's plays, a tragic hero always had characteristics like greatness and a noble stature. A tragic hero was portrayed quite strongly in Aristotle's play 'Poetics'.
In the play 'Macbeth' by Shakespeare, the tragic hero Macbeth was a victim of his doubt and insecurity. Thus the hero's downfall is due to his own errors and actions. This is one prominent characteristic of a tragic hero.
In Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', Romeo has been portrayed as a strong victim of the rules laid by the society. He could not make a strong decision and hence committed suicide for his love.
A tragic hero has to suffer because of his own mistakes or somebody else's as shown in the movie 'Julius Caesar' where the tragic hero was Brutus.
Some examples of a tragic hero are Othello, Macbeth, Brutus, etc.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/characteristics-of-a-hero.html
Thanks Buzzle!
Now for the Results:
Overall, Yes.
(this is some guy I found on google images, I don't know him at all)
But I'm not an angel from heaven in skyrim form, I definitely don't have that whole "selflessness" thing down, and I don't think raiding a house is a good way to show humility. But, most of my intentions are good and whether I wanted to or not I went through things that I proved heroic in the outcome of.
Well that was fun! I hope I get to do more of those! Maybe the next one can be on Legend of Zelda or maybe a book special on Eragon or another one of my science-fiction favorites, Pendragon. Again, Thank You for reading this entire thing. I really appriciate it!
