Heroes Explain What Each Shows You About

¶ … Heroes

Explain what each shows you about the definition of a hero in that culture.

The Prince is showing the ideal hero inside mid-evil society at the beginning of the Renaissance period. This means that there are several different attributes that are most important to include:

Focusing on being stingy vs. generous.

Building goodwill among the people for military and defensive purposes.

Engaging in large scale building projects to enhance their reputation.

Looking out for the interests of society vs. that of an individual.

Choosing advisors who are wise vs. individuals that will agree with them.

These different factors are showing how this person must be focused on gaining and seizing power at any cost. As a result, the ideal hero is someone who is able to engage in certain attributes that will achieve the large social and political objectives. ("The Prince")

While Confucius is demonstrating that idols must have different characteristics they are embracing. These include: being wise, having a sense of love / respect for everyone, a never ending desire to continually learn new ideas, a strong set of morals / values and someone who is aware of their shortcomings. The basic idea with these attributes is to create someone who understands the needs of the people and will quickly address them. At the same time, there is a focus on keeping the individual's power and authority in check. This is designed to ensure that all leaders comprehend different viewpoints and can apply them when they are dealing with others. These factors are showing how this individual will embrace these characteristics in order to follow the various societal standards that were established in ancient China. ("The Doctrine of Mean")

Compare and contrast the two heroes with one another. Does the sort of "hero" each represents have more similarities or more differences, and what are these similarities or differences?

The two heroes are showing how they both have similar attributes. As these individuals are encouraged to engage in projects that will build their legacy. They are also doing various activities to have the support of the people (i.e. public works). However, in the case of the Prince, these factors are designed to help the individual gain and achieve various political, military or economic objectives. Whereas Confucius; is concentrating on developing good leaders who are responsive to the needs of the people. This is designed to provide greater amounts of support and stability. ("The Prince") ("The Doctrine of Mean")

As a result, each hero has more differences than they do similarities. This is because the Prince is using their ability to be more ruthless than others to achieve their larger goals. These elements are fundamentally different in contrast with Confucius. In these kinds of situations, the hero is supposed to have strong morals and values. This is providing them with a sense of clarity in doing the right thing. ("The Prince") ("The Doctrine of Mean")