Beowulf, Odysseus, and Gawain -- Mimetic Theory and Literary Study

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 20:13:47 02/03/08 Sun
Author: JPJ II
Subject: Beowulf, Odysseus, and Gawain
In reply to: Shannon 's message, "Heroes within the Scapegoat Mechanism" on 13:50:09 01/29/08 Tue

I guess this would be easier to discuss using literary examples. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is the default hero (all noble swine-herders aside). Yes there are times when he is rather heroic, but then he also mimics the actions of the Cyclops when he returns home to Ithaca, taking on both the Heroic and the monstrous. Homer even uses some of the same language to describe the two "lions" after the kill. Theres monster and hero made into one, but its important to note that the hero label was there first. In Oedipus we also see the hero to monster transition as he goes from the hero of Thebes to the fraudian monster of the plays end. Both of those have the transition going hero to monster: that doesnt seem to work well with the deification bit. Although, in 'till we have faces', we DO have the scapegoat going from monster (or at least ill-appreciated) to hero and sub-deity after the scapegoat mechanism takes place. So, I think that the answer to your question is: yes to all.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]