Preview

Harriet Tubman Character Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1278 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Harriet Tubman Character Analysis
Since the beginning, heroic leaders are well recognized in society for their distinctive qualities, but as time progressed, the standards for heroic qualities become more known for one’s knowledge and willpower rather than their strength. Heroic leaders share common interests of wanting to protect, to inspire, and to bring joy to others. However, some leaders share the flaw of excessive bragging, where every encounter for them would be a chance to comment on how great they are. For instance, Harriet Tubman has taken part in the real-life controversy over slavery by taking action in rescuing over seven hundred slaves towards their path of freedom. Whereas, in the epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, the “heroic” protagonist, King Odysseus guides his …show more content…
Given the title of a hero does not mean that one is perfect from any other person. Harriet Tubman, titled as a hero, has suffered disabilities despite being able to carry a group of several slaves, and Odysseus, who is also titled, gets distracted here and there, but it does not mean that he has forgotten the reason for his journey is to head home to Ithaca. Tubman was so determined to lead all the slaves to freedom that she “even carried a gun which she used to threaten the fugitives if they became too tired or decided to turn back, telling them, "You'll be free or die." (pbs). Even though how she persuades the slaves was a bit harsh, she could not let all their travels go to waste, so she knew that threatening their lives was the only way to get them to keep moving forward. Also, regardless of Odysseus’ inappropriate behavior within his adventures, he still has been focusing his eyes on the prize and motivates his men in order to surpass obstacles in return for his unrightful actions. For instance, "Now by the gods, I drove my big hand spike deep in the embers, charring it again, and cheered my men along with the battle talk to keep their courage up: no quitting now." (Homer: Page 665, Lines 368-371). On the land of the Cyclops, Odysseus supports his men alongside them to plunge a spike into Polyphemus’ eye, as well as provide them encouraging words to get them hooked on how all of their hard work will pay off for they are going to be closer to their goal of getting home. Ambition shown through Harriet Tubman and Odysseus is a heroic quality that all leaders should obtain because without it, heros would have nothing to strive for that would benefit themselves or the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Odysseus: An Epic Hero

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Odysseus: Nothing But an Epic Hero Odysseus, man of exceptional wit, bravery, and intelligence, epic hero The Odyssey written by Homer, is nothing short of extraordinary. He fearlessly leads his remaining men home to Ithaca, doing everything in his power to get them back alive and well. While this is undoubtedly a noble deed, Odysseus slips up more than he does any good, therefore making it unfit to call him a hero. A hero is someone who is compassionate, selfless, and wise. He is selfish, disloyal, hypocritical and harsh; everything a hero is not. Odysseus may be an epic hero, but he is far from a true one.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus’s Journey The actor, Christopher Reeve once said, “I think a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” This quote can be applied directly to Odysseus, the leading character in the epic Odyssey by Homer. Odysseus endures ten years of war, explained in The Iliad, encounters treacherous monsters, enchantresses, and beautiful goddesses. Odysseus is strengthened by his hankering to return home and to his wife and son. In the Odyssey, Homer uses Odysseus’ s character journey to show how one’s journey can change them as a person.…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What makes a hero a hero? The ancient poem The Odyssey, written by the epic poet Homer, tells the story of a man by the name of Odysseus and his travels home to Ithaca after being at war in the Battle of Troy for nine years. Odysseus encounters many challenges and obstacles through the many adventures that he faces on his way home. His challenge concluding the story is of finding a way to rid the suitors that pillage his kingdom in order to retrieve his position back as lord and husband to his wife, Penelope. As Odysseus went on many adventures, he displayed the qualities of cleverness, bravery, and vengeance.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now some people may say that Odysseus is a hero because he gave up his life to go and fight for other people’s freedom. However Menelaus said to Telemachus, “No one among our soldiers risked so much or had so much courage.”(Pg.39) he did not care about his family and all the people that he left behind, for this he is not a hero. But not everybody who goes to the war is a hero or that has that much courage.…

    • 398 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Odysseus – A Different Type of Hero The Homeric epic, the Odyssey, is set in the peaceful years following the Trojan War, and concerns the returning heroes on their journeys home, in particular Odysseus of Ithaca. Odysseus is an epic hero; he displays courage, superior strength, and leadership, all qualities that people admire. While displaying these archetypal heroic traits he also displays his weaknesses as a man, particularly his excessive pride, which actually make him easy to relate to. So by demonstrating his strengths, and overcoming his weaknesses he becomes an epic hero, not only in Homer 's time but in the 21st century as well. Yet these archetypal heroic qualities are not his only heroic qualities, in order to win his battles and find his way home he needed to display other qualities such as cunning, shrewdness, and ingenuity.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus Character

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Being a hero is a very difficult task; although some are born to do it, most of us need guidance to be heroic. In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, goes on an Odyssey- an adventurous journey with unexpected outcomes of fortune. There, he undergoes many challenges and dangerous situations and changes into a more wholesome individual. As a result of this Odyssey, it takes Odysseus twenty years to come home. During this period of time, Odysseus becomes more trustworthy, cautious, and responsible.…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Odysseus: the Anti-Hero

