Date of Award
Spring 4-7-2017
Document Type
Distinction Paper
Degree Name
Middle Childhood Education-BSE
Department
Education
Advisor
Dr. Paul Wendel
First Committee Member
Dr. Terry Hermsen
Second Committee Member
Dr. Norman Chaney
Third Committee Member
Prof. James Bowling
Keywords
Hero, Literature, Society, Ages, Warrior, Conquer
Subject Categories
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture | History of Philosophy | Medieval Studies | Modern Literature
Abstract
The Literary character has always existed, and I intend to show how he or she has changed the times, and, in turn, been changed by the times. Literature is a powerful force of culture and morality, liberalism and conservatism, engines of fate, and forces of chaos. As each era has its own values, so each character reflects those values (and might even go against some in order to convey the authors’ understanding of them). The characters, if powerful enough, often cause social change, defining major thoughts of various eras. Literature can both define a period, but can also be the force that ends it. As stated above, literature gets at the heart of what humanity is, and serves to tell their views in a way that everyone can hear it. Not every Literary Hero is an everyman character, but every Literary Hero is symbolic of what his or her writers believes. The Literary Hero is the scale in which humanity weighs itself.
Recommended Citation
Simms, James, "The Eternal Hero: A Study of the Evolution of the Literary Character Throughout History" (2017). Undergraduate Distinction Papers. 40.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_dist/40
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, History of Philosophy Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Modern Literature Commons