Monday, October 31, 2016
Hercules: A Problematic Hero
Hercules is a problematic hero because Hera had made him such. Hera would cause Hercules to have fits of madness and rage, she did this through her magic and powers as a goddess. These fits by Hercules did not just affect himself, they also harmed people and things around him. By not being able to control his mentality and actions at times Hercules was a tool for death and destruction towards the undeserving. A hero would not harm or kill a person that does not deserve it. His lack of consistent stability, and his strength of arms but not of mind also makes Hercules a problematic hero. The character Hercules can be compared to the character Hulk from Marvel Comics.
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I think that while Hercules is not your typical hero I would still consider him a hero because he overcame the many challenges set before him. We can't denigrate Hercules's moral character too much for the insane acts that he committed against innocent people. After all he was under the influence of a very vindictive woman. Therefore we can't truly blame Hercules for acts that he would not commit it in his normal mental state of being. Therefore we should respect him as a hero but like most hero's he has some flaws.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comparison to Marvel's Hulk. Both characters go on rampages when they become enraged. However, I would make the argument that Hercule's murder of his family due to Hera's magic is more similar to Marvel's Wolverine. In several story arcs, Wolverine has been manipulated by his enemies into murdering his loved ones.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your depiction of the hulk. Uncontrollable power seems to be a recurring theme throughout the characteristics of popular heroes. This makes me think that as a society we like our heroic characters to be less than perfect.
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