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Odysseus: The Anti-Hero Throughout Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Odysseus is a hero. In all myths and legends, a hero combats the “monsters.” In the typical story a hero is unselfish and fights to protect his people while the monsters are greedy powerful things that antagonize the people. Yet despite this typical storyline, if we read closely, we may conclude that Odysseus is actually the oppressive hero in many of these situations – provoking the “monsters” into fighting. The “monsters” in the Odyssey are innocent creatures that fight to protect themselves. Another reason Odysseus is not a satisfying hero of this story is because the main reason he pursues conflict is to maintain his own personal image and sense of pride, so that when he finally arrives home he will be cherished and honored – an honor that is unnecessary and inauthentic at the cost of so many lives. Even though it may be argued that Odysseus is the biggest hero in the book, there are many more reasons for why he should not be worth our admiration.…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harriet Tubman was born in Dorchester County, Maryland sometime between 1819 and 1822.(5) Her birth name is actually Araminta Harriet Ross, and her nickname was “Minty”(1). Later, she adopted the name Harriet after her mother. Born a slave, Tubman had a hard childhood. She mostly worked in the field until her owner sold her out to make more money. Her new owner, known as “Miss Susan”, put her to work as a house slave. She wasn’t good at this because she had never done any housework before, or even seen the inside of a proper house. Consequently, “Miss Susan” gave Tubman back to her old owner and she began to work in the field again. (13) In her early teens, Tubman received an injury that would affect her for the rest of her life. When her master…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Odysseus

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Even though Odysseus is brave, very intelligent, and has many heroic qualities, he does not portray the attributes of a hero. In fact, Odysseus uses his mind wisely as he tricks the oversized Cyclops, Polyphemus, into his trap to stab him in the eye, blind him so that he may escape the Cyclops’s cave among his crew. “In a smithy one sees… the way they make soft iron hale and hard -: just so that eyeball hissed around the spike” (Homer 1219). Any hero would probably be clever enough like Odysseus, to use his intelligence wisely at the right time and place. He cleverly ‘saved the day’ by using his intelligence wisely. A true hero lives with the bravery to battle those critical issues, that others wouldn’t even rise from their beds to face, and Odysseus seems to fit into that category. However, even though Odysseus primarily presented his heroic character, he later on, proves his selfish and egocentric motives behind the issues and tribulations him and his shipmates faced.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    , but only in the ways that are valued by their culture. When thinking of a hero, it is often hard to escape the idea of a Herculean warrior who goes about his heroic business of slaying monsters and saving damsels in distress with unfaltering dedication. Be it Beowulf or Superman, the idea of the superhuman warrior hero is one of the most enduring archetypes, predating literature itself. This type of hero, the Homeric hero, is described as having the "...virtues of courage, resourcefulness, magnanimity in victory and dignity in defeat..." (Auden 17), and who 's "motive is to win admiration and glory from his equals..."(Auden 17). This desire for glory and admiration means that the exact picture of the homeric hero changes with each culture, but the heroic concept endures. In two extremely influential works, Exodus and Gilgamesh, there are clear examples of Homeric heroes…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “FRAILITY, THOU NAME IS NOT HARRIET TUBMAN” “Now look here. I done worked as hard as any man for twenty-four years. I made my way to freedom on my own, and now I intend to help my family. I’m not afraid of what I have to do, and I sure ain’t afraid just because I am a woman!”…

    • 5303 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harriet Tubman was Born from enslaved parents in Dorchester County, Maryland. Harriet was Originally named Arminta Harriet Ross. Harriet Lived a tough life, even Physical violence was a part of Harriet and her family’s daily life. Harriet suffered very badly in her young years from physical violence, Which caused permanent physical injuries. As Harriet grew older she didn't run into many physical encounters much, But harriet later encountered a particular day when she was lashed five times before breakfast time. Harriet soon grew tired of it and used the network known back then as the underground Railroad to travel nearly 90 miles on foot to philadelphia.…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Heroes are given their titles according to their bravery, but their traits have an impact on that. In the epic poem, the Odyssey, the hero undergoes several trials and loses many friends along the way. Homer used the Odyssey to tell the tale of an epic hero, and Odysseus’s traits prove him to be a hero.…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus: Not the Hero You Once Thought Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” In the book, The Odyssey, written by Homer, we follow a mortal named Odysseus through his journey home to Ithaca. Odysseus faces many obstacles along his way and the way he chooses to combat them may make him appear a hero. Despite his obvious heroic qualities, Odysseus is not the hero you once thought.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From outsmarting cyclopes to fighting the temptations of the Sirens, the main character of Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus, leads his men through any challenge put before them. In this famous epic, -Odysseus faces several challenges on his journey home from the ten year war at famed city Troy that have gripped readers for centuries. Cursed by the gods and a less the astounding crew he has to fight for survival and to find his way home from the battle of Troy to Ithaca. A leader by choice he works hard to inspire his crew knowing they're what will bring him home. Skilled at inspiring his men he is gifted with physical strength as well as a strong mind. His mind is quick and able to come up with ideas to save his crew and himself when it's needed. Some say that Odysseus is prideful and that that often puts him and his men at risk but this is untrue for most of his decisions are not for personal gain.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays