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Question 1

Beowulf is a unique character who shows positive sides like selflessness and strong spit when faced with any challenge. Character flaw in Beowulf is seen in many instances where his missions distracted by external forces that obscures his focus. First, Beowulf appears to have his eyes set on what he perceives as a journey that takes him to adopt feelings of passion and empathy in his actions. He fails to confront real issues and is easily drawn into many paths that only wears him out and makes him lose focus of his mission. Beowulf like many hero characters has a character flaw that is drawn from the way he portrays many sies that worsens when confronted with a dilemma. He has few character flaws, but his biggest and fatal flaw is his hubris. The extreme self-pride and arrogance led him to fight monsters with his bare hands and even take on a dragon in his old age, when he was no longer able to win such battles. This flaw doesn’t diminish Beowulf’s status as an epic hero.

First, Beowulf is seen as a selfless person who is ready to sacrifice his own life and pleasures to see others live peacefully. On the other hand, he is seen to overdo his mission where he declines to take one task at a time. This is in itself a weakness that his enemies capitalize on to show opposition and even defeat him that only portrays Beowulf’s character flaw. “Do not grieve, wise warrior! It is better for each man That he avenge his friend than to mourn him much. Each of us must accept the end of life here in this world.” Beowulf is considered an epic hero because his bravery has won many battles. This bravery also makes him a tragic hero because he is a great man with the tragic flaw of pride, which leads to his death.

Question 2

Hamlet as a double-sided character is perceived as hard to understand person by his friends and enemies. In his capacity, he seems as calm but he is also hard to predict in the way he acts and reasons. Many who lived close to him regard him as a man who is slow to anger but sometimes acts with no warning when he senses betrayal. These traits became evident when confronted with a hard choice of his father’s ghosts and even in sending Gildenstern to death. First Hamlet, delays seeking the revenge his father’s ghost demands in killing Claudius; on the other hand, he shows no hesitation when accidentally killing Polonius or sending Rosencrantz and Gildenstern to their deaths. Being a man of two sides, Hamlet portrays a very unique trait that makes many of his peers refer him as a volatile and calm character.

Hamlet is man of radical contradictions as he is hard to understand in the way he acts and reasons. He is sometimes calm but can also be violent particularly when he has an issue that threatens him or his close relatives. “Frailty, thy name is woman”; incest, commenting that his mother moved “with such dexterity to incestuous sheets” Hamlet believes that to solve a problem, two sides of thinking must come at play and this is seen in the way he addresses the threats from Rosencrantz and Gildenstern. Being hard to predict Hamlet’s actions makes it hard for those who relate to him even offer advice to him and this even pours down to the way he solves his challenges. Hamlet emerged as an epoch-making figure, an enigma through whom Shakespeare dramatized the struggle of the modern subject to find a path through the suffocating thickets of moral, personal, and political existence.

Question 3

Oroonoko as a fictional man of action takes many forms and sides that makes his traits hard to crack. He perceives life in a different direction where he perceives that inclusive ideologies override the people’s ability to reason and think critically. On the ither hand, Fredrick Douglass as a man of intellect appears to be very orderly and perceives life as a serious journey that deserves all the effort. Both characters have their own perception and traits that defines them inwardly and outwardly. Looking at Oroonoko, it is clear that he represents a figure of authority, one that despite his race will have power over others. On the other hand, Douglass approaches and prefers solving conflicts through a sober manner that seeks all sides to agree on a common goal. Both characters show different sides both in trait and their approach to issues. Oroonoko has little sympathy and appear to be very authoritative than Douglass. The major difference between Oroonoko and Douglass is that the two characters portray a divided notion about problems with Oroonoko being more rigid than Douglass.

Another compelling outlook of Dougalss is that he portrays wisdom in his choices and actions. First, Douglass observes the divisions and hatred that exists in the society as the main cause of the problems that face the people. In his capacity, Douglass offers wise choices and does not force his way to get whatever he wants. This is very contrary in Oroonoko’s case as his approach to life is full of authority and lacks the real capacity to offer solutions. In Oroonoko’s case, there is deep betrayal and lack of coherent approach to issues that face the society.

Question 4

Character flaw is one of the common elements that define many fictional characters who are mostly perceived as heroes. The issue of character flaw appears to override the mission focus of many fictional characters that defines the mission’s success of these heroes. In most instances, character flaw is regarded as a weakness that many heroes fail to notice that ends up becoming their downfall. Most of heroes possess a character flaw that denies them the success they seek in the journey and this even leads to their fall. To add on this, the character flaw is sometimes overlooked that leads to the decline of the hero’s push for a diverse and inclusive focus to his mission. For example, Beowulf as one of the key heroes is seen to be possessed with pride that overrides his focus in the mission.

One thing that stands clear is that character flaws among many heroes like Beowulf is always a force that many ignore but greatly impedes their success. The case of Beowulf is a clear example of character flaw in a hero that makes most heroes downplay the advice they get that in turns leads to their downfall. The statement by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Show me a hero, and I’ll show you a tragedy” holds weight and appears true as this issue is replicated in most heroes like Beowulf. Beowulf is full of pride and hardly takes time to reconsider his mistakes that in turn leads to the difficulties he faces in his journey.

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