In chapter 40, there is a very interesting encounter between D'Artagnan and the "big kahuna" of the villains, the Cardinal. In this encounter, the Cardinal refers to D'Artagnan with much respect and compliments him in his bravery, by calling him a "man of head and heart". In this same conversation the Cardinal offers D'Artagnan a well paid job in his company of Guards. This is where Dumas shows the big difference between a hero and a villain. The villain, the Cardinal, has just cowered and asked D'Artagnan to join him. He fears D'Artagnan, so he wants him as friend rather than an enemy. While D'Artagnan, who is loyal to his king and friends, refuses this great opportunity.
This part of the story reminds me of the scene in the movie "300" where the Spartan King Leonidas comes face to face with the evil Persian King Xerxes. King Xerxes feared King Leonidas because he has been killing thousands of his troops with only 300 hundred soldiers, he knew that King Leonidas' army was the only one who could ruin his rule. When they come face to face King Xerxes offers an alliance to King Leonidas, all he had to do is surrender his land of Sparta and he would give him a position of warlord of all of the known world. King Leonidas refuses the offer and insists in fighting, making funny remarks about the inability of his opponents soldiers.
In conclusion, a hero never cowers, and never drifts away from his objective, while a villain is a big coward who is willing to join his enemy in order to maintain his power.
The link below is for the scene from the movie 300 that I mentioned above:
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=iA1GC3T-Ldg&feature=related
Sunday, January 6
The Villain vs. The Hero
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1 comment:
I totally agree that a true hero must be loyal to his or her country, person, ruler, government, or ideal. Dumas makes a great example of the characteristics of a hero and a villain. D'Artagnan chooses to stay with his friends and king that he has been fighting with for a long time instead of becoming a traitor. Often villains try to use any means to gain an edge on their enemies which in this example is displayed by the cardinal’s efforts to get D'Artagnan to join his side.
I thought the connection to the movie “300” was really good. Though I have not watched the movie, the description seems to be very similar to the event in the novel where the hero chooses to stick with his own beliefs.
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